John Lewis - when did this start?!

peachyprice

Out of interest, which branch was is Pops?

paddyrg

Back on topic a moment, it's worth escalating the complaint. It is certainly not policy to foist credit cards on people who neither need not want them and the girl at the till might be overzealous and benefit from additional management guidance.

pops5588

It was the big West Quay Southampton branch, hence why I understand it might be more difficult for management to monitor if it isn't policy. Spoke to my grandmother tonight and she has started the cancellation process

tomtontom

Refreshing to see someone with a legitimate complaint but willing to deal with it constructively

thistledome

paddyrg wrote: »

Back on topic a moment, it's worth escalating the complaint. It is certainly not policy to foist credit cards on people who neither need not want them and the girl at the till might be overzealous and benefit from additional management guidance.

I agree. I think the employee in question needs some training.

A shop assistant did this to my 85 yr old mother, without telling her it's a credit card (she thought it was a 10% discount card). Luckily I got there before she signed the form and told the girl we didn't want it.

I don't mind staff getting bonuses for good work, but not at the expense of vulnerable customers being badgered or conned into signing credit agreements.

I don't think John Lewis management would approve of this, they need telling.

ThumbRemote

Fella wrote: »

On the contrary a decent bonus incentivises people to do their job well whereas a 2-3% bonus would likely have no effect whatsoever & would therefore be a pretty pointless bonus.

Depends on how you're defining 'decent'.

If (as you seem to) you mean 'financially rewarding' then it doesn't incentivise anyone to do their job well. It incentivises them to hit specific targets, which may be completely different. If based on profit alone it is more likely to incentivise short-term profit making over long-term success, which can be to the overall detriment of the business.

On the other hand, if you mean 'well designed' then it should incentivise people to do their job well.

frustratedexjlemployee

The Partnership card has been about for at least seven years, maybe longer. It's administered by HSBC.

When I was there, they suggested we mention it, as every successfully opened card netted us something like £10 gross profit.

I asked some friends who still work there about the partnership card push, and yes, there is a much bigger push to introduce it, but it's still not policy to give a hard sell.

The word from management, so they say in their branches, is to bring it up in conversation, particularly if somebody has an old JL account card, but if they say no, then leave it at that. They're not in the business of hard selling and still, first and foremost, ask staff to provide customers with a pleasant shopping experience to build loyalty. That hasn't changed.

Why specifically bring it up if they spot an account card? Because the old account card (Same interest rate....is STILL a credit card) is still debt that JL holds that is costly to administer and harder to reclaim. People take advantage of JL being "nice" and don't pay what they owe, so they want to shift it to HSBC who can deal with it properly. Fair enough.

They say that individual departments and branches encourage staff in different ways. One member of staff who got the branch record for opening a lot of cards got a long weekend away, all expenses paid, for him, his wife and son.

Perhaps this sales assistant, too, had a carrot dangling in front of her. However, while they may be asked to bring it up, it's not policy to hard sell, so it sounds like a rogue sales assistant who really wants a prize.

Am I biased from working there in the past and still being in the loop? Perhaps. But using the bonus as something with which to bludgeon all staff as something to be ashamed of is a bit much. In my experience, people are all too happy to take advantage until they're told no, then it's "Jl has changed" and "They're trying to keep their bonus unfairly large. think of the children!"

I was there 15 years ago when a few bad apples were trying the hard sell on computers in a way that would make PC world blush in shame. I was still there two years ago when somebody drove out on their day off to a customer on the other side of town to sort out a PC which had nothing wrong with it, because the customer didn't understand. He wasted a whole day off, thanklessly, out of his own pocket to make that customer happy, and that is not at all uncommon. He, and many others like him -- I know a lot of people who regularly do the same -- do so to engender loyalty for customers who do pay for the bonus, yes. But so what? It encourages people to work well, to care about and protect the business. Sometimes it involves saying no, because some people take the !!!!.

One person giving a hard sell (where the answer could easily be no) doesn't indicate a cultural shift. It indicates one person trying too hard. Yes, they want extra profit because their policies, sadly, arent profitable (I could rant all day about how !!!! customers can be). Inform their manager that you don't approve of the individual's tactics, and don't spend a penny on the card and there's nothing to worry about.

If anybody has any other questions, let me know. I left JL just over a year ago for pastures non-retail flavoured, but I'm bored as hell on a friday night :P.

Fella

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Depends on how you're defining 'decent'.

If (as you seem to) you mean 'financially rewarding' then it doesn't incentivise anyone to do their job well.

That's your opinion, but not a fact.

ThumbRemote wrote: »

On the other hand, if you mean 'well designed' then it should incentivise people to do their job well.

In which case I would say the JL bonus must be extremely well designed as their staff do their job exceptionally well.

(In my experience - the JL staff member referred to in the OP may or may not be an exception, I'm sure there are plenty in a company that size).

wealdroam

Fella wrote: »

In which case I would say the JL bonus must be extremely well designed as their staff do their job exceptionally well.

Is that your opinion or a fact?

Fella

My experience