For those that don’t know, a spiff allowance was a stipend for those of us that were once on commission, in 2012 they ended the program.
They took our 2011 commission and cut it in half and divided that among our paychecks.
For example: I made $38,000 in 2011 in spiffs, they gave me $19,000 divide that up is $730 per paycheck extra as an allowance.
We were told that we would get that until we go salary, corporate or quit.
I have been speaking to a lawyer concerning a lawsuit against lowes. This lawyer recieved information from lowes stating we all signed an arbitration agreement stating we can not sue and must arbitrate. I do not recall ever signing an arbitration agreement. If anyone else has any info concerning this I would like to get your opinion
@36mzw true but they lie so much I do not trust anything anymore
It was promised as long as we worked for Lowe’s...period.
We were hired for our knowledge and experience. Vendors paid the commission not Lowe’s.
First of all spiffs and commissions were given to all employees in selling departments full or part time. Actually, corporate still receives money from the appliance vendors. We were told,the reason that commissions and spiffs were ending was to be able to lower the price to our customers.(I knew that was b—s—). When I started selling appliances and I still am today(part time) we were making more money than most of the ASM's. Everybody wanted to be in the appliance dept. the only way to get there was if someone was fired or quit.
If you are still trying to find the letter sent by corp. go to connections on lowesnet select spiffs or allowances,you can download it from there.
This will force people to leave again. It's all about reducing payroll
This is not the same Lowe's that I and many others help build into a real player in this industry.Smoke and mirrors with their push for Pro business.JLQ remember that already going down the drain.Marvin is not a visionary in this business,he is more like Gordon Gecko from wall street.
I think it is sad that there are those of you that agree with the allowance being stopped. I feel bad for you that you can be so uncaring. There was a reason we were getting the allowance and it wasn’t an excuse to sit around and do nothing. I’m sorry if some associates were taking it for granted but that is not the case with all of us. I worked hard to learn product knowledge and take care of customer’s needs. And half my pay was taken away when they stopped spiffs. There were people that had just been put in the position of specialist and didn’t expect to lose the spiffs that lost there homes because they did t qualify for the allowance because they hadn’t been in the position 6 months. So I felt pretty relieved that part of it was compensated for and I continued to do my job. Now that compensation is gone. I just hope that Heaven forbid they decided to cut your position or your pay that you will understand then
An assault on any employee compensation
Is an assault on all employee compensation.
What’s next, everyone takes a 10% loss of pay, bear a 50% increased percentage on medical coverage, 2 weeks paid vacation after 15 yrs, 3 weeks after 20, no annual raise?
Bring on the robots! Work them 24/7.
When they wear out they can be sold for sc-ap.
Maybe it’s time for a union. Not that I want to pay dues for my job .
Or a staged day sick out.. one day of sick out will definitely hurt the pockets of the greedy.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lowes-layoffs-2019-retailer-spent-billions-on-share-buybacks-zero-on-severance-for-laid-off-workers/
My heart goes out to all of the families affected by this change. I for one have found out this past week that my husband that has been working for Lowe's for 20 plus years and that has always been top in sales, no matter what he got paid, will be losing another $15,000 plus per year in pay. We already took one hit years ago and now we run the risk of losing our home at our age, all within three years of when he could retire. Disgusting what corporate greed does to a company! There are so many amazing people that have been loyal to the company and work hard and now they don't want to pay those people but instead treat them like dirt. They continually want to pay less and bring in people that do not care about making it a career, but instead a stepping stone to something else...a revolving door of employees. All for the better of the stockholders.
Someone must post this on another thread...
"I have seen this before and at office I heard them say that the allowance is going away because the position is going away and this is the reason they aren't worried about lawsuits!! Their going to do more cuts its inevitable its quantity vs quality for them now."
I retained a lawyer that accepted the case. It's going to take a few months to get an answer on either single or class action. If it goes through it's going to be in the hundreds of millions dollar payout. The company would have been better off paying us for 1year lump sum for the allowance.
One last note, we kind of socialist bs is it for a ceo to limit the amount of $$$ you can invest in your own company. Kind of suspicious. 🧐
To all you naysayers that think it is entitlement, karma will bite you in the a$$ I promise. Y’all have not been thru c-ap compared to ya veterans. We are the reason you have a job to come to. So by saying we are “entitled” go bite yourself, put in 20 plus years and last 6 with out a raise and then see if your dreamland opinion changes. As far as Marvin, he preaches his love of god and whatever, if that’s so he wouldn’t take away from livelihood of his employees while making $7.5 million plus. Then on top of that looks misinformed after first quarter conference call, stock price tanks then buys 90,000 shares. Sounds like insider trading🧐. If there should be any pays cuts it should start with those that have k–led our company. Drop the 🎤.
I can't find the original contract anywhere! If you have it you should make it public. Maybe then we'd have a leg to stand on for a lawsuit! Lowe's finds a way to f*** over their tenured associates every few years. I've stuck with them through thick and thin but this makes it hard for allot of us! In 2012 they cut out salaries $14000+ now they are taking away what little bit we had to stay afloat. I am trying to stay positive but I'm terrified. To all of you who say good about this- I hope your yearly salaries are never cut so you don't have to know what it's like to worry about how your going to support your family, keep your vehicles, and your home!!! It's a big deal for those of us who were told we'd get this for the rest of our careers at Lowe's provided we didn't quit or go salary! Marvin doesn't care about his employees- he cares about the money in his pocket!!!
yes i have a copy of the original change notification dated the day of change went into effect. like everyone else i heard the " we pay less but you have a great opportunity to earn much more with our spiff and bonus programs......
Class action and blow up media folks, Lowes needs to lose out on this one or the "improvements" will continue. The employees that just got screwed are the ones that know archaic systems they've been forced to deal with for years, train newbies when Lowes gives them zero, and have a long term vested interest and have tried to make a career throughout the ups and downs of Lowes. Those clapping about this need some introspection, increase compassion and decrease your jealousy, it just makes you a nasty person. Gotta go talk with a realtor now about selling my home please excuse me...
Bottom line is, what were we promised? Just as everyone has said, we were told numerous times that we would get 50% of what we made in commissions the previous year and the only way it would stop is is we went salaried, corporate, or quit the company. They did that because many of us were making more in commissions than our salary and they knew that probably 90% of us would have left Lowe’s if they just chopped our pay in half. So we didn’t demand that offer, they made that offer to us. They should have to be held to what they promised us.
I joined Appliances in my second year with the company, and was excited at the prospect until I learned a) that the "old guard", the veterans who had sold appliances for years, resented a new arrival and made my joining the department a misery, and b) that this same old guard, who sat around chatting and joking made substantially more than I did, AND, in addition, were receiving SPIFF allowances on the order of $500 - $800 per paycheck!
To put it another way, these asshats were making double what I did, and doing half the work. I'm not sorry to see the SPIFF allowance go away, because it had become a real source of irritation.
To those who are heartbroken at the loss of pay, may I offer the same advice they gave me when I complained about their lack of effort and my c-appy schedule: "If you don't like it, get another job..."
What goes around comes around, fellas.
If there is a class action lawsuit how will people be notified? Will we still have to be employed by Lowe’s to get in on it? The change has forced me to seek out other jobs and I May have landed one already starting September 1st.
Marvin since he came to Lowes has been taking us down the Home Depot ROAD he's all about him it doesn't effect his pocket. He new when he came in about allowances I ask the store manager about compensation taking this away also his reply it's not all that bad He said Marvin had our best interest at HEART YA RIGHT
Looks like someone is going to file a class action lawsuit–and based on the language of the document we were all asked to sign I think odds are good there will be a settlement–Nothing was stated that due to change of leadership the agreement would be null and void–My guess is that although Lowes cannot be forced to continue the payments they promised they will be held accountable to settle for damagaes
For those of you who say it’s not fair... when we were hired in as Appliance specialists we were given lower hourly rates than other specialists in the store. There where specialists making 18+ an hour while we made $12 or $13 so when our spiffs were cut and the allowance was given we still only ended up around $15 to $17 an hr. All newer employees were also ran through the pay rate advisor and were hired on at higher pay rates than we were. So now that it’s being cut, the other specialist don’t loose a penny and no increase to our base pay how is that fair?
Corporate greed!
I have been with Lowe's over 14 years and I'm among those who were notified yesterday that I'm will lose my $20k a year allowance. Does anyone have any documented promise from Lowe's or a link to information on the allowance being paid as long as you don't take a salaried position or leave the company? I can't seem to find this information just like there is no documented information on the allowances being taken away. Looks like Lowe's has gone strictly verbal on notifying associates that they're taking away the promised allowances.
Anyone not affected by this announcement would never understand. I'll break it down elementary style for all you clueless folks. If you were hired to do a job at a certain rate, and you are performing your job up to company standards then you should receive the agreed upon rate. Now let's say the company has since determined that they expect you to do the same job, but is cutting your agreed upon hourly rate because it's better for the bottom line. Will you be okay with that? I'm just wondering what personal sacrifices the new Lowes CEO is making to increase the bottom line?? Is he giving up his 12 million dollar bonus because it'll increase Lowe's bottom line. Is he cutting his annual salary by half because it benefits the company, that's exactly what he is doing to the employees ?? Or is it just okay to make the hard working employees the sacrificial lambs?! You know, the people actually making the company money! Lowe's spun it like they were doing their employees a favor by cutting their pay in half in 2012. The letter actually said that they know how difficult it is to budget our money from paycheck to paycheck due to fluctuating sales. They said to that they were doing us a favor by taking away spiffs. This way we would know exactly how much our check would be. They called it an allowance, treated us like children... An allowance? Don't do us any more favors! You always cost us money when you do! Marv, you are a greedy sob! You'll get what's coming to you. I hope you lose everything, just like the thousands of people you are screwing over.
This money still isn't coming away from the profit of the sales and services of Lowes goods. This money comes from the Appliance vendors still per piece sold. Still not going to the stores coverage just like when spiffs went away Appliance cost was suppose to drop so lowes could make more margin dollars. It didn't and that's a fact.
Workers have agreed to the terms at the time they were hired. Management should honor those commitments they promised they would. Is it fair. No. Nothing is. But for those who this effects the most are those who have been there the longest.
A company that competes with Depot and others and always shows a profit should share the wealth. What about PSE’s and their spiffs and commission? How about the kick back on selling cabinets? Should they loose their incentive? Fair is fair. Right?
I’ve been reading the comments about the topic of Spiffs and Commissions and the removal of the Allowance when the program was stopped. I’ve worked for Lowe’s for over 17 years now and when I hired in I was hired as an Appliance Sales Specialist. Why was I hired in as a Specialist, due to my experience as an Appliance Salesperson. When I hired in, I was told that I would be paid an hourly rate in addition to Spiffs and Commissions that I would receive for selling appliances. Those Spiffs and Commissions were not paid to myself or any other specialist by Lowe’s but by the Appliance Companies themselves for selling their appliances. I worked my butt off for the company during my time because yes it benefited myself but also to offset the money I lost for every hour I worked past 40 in my store since I was required to work 50 hours per or longer IF I was told to by management or as I was told on numerous occasions by management that I could be kept longer than anyone else due to the fact is was considered Salary! I sold appliances, loaded appliances, put up trailer loads of appliances because in my store it Wasn’t the receiving departments job, it was mine. Also, if someone was Needed to ride along on delivery, then it was my responsibility since “You sold them, You can help deliver them, so most Saturdays, I was told to ride along on delivery. So did I deserve my pay, you’re damn right I did. The funny thing, whenever there was a need for a new person in Appliances, and they posted a position, what did we hear CRICKETS! People wanted to get the extra money but didn’t want to be tied to appliances to have to do all the “Extras”. So when I was told in 2012 that the program was being cut in order to negotiate better pricing from the Appliance Vendors and to “Help me better Budget my pay” it hurt, but I pushed through, I did my job because I was told I would get the “ Allowance “ for as long as I worked for Lowe’s, as long as I didn’t take a salaried position. I persevered, I overcame, I stuck with the company, not just because of the “Allowance” as to me, it became a side thought, a small reward for all the work I had done before. But now to read that not only are they going to take that from me, the “Allowance” that I was told in the beginning that I would retain until I left the company, I also hear the buttheads b–ching and moaning because they didn’t get it and that Specialists were “Entitled” is 100% BULLCOOKIES. I worked my a– off for that Allowance and by all that’s holy, I Damn Well Deserve It! To the neighsayers that think I along with the other Specialists didn’t deserve it, until you’ve walked to the same miles in the same shoes that I did, I DONT WANT TO HEAR IT,
Promise.
Promise.
Break that promise.
Liars!
This will not affect anyone that was hired after 2010
I do not agree with the CEO on everything but I do agree that spiffs should go. How can you grow as a company when you are paying one associate pretty much what another associate recieves in 2 weeks because of tenure ? Time to move on .
People complaining about spiffs are the entitled that are receiving them .
They should of cut out this spiff c-ap a long time ago. No wonder this company is in the state it is in. No one should get spiffs period.
No socialism here
Welcome to socialism. There are no favorites, everyone is equal no matter how hard you work.
Welcome to socialism. There are no favorites, everyone is equal no matter how hard you work.
So what you’re saying is you still get money now for your efforts years ago?
Pretty sweet! How do I get in on this gravy train?
Cap was $900