Was anyone else there today? I have a lot less confidence in our transformation after seeing our new leadership team. Several of them need basic public speaking training. If we are putting all out eggs in the technology basket, then we're in trouble.
25 replies (most recent on top)
If you aren't going to invest the money in fixing all the tech issues, it's almost a moot point. You're hiring people who think they are going to make a difference but, without the funding putting a band-aid on it won't fix it. We constantly have issues with technology since the layoffs and it seems to only get worse. Sears should have invested in technology a long time ago.
Appreciate the honesty....I get it. I too dont think the discount should have been stopped for store associates. Do it to us in corporate but do both points and discount for the store associates.
Truth be told I haven't bought anything from Sears or Kmart since they took out our employee discount. So now I do shop around for good deals and most of the time it's not with Sears or Kmart. Working for this company right now and the pay isn't that good so you have to manage what you have. I would love to help support the company but with the money they pay and the bills I have shopping at Sears or Kmart isn't in my budget.
Why are you on this forum if you arent a Sears Holdings associate? That is kind of strange to me.
Believe what you wish. Those of us out here in the real world get it.
No c suite executive is a recruiter term. I always chuckle at it as it is pompous sounding. It is really sad that you have to keep trying to insult me.....it wont work. I have never heard someone who is in that position use that term. Why are you so unhappy that you feel you need to insult someone who shops at Sears? Would you like to know what cars I drive too as then your thought process wont work as according to you based on the cars I drive I shouldnt shop at Sears. It is just kind of funny. I shop at Sears and have no issue with it as I am loyal to where I work. Not everything is great there, but I buy what I can. I also shop at jcp and have shopped at Nordstrom too for certain things.....like pants. I shop everywhere as no I cant find everything at Sears.....but I am not embarrassed by the fact I shop at Sears and try to find what I can.
The observation that the SHC C-suite set doesn't shop at Sears goes back over ten years. In fact, our former CEO, Aylwin Lewis, had a snit fit over the situation as described in this article from 2005.
http://www.retailwire.com/discussion/sears-ceo-demands-loyalty/
"Who even says c suite executive anyways?"
People in the modern business world. Understandable its not a term someone who shops at Sears would understand.
I'd gladly buy my clothing from Sears. I used to love it. But the last few items I bought (all the Simply Styled stuff), didn't survive their first wear amd wash. All were returned as defective. Used to buy all my shoes at Sears, too, but the selection is so small now I just never see anything come in that I actually like. I don't make enough money to buy from Sears simply because I want to support the company I work for; I need to get use/value from what I buy. Unfortunately our merchandise quality has gone severely downhill.
It really isnt worth arguing over who does or doesnt shop at Sears. I do as I work for the company. Who even says c suite executive anyways? I only said it as someone else did. I dont know why we are guessing the type of cars people drive either....oftentimes those that buy the flashiest cars arent the wealthiest. I dont know why some people delight in saying such nasty things. Why are people so upset?
You obviously just don't get it. The kind of person that shops at Sears or Kmart is either retired or doesn't have the skills to do these jobs. C-suite execs and their families shop far more upscale places than Sears and Kmart.
I'm in my mid-40's. No one I know shops at Sears or Kmart. My late-60's mother hasn't shopped at Sears since they screwed her over on appliances in the 1980's. My low-income, 80 year old mother in law stopped shopping at Kmart because its "so dirty there." My lower income brother in law don't shop there. None of my higher-income inlaws or siblings shop there. None of our friends shop there.
Really its pretty clear no one shops there since there's often just <10 cars in the parking lots of the nearest Sears and KMart. And they aren't the kinds of cars C-suite execs drive.
I agree with hiring people who shop the company. I was dismayed to hear the managers in my region proudly saying that they don't shop Sears much and forget about them entering KMart. This unfortunately is a from the top down behavior.
How are we supposed to care, if they don't? Even Eddie with his wife & the shorts showed that he doesn't purchase from his own company usually.
THIS means they shop the competition.
It's disappointing.
@2mmb I don't understand the need for sarcasm here, but if it makes you feel better, then I do excuse it. I was just saying it is a blanket statement when someone says no one in their 40's buys from Sears. I didn't say Sears was doing well. I know we have our challenges.
I am continually surprised by how many people on this forum are SO unhappy and SO sarcastic or nasty. If I was that unhappy, I would have quit the company years ago. It would be nice to have this be a forum where people can share their thoughts and their concerns in a more friendly way, but I guess that's not possible.
@2yqj you are right. That's why the company is thriving.
Most of Sears and Kmart shoppers are low income, and others put items on layaways when they know damn well that they can't pay the whole layaway off and others try to rely on their "points" to pay for items. Nobody will be a big ticket item from Sears or Kmart or nobody who has a lot of money will buy from them.
I beg to differ as I am in my 40's. I work for Sears, so I make it a point to buy whatever I can at either Sears or Kmart. I find things for my family too here. And yes C suite executives do shop at Sears and Kmart, and they should.
A 40 year old likely has worked with emerging technologies for his whole career. He has probably been using a computer for roughly the same amount of time as the 60 year old and probably by high school was doing innovative stuff. He doesn't think of the Internet or e-commerce as new. A career Sears worker hasn't been working with innovative technology since the early 80's.
C-suite executives don't shop at stores like Sears and KMart. Neither do 40 year olds.
I think it's really hard to "judge" what a person can/can't do and what knowledge they do/don't have based on age. I don't think anyone should discriminate against anyone in their 40's as that means they have say 18 years of experience which is a good amount of experience. On the flip side, you could have a very tech savvy 60 year old who keeps up on everything. All we need is a person who believes in Sears and shops at Sears for our executive. I can't stand when we hire folks who don't shop at Sears and/or Kmart. And yes, I understand what the store associates are saying that sometimes they don't due to pricing but a top executive can DEFINITELY afford to buy as much as possible at either Sears and/or Kmart. That should be the gage.....Eddie should pull from time to time the top executives SYW accounts and see if they are really shopping with us or not.
A 40 year old CIO probably has more relevant technical expertise for the real world than a 60 year old career Sears worker. You must be mistaken as this would almost sound like a GOOD move on Eddie's part.
The new 'temp' CIO is barely older than my son... a very young looking man, think he said he was 40 years old. I have been here going on 24 years... it's hard to take any of them seriously, we have had so many CIO's over the last 10 years I can't even remember... maybe 5 or 6? They all say the same thing, "we are going to modernize our systems". Problem is we don't have any money to replace what needs to be done. Each CIO has a different idea of how to do it and as soon as he starts a new direction, Eddie fires him and plugs in another executive. A constant revolving door. If I wasn't so close to retirement I would be out of here. Another year and I can leave this madness and do something else. I will say it, if you are in your 30's or 40's... get out now while you can. Don't wait for the ax to fall on you.
Yes, I usually post serious remarks, but this post made me laugh.
Were their names: Larry,Curley,Mo. (The three stooges?)
too little, too late
I didn't even know there was a Tech town hall.
It's too bad you can't name the speakers without running afoul of the moderators. Wondering if it's anyone I know.