Thread regarding Sears layoffs

Foolish Strategies

All you have to do to save Sears is sell every oil change customer 4 tires, a brake job, a satellite radio subscription, an alignment, a diehard battery, and maintenance programs for all of the above. Do this consistently with 90% of the customers for a year and you will a receive a 2% raise, payable in SYWR points...

It's really sad that the misguided focus on "maintenance programs" continues right to the end. The company went off track decades ago when they started making maintenance agreements more important than total sales. Do they even provide basic training on the products themselves? I guess it doesn't matter much now, because the foolish strategies will soon result in bankruptcy.

by
| 942 views | | 3 replies (last December 20, 2016) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+KUppvYn

3 replies (most recent on top)

Around the early 1980's things started getting tough for Sears and they had two choices. Either they could figure out what customers wanted and invest in new ways of doing business. Or they could keep doing things pretty much exactly as they had done in the past and try to squeeze more dollars out of customers with maintenance agreements, coupon books, credit plans, e.t.c.. And at the same time squeezing dollars out of employees with pay and benefit cuts. We know which direction they went and where it's going to finally end up in the next few months.

It's too bad no one in authority had the vision and guts to directly compete with Home Depot and Lowes. Sears could still be a major force in retail if they hadn't sat back and done nothing while the world changed around them.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @2rir+KUppvYn

The fantastic Die Hard Edge 360 program? That online training was painful with "Joe" in his fancy sales area. Can I just have some batteries to sell please? I am out of group 78 gold and silver so I sold an older 78 AGM for the same price as a gold. I over rode many other battery prices to match online prices.

Restock came late today, (a Monday, not normal) and I received ten batteries and a couple of odd ones at that.(151R Silver??? I still have about five of those) Like a 124R gold. What? I did get at least four 65 golds so we can keep the Ford trucks running.

Thanks for the ten batteries. It has been very cold here and we even had -26F yesterday. I am out of many common battery sizes.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @2zcu+KUppvYn

I very much agree with this. I worked in auto in the 70s-80s, when they first started pushing coupon books and lifetime alignments. I had a customer walk out on me because she was so sick of being asked about all that stupid stuff.

Then it became such a chore to buy appliances because they pushed MAs so hard. At least Best Buy makes them fairly cheap and they don't push hard.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @1yfe+KUppvYn

Post a reply

: