Former Management here- Worked for the company for 8 years. 6 straight then the first round of store closures scared me to leave to another location. Then that retailer died in that location. Went back to Macy's and it was worse than the first 6 years. Honestly the customers want sales help but could never find someone to help them. The stores looked like a bargain basement (much worse) with no recovery teams or idea how to recover with such short sales floor staff. Theft - people walking out with armloads of merchandise and customers seeing this with no actions taken. Customers complained about this and said they would not come back feeling unsafe. Cutting staff on the sales floor to the point where one person is working three or four areas is not the solution. But most of you know this. It was a great company to work for back a few years ago but the direction has taken a wrong turn and this round of layoffs and store closures is a panic mode to try to save what is left of the future of Macy's. I wish all of you that are in this situation the best of luck and look forward - the future is bright, maybe not by the Macy's star. I left retail seeing the writing on the wall a while back and life is good where you can find a rewarding position. Again Good luck to all.
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@2men+13mgufcw I being a sales manager, 100% agree with all the roles we hold and how stretched thin we are. And like you, my marriage has nearly been destroyed in the last two years BUT we have decided to make things work and set some ground rules concerning work because I seem to be “on call” all hour Macy’s is open and my days off. Whether to answer questions for colleagues because no other manager or supervisor understands how to make a decision, or my store manager calling me to ask me how to do something or find it on the portal.
Since all the news and changes have come out I have set an “auto response” message on all my texts and have let my phone calls go or voicemail. Please contact and see the manager on duty or the store manager. I am not paid to handle things after my shift or on my days off. Concerning that, those days are over for me. My salary is equivalent to and I am paid to work 40 hours a week.
@1imv+13mgufcw is so freakin' right... I, being a Sales Manager, am also a sales associate, BOPS team, fulfillment team, recovery team, merchandiser, housekeeper, DMET, HR, RM, MTM, price team all rolled into one. All while tasked to hit star rewards, my client, monthly pre-sale goals, Thanks for Sharing, Friends and Family, Last Act turnover, and maintaining our MAGIC Medallea score. Every year I would tell myself there was no way my store manager could add any more work. But every year, there would be more personnel cuts and more work would be added. Something had to give, because as a human, I can only work so many hours during a day. Work has ruined my marriage. It has also destroyed Macy's customer service. So much for Macy's theory on "Work life balance".
When I go to McDonalds on break I see more employees than I have on my entire selling floor and we're trying to sell designer items. The answer is obvious. We've cut too much and are bleeding to death. Check out your fast food staffing during your next lunch break and count the number of employees working compared to your sales team.
To keep people shopping in stores you need to provide service. A store cannot do this unless you have sales force. Years ago Macy’s combined areas, reduced staffing, increased workloads, increased .com order picking in stores without accounting for the extra workload. So what once had 2 or more sales people actually helping customers, selling merchandise now has .5 sales person who is tasked with fulfillment picks, ringing customers, recovery.... see the issue here. When I walked the floor I saw many customers seeking help they could not find. People in lines dropping their merchandise and walking off because there was only one register open and one sales associate. That is not how you keep a company running. Also theft... increased so much in the years they reduced sales staff yet did not think of offsetting that with a full AP staff. They cut AP, cut sales force, combined areas, refused to improve or repair security measures and shortage skyrocketed. Sound the same thing over and over expecting different results is the tru definition of insanity.
Jackson, TN....aren’t you going Neighborhood now?
I work for Macys in Jackson TN. We are doing okay! But who is to blame? People who shop on line. Brick and morter stores are going away because of on line shopping. ALL the stores are feeling it. JCPenny, Macys, Lowes, Kohl's, etc. etc. So if you want stores to stay open and people to have jobs the everyone needs to do their shopping IN stores.
I agree. Cause I lived it. I started in shoes had a runner at all times. They worked hard did their job. Years later I’m running to get shoes. I’m by myself 80 % of the time. I started with 30 sales people and now we have 5 !! I also do the job of finish line cause he doesn’t show up for work. Then I find out this is happening in alot of store. I have customers complain being all alone. And I have as well but nothing changes. I have come home so wiped out exhausted I can barley walk or stand. The stress is unreal. This is normal? This is the big plan ? Something should be done about it