Thread regarding Sears layoffs

@3bqi -- Maybe the programming we are using now wouldn't be so bad if it ran on newer registers. The registers we are using are at least 20-25 years old and are not able to do all of the things that corporate wants it to do.

I've worked here 11 years and everything but the registers have changed. They've plugged in state of the art pin pads, changed the programming on the registers and enabled the ipad's to synch up with the registers and did lots of other tricks, a lot of which seem to be unnecessary and may very well be the cause as to why the registers don't function well.

The main issue seems to be that corporate wants to use state of the art programming on a system that is about a quarter century old. They don't want to buy new registers, even though they should because any computer equipment is only useful for a few years until it starts breaking or becomes too outdated to be useful. I'm surprised that these old dinosaurs have trundled along for this long. But, if you ask me, is there anyone out there using a computer from 1995 with the latest and greatest programming?

I am another "old timer" who had been around in the days when we used the old system and I also agree, the old system seemed more efficient to use, but like I said, we probably need new registers. Come to think of it we need a lot of other things, like new floors and new shopping carts, maybe a pressure wash and a fresh coat of paint too, but we probably will never see any of that.

The truth is that the DOS system was built at a time when Sears was actually willing to spend money on making it work right. They coasted on that effort, then halfassed the redesign. It's an EXTREMELY common trope in corporate IT. It's not really a case of the old system being "good" as much as the fact they cheapskated on the replacement.

Believe me, they could have done so much better if SHC actually had their development processes and funding in order.

@3gwj I know what the poster meant. I intended my post as a joke - I threw the "embracing change and technology" bit in there which I thought might be a dead giveaway to my sarcasm, but I guess not :-).

I do agree that the "DOS" register systems worked much better, but for a bit of a technological trivia the registers that we thought were pure DOS actually ran Linux. They imported the original DOS software that ran the registers in the 80's and 90's to the Linux system in the 2000's. The registers still run Linux, only now with touchscreen graphics instead of the old "DOS" Interface. Still, I agree with @1jtu, the IT dept. could have just left the register's interface alone and patched security holes.

I believe the poster meant the DOS register interface for the Sears registers only. Our 909 register in the hub works better than anything on the floor which is why we keep it. It stays programmed on the old DOS interface and it works like a charm.

I'm sure the poster is ok with non DOS applications elsewhere.

@1jtu It's about time that you get with the times and embrace change and technology. DOS is not coming back.

I hope ShopSears goes next, and maybe the touchscreen register software to follow. The registers worked so much better with the old DOS software. I don't know why they changed it. If it was because of security purposes, they could have left the time tested interface alone and made their changes under the hood, so to speak. Now it is slow, crashes all of the time and it is not user friendly to anyone who does not like to take their hands off the keyboard to interact with the system. Even the smartphone generation who has worked here long enough to use the DOS system admit that it was better.

At our store we gradually stopped using the ShopSears app on the iPads to ring our sales. We just use them during the sales process to look things up and to enter our recaps and KYMs. We do our actual transactions on the registers, even with the buggy register software it just works better and is still faster than the iPad. Apparently some managers at other stores still make their sales staff use the ShopSears on the iPads. I guess it depends on the manager and how much of the koolaid they drink. I feel sorry for anybody still having to use the iPad to ring transactions.

Sometimes simplicity is best. There is no need to reinvent the wheel.

That was a waste of $$$ and time. That app never worked it was useless and waste of resources thank god its gone for good. I hated when the managers would say get on it yet it didn't work so useless was that app.

No one used it at least in my store

Good to hear! What a stupid idea, doomed to fail. Nobody wanted to use it because everyone realized it bogged down the SNCs which are slow to begin with. They could just use the old fashioned landline.