all B&M retail stores need to go on some kind of commission incentive based pay .

everyone starts at $5.00 per hour and then everything you sell gets you additional funds.

Maybe THEN the dumb ass carpet holder downers will find a way to meet the customers demands.

the store managers are not teaching the employees, corporate does not know they exist .

if all they want is a pay check , perhaps they will find a way to make customers happy , so that they will spend more money .

“B&M”?

Is that anything like S&M?

brick and mortar

quote:

Originally posted by 10-7 leo:
brick and mortar

Yes. And very much like S&M, as anyone who has worked in a B&M can attest!

Radio Shack tried that, look how that worked out.

It's all the millenials. They want $15 / hr but don't know how to actually 'work.'. .

There is nothing to stop B&M from "E-tailing".

B&M's fail for the same reason any business fails, failure to adapt to the market.

Horse traders became auto dealers, liveries became service stations, service stations became gas stations and garages, gas stations became convenience stores, either centric to gas station branding operating a store, or stores selling branded gas.

Almost anything that "was" a standard" was no longer viable, the market changed to the "new thing", became absorbed my a "new thing", or simply went away.

And it is almost always attrition, and not a wholesale extinction.

The "life and death" of this change mostly moves at glacial speeds, if you find your self frozen in place, well, that's on you.

There will always be hills of people willing pay another, to do what the first, cannot or will not do for themselves.

There's gold in them thar hills...

I once worked in a store that paid commissions to sales reps along with salary. That practice reduced concern and care for the best interests of the customer, the company, and one’s co-workers. Not by all reps, but by enough to make an obvious cultural difference in the store.

ryan , did you work for Radio Shack ?
as a manager ? or in corporate?

perhaps you might expound on your experience

Commissions are dual-edged, it certainly is an incentive for employees to sell however, the consumer will feel the pressure and can result in a negative experience ergo, poor customer service. For big purchase items like homes, property, vehicles and technology, commission structures work, as the transaction is usually one or, two people, those employees are aware of the financial incentive and implications.

For a B&M, you're dealing with small but numerous transactions, ending up with employees that either sandbag for the big purchase (blows-off customers who ask questions or, small purchases), or, the employee that monopolizes the register to piling-up their totals. Retail is generally entry-level so employees are very transitory and there's little reason for management to put in-place a broader pay-structure.

Having managed a store that had a monthly bonus structure in-place, it was enough incentive to get employees to hustle for the sale but, also to stay focused on tasks that were outside of assisting customers...like unloading/loading shipments, restocking the floor, doing floor-sets, cleaning & straightening areas, training, etc.

quote:

like unloading/loading shipments, restocking the floor, doing floor-sets, cleaning & straightening areas, training, etc.

we used to call that sales support.

When its working right, you should be able to have both people

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
It's all the millenials. They want $15 / hr but don't know how to actually 'work.'. .

actually, it is not,

(38 yrs in retail most as management, been there, done that, )

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:

quote:

like unloading/loading shipments, restocking the floor, doing floor-sets, cleaning & straightening areas, training, etc.

we used to call that sales support.

When its working right, you should be able to have both people

To a point. When there's a seasonal change, and floor-sets need to be updated, there's never enough people. Somebody calls-in sick, doesn't show-up or, you're short-handed, then everyone has to do double. Back stock personel are rare these days, as their task is less about retrieving items (things don't sell by sitting in the back) and more about shipping back errors, dealing with displays and ordering-up operational supplies.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable: .

the store managers are not teaching the employees, corporate does not know they exist .

as someone who was a store manager for a couple of companies, this is not 100% true, but having most of my experience in the grocery industry I would have said not true at all, however in working in the 'big box' industry, it is spot on,

the manager where I work rarely hits the sales floor, which is the root of most of the problems,,

quote:

if all they want is a pay check , perhaps they will find a way to make customers happy , so that they will spend more money .

that really needs to be instilled at home, it is very difficult to get someone to have those values when they are not raised with them

Look at Circuit City vs Best Buy. In many towns (e.g. my hometown) the stores were adjacent to one another and they more or less sold the same thing.

Circuit City was commission based. On a positive note they had informed, knowledgeable sales people since in was in their best interest to be knowledgeable to increase chances of making a sale. On a negative note, they were pushy and it was annoying to go browsing. They also were incentivized to push someone into something way above their needs to get a larger commission so a grandparent wanting to see grandkids pictures may walk out with a $300 wireless router when a $50 wireless router was all they needed.

Best Buy is hourly. On a positive note their people aren't pushy and it's semi-enjoyable to browse. On a negative note, most employees don't know shit and cannot help me (might be able to help a less informed consumer) and they truly don't give a damn if you leave without buying something. I was preparing for an international business trip and had some personal business going on where an iPad wasn't going to cut it (can't conduct personal business on company laptop) so I wanted a MacBook Pro and damn near had to yell "somebody come take my money" to get someone to fetch the MacBook Pro I wanted.

Astoundingly, Circuit City died and Best Buy is still in business.

I think the death of B&M has more to do with the vast cost and convenience advantages of on-line retailing. Good customer service can help, especially in certain vertical markets, but B&M starts from behind.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BBMW,

Everyone in the stores are generally just in my way. I walk in knowing what I want before I go, I almost always know more than any of the jockeys working there, and all I need is someone to grab me the thing or ring me up and otherwise leave me be.

I don't think I've really needed their help going on 20yrs now, and usually buy online anyway. And I can't be alone in this sort of thinking. I'm surprised most B&Ms still exist, especially consumer electronics stores like Best Buy and the rest. What value do they add?

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
Everyone in the stores are generally just in my way. I walk in knowing what I want before I go, I almost always know more than any of the jockeys working there, and all I need is someone to grab me the thing or ring me up and otherwise leave me be.

I have to say that this irritates the crap out of me too.

It seems as though every damned store I walk into these days I have three people accost me before I get 20 feet inside the door.

Home Depot is one of the worst offenders, but I try not to shop there much and go to Lowe's much more often for personal/political reasons. The problem with Lowe's, though, is that when you do need assistance, you can never find anyone to help.

I'm not sure what these business models are, but they don't work and serve only to piss people off.

If I had the choice, I would patronize a brick and mortar store every day and twice on Sundays over online retailing as I have always supported mom and pop stores over the WalMarts of the world.

Unfortunately, I often don't have much of a choice.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
ryan , did you work for Radio Shack ?
as a manager ? or in corporate?

perhaps you might expound on your experience

I worked in one of the stores. Employees made an hourly wage plus commission. The biggest commissions came from high ticket items such as cell phones, which had different set rates from the other line items in the store.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Astoundingly, Circuit City died and Best Buy is still in business.

I worked for Circuit City back in the day. I made a good connection selling honest equipment and reading customer needs. Many of my coworkers did not, they chose to sell the high spiff items just for the check (and take the hot when it was returned).

I left after I had a long sales pitch with a customer, where I explained the best setup for their needs, how to tie the computer into their entertainment system, and tips for making the most for their budget.
The customer then went to Best Buy, and bought everything there. Actually came back to me for a question, and when I asked why they didn't buy from me they replied "it was 100 bucks cheaper across the road, that is a big savings" I looked them dead in the eye, told them, "I understand. But I'm unable to help with items I didn't sell you, go ask them for support." They cried out "They were idiots, they didn't have half the info you did..." I walked away while saying "but look at that money you saved! "
I gave my notice the following day. Swore off retail after that. 6 months later, Circuit City ended its commissioned sales, and fired all the high earners opting to cap sales salaries at 15 an hour tops. It took less than a year to close after that.