Just read this on another board, looks like Lord and Taylor laid off another 30 ASMs (Operations) this month. Seems they are handing over all Assistant Store Manager’s work to hourly. Can’t say I’m surprised. Don’t know which locations affected. Does anybody have more info?
132 replies (most recent on top)
Once they sell existing stock it’s done. They will only call cheapest associates back to keep patrolling down. They LeTote is waiting to give pink slips until there are no assets left, no severance.
I am perplexed that they are not calling back associates who can sell a lot because the whole point of being open is to sell merchandise.
I guess maybe that’s not they want.
If you are a FT associate and your store is opened and you haven’t been called back by 8/1 you will never get that call. LeTote is trying to keep payroll and expenses to a minimum. They aren’t ordering new merchandise just getting rid of what they have. Why HR isn’t communicating this, they don’t want to pay severance. They will keep you on furlough until they close store.
It would be great to have the buy online and pickup in store option at Ridgewood. I would love to support my store even though it’s not easy to shop in person right now because of limited store hours and not really wanting to go out too much. Maybe other associates and customers feel the same way and would be interested in that as well.
In Ridgewood there was one manager recalled, 3 supervisors and a few of the cheapest associates. One ft associate rest part timers. The plexiglass glass is cheap not plexiglass. One might think that if Le Tote really wants to give it a go, then show you care about the health of the employees, invest in plexiglass, it would make customers more comfortable. And yes, we should have a store greeter to open doors. Let’s give customers a reason to come back.
The Ridgewood store is reopening on July 3rd!
I agree with the post below about needing better technology. We have an auto locate system on the old Saks registers that everyone knows doesn’t work. Some people disagree to tamp down on that talk, but from day one these registers pulled up the wrong item at times. Plus sometimes the SKUs don’t always match with the item when doing fulfillment. People have to call customers and ask what they ordered. Also the registers don’t have enough bandwidth. They can’t handle a slightly busy Saturday without crashing multiple times across all stores. Customers come in and say, oh, the same thing was going on at GSP!
There is an article about Lord & Taylor on Forbes.com. It was published on 6/20/20. It mentions that Ridgewood will open around 7/1/20. Has anyone gotten recalled yet?
To the founders of LeTote
When you took on Lord and Taylor you did nothing. We were promised new technology got 0. Are you in on it with Richard? You have real people finding out nothing because you communicate nothing, we have families to feed. Your Sarcastic email about lack of information is obviously not written by a real HR professional. Stores in New Jersey are opening and people are shopping. We assume you are having movers pack everything up, You Need to have a time for employees to get belongings that are inside of store! Thanks for treating us like trash.
To the founders of LeTote
When you took on Lord and Taylor you did nothing. We were promised new technology got 0. Are you in on it with Richard? You have real people finding out nothing because you communicate nothing, we have families to feed. Your Sarcastic email about lack of information is obviously not written by a real HR professional. Stores in New Jersey are opening and people are shopping. We assume you are having movers pack everything up, You Need to have a time for employees to get belongings that are inside of store! Thanks for treating us like trash.
Is Ridgewood going to open on June 15 or not? It’s not part of an indoor mall, so they can open. When are we going to be told anything by the company?
Why is Reuter’s reporting that LT will liquidate stores on reopening, but Boca is open for regular business? Why won’t Le Tote answer press requests for comments?
Why is the Instagram page up again, but comments are disabled? Is it because people can’t be bothered to do their job and review/respond to comments? They are just doing the minimum by just posting pictures? They just want to ignore issues and nice things some people take the time to say to make them go away?
Why can’t LeTote fix Lord & Taylor’s online return system to address that it takes 2 weeks to get money back? A good return process is part of selling and good customer experience. I thought Le Tote was an internet based company and they were going to grow the online business from 25 to 40 percent of sales. Was it their plan all along to let the stores keep taking the brunt of returns to just the close the stores and give their leases back to HBC?
So many years of truly bad leadership at the helm. Richard Baker has a real talent for draining businesses dry and then coming back for their real estate. Neiman Marcus should watch out.
To the last post .. Do you actually think they will bring you back full time 🤔 and give you benefits .. 😂😂😂 The answer is no... There is NO benefit to being called back .... It’s over Please Move on
Hello Le Tote
To Accurately gauge your online business you need to look properly at your online return, which many are done at the store. The practice Of Internet returns being counted Against the store that accepts the return artificially discounts the value of your store. You would rather have returns done in store because it gives your sales people the opportunity to tour that return into a sale. Also, Many customers are upset because they receive the wrong merchandise, handling these customers In store and correcting the problem Restores faith in our Brand. Free standing stores Are going to be Uniquely positioned in a post COVID-19 world. Those of us full timers who are left are capable to pull together without a store manager. Give us the opportunity to save the brand!! It will be a rough start but have some faith in the people you have left. I can speak for Ridgewood as we have very talented department managers and full timers. We don’t need all the higher up expensive management. Our staff has Is very Talented! But please don’t make us take used merchandise back.
It’s a wrap .. you will possibly go back just to shut the doors in a few months ...
Although the situation is very bleak, why don’t the new owners say something to address employees on what is being reported? Maybe it’s not the case, but not saying anything to employees makes it seem that the owners have no interest in employee concerns or the company. Have they just have given up? What is going on? Even when they acquired Lord & Taylor, there was no communication from Le Tote to employees.
It’s reported in detail that the president of Lord & Taylor and many others are gone, but no direct info from new owners about that to their employees about scaling back or a transition or anything. The official Lord & Taylor Twitter and Instagram accounts are completely gone as well without explanation. Maybe they can’t say they are definitely going to declare bankruptcy, but something to employees?
Le Tote is going to be in for an awakening when they close LT stores and keep the online business open. They are going to realize the stores have been draining their own resources to fill the gaps and fix problems from the online business for years.
How many stores spent their own dollars to rewire their register setup to make online returns easier and make in-store purchasing more difficult? How many store associates called the online platform and spent an hour to a 1.5 hours on each call on behalf of customers to solve problems with online orders? How many returns did stores take into their own inventory because customers don’t want to ship returns back and then wait 2 more weeks on top of that to be credited for their returns? How many complaints are there with the BBB about the ecom site?
The people who want to see LT close are about to get their wish. I am very unhappy to see the company go under. I wish Le Tote had been able to turn things around for us in time to weather this virus, but that didn’t happen. Now both companies are about to meet the end.
I am very lucky for my many years at Ridgewood. I will miss my coworkers and I wish everyone well!
I can tell you Ruth isn’t being forced to go to work in buildings that are closed 🤔 Disgusting company
Where are LT president Ruth Hartman and Le Tote CEO Rakesh Tondon during this time? We need corporate leadership to step forward. Ruth Hartman sent a letter to customers, but she hasn’t said anything to us workers that always strive to keep the company moving forward. That gives the wrong impression of Le Tote/Lord & Taylor culture to their workers.
It’s not right to make salaried Bergen County workers choose between their job and their health/health of loved ones. Everyone has to decide what’s best for them.
Most people would choose their health. Maybe talk one on one with the regional about their concerns or have a conference call with her with everyone. Maybe see if Garden State wants to join. Maybe ask the Bergen County Executive his expert take. He is the one that started the conversation to close the Paramus malls with the governor.
Some people might not want to say anything. That is up to them.
It’s not if.....it’s yes people are working in the closed buildings. The company doesn’t give one ounce of concern for anyone or that they are NOT following the governors rule. Shame on L&T.. Good Luck staying in business after we get through this
When I go into a nice department store, I want one person to help me from start to finish. It’s so much easier and enjoyable for me to shop that way. I don’t like bargain department stores where one person helps you in the fitting room area, another person checks you out, etc. I find it impersonal and tedious. Also I hate standing in line to buy something. My feeling is I don’t need to buy a another dress or shirt that much if I have to stand in line. If I didn’t work at Lord & Taylor, I wouldn’t be able to stand shopping there anymore.
If people are working in the store still, that needs to stop. First it’s the law that only essential workers are allowed to report to work. Essential workers are not salaried retail people. Second Bergen County has the highest number of cases in NJ, so the company should do the right thing for the health of all employees. Have everyone stay home and be safe. Third that merchandise is going to be there in June or whenever the store reopens.
At this time is t having people Work in closed buildings NOT ALLOWED according to our governor 🤔🤔🤔🤔 Why the hell would L&T have Anyone drive to a non essential job ... complete mo–ns
Someone below said if the store makes its goal it won’t close. If the goal for this year is to make last year’s numbers, that’s way too low for a store in Paramus. The store needs to do way more than last year to keep it going.
There are some very talented associates in Ridgewood!! I wish management would see this and give more some of these people opportunity. Le tote is going to need stores who wants to rent clothes in a post 19 world. I hope you all are being paid.
I wonder how long the store will be closed. Maybe months.
If they want the best, they have to pay to get the best and they don’t do that. They want the next generation of people without experience to pay them less, pay them with experience, or pay them by saying if you have time to lean, you have time to clean. Pay them on the way out by saying “it’s not personal.”
The best is people running ads from corporate to advertise that Ridgewood is closing so that the store drops in sales instead of correctly advertising the Find as the closing store. The best is people who don’t communicate with staff or or make the closing announcements 30 minutes beforehand. The best is people in charge that just want to collect a paycheck and go home. The best is people who want to let other people think or take action.
So, I say if you want a king, you make a king. If you want 40 kings, you make 40 kings. You want a store of kings, you make them.
In a post COVID 19 world, at least at the start free standing stores will definitely draw more people. Where would you rather go, mall in crowd or into single store. Now we need executive management to place best management and best associates in these stores. Not just people who are senior, the best. If we are going to come back we need to convert returns to sales. A lot of associates just take the return, how many makes the effort to get a new sale out of person returning? This is not a criticism of anyone or any store.
Ok I am at a store in NJ. I have not heard from management at all as to what is going on, do we file for unemployment? What about sick time? Where is the guidance. Not a thing. Thanks for giving a p–p about us.
It’s a difficult time for everyone, and saying “it’s not personal“ when laying people off comes off as just insensitive and unhelpful. It’s pretty personal to the people getting laid off.
Lord & Taylor should think about ways to foster growth at the store level. Cutting and cutting costs shows a concentration on loss. There is never a path to success by doing that. I think I can say that based on experience. I know families who have run their own businesses since the 1930s.
I think it would help if everyone at the store level looked at things in the spirit of growth and that thinking should come from the top down. Managers could initiate that.
Ridgewood knows the registers are there to support online returns, but are they supporting store growth? A big no for Ridgewood. Our main business is people purchasing clothes, not returning online merchandise. Yet we make people who want to buy clothes walk a mile through different departments to stand in line to buy. Likewise, 1st floor business is dresses and plus now, or returns of dresses and plus, yet no dresses and plus manager.
I’m one of those workers who was laid off this last time.
I truly believed in this store, the workers and the customers. This event with Coronavirus is just another blow for the Ridgewood store that I don’t think it can survive.
Between the terrible management and that came in and the constant returns from online is was to much for this store.
However I really hope this store will reopen but it’s doubtful.
This was such a warm and friendly store up until the last 8 months when this new management came.
They had no new ideas or any changes that would excite the customers. None of that friendly interaction with customers like the good old days.
If this store does close the only thing that is a plus will be that these online customers that used their homes as a fitting room will now have to get themselves down to the post office and return It there.
They can drag those huge boxes back UPS.
I’m sure Le Tote is going to love this.
I’m sure online business will finally get to see what we have been seeing for the longest time.
So Le Tote if you bought Lord and Taylor for our customer list, I hope you get nothing out from our customers. I hope they treat you the same way you have treated us.
I hope this new management get the same treatment that all the laid off employees got.
I will quote a current manager
“ it’s not personal”
I hope they give you the phone call that we all got about getting laid off.(couldn’t even do it in person)
I will miss my fellow workers and many that have become long time friends.
I however will not miss this management that only cared about going home early.
Everyone stay safe.
So sad that they closed the store yet force people to be in there working. Shows they have NO regard for there health or care for them! let alone not paying their hourly associates anything.. Unbelievable .
Someone has a real issue with Ridgewood, but Ridgewood rocks. Except where they put ladies underwear right up by men’s cologne on the first floor. Now that is awkward. Someone needs to rethink that whole nickel and dime store look.
Now why can’t we charge back LordandTaylor.com for these internet returns? They should pay the stores for using store resources and taking back online returns for them. LT.com wants to profit off their website and stick stores with returns. Stores don’t have to put up with that. Charge LT.com back.
Just found this site. I am at Wayne Store hourly full time service center associate. I am out of work and don’t know how I will feed my kid. Every day I take many online returns, which supports online part of business. Le Tote higher ups please throw your working poor some help.
Sorry but Le Tote was sold some magic beans by Richard Baker. If they had any chance of making this company profitable .. which was Never going to happen .. they have no chance at this point. Unfortunately they will never do the right thing and pay the employees during this time.
Hey Le Tote,
My store is closed by government order! Please pay hourly staff like Sephora. They are all over news, free advertising stores closed online open, paying effected full time hourly employees. Creates more good Will with the public. We have really all dealt with a lot. Came to work even though it was dangerous. Come on Please doRight thing
Is Ridgewood Finally closing 🤔
After reopening Ridgewood will be in the best position for success. We are free standing, not in mall and have the best customer service. Our people offer full customer service that rivals none. We will succeed! Let’s all come together and support each other.
Paramus mall closings delayed until Saturday morning!