Over at the Open Thread they've been talking about Easter (which has a dumb way of scheduling) and the new hours the studios are running. I'll let the following comment ask the question for me:Yeah, one of the worst things you can do in business is have unpredictable hours. Customers give up on you.Did you lose any assistant managers when they weren't getting guaranteed hours? Did SMs have to take other people's hours so they themselves could get enough? How's working 6 days a week going?
My question is how the heck is this a full time job for managers anymore? Are you in the studio every day now to make 40 hours?"
Either way I figure nothing says "we aren't doing well" like making your store be open fewer hours.
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16 comments:
The reasoning out DM gave us about the new hours is that if the studio is open less time, customers would then have to rush to make time to get to us before they closed and the we would eventually make plan(sales) for the week. The only problem with that, is the only days that really fill up are Saturdays and Sundays. Leaving the entire week open because most people work until 5, and we close at 6. So therefore we get yelled at by the DM for not having enough sits during the week.
Our SM is required to work 38 hours a week. Giving her only 2 hours space in case an appointment comes in at the closing hour. We no longer have an assistant manager because of the hours. So our crew only consists of 4 people in a moderately high volume studio. Not to mention that we are closed between 2-3 everyday, which pisses the customers off even more when they have to wait for their photographer to come back from lunch.
And dont get me started on Easter! Our studio recently got an e-mail stating that if we beat sales for the day, everybody working gets time and a half. We were supposed to get time and a half REGARDLESS since they're forcing us to be open on a holiday!
What the PP said!
We havent started our new hrs yet, not until after easter. We will close 2 days a week at 6. Im assuming Tuesdays and Saturdays? Thats what the Trial studios were closing at.
4 people. How the hell are we supposed to run anything with 4 people! God forbid someone gets sick or *gasp* wants a couple days off of work! Some saturdays we require 5 people just to get through our morning shifts! We only have 6 employees to begin with and we have NO reason to fire 2 of them, I need to tell my manager to make me one of the ppl she lays off so i can collect unemployment!
And i absolutely REFUSE to sit around and wait an hour UN-PAID just to go home after lunch. That is a load of bullshit in itself. How are we supposed to get the 1-800 number to stop booking appts for the rest of the night?
**I want to know the # of studios that had to get rid of their Asst. Managers after the Hours change Please**
The studios that are getting rid of their assistants don't need them. Most of them are glorified associates anyway and don't know how to contribute with manager skills.
Why should i contribute anything "manager" like when i get paid the same as all the other employees? If they want me to work more, then they need to pay me for it.
Did you agree to the pay when they made you asst manager? Are you willing and able to be promoted? Have you done anything above and beyond that proves you should be promoted?
Actually YES! Ive above and beyond. I carried my Studio to #1 in our district with my PRS, I do 1/2 the paperwork our studio is assigned, and i deal with all the crappy and pissy customers who feel they were wronged. All for an extra Buck Fifty.
Yea, im stupid!
Then I say you were compensated and if you are not happy, then find a different job! Why would you say you were getting the same pay? I know a ton of associates who would be more than pleased with a buck fifty raise. It is your job to do paperwork(associate's too), run a good PRS(associate's too) and to deal with pissy customers(associate's too).
hey look knock off the "be happy with what you got" attitude. if YOU were happy you wouldnt be on this website. were not here to knock each other we are here to knock the retarded place we work for. we are ALL unhappy. in case you havent noticed this country is in a recession. if there WAS another job id have left last year. ive put in 45 applications got 30 interviews. got hired 15 times only to have the place get a hiring freeze. if the poster isnt happy as an asst mgr he/she must have good reason. im miserable as one although i have a doofus for a mgr who cant even work the sas system and asks ME to do it....rather than learn they just call me at home.......so when CPI gives me a raise or pays my cell phone bill ill start doing managerial things again
Wow, to be as Happy go Lucky as you are and to be defending things like you are...... are you one of the new idiots who are running things?
If not, somethings not right in your head! really, its not.
NO ONE in this comapny is compensated for the crap we do... NO ONE. they pay jack shit and thats exactly what they should get from us employees..... No raises at all this year? Then i dont give a crap what my performance is anymore. I dont think any employee does. Ill take the pictures and let the customer pick what the want (well, more what they can afford) which is going to be one of the many different packages you stupid big wigs insist on sending out.
REDICULOUS.
Who are you to tell me that I am not happy or not? Even though I don't agree with most of what is written on here, I do like to get insight as to what makes some employees tick. (and it also has some entertainment value) Coming here helps me to anticipate some of the excuses that may arise with my fellow employees.
ah my favorite word excuses. when i take a perfect 15 pose sitting top down sell show all products and the customer STILL picks a 9.99 im just giving excuses. yet when you ask the company why it does what it does and makes us confused and miserable they call it reasoning. a CUSTOMER should NOT control whether or not i keep my job the only exception would be if i did something out of line. if im there every day with a smile on my face doing my best to anticipate my customers needs and working hard that should be an inkling that i am doing my job correctly. not based in the sale or the customer survey that is too vague to get an accurate description of the work i put in. the company is spiraling bc they pay me more in an hour than the customers are actually spending in an hour. a few changes and we would all run smoothly. if they spend a little they will make more. now do us all a favor and get your insight somewhere else this sight is designed for gripes not a holier than thou attitude by someone who is obviously happy with being tortured on a daily basis.get your insight from your employees if they havent all quit without notice by now.
You're right, there are just too many variables! You could be an awesome photographer and the best sales person around, but in this line of business, you're not selling a "constant" product that has a standard price. The child could act up, the parent could be in a rush, you could be completely understaffed and the customers are fuming by the time you take them in, you could think the portraits are great, but it's not what they wanted, etc. It's horrible. I feel for everyone who is still in this hell of a job.
I, for one, am getting pretty irritated with the one poster on here (who I would suggest works at corporate) who likes to throw around terms like, "it's your job", etc. The name of this blog is Sears Portrait Sucks. We come here to commiserate and your posts do not belong.
Im 99.99% sure they work in corporate too. They are trying to make themselv es feel better about the crappy way they treat us employees.
I am a PHOTOGRAPHER. Not a salesman, not a telemarketer, not a babysitter, not a maid.
PHOTOGRAPHER.
Might i add, im also the crappiest paid photographer i know. I want paid for each job im made to do individually..... its only far, right?
oooooooooooo good one!
I just found out about the new hours today and I have to say I am a little peeved! When I was first getting informed I heard something about more money. Then all I heard was that our studio is going to be down by half of our normal hours. Which also means I will not be getting my normal hours either. I have to let one person go, and the other one who is my best employee by far will get one day and maybe some discresionary hours? Yeah I am pretty sure that she will no longer have the same availability being as that she will need another job to pay the bills. There is no way she will be waiting around week after week to see if maybe she lucked out and got some hours. To top it off I am very sure that all of our customers and potential customers will be taking their buisness elsewhere. Somewhere that is open maybe? Closing at 2 and coming back to close? Are you fricken kidding me? What nut jobs are running this shindig? I for one am a very underpaid manager and now you tell me your going to cut my hours and I will be working by myself? What about my vacation? What if I am sick? Maybe if you give me one hell of a raise to run a show all alone but other than that I can start my own buisness and deal with the same thing. I feel we are going down and fast and I also believe that buying Picture Me studios only hurt us badly. Things were not like this a few years back. I should probably be looking for another job just in case. I will not be working in another studio thats not my own though thats for sure!
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