Has anyone else had store managers pushing the message that Sears is doing fine? My store manager today even said that all stores are going through the same difficulties and named Home Depot and Lowes as two that are "suffering" and when you walk in is like a ghost town. Yet while their stocks has its little hiccups they are still growing. It feels like management is trying to treat the people on the floor like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed BS
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cmon is this really a question? why would a manager want any kind of dissent or grumblings with their associates. of course they're going to shelter them.
Whether the management (SM or otherwise) is out of touch with what's happening. Or they talked themselves into thinking everything is rosy. You still have to talk and act like it's business as usual - even if it's not not true at all. Even if the end is coming and there's not much left that can be done to save the company.
Years ago, I worked a mall anchor store that had a ton of problems. When asked about the flurry of plywood fronted spaces appearing in the mall, our esteemed manager assured us that the mall was doing
"Remodeling".
This sort of thing has been going on for decades, and is not just a Sears thing.
And yes, the mall eventually saw the business end of a wrecking ball.
In fact we had a "team meeting" where my manager called me out, PERSONALLY, as independently wealthy in front of everyone. So now I am the problem? I have always that you need to have money and no debt in order to be able to afford to work at Sears. I am an assistant manager and my people rallied around me.
You need to understand that I see the numbers and I asked for a raise. I have control of the operation because if I leave they will all leave. There was discussion afterwords and all of my people rallied around me. This happened because I asked for a raise I would leave.
Sun Tzu said.
I told them that we need to do a good job for personal pride and not for eddie.
The SM of your store has drank the company kool aid way to many times. Depending on how close your SM is to you (friend family or other) an intervention my be needed.
It seems our store manager is on happy pills,he is always so enthusiastic about everything,but I guess he has to be that way in front of associates. But you can never say a thing negative or never post anything on Pebble anymore unless it is how wonderful everything is at Sears.
Some days there is only so much you can take about getting credit, shop your ways,and pas.
You hear that same sort of BS from Lampert and his fans. They want to believe the problems are in the retail industry and not specific to SHC. That way management escapes responsibility. Times are challenging in retail, for sure. It's a tough business. But Sears is like the Titanic with Ahab as captain, while Lowes, Home Depot etc. are just working through choppy waters. Those companies will be around many years after SHC is done.
Sears is very competitive, they offer the following amazing discounts
no associate stock
no profit sharing
no 401k
no company paid insurance
no paid sick time
no associate discount
no sign on bonus
no evals
no raises
no bonuses
mostly part time only
7 dollars per hour
The lowes by the kmart by my way does more on a single Saturday than what kmart does in a month
It's management's job to dispense the kool-aid. If they told you the truth that the company was sinking fast they would be putting their jobs on the line sooner than they already are. I doubt they actually believe what they are selling to you. Our regional HR still tries to tell me that $1600 a month to insure me and my spouse, 401k suspended for 7 years and loss of salary sick days are all in line and competitive to other companies.
Bull s--- the Home Depot down the road from my Kmart store does more in their garden shop on a bad day then my entire Kmart does over several days and that's just ONE department in ONE store! Get real
All of the sudden our local Kmart has gone from a whopping 10-12 cars in the parking lot to 2-3. Literally, 2-3 cars the last few times I've driven by. I'm not seeing the same at Lowes or Home Depot.
When I left a few weeks ago my store manager fed us that bs. The difference between home depot and lowes is that those companies are doing well and aren't going anywhere.