You can't get a raise cause of this: The Managers Retreat

[thegreatgazoo2]

http://www.rancholaspalmas.com/
I've never understood why there wasn't a bigger backlash at management from the staff for this egregious waste of money and slap in the face to every salesperson/ops associate in the company.
Instead of paying their workers a living wage, and respecting the workforce that earns them a living while they sit on their asses, your managers are here at this resort getting drunk doing nothing, on YOUR dime.
Yes, your money, cause you made it for the company, and when was the last time you got a raise?
No doubt this costs in excess of a million for flights, rental cars, food, golf, drinks, etc.
That's probably a cost of about $200 for every employee in the company.

Hope you can pay your rent on that commission check they are cutting you.
Just make sure you get the PC with that, okay, while they're gone, or you're fired.
Meanwhile the asskissing, schmoozing, drinking, and indoctrination of a new crew of GC fanboys is well underway in Cali.

[SalesAss]

I actually think both of ya make a valid point...   My general retail beef is that even though I made it a few slots up the food chain, there was still way too much monkeyshine to make it worth what we were getting paid.   I got raises while I worked up the chain.. but the hours got worse...  so if I figured time/money,  it got worse as I moved UP... that was particularly maddening.

[thegreatgazoo2]

*Sigh*... this guy again... You'd be slightly more credible if you didn't immediately resort to name calling anyone you disagree with on here.

Look, I've physically BEEN to these "meetings."
They went to DisneyLand last year for Christ's sake.
Exactly how much work do you get done at ****ing Disneyland?
There are a few actual "conferences" or "meetings" during the year, but this is not one of them.
This is a grandiose vacation that is thinly veiled as a "meeting".

Considering that these same people fail religiously to meet the sales goals they set for themselves, have an absurd amount of turnover, and a salesforce that is sorely underpaid and getting less educated/supported in their positions, it seems rather ridiculous to then throw themselves a weeklong party to celebrate the fact that they failed again.

Many managers in the chain are even uncomfortable with the meeting because of it's excess, and because of the corporate gameface/BS they have to put up with when they are there.  
For some, it's a great opportunity to get drunk and coked up, for others, its painfully slow to finish.
Even back when the company appeared to be making money hand over fist on paper (a lot of that was BS, too, as I think Bain is discovering), it was an shameful display of pride from a group of barely functioning alcoholics.  I had a VP show up drunk and two hours late to his own meeting...
Now, they all are scared to death for their jobs and just dancing the dance for the execs.

Regardless of all that, its still a shameful amount of money blown for a company that cuts every corner possible in labor and training to funnel that same cash into Micky Mouse ears for the managers, who I can tell you from experience do almost nothing anymore but pass on directions from memos that come from the corporate office, bypassing the District managers completely.  
I mean, they cut out Christmas bonuses. They quit paying their staff a much appreciated, although meager,  Xmas bonus, but this is still around?
Maybe I should have pointed out that my initial post was meant to have more of a moral bent, than a capitalistic viewpoint.
What does it say about a manager that preaches "Honesty and Integrity" (supposed company values) and teamwork at a morning meeting, but will sell out their staff's Xmas bonus without a peep, while simultaneously accepting a free vacation that they didn't earn, taken from the same pool of money?
Or the fact that they now have to work New Years Day and Easter to supposedly help meet the goals that the managers can't manage to hit, but the managers can take a week off to go play golf and get hammered together?

If we were talking about actual CLOSERS here, I might agree with you, Noah.  
But they aren't successful in their jobs or goals. As customers, even, we know that's true.
You know exactly how sad they are in their ability to "manage" from you're own rantings on this board.
This is just collective denial of their real position in terms of profitability and success in the retail market; a delusional frat party for middle management that need to feel primped to do their job, without realizing that the other motivation here is that it serves to allow the corporate vultures/wolves to get a good look at the weakest among them.
Unfortunately, they fail to take a good hard look in the mirror.

Couple that with the fact that nobody from the ranks has the balls to call it what it is, for fear or losing their job, and it's just a huge mirage of "success".  The ultimate insult, considering the people who actually make the cash flow are the sales/ops staff, not the managers.
They get together, blow a ****wad of cash congratulating themselves on yet another mediocre year of raising cash to pay for Bain's loan, and the ranks back at the store keep their mouths shut cause they just ought to be happy to have a job, right?

The managers retreat is nothing more than a self congratulatory circle jerk of wasteful excess.

[SalesAss]

Well Put GG......  It's not hard to see why those who make the sales would be less than happy.

[thegreatgazoo2]

[thegreatgazoo2]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/idUSWNA678920120508

Nope, nothing to worry about here.
How 'bout we have the managers retreat in Europe next year, guys?
Can't cost that much... come on, aren't I worth it?
If we go to Amsterdam, can we still get fired for smoking weed?

[SalesAss]

I know a few indie stores around here who are stating how rough business in these last few years...  GC isn't catching on quick enough...

[macrosssaga]

As a dip$hit known as Don Rodrigues used to say "Sell more and give yourself a raise".
At my store, everybody had to sell(even sales managers)"Make that GP!"
If you didn't fade, you were out on your ass!

[thegreatgazoo2]

Idk, Macro... nobody could be a bigger, clueless tool than Dave Settimi.
If anyone has managed to make it through the ranks simply by regurgitating a bunch of lame GC speak, it's him.

I'd like to see how many managers, actual GC employees not Bain, from GM and above, hold relevant degrees in business.
I'd also like to see how many of their District and above managers have no actual business education at all.

[macrosssaga]

They just laid off a friend of mine in "Product/Sales Training".
He used to be a "Keyboard Regional Manager" back when they had those(keys/pro audio/drums/accessories/guitars).
Just more writing on the wall...