WHSmith pricing policy

Quackers

walterp wrote:

I apologise to the OP.
I was in a mood yesterday and to see someone basically saying my staff are incompetent got my back up.

Look at it from a managers point of view.
We are given a budget for staffing and must stick to it religiously, not allowed to go over by a penny. The staff cost are being cut every year and the workload is the same.
We get hundreds of price changes to do DAILY, not to mention promotions to price and display on top of the everyday replenishment that need doing. That is before a customer is served.
Today we had 1 person on the till and 1 to look after books and 2 upstairs for DVD/Music and stationary.
As an example the book person must unpack the delivery, put them on the shelves, tidy up, DO PRICE CHANGES, find stock for returns, serve customers, check for replenishments from the stockroom and answer queries. All for £5.05 a hour.
If a member of staff goes sick we are in the poo as I dont have the budget to call anyone in.
Last week we even run out of carrier bags because of budget cuts.

So try to look at it from a staff members point of view. They are not incompetent, but run ragged. I honestly dont know why they put up with it, must be my boyish good looks and charm.

A question one of my staff was asked today.
"How long will the ink last in this pen?"

And?

I work in retail. Thats life. I understand everything you say and can relate to it BUT, to the customer its irelevant. We are there to give good customer service.

If, as retailers, we fail to give good customer service then we take less money and our budgets are cut even more. Maybe its a case of what goes around comes around?

Our local WHSmiths is always running out of carrier bags too :rotfl:

xycom1

ts_aly2000 wrote:

Having worked in one of these places (8 years) I can confirm that the customer is truly hated and just seen as an unecessary interference. It's totally appauling, about 75% of the people employed are thick-!!!!!! fat thugs, the other 25% are relatively decent people who can't wait to get out of the shame. And I'm so glad I left just as they brought the latest lets-get-excited scheme in to enthuse the staff. The management/directors are aware of the problems but haven't the faintest clue of how to address them. These organisations have lost their way and haven't a clue on how to pull it back round. I do know the solution however, b o l l o c k i n g s !!, proper ones, and not this EU Blairite I'm-going-to-give-you-a-warning namby pamby nanny state stuff. In my experience, pinning someone up against a wall does work. Somehow everything has gone topsy turvy where there's no penalty for anything anymore.

I think the people at the top could get a clue if they actually came and worked on the shop floor (and actually did proper hard work that their minions engage in daily, rather than just the lip service that they pay it when they occasionally trot out to see how it is 'on the ground') rather than just got straight from university --> management.

I've worked in retail (never again...!) and I have to say that whilst you are quite right in saying that plenty of the people behind the counter are morons, there are an equal number in front of the counter as well. Customers can be very naive at times, and as you say - it's all a consequence of the bloody Socialist-Liberal climate we live in these days.

tonyivb

Hi Walterp,

Thanks for coming back and thank you for your apology.

Given the reaction to your previous posts it was a couragous decision to post again, and even more so to make an apology.

I can totally sympathise with your predicament... from 1991 to 1995 I worked for Safeway, with the final three years as an Administration Manager where I was responsible for the weights & measures, pricing, advertising, accounting, auditing and stock control of a store. The prices used to change on a 1,2 & 4 week cycle and that 4 week changeover usually meant that 2000 shelf edge tickets had to be changed and verified after 5pm on Sunday and before we opened for business at 8am on Monday.

I understand the pressures that people such as yourself are under... being asked to do more without any extra resources, especially when you have idiots from head office pointing to statistics that 'prove' that it can be done!

Both you and I know that corners are cut in most shops, but the difference here seems to be where companies with a respectful, supportive heirarchy encourage their staff to use their discretion wisely, whereas WHSmith appear to be using every means to cut costs and minimise loses.

I'm glad that you have replied as people like you are in an ideal position to educate the public about the sharp practices to be avoided and the opportunities to be exploited.

From the tone of your most recent post it appears that you are less than happy about the direction your company is taking, especially as it is dragging your career with it. I hope that you find a more appreciative employer for your talents as it seems that you do have decent morals.

All the best

Tony

tonyivb

I went into the Uxbridge store yesterday to try and get those DVDs...

They had two packs left displayed in a cardboard promotion stand that said 'Half Price', but they scanned at £12.99

I showed the checkout assistant the stand, who said fair enough... and duely charged me half the price.

Maybe this was because she didn't refer the matter to management and dealt with it herself, but either way congratulations to WHSmith Uxbridge.

hjb123

At least the staff member there showed intitiative and provided good customer service - when a product is priced at a certain price it should be given at that - or whichever is the lower price - its just common sense and good customer service!

hollydays

hey!common sense rules!