Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 227
| Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 4:42 am Post subject: 1% Commission on TVs? That's Too Much For Eddie! | |
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First off, I feel sorry for anyone that has to endure the loss of 30 IQ points permanently by watching the insult that is the Blue Electronics Crew "training" DVD. The all but complete plagiarism of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire program (called by Sears "Who Wants to be a Commissionare") even makes a mockery of whole training DVD. (One VP is the host, asking questions to another VP. At one point, the hosts comments that the contesting must have great knowledge of the Blue Crew processes. The other VP responds "Its almost as if I wrote these questions myself!")
The whole DVD very poorly attempts to persuade its viewers that they can "make more money" by selling accessories and services to customers and the type of product that the customer wants should be completely disregarded by the salesperson. Of the 20 minutes of the DVD, 3-4 minutes are devoted to explaining why sales people must not be "Big Game Hunters" and must proactively attempt to sell as much small ticket merchandise with accessories and SPPs as possible. The forced exercises in which you have to demonstrate to your manager that you understand that to make any money you have to sell accessories and PAs was absolutely degrading. Effective with the Blue Crew rollout in Electronics on August 23, entry level models of various brands and sizes of TVs will permanently be reduced to ONE-HALF PERCENT commission. Mid-grade models of a brand and size will retain the 1% commission, while high-end models *may* occassionally reward SPIFFs (I don't expect this program to last long). The initial list of TVs being reduced to 1/2% commission is being kept secret until the launch date, but there is already a placeholder page a person can see for it on the HE Central webpage. Our store expects the list to contain all promotional TVs for the holiday season, as well as the entry level models in each brand in the 40" + size range (S series for Sony, 530 series for Samsung). We are also highly skeptical that they are going to keep the 5% commission on the bluray players at this point, but don't have anything concrete one way or the other on that point other than the next 5% monthly commission list comes out on the Blue Crew launch date. Hrmmm..... Isn't it a great time to work in Electronics for Sears where you can bust your ass for nothing more than minimum wage unless you sell those magical PAs? 
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Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 61
| Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: | |
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You have got to be kidding me... 1% on TVs is a joke already, but .5%? Come on!
Better sell that PA Give me a BREAK. |
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Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 7
| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:43 am Post subject: | |
| Are you fucking kidding me?! As if we can make a living right now as it is! My paychecks have literally been more than cut in half since this time last year. And now they're going to lower commissions again?!! This is so aggravating. I work my ass off scrubbing shelves and dealing with call center screw ups, and all the scanning and everything else, and this is how they repay us? But of course, if it wasn't for this original post, I would have known nothing about it until after I got paid.. Figures. | |
Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 61
| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 5:31 am Post subject: | |
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Brought this up with my BCM today... He told me that they were told not to tell any associates until a meeting was organized for the entire department.
Rumor control? 
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Joined: 29 Jun 2008
Posts: 24
| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:21 am Post subject: | |
| I saw the site today and it said "OPP TV's" What the hell does that mean? They also mentioned they advanced list but i thought that was all but gone after the last commission change. | |
Joined: 18 Aug 2008
Posts: 95
Location: Massachusetts
| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 4:24 pm Post subject: | |
The advanced list isn't gone...it just doesn't have any TVs on it. 
I'm going to reserve judgement until I see the list....my BCM said he knows some things will drop but not which ones, he doesn't think all, but he admits he was day dreaming during the conference all about this...mentioned possible 2% on digital cameras (yippee). My question is how do they do this brand-wise. It's almost a shoo-in that the Samsung 530 and Sony S are going to be half percenters....will the only Sharp we carry and the Toshiba be too? How do you explain to Sony and Samsung that your associates now have to actively try to sell their competitors at the same price point because of commission? Say they drop those too, how do you explain to Sharp and Toshiba that their only TVs in your place aren't being sold because they're half a percent? Size a factor? I mean a 52S is still a 52'' TV, thats a big purchase that shouldn't be a "basic" anything.... I gots too many questions and not enough answers yet |
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Joined: 29 Jun 2008
Posts: 24
| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 6:24 pm Post subject: | |
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I still can't get over that a Blu Ray Player is on the advanced list while TV's like the Samsung 7000 & 8000 are not. They are are complicated items that take an extended amount of time to explain.
Appliance will start to be hit very very soon because i think they slashed the commission over in electronics as much they could. |
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Joined: 28 Apr 2005
Posts: 2175
| Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 10:50 pm Post subject: | |
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I wonder how many sales will be killed because the .5% won't make it worthwhile for salespeople to mess up their PA percentages. Salespeople can pre-screen the customers first thing. Anybody who doesn't seem likely to buy a PA or accessories, just send em to Best Buy.
And next year when sales are down another 10% they can respond by cutting commissions to zero percent.
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Joined: 26 Jan 2007
Posts: 483
| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:00 am Post subject: | |
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Cameras-not worth selling at all in this point.
Customer can pick out what they want, I'm offering no help whatsoever for 1.50. TV's-Soon to be that way. Pick out what you like, I'll ring you out. If you don't want a PA, then fuck you. Job-Not worth having, but I need some spending money. |
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Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 227
| Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:36 am Post subject: | |
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OPP = Opening Price Point, AKA Entry-level models
My theories on the subject: I think there will be very heavy price competition on tvs this holiday season. With tv prices already be offered at times at DATG pricing, there is not a whole lot of room left to lower prices. As a result, there will be entry-level tvs offered at prices which are at nil profit or even at a loss to get people to come in the store to see the tvs. Corporate wants to move customers away from those models into more profitable models. For example, large screen Samsung 530 and 550 models are MSRP priced at about a $200 difference. Take the SNC and check out the buying price of those models. The difference is about $10. The x50 models are substantially more profitable to sell than the x30 models in any size. By lowering the commission on the entry models, they are trying to create an "incentive" for salespeople to sell the more profitable tvs. With Walmart already approaching the $100 price mark on bluray players, I expect the prices to fall quickly on bluray players this holiday season. When they do, watch the 5% commission to disappear from bluray players. LED TV Spiffs: To the new holiday hire, a tv with a bonus payout would make me want to sell the tv. To us experienced salespeople, it is a joke. LED TVs at the moment are by far the most profitable tvs on the market bar none. At MSRP, they have about a 40% profit margin. Think about what 40% of $3600 is. How else could Sears afford to place all the LEDs on a constant $600 sale plus another 10% off almost every week? I don't expect the spiffs to last past the holidays, or the first time Samsung takes a major price reduction on the TVs. Advanced/Strategic Lists: D/3: DSLRs and HD Camcorders make 5%. Most HD Camcorders are moving to online only, or HFM only. D/3 is pointless. D/57: Blurays and soundbars are all that remain. I expect them to drop blurays off the list soon. Soundbars are likely to remain. The whole point of the Blue Crew training session was to beat in to everyone's heads that if you want to make ANY money in D/57 this football/holiday season, then you must push accessories, DISH/ComCast, and SPPs/PAs. As I've been told many times by SGMs, DMs, and RMs, "The only reason you are here is because you can sell PAs and accessories better than the call center/Sears.com can." |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 3:24 am Post subject: ying and yank mine | |
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It's one thing to discuss commissions and selling strategy but to officially push it borders on conflict of interest and actually documents corporate admitting there are pricing problems with the PAs . Is this another backwards half assed theory to make the customer think they saved ALOT on the low end stuff so spend those savings on a PA ???
I think the technology and buying habbits of eddie explain some of the pricing . Could be working for a house brand in HE as well . Your supposed to sell the higher end with little commission and your supposed to sell the low end with add ons ? Are they using a total dollar figure spending projection for the customers ? |
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Joined: 18 Aug 2008
Posts: 95
Location: Massachusetts
| Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:45 am Post subject: | |
| It is probably more margin driven than anything else. As the price of entry level LCDs has fallen like a rock, so has profit margin. So they figure on those models where the mark-up is so low, might as well make commission low. Bean counter's brain child. | |
Joined: 28 Apr 2005
Posts: 2175
| Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:38 pm Post subject: | |||
That's for sure. It's a cost cutting downward spiral that has been going on for many years across the company. The bean counter types see the pressure on margins and figure they "can't afford" to pay decent wages/commissions. So they cut the percentages, which makes it impossible for good salespeople to make a living. The good salespeople quit, and the sales floor is taken over by commission order takers, who aren't motivated or don't know how to trade up and sell accessories. So the company responds with even lower percentages on the low profit stuff. Which drives away more salespeople. On and on it goes. In a couple more years they'll have to charge negative commission on entry level items. Or maybe they can publicly flog anybody who dares ring up a low profit sale. Back when commissions were a flat rate across the board and salespeople made a decent living, the company did 40% gross margin overall. It's radical thinking, but it may be that having decently paid professional salespeople actually contributes to profitability. |
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Joined: 04 Sep 2003
Posts: 120
| Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:22 am Post subject: | |||||
Do the bean counters never learn? Its not that long ago a gaint electronics retailer decided their sales crew and store level managers were over compensated. Slashing their pay and jobs was the road to the company's success! That company "was" CIRCUIT CITY! That plan really worked out well! |
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Joined: 08 Jul 2003
Posts: 6309
| Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 4:35 am Post subject: what's that | |
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now now
associates ' ... must not be " big game hunters " OR what ? The customers will realize they are spending too much at Sears. They won't have enough room for the PA after being force fed a high priced TV now being asked to make room for PAs and accessories like jello . This whole deal seems they are admitting people simply don't want to spend on the optional crap or they don't want to spend alot. Meaning they are admitting the PA prices are too high if not expensive . So by lowering commission on complex merchandise the associate will be manipulated to push more PAs and accessories. But if the customer is buying an entry point TV many will consider it disposable or take their chances. They still want you hungry even though the sale of the physical merchandise is over. But the customers will notice your hunger which will be much more noticable. |
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Joined: 09 Dec 2008
Posts: 72
| Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:46 am Post subject: Re: what's that | |||
That they will, and do already... no matter how much you shmooze it over, they know we have to sell PAs. Kinda like the poor Walgreens folks having to push the candy bars... I have never been more embarrassed than having a 70 yr old guy asking me 3x to buy a candy bar. It has become a very sad, very sad world, of absolutely no respect for anyone. Unless, you are Eddie, and kinda like Adolph, thats a basic requirement, no choices there. Yeah, I am pretty past fed up with the whole mess... and too many years in to just throw away, but I am gonna have to. I will literally go insane if I do not. M |
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Joined: 28 Apr 2005
Posts: 2175
| Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:03 pm Post subject: | |||
Yeah Circuit City was great real world evidence of how well cost cutting programs work. Yet it seems almost no one in the corporate world these days gets the message. Companies are run by parasites who don't care if they kill the host for a short term buck. |
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Joined: 05 Aug 2003
Posts: 29
| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:16 am Post subject: | |
wasnt the .5% retracted as an 'error'?? I believe it went back to 1%. not that it really makes a big impact! ps. real nice spiffs on sony tvs going on, THAT will help! 
Last edited by jrod on Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:26 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Joined: 05 Aug 2003
Posts: 29
| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:22 am Post subject: | |
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.removed. sorry
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Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 8380
Location: Central CA
| Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:16 am Post subject: | |||||
Unfortunately, there is always another host just around the corner. Maybe when we run out of hosts we'll finally stamp out the parasites. |
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 9
| Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 10:00 pm Post subject: | |
| Yeah 0.5% tv's were retracted as an error. Plus roughly 45 days of Sony Spiffs at the beginning of football season is gonna kick some serious butt!!! | |
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 227
| Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:04 am Post subject: | |
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Something still smells rotten in Nottingham.
The website that is the placeholder for the commission cut program is still there and is still labeled as a commission pay rate sheet in the address bar. I personally think that little typo slipped out before they were ready to announce the cut and are "temporarily" calling it a mistake. Furthermore, the current 5% list publish date is still listed as being shorter than normal, with the next publish of the 5% list being on the official Blue Electronics Crew launch date. That alone screams that something is amiss. As per the Sony spiffs, I agree that it is welcome chance to make some kind of paycheck. On the downside, it is going to be difficult to get customers to buy Sony 46 and 52 inch TVs when Samsung is running circles around Sony in relation to price. Samsungs are consistently beating Sony TVs at every price point. For example, the Samsung LEDs are now 35-40% off + another 10% off with the Sears card. Sony couldn't touch those prices in their wildest dreams with their XBRs. I share your enthusiasm over the spiffs, but I am highly doubtful that many people outside of Sony enthusiasts will buy Sony TVs. |
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Joined: 05 Aug 2003
Posts: 29
| Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:42 pm Post subject: | |
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there something brewing 4sure. I agree the commission structure has to be under 'study', after all why all the sudden "interest" in on accessories, pa's and installation? they're probally trying to document that a decent (ha ha ha) living can be made with .5% commission if you meet your performance goals. after all it is only a target of $12.00 per hour job (having seen those recruiting fliers HR used to put randomly lately). those flyers were and are a crack up!!! walk into a HR during those events and everyone wants to work in home appliances to make $18-26 per hour (dummies dont read the 'commission' portion and expect to make that hourly as a base) musta been taken off a recruiting stations "travel all over the world and meet exciting new people"
Last edited by jrod on Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:22 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Joined: 28 Apr 2005
Posts: 2175
| Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:41 pm Post subject: | |||
That's exactly how the company thinks. They'll lower the percentage on merchandise, but the salesperson has it totally in their own power to increase PA sales to make up the difference. So it isn't the fault of the company if salespeople can't make a living. Sell enough PA's and making a lavish $12 an hour is easily in reach. They even tell themselves they are making things better for the front line.
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Joined: 06 Jul 2003
Posts: 8380
Location: Central CA
| Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject: | |
| Will someone tell me in what part(s) of the country $12 an hour is a living wage? A bare subsistence wage maybe, but an actual LIVING wage? | |