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Circuit City Complaint - A manifestation of a deeper problem - Electronics
Electronics - Complaint
VIRGINIA -- I am a former employee of Circuit City for over nine years.
The recent bankruptcy of Circuit City came to no surprise to me.
When I began working for Circuit City in 1984 it was a company that was the epitome of the American dream.
Like many other corporations from days gone by the most important commodity of Circuit City were its employees. Not upper management, and not the dollar. As a result the dollars came for circuit city and they came big. I remember in days gone by circuit city were closed Sundays and Mondays, had a nationwide company picnic that was completely paid for by circuit city, a kick off party in which the store closed for its employees, and gave literally thousands of dollars worth of electronics to its employees that included big screen TV's, stereo systems, as well as monitory prizes. Over and above all this, it's employees were well rewarded financially for good customer service, performance, as well as sales incentives. From my understanding the years previous were even better.
I can even remember attending a sales meeting discussing an up and coming electronics company named Best Buy. How that they would never be any real competition for Circuit City.
Somewhere between the early years and the last 25 years however Circuit City lost the vision that the employees are the bread and butter of an organization not upper management. I can still remember when Circuit City offered good health benefits, paid sick leave, and a good retirement program.
Unfortunately I can also remember when I noticed the company began it's downward journey to its current demise. It started with the stores being open seven days a week as opposed to five, then the next thing to go was the company picnics, the kick off parties and sales incentives became stingy-er and stingy-er. Then in a few short years I noticed that store supervisors and employees that were just several years from collecting on their retirement had been terminated for what seemed to be unsubstantiated reasons. Furthermore as new employees were hired they were not offered the same incentives or pay as those that were currently employed. Then as years went by the product knowledge, and the sales training program for new hires went from several weeks to several days.
The manifestation of this downhill slide is Bankruptcy. The deeper problem is the same the nation over. The lack of vision for a greater community, and country for the "middle class" worker has turned to the turning over of a quick buck for the CEO's.
The recent bankruptcy of Circuit City came to no surprise to me.
When I began working for Circuit City in 1984 it was a company that was the epitome of the American dream.
Like many other corporations from days gone by the most important commodity of Circuit City were its employees. Not upper management, and not the dollar. As a result the dollars came for circuit city and they came big. I remember in days gone by circuit city were closed Sundays and Mondays, had a nationwide company picnic that was completely paid for by circuit city, a kick off party in which the store closed for its employees, and gave literally thousands of dollars worth of electronics to its employees that included big screen TV's, stereo systems, as well as monitory prizes. Over and above all this, it's employees were well rewarded financially for good customer service, performance, as well as sales incentives. From my understanding the years previous were even better.
I can even remember attending a sales meeting discussing an up and coming electronics company named Best Buy. How that they would never be any real competition for Circuit City.
Somewhere between the early years and the last 25 years however Circuit City lost the vision that the employees are the bread and butter of an organization not upper management. I can still remember when Circuit City offered good health benefits, paid sick leave, and a good retirement program.
Unfortunately I can also remember when I noticed the company began it's downward journey to its current demise. It started with the stores being open seven days a week as opposed to five, then the next thing to go was the company picnics, the kick off parties and sales incentives became stingy-er and stingy-er. Then in a few short years I noticed that store supervisors and employees that were just several years from collecting on their retirement had been terminated for what seemed to be unsubstantiated reasons. Furthermore as new employees were hired they were not offered the same incentives or pay as those that were currently employed. Then as years went by the product knowledge, and the sales training program for new hires went from several weeks to several days.
The manifestation of this downhill slide is Bankruptcy. The deeper problem is the same the nation over. The lack of vision for a greater community, and country for the "middle class" worker has turned to the turning over of a quick buck for the CEO's.
Comments:
Posted by Alain on 2009-02-08:
Always had good shopping at Circut City. Sorry to see them go. You have some good points in your review. I expect there will be more bankruptcies coming.
Posted by Topper Harley on 2009-02-08:
You are so correct in your assessment. Any company that wants to be in business for the forseeable future should take a close look at Circuit City and their demise and then take a good look at Jordans Furniture. I have no "first hand" knowledge of Jordans policies but from what I've heard they really treat the employees right. Not every hire at Jordans makes it either, they weed out employees that don't have their ethic early on. But again I have no first hand knowledge it's all based on stuff I've heard about them. But, my wife met the pony tail guy (not at a Jordan's) and said he was kind of a Di** to her. It's true in most businesses though, if the company takes care of the people working for it then the people working for it will care about the company and do what's necessary to protect and grow the business. We are now reaping the benifits of corporations and company's where the upper management has a "ME First" attitude, and the whole country is paying the price for it.
Posted by NickL11354 on 2009-02-08:
So start your own company if you think you can do better. I didn't think that employment anywhere with a specific salary & benefits was a right. And many companies still offer what the OP described despite the doom & gloom 'everyone is a victim' mentality of the media.
Also, the consumer demands low prices or they will shop Online. I don't think online shopping was an option in 1984. Those 'thousands' of electronics for low level employees, company picnics cost major $$$$$ and also I didn't think working as a sale associate was such a demanding job.
Also, the consumer demands low prices or they will shop Online. I don't think online shopping was an option in 1984. Those 'thousands' of electronics for low level employees, company picnics cost major $$$$$ and also I didn't think working as a sale associate was such a demanding job.
Posted by Anonymous on 2009-02-08:
Until last year when CC fired all of the knowledgeable and replaced with with $7/hr no-nothings I had a high regard for the place. My only other choice for electronics is Best Buy as I can't consider Wally World or Target in the same league. BB is replacing knowledgeable people with low wage no-nothings.
Posted by BokiBean on 2009-02-08:
The consumer also demands people who know what they're talking about when they make major purchases like computers and big bucks televisions. Its only smart to have sales reps that can actually sell a product because they know it.
In 2007, Circuit City laid off 3400 of its highest paid hourly employess and replaced them with new hires; that same year they paid their CEO $7 mil in bonuses and perks.
Hard to understand why firing the people who know most about their products was savvy business acumen worth that kind of money. They posted losses that year..surprise!
Meanwhile, Best Buy was training workers to understand their high end products on the floor and posted a 52% gain.
This ain't rocket science.
In 2007, Circuit City laid off 3400 of its highest paid hourly employess and replaced them with new hires; that same year they paid their CEO $7 mil in bonuses and perks.
Hard to understand why firing the people who know most about their products was savvy business acumen worth that kind of money. They posted losses that year..surprise!
Meanwhile, Best Buy was training workers to understand their high end products on the floor and posted a 52% gain.
This ain't rocket science.
Posted by onevoice on 2009-02-08:
To the person that doesn't agree with my assessment of the situation Nick 11354, that is OK you don't agree. To say you are ignorant is not an attack on your character or intelligence it is just a lack of knowledge about this subject. Apparently you were so offended because you are one of those that are part of the problem but obviously you missed the entire point. If you understood anything about sales and marketing you would understand terms like W.I.F.M. (what's in it for me) and common ground with the consumer, also the difference between cost and value, work and workmanship. These are the type of things that CC employees were trained and part of what made them successful. However to be trained isn't enough you must reward the associate to implement your training into the job, and this can only be done by rewarding the employee. Of course this only came by an expensive and extensive training program by CC. As for the company picnic and its cost verses its value well I will just say you can't put a price tag on employee loyalty or morale. Next I guess folks like you are satisfied that the manufactures (JVC, Toshiba, Panasonic, etc i. e. China and Japan) make 200% profit and the salesman rewarded minimally. Show me a piece of electronics that will load and unload itself off the truck, inventory itself, turn itself off and on, tell the consumer the particular benefits it offers to that particular customers needs, then professionally installs itself, and then I may agree with your comments. Until then I would not get in on discussions you don't know anything about. As far as the Internet sales argument. Have you ever heard of Crutch field? They are the electronics equivalent of what we know as Internet shopping today and have been around since 1916. I was able to sell to about 95% of their consumers because people wanted to talk to a person they could see, and wanted to actually put hands on what they were buying. Try buying a car online without driving it and see how satisfied you are. If your theory were in the least bit accurate than someone should have told Sears, Montgomery Wards, Cabelas etc so they could have saved billions and not opened any retail locations. Finally as for a sales associate not being demanding shows how ignorant of the topic you really are. Most sales associates work 12 or more hours a day and has many duties not just one or two. Actually I will sum it up like this. Where is Circuit City today and where were they 20 years ago? The answer is not found in the economy or the news media but it is found in the Companies philosophy and policy.
Posted by ElderDawg on 2009-02-09:
Thank you for the great review. You hit it right on the head with how the company evolved and downward spiral. I like may others in 2007 wrote a letter to the CEO and voiced my total shock with the huge lay offs and then the given the CEO a huge bonus. I vowed that I nor any of my family will ever enter a Circuit City store again and we didn't. Looks like a lot of other folks felt the same way. Good luck in the future to all the former employees.
Posted by Anonymous on 2009-02-09:
Great review. The companies that do the worst in a recession are those that downsize customer service. In fact, you'll see that many major department stores are perhaps laying off at head office, but they are not laying off at store level. Yes, store level employees probably make less money, but customers also won't shop if employees aren't there to help them. Every smart CEO (and many aren't too smart) realizes that the economy will turn around and we will spend money again. Keep consumers happy during bad times and we'll be there in good times. Circuit City just had to learn their lesson the hard way.
Posted by Devvie on 2009-03-25:
The problem with many of your larger businesses fall into the hands of the CEO's and upper management. They have the degree. They have the knowlege. But they also have the greed. And for the most part it is not greed for the company. But for themselves. How many companies in todays economy have "cut" upper management? Their bonuses? Their pay? Instead the cut the ppl who actually "run" their companies. These white collar workers have the degree and knowlege? Or do they? How many workers on the floor could run those companies as well or better? Without the greed?
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