Macayla Fowler

Today we came into work at 6:00am to learn more about price changes and how they work. We helped with the clearance price changes, so many of the store items were going on clearance and many of those that were already on clearance were dropping in price. This meant we had to find and change hundreds of price tags on the floor so we needed a lot of help! Many associates were there early as well and were spread out through the store in different departments. This lasted for most of the first half of my day.

After lunch, one of our assistant managers asked Lindsey and I to cover an H2 shift for an associate that couldn’t make it. Because I was still pretty new, the idea of being H2 was intimidating. The H2 is in charge of looking after pretty much every department of the store at once, while addressing any problems or customer complaints that may arise. In addition, the H2 watches carefully over our online orders to make sure they are being worked on and filled in time. During that time, I faced many challenges. There was a customer at one of our registers who did not speak English and wanted to use expired Kohl’s Cash, a man at customer service who lost his Kohl’s Cash and wanted a replacement, and the registers were constantly needed back up. It was incredibly busy, but I was able to address every problem one at a time and found different solutions for each. 

The next day, Friday, our store manager was off so we focused a lot on completing our online learnings. Later, I helped with the online orders and unpacked many backpacks for the back to school season. After lunch, I spent more time at customer service. There are so many things to know and learn there and I wanted to experience it all! I got more comfortable with returns, payments, credit card statements, and how to recreate tags. 

At the end of the day, I had a touch base with my coach Sarah. She was incredibly helpful and sweet and talked me through my day. We talked about my H2 shift and how busy it was. She gave me some advice on how to handle different situations I may face in the future.

Today, we came in at 6:00am for the first time so we can see what merchandising looks like. I learned that merchandising is pretty much rearranging our products and floor sets as well as finding places to put new products. We have books and plans that tell us where everything should go but it is not always exactly the same as our store, so there are plenty of times we need to get creative. We were rearranging the entire home section. It was a really big project so it was our primary focus for the majority of the day. We were all split up into different sections to observe and help the employees. Lindsey and Ozzy focused on candles and frames while Stephanie took bedding. I assisted one of my coworkers, Alyssa, with the pillows and it was a much bigger project than I anticipated. When I first heard I was just going to do pillows I thought, “oh good, we’ll knock this out pretty quick” but I had never been so wrong. We had hundreds of pillows and plenty of them were going on clearance. Not only did we have to fit more pillows than we had room for on a few fixtures, but we also had to create a whole new place for hundreds of discounted decorative pillows. I really got into organizing them by shape and color. It took a lot longer that way, but by then end I was pretty proud of what I put together. On the bright side, looking at all of those pillows gave me a pretty good idea of how I wanted to decorate my bedroom and living room.

We stopped for our lunch break and the three other interns and myself went to Panda Express. There, we talked about our first week and how we felt about the experience so far. We discussed our coworkers, who has been really helpful, what we have learned, and what we have enjoyed so far. The more time I spend with them, the more I realize how happy I am that I wasn’t the only intern. I have friends I can talk with, bounce ideas off, and really just keep me company through it all. 

6/24/2019

Today, we came in at 8:00am instead of nine, because we have our first  video call. We will be speaking to Peter Riley, the territory manager, as well as the territory operations manager. This call was really insightful and gave us a lot of information on what their positions are responsible for. They gave us a wide variety of advice for the next two months as an intern as well as an employee going into MIT, or Manager in Training. The territory manager, Brandon, told us to “be a sponge.”  He explained that as interns we should ask as many questions as we can and get involved with everything the store has to offer. He also said it is important to be flexible and have knowledge of every aspect of Kohl’s. In addition, he also said it is important we stay on top of all technology initiatives. Peter also had similar advice, explaining that we should ask thought provoking questions to ourselves and others and be a “curious learner.” He said that the key to Kohl’s success is its’ consistency throughout their stores with a clear vision and a clear mission. When the interns got the chance to respond and ask questions, one of the things that was asked of Peter is what qualities were important in a great leader. His response was, “strategic, collaborative, motivation, and commonality.” I loved that answer because it was pretty different from the answers I have heard of in the past such as communicative, understanding, drive, and consistency. The two managers gave me a very different perspective on leadership and my future with the company. In the remainder of the internship, we are given the opportunity to connect with other leaders throughout Kohl’s Corporation which I found was really helpful and unique with the company. 

After we finished the video call, we had our first weekly district phone meeting. We all sat around the phone in Andrew’s office and listened in. These meetings are held every Monday and they are ran by Jason, the district manager of District 29. Each of the store managers got to gave updates and reminders on what is happening with the stores that week and in the near future. The topics always discussed are: merchandising, associates, customers, operations, technology, and loss prevention. It was really interesting to hear how the stores are all on the same page, but adding their own twist to it. Of course, one of the major hot topics of this meeting was the introduction on Amazon Returns, which every store is preparing themselves for in a major way.

After the weekly meeting, Andrew normally gets the assistant store managers together and discussed everything he learned in the district meeting. This is a great way to keep communication flowing freely from top to bottom without discrepancies in the information. 

6/21/2019

I am finishing up my first week as a management intern at Kohl’s! This week has been really informative and enlightening. I have learned so much about the day to day operations and schedules of store 702. This week, I really focused on getting to know the associates and what every position from cashier to stock to manager does to help the store run. Today, I learned how to use the compactor which is probably the funnest toy (even though they were very clear that it is NOT a toy) I have ever played with. I never imagined crushing cardboard would be so entertaining.I have gotten the chance to interact with customers first hand and already I’ve had some interesting interactions. I had a long, personal conversation with a man about his grandchildren while I helped him pick out clothes for his wife. I could tell he really appreciated my help and enjoyed our talk. I also connected with a woman I was helping pick out pajamas and found out I went to school with her daughter. I am beginning to understand the importance of making a personal connection with customers and giving them not just a place to shop but a pleasant shopping experience. 

6/20/2019

Today, I came in and immediately checked my Kohl's email. I had so many welcoming emails from the staff, my recruiter and other employees around the company. I felt so welcomed and It was really nice to feel like I was apart of this big family. Our manager showed us how to analyze the daily reports we were receiving, and explained to us in detail what the Business Summary Report was and how to look at it from an operations and management point of view. He also explained how to read a number of other reports and how to find them. This gave me a lot of practice with data analysis and how to view information through a manger’s eyes. We learned how to use this information to drive sales and improve our area of the store. 

Day 3 6/19/2019

Today was the internship kickoff and it was much more informative and helpful than I was expecting! It was at the Embassy Suites in Irvine, California, and it was beautiful! I went into the event expecting some kind of meet and greet, which we did do, however I received plenty of helpful information and advice for my time as an intern. I met about 25 other interns and they all impressed me in different ways. There were also store managers, district managers, and even our regional manager there! We kicked it off with introductions of all of the staff and their stories of how they ended up at Kohl’s. It was interesting to see how everyone had incredibly different stories and backgrounds but they all ended up in the same place. We separated into groups, and had round table discussions about operations, leadership, sales, and customers. This was my favorite part because we got to ask all of the district managers in depth, one on one questions and received very well thought out, personalized answers.  We played games to help us learn the store lingo, and saw presentations about different aspects of the company and the internship. We were provided with breakfast, snacks, and an amazing taco lunch buffet!

This kickoff meant a lot to me because I understood, for the first time, my importance to the company as an intern. Because I was only an intern, seeing that Kohl's made an effort to put me in direct contact with assistant managers from other stores, the district managers in my region, and even the regional manager, Lee Blanc, caused me to feel very grateful and properly prepared. For the first time in this internship, I could see a long future with this company.

Day Two 6/18/2019

Today, we only worked a half day (9:00am-1:00pm) because tonight, we drive down to Irvine to check into the hotel and get ready for the internship kickoff tomorrow! I used this four hours to complete some elearnings (online learnings), and get hands on training in different areas. Because this is a management internship, I will be spending a lot of time shadowing the store manager. Our store manager, Andrew, took us on a store walk and explained to us the basics of sales, operations, and how to conduct a store walk when we are with the district manager. At the end of my internship, I am to complete a “store walk” with the DM. I will be assigned an area of the store to manage on my own, and try to drive sales! During my store walk, I’ll show the DM everything I have accomplished in my area of the store. The walk with my store manager helped me understand the store a bit more and I got a better idea of our consumer trends. I loved actually being on the floor and interacting with customers. One of the store supervisors showed us how to use the registers to complete a sale. We practiced on that for about an hour, then I moved to the stock room to learn how to fulfill all of our online orders. One of the assistant mangers, Lisa, explained to us how to use the Bluebirds, pick BOPUS orders, and complete BOSS orders. This is all a lot of crazy lingo, I know! It took me a long while to pick it up, but eventually I got the hang of it. We had a lot of BOSS packages, so this is where I got the most practice, and currently where I feel most comfortable with when it comes to Omni. Andrew bought me and the other interns lunch before we took off on our road trip which was really nice of him! I am extremely excited for the kickoff so I am anxious to see what’s in store!

Day One 6/17/2019