I was so excited when I got hired at Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth, the outlet version of Saks Fifth Avenue. I was thinking I was going to be working for one of the best companies in the world! Not so. (I am not giving out the location or exact dates due to current employment with Saks.)
I find out they hired people under different wages, commissions, and expectations. We were all hired to start training to open this new store in mid. The store would open to the public soon after. 54 new associates are hired. I was hired at $9.00/hr 1% commission, which was what most accociates were hired at.
Four other people are hired 6% commission and they have to sell a certain amount in a week's time or they only make $9.00/hr. Part-timers and on-call are hired anywhere from $8.00/hr with no commission to $8.50/hr with 1% commission.in my opinion, if one person makes commission, ALL should make commission.
I was told in my original interview that this was a new program for Saks and they have never done commission before. I was never told that it was experiemental and could get pulled out of the store. I will get into that in a little bit.
People started talking about what they were making. People were stealing sales, and I mean literally stealing right in front of other people. There was a girl in the Women's Dept. That was on 6% commission and she was stealing MY sales right under my nose. Now here is how it worked upon opening at Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth:
—Associate greets, negotiates sale with customer
—Associate talks to customer about opening a Saks Mastercard or Saks Store Card equivalent
—Associate can ring his/her own customer or bring it to Customer Service and trust them to ring it up under the Selling Associate's number, OR...
—Associate can lead the customer to Customer Service and trust the customer to mention the Selling Associate's name who helped him/her
In my opinion, trusting another person to ring up my sale is like handing my credit card to that person and trust they will not screw me over. The associates at Customer Service were not under commission at all, however, sometimes a commission associate might help out at Customer Service or cover while the Customer Service Associate is on break. As you have probably guessed, this caused some serious issues!
The Women's Dept. Associate I have forementioned, she would make her way to Customer Service ALL the time and ring up other peoples' sales. I kept close track of what my sales should be. One week, the second week we were open, I had written down all my sales, and I came up with a total of over $10,000. I was credited with about $5,000. At 1% commission, that is $50.00 lost. Other associates had confronted management about a similar problem, as I overheard in the break room.
I made my way to management, and they said there is no way to fix it. I told them I wanted to start printing out duplicate receipts, and they were okay with that. At the same time I started doing this, the store comes up with new rules as follows:
—Only Customer Service associates are to ring sales unless a commission associate is asked to cover Customer Service. We will not be using the registers in the fitting rooms. We want the Sales Associates helping customers. (I feel that if I spend an hour with a customer, I should ring my own sale so that I KNOW I have received credit and so I can finish what I started with the customer. The customer appreciates full service from one person. Oh, and at $8,000 per register, what a waste of money to not utilize ALL of them!)
—When a customer approaches Customer Service with items to purchase and they are asked: "Who has helped you today?" and they say "No one, " they are to be rung up under a non-commission associates number. (The problem with this is if I am the only one in my department attempting to help five different customers, I still feel I should get credit. Splitting my time with five different people is difficult and they may not remember my name, so I am not supposed to get ANY commission for those people?)
—No talking about your commission or pay rate with ANYONE, even in the break room. It is causing problems and conflict among associates. No talking about sales totals. (This was after about five people had quit in disgust after only a few weeks of being open. As of today, out of 54 associates, at least one has been fired (theft), and only about 30 are still working at this store. A hell of a turnover, wouldn't you say? Maybe everyone should be paid based on their sales and performance and no one would be bitching!)
So, I kept my duplicate receipts for a week and that week things were okay. Everyone knew I was doing this, so, it was as if people were afraid to take my sales. Then, there was a moron that started ringing sales improperly at Customer Service. I had a $1,000 sale and she rung it under herself. She wasn't even commission! My co-worker was having the same problem with the same associate one time and lost a $1,500 sale.
Whenever I approached a manager about this, they would get attitude and ask why I was the only one that had these problems. Well, first off, I am a very organized person and I was the only one in the whole store writing down EVERY sale. Also, most associates were in school and working part-time and probably didn't care about their 1% sales over a 20-hour work week. The other full-timers were all 6% and making a ton of money. The manager would say they would fix it, but I have never seen anything reimbursed to this date.
Recently, I get pulled into the office and I am told: "The incentive program is being pulled from all Saks Fifth Avenue Off Fifth locations..." That was the first line. My Store Director was reading off a piece of paper. I was getting a pay raise, in my opinion too low, (I don't want anyone to know who is writing this so I won't quote the actual raise total) but it was based on my average sales through August. I was okay with this because it was way too stressful. I was given a paper stating the change and I signed it. I left work that day, and read the letter to my girlfriend as I was given a copy of the signed statement. We both noticed something. It said: "Base 1% is being pulled..." Nothing about the 6% people.
I stormed back into the store and confronted the Sales Manager that was sitting in the office as the Store Director was telling me about this. The Store Director was gone for the day. I told her what I read and asked what is happening to the 6% associates.
"The incentive program is being pulled, " she says.
"That would mean that NO ONE is getting commission right?" I asked.
"If you were given the opportunity, would you want to be 6%? I mean they get written up if they don't make their sales goals!"
"I don't know if I would want that. They are still here though, so they must be making their sales goals. Especially (Women's Dept. Associate), she steals sales, and she works in Women's! Is their commission being taken away?"
Sales Manager hesitates."... No."
"How is that fair?! What if I wanted to be 6% commission? No one offered it to me at the meeting! Especially during the holidays, they have a lot better of a chance to make money than I do! Put yourself in my shoes. Wouldn't you be annoyed and offended?"
"This is not our decision. It's corporate's decision. I have no control over it."
I scoff. "You are the voice for us though. You can fight for us. I am one of the top salespeople here. You can at least recommend something better for me. I am okay with this thing being pulled, but I feel as if information was withheld from me in that meeting. (Store Director) said that the incentive program was being pulled. Not only Base 1%."
"First of all, " Sales Manager says, "it is not our place to tell you what else is being pulled, if anything. Secondly, 6% is not considered incentive. If they don't make their sales goals, they only get $9.00/hr."
"It IS incentive, " I rebuttled. "If they make over their sales goals, they get straight, unlimited 6%. Am I right?"
Very hesitant: "... Yes."
"Thank you!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air. "That is what we call incentive. Everyone should have their commission pulled, not just a portion of the people in the company."
We argued back and forth for a while, and then I walked out of the store.
A few other things, the Store Director is something else. I don't know how she made it near the top, but it is so insane that she did. I might be working side-by-side with my co-worker folding shirts and talking, and she sees us from a distance and scolds us over the walkie: "If you two need something to do other than talk, I can find you something to do."
This may be a giveaway on who I am, as their are only five guys who work in the store, but one of my co-workers and I think she dislikes straight guys. The women and the two homosexual guys who work with us are almost always found up front near the cash registers conversing and laughing. The laughter can be heard throughout the store, which is embarrassing when there are customers. The minute either of us are talking about anything with anyone, we are told to get to work, even if we are talking and folding at the same time.
The Store Director is so outrageously rude. There is no Open-Door Policy at this location. They literally have their office door closed 90% of the time when someone is in their. I knock on the door to talk about something and I get a hand in my face, as if to say "back off" and: "We are so far behind, right now. Please, can this wait?"
Hours are cut religiously. I am one of the top salespeople in the store, and I feel people who get few sales should have their hours cut. People who get the most sales should have more hours. It's common sense.
I am still employed at Saks, although, I am constantly looking for another job. I loved sales, until I worked here. The commission will be pulled in mid-October. I am still writing down my sales and finding that I come out with more than what I am credited with. I don't say anything, because nothing ever gets done. I am never reimbursed for lost sales. I hope that someone sees this, preferably a customer, and stops shopping their. They treat their employees like cattle. Round them up, put them to work, then slaughter their self-esteem.
Thank you for taking time to read my report.
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