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4.19.2004
Life in Retail I work in a modern corporate retail version of 1984. Why do I say this? Let me give you a few details. I'm sure many of you have experienced situations similar to the one I am about to describe. I have experienced nearly identical situations in at least three separate retail jobs. Right now I work in a sales environment. I get assessed on how well I perform, meaning I get tracked on what I sell and how much I sell. Those numbers are then compared to the "projected" goals. The amount of harassment I receive from management is determined by how well I meet those goals. If I perform up to expectation I get patted on the back and smiles. If I fail to meet my goals I get little mini-lectures on how I can improve what I am doing. I get tracked, my department gets tracked and the entire store gets tracked. They track overall sales, margin and various breakdowns of selected items and services. These numbers are then used to motivate employees and reward management. Every day the numbers are read aloud for everyone to digest. On the surface this doesn't sound too whacked out, at least to the average person. On a personal level I think it all smacks of conditioning with a heavy emphasis on negative reinforcement. But we've come to accept this. Where it starts to feel like an Orwell novel is when you stop to look at how the numbers are generated. I'm not sure of the exact method but from what I have been able to learn, they project the current sales based on last years sales, then they add a percentage as the target. Of course if you succeed in meeting the current goal then you have only a greater goal coming to you next year. At some point you WILL fail to meet your goals and it is usually then that they start getting rid of people. Much of my consternation with this system comes from the hopelessness that comes with it. I am at the mercy of whether a person decides to come to the store and whether they want to purchase something. I have learned to look forward to extremely rich people that blow money like its going out of style, because that sale will earn me a reprieve. A starving college student with a few dollars to spend on the bare minimum of product without all the extras will earn me a visit and a talk. Conditioning. I get talked to often, because I am poorly conditioned. Reality is not an acceptable excuse. Sadistic as it sounds, the store itself is ranked within the company. Every month you start all over again. One month you can be at the top and everyone is all smiles and peace reigns. The next month you are at the bottom and the managers are on the prowl. The scary part? Nothing changes from month to month. One month you are doing your job and the store is tops, the next month you are doing your job, just the same, and your store is in the tank. The explanation is pretty simple. The fictional numbers are rigged. In a comparative ranking system there will always be people at the top and people at the bottom, if there is a first place store there has to be a last place store. Always. The expectation is that is should never be YOUR STORE that is in the bottom. The expectation where I work is that we should be among the top 25% of the stores in the company. Obviously we don't always meet that goal. I've been there long enough to realize that during the down times you keep your head down and practice managerial avoidance techniques. In this environment you develop coping mechanisms. Going Gung-Ho - This is when you care more about the numbers and the company stock than even the managers themselves, or so it seems. For all I know these same people could be seething cauldrons of bitter resentment. Either way, when they walk through the doors of the store they are warriors for the cause. Its hard to get on to an employee that has already beat you to the punch. These are also your manager wannabes. competency - This is where you become so good at what you do that even if you have an attitude and aren't the best "performer" they keep you because your the only one that knows where everything is stashed or you know that special little trick to get the computer to reboot. One foot out the door - This is where you might already have a better full time job but are working here to supplement your income, or save up for a vacation/Christmas. In some cases you're there for a discount. Its hard to threaten someone if they don't really care if they get fired. Frankly, I thought I would have been fired by now. I think despite my lack of enthusiasm and almost visible contempt for being managed they keep me around because I always show up on time, I'll come in to cover shifts when called and I keep the place clean. I guess that's worth something? | |
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