[quote name='kathos']Please stop with the shit, please? It's filling up the room.
I'll set the record straight right now (even if it is to an audience of a few dozen Canadians, that post anyway).
There's two seperate sections in a FS store; Operations (cashier/customer service/tech lab/entertainment; videogames/DVDs) and Sales (everyone else), Operations employees are not in a commission position, a per-hour a pay deal. The Sales guys are.
They don't just make "a buck" per sale. Every item has its own amount of commission it gives out, and our suppliers give out incentives to sell/know their product (it evens out to be the same).
Price Matching does affect numbers, but nothing too crazy and nothing that would matter in the long run. And EggViper hit the nail on the head with his reply; PM for a few dollars (or a few dozen on larger items) is HUGE when compared to the potentially lost business. To my older customers and non-hoarding RDFers I have absolutely no problem PM-ing, yes it slightly affect my department's numbers, but I'd rather have them come back to shop at my store than somewhere else. Yes my department's videogames and such have low profit but you know what? It's ok. 'Cause that customer who saved $10 on a game might come back to my Futureshop to buy something else. And hopefully he'll be a longtime customer and makes us his one-stop shop.
And managers don't "brain wash" anyone and they don't lose money there either. If they've been brainwashing me then they've screwed in one single fact in my brain; the customer comes first. The manager won't get fired or transferred for price matching, that's ridiculous, you're putting PM-ing on the top of the list next to eating people and inciting a lynching. Promotions are based on job performance is based on customer service and commitment to the company, sales (if you were even in sales) is a mid-distant third.
The company has those policies and the fine print for a reason; to prevent hoarding and to prevent being taken advantage of. FS is there to make money just like everyone other business, yes, but what's a few bucks here and there when it might result in repeat business from you?
Any employee from a good FS with a good team will tell you the exact same thing.
If you don't know what goes on don't speak of it. I'd rather fellow CAGers not go to FS because their local FS sucks pure shit (probly in the bottom 50 in the company) than because some guy said something in a forum, because you're dragging MY name through the mud too when you do it.
Gah.
Ok I'm done, sorry about that guys. I may be in an entry level retail position while studying for my master's at Rye, but doesn't mean I have no pride.[/quote]
Whoa, take a chill pill dude. I have worked in a Future Shop before, so I do have some knowledge about the in's and out's of the company. I think you have taken wayy too many things I said out of context. For instance,
1) By "a buck," I meant "money," not a single loonie.
2) Obviously PMing certain items makes a more significant impact than others. If a customer walks in with a Tiger Direct ad advertising the Logitech Z-5500 speakers for $199.99, and FS has them for $499.99, how is there not a significant loss there?
3) I never said a manager would be transfered solely for price matching. That's ridiculous. Price matching is a way in which a store can lose money, and any manager would try and limit the ways their store can lose money.
4) By "brainwashing" I was referring to numerous other aspects of Future Shop, i.e. Product Service Plans, set-up services, and yes, price matching. Why do you hear so many stories about people being denied standard price matching policies? I doubt every single person that is denied is a hoarder.
Obviously we have different experiences working at Future Shop. At my particular location, sales mattered the utmost, with pleasing the customer next in line, no question. I worked at the Future Shop at Empress Walk, so perhaps that lays out a better idea for you. I have never had problems price matching with Future Shop, and they continue to have my business. I am of the thought that there are some rotten employees at Future Shop that try their hardest to deny PMs for no reason, and there are great employees (such as yourself) who are in it to help the customer, which is rare from the experiences you read on the web.
