Holding Specialists accountable w/ budgets

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 20

Have you guys had this?? I am curious if anyone else has heard this in their store. I not talking about the little card and the sales meeting with your Sales Manager everyweek where they tell you this our budget for the week and we need to hit it. I'm talking one on one meetings with all of the Specialists in the store which are told attain this or else? To my knowledge they tried this a few years ago and then backed off. New asshole store manager...just curious.

Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 95

they can try budgets but I doubt they'd hit them. They set bars high consistantly.

sales manager cannot fire anyone so it's not like someone would even be demoted if they don't make the level

you can't force people to come into a store...weather, events outside all effect traffic

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 20

That's an interesting response..thankyou however its not the Sales manager doing this. Its the store manager...personally I think he's "blowing smoke" just trying to intimidate everyone but you never know with this company.

Joined: 19 Oct 2003 Posts: 2562

Bah....Bah....The poor share holders and major investors arn't happy, Boo Hoo.
........Either are we.....Work to live....and live to work. Sad

Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 95

and the thing is that most of the company isn't even owned by any of the employees (management included)

Capital management owns most of the company

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 226

Many specialists are being held accountable for their monthly budgets. This is a way to get rid of people that are a drain on the payroll.

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 20

They tried this a few years ago in my Region and backed off fast. I have a hard time beleiving there is any real substance to it. First: It would be instant unemployment benefits(which is bad for Lowe's) Second: ALL Specialists worried about their numbers would stop ANY manual labor of any kind concerned that they may lose a potential sale.

Joined: 22 Aug 2008 Posts: 9

How can you a specialist be responsible for the consumers buying decisions.. Does that make you guys high pressured? Pressuring your clients into buying stuff they dont want or need? does that make you get your rocks off when you suggest something else that is a waste of money?

Lowes cannot hold you accountable for anything!!!! When they flood the market with stores...keep adding new stores....and you are suposta hit your budget and some for the next year how can this be? Do you ever stop to think that the sky does have a limit?

Lowes can only go so high. Just like the old ball bounce story....What goes up must come down!

Like any giant....the bigger they are the harder they fall.

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 226

There definately is accountability for each employee. The only way to hold specialists accountable is to give them a monthly budget. The bad thing is that they don't fact into that mix the economy or sick time or vacations.

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 20

O.K. let me put it this way in over ten years of service I can think of noone that has ever been terminated for sales performance. Can anyone claim they have?

Joined: 19 Aug 2008 Posts: 1

as a sales manager, I can assure you that salesmen cant be fired for not hitting goals. Nor can they be written up for it. However, dealing with a sleezy store manager such as the one I had in Ar, I can say that there are many other reasons they can think or to get rid of people if they want. I was told several times to "come up with reasons" to write up and get rid of my associates. Reasons such as digging into their action items and writing them up for poor comments. Or leaving lots of worklist and writing them up for not completing them. Then there was the "Go back 2 months and see how many time they left early or came in late" Believe me, if a store manager wants you gone, you will be gone.

Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 24 Location: Maryland

Just screw up a few SOS orders in Millwork and watch how quickly you'll be gone for "poor sales performance." Commercial Sales Specialists have more pressure on them because Commercial Sales is one of the "big 3" and to some extent they hold their fate in their hands in the distorted minds of Lowe's management. Why? Because CSS are supposed to make monthly calls to current and new businesses, and go out "into the field," all in an effort to solicit and bring new business into the store. Let's face it, the pressure of sales quotas trickles down from corporate to regional to district to store manager to sales manager to you. In the end, like seabeeut said, if they want you gone, they'll find a way to get rid of you. It may take some time but it'll happen. I've seen it dozens of times.

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