APPLIANCE VISIT

Joined: 31 Aug 2006 Posts: 183

We recently had folks (I refuse to call them managers) from other stores, district and Corporate in our store to see why our appliance department went from one of the top performing stores in the district in sales to one of the worse. The funny thing they never asked us the associates what we thought. All they did was walk around, act important and nit-pick things like signs, planogram etc.

The downward spiral came when they put ignorant, arrogant managers in our store that never cared or listened to customers or associates and tried to manage with intimidation.

I guess it starts at the top and the visit just proved it!

If they want to ever be profitable again they need to first get in touch with the employees and the customer. Quit cutting our commissions, making rules, regulations and policy that hinder us in selling and to have a bad attitude and let us help the customer get what thay want.

The bottom line is the idiots locally and at corporate won't take resposiblity for the companies demise and again want to blame us for not implementing their plan correctly!

Did I say idiots?

Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Posts: 169

The company is so screwed up they don't know what to do, so they grasp at the same issues not addressing the core issues. If there is anyone is management that has a clue to why the customers are turning away in droves they are probably too scared to speak up in fear of losing their job.

It is easier to blame the low-level associates and the economy.

If it hasn't become apparent, let me say there is no accountability for the ones making the poor work enviroments, poor results or high turn over rates. I say this because over the past several years I have seen the same poor excuse for executive management walk in the door and address anal retentive things such as signs and not once address a customer, any employees or come in without the DM and prior notice.

They need to concern themselves with drawing customers in, treating them right and keep them coming in. But part of the customer base is employees and their families and many of us know how we are valued. It is alot less expensive for the company to keep the customers (including the employees) by investing back into the stores and keeping them. It is very expensive to try to lure people in, and near impossible to attract customers (including retirees and ex employees) to come back when they have been mistreated. I believe the latter is a big problem for them, that they choose not to address.

Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 79

RIGHT ON !!!!

HA numbers are going to be down....that's the industry trend.
But to help Sears keep on top, give Associates what they REALLY need....

- Have pricing that's PROactive instead of REactive.

- Have a computer register system that wasn't outdated 15 years ago.

- Improve home delivery.

- Give customers a phone number to call that get's them directly to HA at the store, not some Support Center, God knows where, that give's them misinformation.

The problem with all of this is that it would cost the company money.

It's cheaper and easier to blame lost sales on the fact that an Associates Blue Book isn't up to planogram, or that this dryer should be here instead of there.

Sears is losing good, experienced, productive Sales Associates because of bad pressured management at the store level beating them up....

THAT'S the downfall of Sears.

Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 222

This very same topic and all the same points have all been brought up and discussed on this very board for years.

Sears management will never get it. There is no way/no hope for them to get it. Everyone - employees and customers need to cut their losses and dissolve their relationship with this company.

Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Posts: 36

its obvious they are grasping for straws when, they first advertised the shit out of the appliance promise,and that failed, so now its the christmas club scam. These two programs are just horrible, instead of attacking with in stock merchandise , and professional people on the floor. and the best parts and service department in the world there is another spot we need to focus.

Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 78

Sears has trained (most of) the associates to blame lost sales on the customers not buying in to all the methods, fine print and astericks that they have developed over time. One recent example was when I went to Sears to check on tires. I knew they would probably be more than anywhere else going in. But the reason I went was that in the morning paper there was a buy 3 get one Bridgestone so I thought maybe it might be worth concidering. When I asked about that deal the sales associate and mgr knew nothing about it. Then they said it must start the next day or whatever. ( i know-same old story) So I got that part from my past experience in BC (retired). But the associates comment was " customers just never read the dates to know when sales start" Of course I know all the reg markdown pressure and all but nevertheless a customer responds to an ad goes out of his way to shop at sears because of what he saw and its bad enough he's refused the price but is made to look foolish on top of that. Sears spends millions to get you to respond and get it the store just to be dissapointed. Well, of course my new tires from somewhere else are installed and I am good with that. I told (no anger) the associate that Sears has done a great job in running off customers and losing sales. Much like my days with the HA tear sheet crap that Lowes just loved to see customers holding as they came in. Cha-Ching---money in the bank to them. They flew the whole country bc mgrs to Chicago to introduce this Titanic event. By the way, my tire purchase was so pleasant. No Bull just good quick service price plus tax, no surprises.

Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 319 Location: Chicago Il.

You said idiots, you meant IDIOTS

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 546

I also think one of the declines of selling Kenmore appliances is that they are no longer all the good Whirlpool appliances of the past. Now there is that crappy Kenmore Elite LG products. I have a KE french door refrigerator that was a gift 2 years ago. This thing is only 3 years old and now I have to keep the freezer temp on -6 in order to not have my food partially unthawed. The problem is that I'm also having an ICE build up inside the freezer. After doing some investigative the seals on the LG french doors just are not up to par. I make certain that the doors are all closed as securely as possible. This just pisses me off that a fridge isn't lasting more than 3 years. Since this was a gift I'm certain that the protection plan that was purchased isn't valid at all on this puppy. Let me know.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 6309

It IS the SOS . And part of the reason it is the SOS is that when the ESL crew took over they failed to eliminate or reduce much of the problem in the form of VPs . Number one Sears Roebuck was over loaded with useless mid to upper level management that was just killing time til retirement . It is this same management that harped the SOS like PAs and credit rather than the customer and employee treatment AND of course the pesky things called detail & consequence .

Those VPs should have been ripped out of Sears like a surgeon cutting out a heart transplants patient's heart . They knew just enough to be dangerous yet be totally useless at the sametime . It is these inbreds that trained their replacements in the classic Sears professional pen/buearucratic fashion .

So what you had/have is a chain of command playing swimming cat management . So that same swimming cat management not only ignores the store level employee but they blame them for management failures by dinging associated for scissors on a cart . Even worse that same swimming cat management contaminated the ESL crew replacements who are not enlightend enough to know any different .

But then again this isn't about retail it is about internal political agendas - the S O S .

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