What would you do? List a decision or two...
11 replies (most recent on top)
Don't remodel the gas stations so intensely
I think the Grimes center is leased space and would cost $$ whether occupied or vacant, so might as well try to figure out how to get the most from it. Why not ask employees for cost-saving ideas like Ron and Ric used to do? Back in the days when Hy-Vee hired and spent conservatively and never had layoffs.
Get rid of the Grimes center. Put those people back at the corp office and sell that. Do shortcut fruits in the stores again and let the stores do fresh sandwiches again. The stuff that gets sent is nasty and it loses freshness. And reallly..really.. is no need for district store directors. Keep the store managers .
Cut the nepotism… just because you ran a successful store in Omaha doesn’t mean you know everything about other business disciplines.
The leadership at the top prioritizes working really hard…. Doesn’t matter if it’s efficient or effective. Just hard. Anyone not fr store background that tries to bring real change to corporate and help Hy-Vee evolve is shunned and silenced. They are uncomfortable with the fact other people might be smarter in certain things. A good leader would surround themselves with the best and smartest leaders in their respective areas. Not so with Hy-Vee. They are so bloated now with operations leadership making big $$$ that they will gut other areas to protect their buddies.
It’s funny because they aren’t doing great in Minneapolis and Wisconsin…. and it’ll be the same when or if they expand in other markets. Maybe once the expand is on fails the board will finally remove the cancer at the top. Randy, Darren and the rest.
Stop forcing stores to buy way too much cr-p they don’t need. You guys keep forcing product onto the stores that don’t sell. Marks protein is a joke but you make stores take pallets of this cr-p. The warehouse should also be there to support the store not to build record profits from stores it sells too. It’s a sad day when venders come to HyVee and offer better price items that we can get at our on warehouse.
Instead of trying to make every Hy-Vee exactly the same, make concessions to the individual store’s market. In my area, for example, we are primarily blue collar and retirees. People want groceries, good customer service and value. They do not want shoes, clothing, $40 candles, $20 bottles of lotion, jewelry, $100 gift baskets or $15 Wahlburgers. I heard the mothership explain it as Hy-Vee striving to be a “destination” retailer (aka mini-Walmart). Maybe if they cut the celebrity endorsements that mean nothing, return to the diner type restaurants and dispense with the expensive cr-p no one wants or buys, and return to reasonably staffed, clean and nicely stocked stores with happier employees they could actually compete with Walmart. Before I was employed by Hy-Vee, I was seriously impressed by our local store. Now it looks like a dirty, unorganized hodgepodge, punctuated by neat racks of corporate bad decisions no one buys and a Wahlburgers that is more or less empty. Even Walmart doesn’t try to sell snow shovels in Orlando.
Keep the breakfast, lose the full service. Install order kiosks at all stores, have the “servers” only be responsible for delivering the food& drinks and busing tables. We don’t need hosts&full service servers especially in a labor crisis where service employees are hard to come by. Literally you can have the exact same “best breakfast” program, without the non profitable labor, and give a throwback to your regular breakfast crowd that you alienated when you switched to a full service dining room. There’s my 1 of 250+ ideas to improve this company.
I see some things never change. I started working at Hy-Vee when I was in the 11th Grade in the 80's and a couple of years after I graduated High School from 83-87.
I started in the Basement separating cans and Bottles $3.35/hr. Worked my way up to Night Crew Stock Lead opposite shifts than my full time counterpart who did same duties as myself yet I was still considered part time. Being Young and Naïve at the time I didn't realize the night crew chief who worked opposite shifts received benefits and incentives as full time. not knowing how to assert my self I feel I was taken advantage of. When I put in my 2wk notice prior to leaving for a better paying Job with a living wage I was told they were in the process of giving me full time. A little late I thought to myself. In the interview for the Job that I applied to asked what I would change about Hy-Vee I said the ones at the top of the Pyramid get paid the most and the ones who are doing the dirtiest and lowliest work aren't payed what they are deserved, I told them I would Pay those fiercely Loyal workers who showed up on time who were dependable what they deserved. So I can relate to all these Laid off employees and Hope Hy-Vee does the right thing by them!
Get rid of the silly shoe departments.
Sorry but Randy had to take autonomy away from the store because all of the store directors kept failing. Now he makes all of the decision for stores and he has failed big time. Time for Randy to take action and fire himself NOW.
Bring back the autonomy in stores.
End the nepotism.
Cut the fat at the top.
Invest in the workers.