There is SO MUCH pressure to make credit I don't know where to begin. Those of us who are in management have to post on Pebble on an HOURLY basis with updates on credit. The district managers seem to do nothing but troll the Pebble page that they have set up just for credit. They don't want to hear that the store was slow, or that associates are trying their best, or that we (managers) are coaching them. They want credit apps to roll in.
I have coached until I can't coach anymore. We've had a credit specialist from Citibank visit our store for "classes". We have done everything we can. Yet it's the same old story. Customers just want to pay for their stuff. They don't want to be told how Sears wants them to pay. When I do observations and coaching and help the associate to encourage customers to apply, they are almost uniformly insistent on saying no. In fact, at one point, I almost had to call the police on this one guy...apparently we touched a nerve and he flipped out, pushing over a merchandiser display on his way out the door, yelling obscenities.
In addition to our conference calls, emails and Pebble posts, district managers are calling the store and speaking with random associates that aren't doing well in credit. We've already lost a long-time softlines associate that was a part of their harassment. She came into the office and cried because she feels that she is "no good" in Sears eyes just because she is having a rough month in credit and they reamed her for it.
I am almost at my breaking point. This company is beyond unbelievable.
Come to think of it, I honestly think the intense pressure is a tactic of attrition. Instead of the hassle and expense of laying off tens of thousands of associates, they pressure them into leaving on their own accord.
Think about it, the company is in its final stages -- they have to get rid of everyone somehow.