Well-Paid Professionals Draw Unwelcome Attention

Computerworld ^ | June 30, 2003 | Carlos Tejada and Gary McWilliams

[Auntie Mame]

The four or five times I've been in Circuit City, and that was many years ago, I'd swear I was invisible and I walked out each and every time buying nothing. Frankly, I didn't even know they were still in business.

[fishbabe]

most bosses are idiots.....your right about the saleman,too no one can just walk off the street and sell equipment like this.. selling is an art form. either you have it or you don't..and getting cheap help ain't gonna help in the long run.cheap help runs off customers with their stupidity and ignorance of the products...

[Libertina]

It just seems slimey to say hey, you've done a bang up job, but we've got someone who'll work for 10 ents (and no bathroom break).... see ya. My point is laying off due to financial difficulties seems different than "gonna replace you tomorrow." Wouldn't that be the same as saying, you're sixty four. BYE. Replacing you tomorrow with a young chick. At some point, is it not discrimination? No wait, that's only for "special" protected minority groups... /s

[dark_lord]

"It is not the person who earned the most that was always the best," says Mr. Wells.

Hmmm...except that the higher pay was directly related to commissions which were directly related to sales. So I guess he is right if "best" does not mean "best salesperson". But of course the Circuit City sales force now knows that if they want to get fired, just work real hard selling Circuit City product.

Sell. Sell now. These guys are going right down the toilet.

[avenir]

"Who can fault me, the employee, for taking a similar view?"

No one. I think the same way. But wouldn't it be nice if there was such a thing as "corporate loyalty"?

Actually I think there is at times, such as with Southwest Airlines, or many companies during their Revolutionary Period of clawing their way to the top. During the climb they need loyal employees who feel as if the company belongs the THEM.

Later on, after success has been acheived, the bloom is off the rose and Mammon reigns.

That seems to have happened to the company I work for. Still a good company, but I'm looking at it more and more like you do: I DO WORK FOR YOU, YOU PAY ME FOR IT. END OF ITEM.

[1066AD]

Now, Sears has decided to let the knowledgebase erode to the point that all their service people can do is point you to the various colors.
That's if you can even find someone to ask ...

[fuente]

Now if I could only get alittle service. Every time I go into CC, I walk out talking to myself about money walking out the front door.

The other day, I went to the ATM before walking into CC. I walked out empty handed with $700 in my possession.

[fuente]

Now if I could only get alittle service. Every time I go into CC, I walk out talking to myself about money walking out the front door.

The other day, I went to the ATM before walking into CC. I walked out empty handed with $700 in my possession.

[cupcakes]

They did the same thing when I worked for Charles Schwab. Folks could donate time like that to other people who are dealing with difficult situations.

[cupcakes]

Charles Schwab did it at one time. Not sure if they still do.

[cupcakes]

For electronic products such as stereo equipment and TVs, you just need the standard manufacturers warranty (which is free with the purchase of the product). If the equipment is defective, you will know in 90 days.
____

Sigh, if only this were true. Now, we don't go for the extended warranty stuff either, but about 18 months ago we bought one of the 32 inch Panasonic flat screen tvs and shortly after a year something went out on it to the tune of 130 bucks. The part is out again, but fortunately it is covered by the place that repaired it for a year. Obviously, there is something wrong with this part. Perhaps we should pen some letters to panasonic?
All I know is we are so frustrated with the thing, we moved it into the basement where it sits unused until the basement is finished and bought a cheaper, smaller tv for the family room. What's funny is every cheapy tv we have ever bought seems to last forever with no problems.
I had a 10 year old Sanyo that just stopped working last year. Hubby put it on the deck to go into the trash. It sat there and got rained on and snowed on, etc. Well a couple of months ago, his brother said if I can have it for free, we'll take it(this is an SSI family so they take whatever they can get for free). I'll be damned if that thing didn't work as soon as he plugged it in! Not a thing wrong with it now after a few months of use. This after 11 years now and sitting outside for the better part of 8 months. Go figure!

[cupcakes]

There is a pretty good hardware guy working in our local Walmart too. Also an older man.

[stands2reason]

Hey, Sam, remember this thread? You were at 256 on your tagline. Many pantsizes ago. :-)

Well someone kicked this thread back to life, and for some reason, I'm reading it again. Curious tho, I have a different opinion of the article now than I did six months ago. Back then, I thought it was not too bright of CC to lay off their best performers, but this time after rereading all the complaints about their former business model, I have second thoughts. Something was obviously NOT working before.

[cyborg]

After I had my bag grabbed from my hand by security to 'check my receipt', I promised I would never go to another CC EVER.

[Tribune7]

Mr. Wood was the second highest-paid performer at the Jensen Beach, Fla., store, moving more than $1 million in computers and consumer electronics last year, he says. He earned $54,000 in salary and bonuses, and a place in the President's Club for top salesmen.

Well that's real smart. Good salesmen are not that common. I would start divesting my Circuit City stock.

FWIW, I went to a CC a few weeks ago looking for a car-tape player adapter for an Ipod. One salesman told me they didn't have any. Guess what? They did.

Of course, it was overpriced so we ended up getting it from Best Buy's anyway.

[Tribune7]

ping

[Tribune7]

Radio Shack has gotten a lot, lot better over the past few years.

[js1138]

I shop at Best Buy, and have never had a non-positive experience.

I've shopped at both, but right now Best Buy is closer and has More stuff I'm interested in. I took a DVD player back to Best Buy because it insisted on converting wide screen DVDs to full screen. The selection menu simply didn't work. The guy at the desk says he will have to test it. He searches around for a DVD, pulls out one in its original shrink wrap, opens it up and puts it in the Machine.

It's a full screen DVD.

[MississippiMan]

Now, we are supposed to believe that $54,000 a year is a highly paid post?

For that kind of job, it is. But I gotta tell you, if this means I should expect even less knowledgeable salespeople should I ever visit Circuit City again, the situation is DIRE! Good grief.

In the past, I've gotten CC to match the prices of other retailers, even Internet retailers, provided they were legitimate authorized dealers for the product at hand. Just before Christmas, I went to the local CC to buy a hi-def DirecTV receiver.

Their price was $100 higher than what I could buy it for on the net from an authorized dealer. I asked the salesperson to give me their best price on the unit.

She went to a calculator, figured full price plus tax, and read it out to me.

"No, your best price," I said. She looked at me as if she had not the slightest clue as to what I meant, so I asked if I could speak to the manager for just a moment.

She went to his office, came back, and said, "He wanna know what you want."

I explained that I wanted to talk to him about the price, to see if he'd like to give me just a little bit of a break so I could buy locally and still feel like I got a decent deal.

She left again, came back. "He say the price is on it."

I left. Stopped by a small state-based chain store on the way home, bought the same receiver for $50 under Internet price, which was $150 under CC.

MM

[Cvengr]

IMHO, this incident reflects corporate American thinking from the 90s through this decade.

We have become an off-the-shelf society.

There is no longer economic incentive to invest in one's future in the US. Higher education might enable the individual to perform, but corporate America doesn't value actual manpower resources any longer.

I know of no single profession where the professional is still valued by the corporate structures. This includes doctors in medicine, architects or engineers in design, accountants in banking and finance, lawyers in politics and legal professions, officers in law enforcement, PhDs in chairs of academia and even officers in the military are of much lower stature than even 20 years ago.

Unless one is independently wealthy, the financial burden of obtaining those credentials today is dwarfed by the risk implicit in no stable employment once qualified. Worse, those who haven't even begun or have any intent to become qualified are frequently substituted into the positions which pay for such qualifications. Go figure.

Such is the consequence of improving the lifestyle environment for future generations. The qualified efforts of the few are never grasped or appreciated by the society which inherits the benefits from yesteryear. IMHO, Speaks volumes regarding a deeper human condition and any system of works independent of God.