So how's an 80,000 sq ft store supposed to operate with 3 employees? Visited local Kmart to find 3 employees only. The Garden shop was locked and chained.
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LP is responsible for keeping shrink to a minimum throughout the store.
Doesn't it seem to be sheer stupidity to kill sales of live plants and garden supplies during peak sales months to only have those items be thrown away or salvaged (which costs the company more to do than throwing the product in a dumpster, so most stores opt for the dumpster)???
I would think the resulting level of shrink would be much higher by locking up the garden shop.
It is like that in our Kmart. The district manager wants the garden shop open, but the LP says to keep it locked as people are just going out there to steal. Customer Service is the only checkout open and there are only 2 people on the floor at any time, but they want everything done, online orders, layaway, etc. I can not fathom how they just let stores go on like this. Are they planning on closing them or what ? If so, what is the hold up ? It shows a complete lack of respect for both employees and customers to let them continue like this. It is just a matter of time before they get robbed or worse, and then they will blame the employees saying that they weren't following some procedure or another. Eddie Lampert and his minions should be ashamed of themselves.
My local Kmart (about 100k sf) appears to operate with about 5 employees, even on weekends. The garden shop is unlocked, but there is never an employee anywhere in sight. The same goes for appliances. Some of the items have signs telling customers to go to the cash register for help. But with typically one open cash register they aren't going to have much luck. The stupidity of this company is beyond belief.
Same in our store. Garden shop was only open for a little while (May-June) and then it was closed. DM said to close it to prevent theft because we had no one to man the garden shop. All the plants were moved to the front door area (nowhere near a hose to water them) so anyone wanting to purchase a plant had to lug it around the store with them or get to the register and then go outside to pick up the plant. Needless to say we didnt sell a lot of plants this year and the garden shop is still full of summer items. What we will do with them now I don't know because that is where we put a lot of Christmas stuff in the winter. What a way to run a business
If doors are locked this is a safety issue for you as well as others. Just call the local fire dept, they will get them unlocked. You can call them anonymously.
If it has an exit sign on it or above it, or other signs are directing people that way in an emergency it has to be unlocked.
For most of last year, the garden shop, including the inside chemicals and outside yard was closed to customers in my store -- with the merchandise out there, lIke the previews poster mentioned. We were all told garden shop was off limits. Store manager said it was a directive of regional loss prevention (?) But you know how there can be miscommunication and stupidity in this company. There was a big stink made by some old lady who wanted to buy a plastic bucket for her tomato plants and the doors were unlocked second week of July.
How 'bout that. Garden shop "yard" locked and chained from the inside or simply closed and locked. Fairly common thing throughout the chain. I'm sure the yard is full of merchandise that won't be sold because customers, I mean members, can't get to it. How are all those dried up, untended, unwatered landscape plants doing? The lawn and garden buyer forgot to send out a memo that the stores are responsible for watering the plants for the second year in a row.
It is illegal to lock and chain an emergency exit. LP and the SM both know this. The Fire Marshal will fine them if they see it.