How is moral in your stores?

Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 8

I haven't had the privilege to work in other Lowes stores, but everyone from the Zone's down hate working at this store. I've had an employee tell me that she comes in 10 minutes early for her shift everyday so she has time to cry in her car before coming into the store. We've had people working for Lowes over 12 years just quit, often in the middle of a shift saying that they've had it. My department isn't particularly bad but it is difficult working in a store where there is so much tension and gloom in the air, it just makes you depressed. This all seems like it happened in the last 3-4 months with no significant change in management. Is anyone else seeing this? Are corp. policies to blame? It seems like everyone is being ordered to do three times as much as anyone is capable of doing and when you fall short they write you up. How is it out there in other stores?

Joined: 04 Oct 2006 Posts: 43

It happened at my old store. Everyone is looking to leave and transfer to a new store.

Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 50

At the store I am at, morale is very low also. The usual manning to the bare minimum and as it was said, doing the work of three people. If a person (one not fixed to a desk) does not want to work, they simply hide as many do. The bare manning is just the result of "profit taking" managers looking for a better bonus and numbers. And of course, the easiest way to boost profits is to cut manpower or hours of those who are left working. Most of the "below mangement" level are looking for better jobs, but in my area, they do not exist. Even some management level people are looking elsewhere for employment. Now, to boost morale even further, the resident HR asshole (who thinks he is a god), has put out the "executive" decree that on Sunday , all part-time and seasonal employees will not work. All part-timers will be cut back to 20 hours and seasonal will get less, if any, hours. As for the other part of morale boosting, we have several ZM's who are on the god-like level also. They have had so many complaints against them, a book could be written from them. Complaints are of customer and employee origin. If you are a proficient liar, you will thrive in this store. For Lowes, and many other companies, morale is described as this: "degrade and humiliate is our goal, for that is what morale is all about". Lowes is out to make money, not friends. Thumbs Up

Joined: 07 Jul 2003 Posts: 90

why in the world would someone come to work early, just to be able to sit in the parking lot and cry???? sounds like a personal problem going on there

Our store has been having trouble FINDING people to hire. There is so much crap in unicru, that you must weed though that, If we could find them, we would hire fifteen people TODAY. Can't find them. So the people that work here are overwhelmed. Retail is hard, no secret there.

Joined: 19 Oct 2003 Posts: 2556

They will find the bodies for those positions, ice cream dippers hamburger flippers and the like will become "Sales Specialist" and used car salesmen and truckers will be zone managers! Surprised

Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 10

Morale at my store is super low. No one is crying in the parking lot, instead they're crying in the store managers office when they get reamed by the new, angry and worthless SM. I thought him getting mad at me for that whole availability on Sunday mornings thing was bad, he screamed at our LNS for not striping the mulch and garden soils from top to bottom. And he's screamed at my other specialists for not striping the interior doors. It's hard to stripe items that aren't equal in amounts with each other.

I don't know if its the "failing" economy causing Lowe's to maximize profits and cut costs by keeping everyone scared and "straightening things out" in stores that are making lower dollar amount sales. People in my store are finding other jobs and quitting without notice, and it's hurting us as well as the store. I've had 7 people in the past three days say "I'm going to Home Depot" because there's no one in the departments. I just stopped trying and just respond with an "okay" and walking away.

I was talking to the Millwork spec at my old store, he told me they fired the other millwork specialist at that old store and somehow he found out the day before, so he went into M20 and changed all the Open window quotes. Just made every window an inch bigger. within a month stretch there were 65 SOS returned windows sitting in the main aisle on blue carts with clearance tags on them. talk about a huge hit. Before this summer, when an employee knew he was on the way out, he'd steal a few utility knives or something.

My main thing is treat people with respect, like adults. We don't need to be yelled at. If the current SM talked to me like that when we were anywhere other than at Lowe's, he'd better have decent self defense skills or a good lawyer.

Joined: 04 Feb 2008 Posts: 50

Sales at the store I am at is doing very well. But they are still cutting hours. They even handed papers last week wanting to know our opinion on "how the morale is in the store". Most were afraid to admit morale is very low for fear of being "found out and fired" (these papers were to be submitted anonomously). One ZM even cautioned to put only good scores on the paper even though that is not the case. Doh!

Joined: 19 Oct 2003 Posts: 2556

Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 4 Location: us

This has been a touchy subject at my store. Moral all the way from the store manager to parking lot sweepers is down.
True that our job has some to due with it, but i think also the outside factors play a big role.
My store dropped two tiers in months, now our store has only 4 people to a deptment. This as we all know creates all kinds of problems.
Also the employees that have been employeed with lowes for a long time are set in their ways and do not want to adapt to the new circumstances.

Our store even took outside people to raise moral awarness.
Still moral is very low. Sad

Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 1

Hey guys, first post here. I have been reading this forum and finally signed up. I know what most of you guys are feeling. The moral at my store basically sucks. We have a tyrannical store manager who makes coming to work hell if you arent part of his "group". Hell if your not part of that group that controls everything in the store, your always having a bad day lol. But the store manager, I can't stand the guy. I had hurt my back the week before Memorial Day, wasnt anything major, just strained something so my back was a little sore. He thought I did it because I wanted to get the weekend off.

I came in the next day because I wanted to show him that in fact I didnt want the day off and I can work through the pain lol. I was a Flooring SS at the time. That morning I opened with my team lead. We were in Millwork talking to their SS and team lead, and this is before the store opened. The SM came over and yelled at us yelling at me to get back to go to Outside Garden and work and then said "Oh wait, your back is hurting right? Why don't you take a seat in Flooring, I don't want you "straining" anything." I mean seriously? When you act like that to your employee's there is something wrong with you.

But basically moral at my store is low because of our Store Manager, nothing we can do about it though.

sorry the post was so long lol.

Joined: 18 Jul 2008 Posts: 24 Location: Maryland

You have to understand the culture and mentality of the managers at Lowe's, where they're coming from and most importantly, where they are going. Lowe's purports to seriously care about all their employees, but the trickle-down effect from Regional management to District management to the store level belies this. All the upper-level managers at Lowe's care about are (1) their jobs and (2) their bonuses. They could care less about you as an employee. All you are is a sales number. Remember, most of these guys (and gals) are Walmart and Target rejects. If you can tolerate Lowe's perverted management style and some of the absolute bozos they bring on board as managers, you can survive. My career has spanned several entry management and upper management positions at various trade Associations and the retail environment, including Lowe's. Lowe's management styles across the board are the worst I've ever encountered. Sad, but true. Try to hang in there and with the 401(k) program and stock buys (even in this tough market time) you'll end up pretty well off.

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