Disappointment

You're either on the bus or you need to get off the bus. Are you in it to win it?

Those were the two statements I heard two weeks ago at a Sales manager meeting from my Regional sales manager of the company I work for.

I have been pondering my answers since I heard them.

5 years ago I became a member of one of the most exciting retail companies I have ever known. I was proud to be a part of it, poured my heart and soul into my job, and got such a high from it because the company's vision and direction was incredible. Now 5 years later, well lets just say I am less than enamored. Our founders of the company stepped down two years ago and that's when the subtle changes (improvements, if you will) started to occur. I won't bore you with the details, but last evening the sales managers got another piece of information on the most current change. We will be open Easter Sunday as a company. The reason we were given for the opening is "We need to take advantage of everyday to recoup some of the financial losses we have experienced." Let me just say this............How are we going to see fantastic results from being open Easter Sunday when it is literally one week til Easter and We as a company do not do mass media advertising? A planning strategy would have worked better to plan for business 6 months to a year out, do some advertising for a month before the new open date, prepare your staff.......you get my drift. One week out is going to be an incredible sell to associates, and maintain morale at the same time. Yep.........You are either on the bus on this one or you are not!!!! Change is not my concern. It is the perceived knee jerk reactions to a faltering business that makes me crazy. A business that is as big as ours does not knee jerk, yet the store level gets the information one week before the change???? When signs were printed for the announcement and sent to stores one week before the news broke. I am upset to the degree that it looks like the "values" that we were founded on, no longer exist. This thing was planned (signs do not just get printed last minute, orders need to be place, even in house orders), so why wait til the last minute to bring the information to your front line at the final hour? We hired into this company for its reputation of putting associates on the front line first, at least considering, if your associates are happy they will make your customers happy and your business will thrive. The "values" the company was so proudly built on are vanishing as we go forward.

To our founders, I applaud everything you did while you were at the helm! Since your retirement our stocks have dropped tremendously, morale in the stores is low, and corporate continues place more levels of upper-management in place. Communication has been inconsistent, from the corporate level to stores, one minute we are to execute something and the next we are instructed to do something else, or do it another way. A frustrating year was had by all and it only looks like there is more to come.

I am on the bus, for now. I do play to win.
I can make lemonade from lemons. But, this is one company that through my rose colored glasses I never thought I would feel this way about. I am reevaluating my choices daily.