G

G

n. “Garbage.” See CODE-G, GARBAGE COMPACTOR.

Game Plan

Game Plan

n. The weekly plan, as determined by the GROCERY MANAGER, assigning slots in the FAST-WALL to various VENDORS, as well as PRODUCTS to DISPLAYS on END-CAPS, 3-WAYS, WINGS, and so on.

Gang-Lift

Gang-Lift

v. To lift multiple ITEMS at once—as from a CASE—by using two hands to squeeze the first and last ITEM towards one another, so that intervening ITEMS are held in place by friction, and all may be moved together as a single unit: “Gang-lift Cheerios® to throw half a case at once” —n. Any lift so made.

NOTE: The beauty of a Gang-Lift is it's fast. Two grabs may be all it takes to empty an entire CASE. Squeeze down low, as contents tend to settle. Thus, the bottoms of BOXES are generally firmer than the tops.

Candidates? General MillsTM breakfast cereals are CASED on trays with banded covers specifically to enable such rapid handling. Then there's elbow macaroni, boxed macaroni and cheese, dog biscuits, and so on.

TIP: Corner Rip? If a CASE is too tight, and you're sure it'll all GO, rip open the CASE'S corner to create enough space to easily slide your hands down into the CASE on opposite sides.

Caution: Be gentle—don't squish, bend or disfigure anything! Also, watch out for slippery ITEMS that may squirt out like a deck of playing cards out of a bad shuffle, forcing you to play “52 Pick-Up” with the whole bunch. Better to reduce the number of units you lift at once.

Garbage

Garbage

n. See CODE-G, GARBAGE COMPACTOR.

Garbage Compactor

Garbage Compactor

n. A usually locked chute down which DEPARTMENTS may toss their garbage whenever the M.O.D. unlocks it and calls a CODE-G.

NOTE:

The compactor is kept locked to minimize SHRINK, which may include the accidental or intentional dumping of viable PRODUCT.

There are stories of rogue NIGHT CREWS (always at some other STORE, of course) who would occasionally trash portions of LOAD rather than take the time to THROW it. Urban legend? You decide.

TRUE STORY: You might never figure out how to start the Garbage Compactor's compacting mechanism unless somebody told you. I sure didn't. When told to empty all the trashcans in the BACKROOM, I stared at that control panel for a long time, pushed and jiggled this and that, and then finally just gave up and had to go ask someone. The secret?

TIP: Push Key to Start. Unusual, but to start the Garbage Compactor, push in the key. That's because it's not just a key, but a key sticking into a button. Pushing in the key thus pushes in the button, and that gets everything going.

Gate

Gate

n. Any of the roll-up tambour-style metal portcullis doors in the RECEIVING DEPARTMENT, which, when unlocked and opened via its hanging looped chain mechanism, provide via an adjustable cross-over DOCK PLATE approximately level walk-in access to the trailers brought by the TRUCK. The normal state of the Gate is closed and ARMED.

NOTE: Obviously, to open and close such a gate, you pull the chain down on one side of the other. But which side?

Answer: to open the gate, pull down on the side of the chain closest to the Gate itself, and the world outside. To close the Gate, pull down on the chain closest to you.

I know, I know—you're wondering why I'm telling you this. Well, sometimes the Gate gets caught or stuck. In those situations, it's not as if you could just tug gently on the two chains to see which does what. Brute force applied to the wrong chain is worse than pointless. So remember:

TIP: “Open = Outside,” and “Close = Closest.”

TRUE STORY: That way, at least you can be spared the embarrassment of someone else easily “fixing” it for you just by pulling on the proper side. (Is my face still red?)

General Merchandise

General Merchandise

n. The DEPARTMENT that deals with inedible non-perishables such as toothbrushes, shampoos, makeup, toys, CLIP STRIPS of ITEMS hanging from SHELVES around the STORE, and so on. Also simply GM.

Get Around

Get Around

v. In general, to make a complete circuit of either the entire STORE, or your DEPARTMENT'S area of responsibility. Specifically, to tidy up and BLOCK those areas: “Be sure to get around.” (E.g., at the end of your shift.) See also, WALK THE STORE.

Get It Up

Get It Up

n. See MAKE IT GO.

Gift Card

Gift Card

n. A plastic, limited-use debit card issued by the STORE for certain fixed amounts and which may be purchased by anyone from the CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK. Once activated, Gift Cards may subsequently be used at any branch of the STORE to pay for purchase amounts up to the face value of the card, either all at once, or incrementally on several occasions.

NOTE: In some circumstances a STORE Gift Card may be awarded by STORE management. For instance, at present, as part of a STORE loyalty incentive program, a Gift Card worth $25 is awarded weekly to the winner of a random receipt drawing among ASSOCIATES who enter their CHECKOUT REGISTER tapes showing current purchases of $50 or more using their personal BONUS CARD. I've won it a few times. It's nice!

Also, a few other times I've been awarded a $5 Gift Card by a FRONT-END MANAGER as a small token of appreciation for helping out in ways above and beyond the call of my usual duties. Again, very nice!

Of course, nowadays, there are many, many kinds of Gift Cards, for many, many other stores—and even for online services, like iTunes. You'll find such third-party Gift Cards on racks beside the Pharmacy, for example. Like STORE Gift Cards, they can be purchased and validated at any REGISTER or at the CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK.

For more about Gift Cards, see, e.g.,:
^{http://www.topsmarkets.com/shareddev/sharedcontent/Giftcards/aboutgiftcards.cfm}

Glass

Glass

n. From “PLEXIGLAS®.” Thick, slightly flexible plastic sheets are pre-cut to size, some with two rounded corners, for use in DISPLAYS, where they are laid horizontally to separate and support STACKED layers of PRODUCT. Also, PLEXI.

NOTE: On occasions when you have the opportunity, the hot setup is to slightly back-set the Glass (e.g., ¼–½ inch; 1–2 cm) between layers of DISPLAYS, so it doesn't show—for instance, when laying in Glass for strength between layers of WINDOW-CUT CASES of laundry detergent, elbow macaroni, bundles of picnic napkins, and so on. But, for things like glass jars of spaghetti sauce, no. Those should get full support, right up to the edge.

Glider

Glider

n. See RUNNER.

Glue Board

Glue Board

n. A type of moth trap. Also GLUE TRAP.

NOTE: Glue Boards are typically secreted somewhere near dog food, which is notorious for harboring moths.

Glue Trap

Glue Trap

n. See GLUE BOARD, above.

GM

GM

n. See GENERAL MERCHANDISE: (Page:) “Someone from GM please call extension 300.”

Go

Go

v. When the entire contents one or more full or partially-full CASES completely fits in the available space or SPOT on the SHELF: “It'll go,” or sometimes “Make it go.” See also HIDE, JAM, LAY-IN, MAKE IT GO.

Goodwill

Goodwill

n. A CUSTOMER'S desire to return to a place of business where they have been well served. “Customer goodwill keeps us in business!”

Goose-Neck

Goose-Neck

n. A SIGN HOLDER whose frame is elevated on a long, either fixed-length or adjustable support, typically of either chromed or black metal. See also DUCK-FOOT, SWAN-NECK. See photo at SIGN HOLDER.

Grocery

Grocery

n. 1. You know: a STORE where you can buy food and stuff. 2. The NON-PERISHABLES DEPARTMENT: (Page) “Grocery, please take the call holding on 801.”

NOTE: Up until about a hundred years or so ago, a Grocery was a tavern, or place to procure liquor! Wow—our INVENTORY sure has changed!

Grocery Manager

Grocery Manager

n. The immediate boss of STOCK CLERKS, including all those on both DAY-SHIFT and NIGHT CREW. The Grocery Manager gives instructions, handles PRODUCT ordering using the GUN, interacts with VENDORS, manages INVENTORY, directs the building of DISPLAYS, etc.

Gun

Gun

n. A special hand-held BARCODE SCANNER that is Wi-Fi connected to the STORE'S computer, and which can be used to obtain PRICING, INVENTORY, or other PRODUCT information, or to place orders for PRODUCTS, update INVENTORY counts, etc. Typically used by DEPARTMENT or STORE MANAGERS. See also BACK-STOCK, INVENTORY, NEGATIVE ORDER WORKSHEET, OVERSTOCK: “Put that in the gun.”

NOTE: There are some things you just can't say over the STORE'S PA. Like “Garbage”—we call it “CODE-G,” remember?

Well another no-no would be “Gun,” as in, “Price Control, please bring a Gun to aisle 5.” Now, stop and think. How does that sounds to CUSTOMER ears? A GUN?

Caution: Funny? Not if someone drops dead of a heart attack. Better call it something else. For example, “Price Control, please bring a hand-held stock Scanner to aisle 5.”