What is the breaking point between cutting hours and making sure a store can actually run? I know that we are past that point but I was wondering because our manager told us on Friday that our district was $500,000 over budget in labor for the quarter. There are 13 stores in our district 13/500000= $38461 divide that by three months in a quarter you get $12820 per month, divide that by four weeks in a month you get $3205 per week that needs to be cut from each stores labor cost. IF you take $3205 and divide that by $10 per hour (I know most don't make this) that is 320 hours per week that needs to be cut or 10 full time people at 32 hours a week. Or do they think they can just give everyone three to four hours a week and make it work? How can this ever work and still have a business?
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Well I will just take an Uber to work and get SYW points to make up for lack of hours. Did I mention you get SYW points with Uber?
I don't know if this is company wide, but in my Sears,we are now offering a $250 sign on bonus to work in appliances and mattresses,$125 when you get hired, then another $125 after 90 days. So far no one has been hired yet,but the offer sent up about 2 weeks ago.
Never has this ever been offered in Sears,as far as I know.
Also when it comes to no inventory in the stores, our lawn and garden may as well be closed, no store stock and no availability on most items to order,and even when you order something,delivery calls them to change their date, so you must hope they will wait and not cancel their order and you lose one of the few commissions you have.
Your impression is absolutely right. They are past the breaking point. These businesses can't survive with the current lack of payroll (and inventory) investment. But that won't stop them from trying to do more cuts. SHC management just doesn't get it. They assume cost cuts automatically result in bottom line profit increases. When the losses get worse they cut some more. No one in upper management has enough sense to come up with another strategy.
I don't know what else there is to cut at our store. One exception is appliances, which I'm in. Not one of us are scheduled below 30 hours. Any given day there are five or six of us, even on our excruciatingly slow days (and when I say excruciatingly slow, I mean that it was so slow that the store was under $5k in sales by end of day). As you may or may not know, we are on straight commission. A few days worth of missed sales can wipe out your ability to make money, so a slow store like ours everyone on commission is making minimum wage.
While we all stand around in appliances waiting for a sale, the rest of the store is stretched really thin. The trucks don't get unloaded and processed the same day they come in. Softlines looks like a tornado ran through it. Softlines customers frequently meander to our side with a cart full of stuff because there is only ONE cashier at the CAC, unless they are lucky enough to have hours for an MCA, and no, we don't get commission on that stuff. Home Improvement has a flooded salesfloor but only one associate is getting more than 20 hours, so it's a revolving door. Whoever gets hired there leaves quickly due to lack of hours. So appliances has to go over there to sell screwdrivers and drills when there's no coverage. God help us if someone wants to get some kind of obscure tool or part or expects you to tell them the differences between six different riding mowers or treadmills.
Meanwhile, the zone managers (HL and SL) run around doing a zillion tasks while the store manager sits in her office ALL DAY. She is NEVER out on the floor except when she decides to bark orders. She never answers Code 2/3/4's, she never helps out and expects the assistant managers to pick up all the slack, knowing that we do NOT have the hours.
I can't tell you how many people we have hired only for them to leave a few weeks later due to lack of hours. Unless you are in appliances, you won't get more than 20 hours max.
Great way to start the day! I bet you were motivated. ;-)
Sounds like a clueless brand new store manager.
How long has that store manager been there?
And can your store possible cut hours?