Current Event #6: Customer Centricity

Walmart is always in the retail news. Whether they're building more stores, remodeling old stores, or having labor issues while trying to run the store, Walmart can keep themselves in the retail headlines and although I've tried to steer away from their news (because there are other retailers!), it's been hard and in this case, inevitable. The new platform that Walmart is launching is...interesting. An article from retailingtoday.com says, "Walmart has entered a new relationship with SymphonyIRI Group, through which the two will develop a solution that supports the retailer's customer-centric initiatives". The article goes on to explain these initiatives will be for web based customers and will, "deliver unique, custom, Walmart-focused shopper insights, while supporting Walmart's collaborative planning process by providing a dedicated shopper insights portal of user-friendly, customizable reports shared between Walmart and its supplier partners". I couldn't help but compare this site, which will be called Customer Advantage (not very creative, aren't there plenty of loyalty cards already called this), to the Sears managemylife.com site. The managemylife site is primarily for CUSTOMERS to use both before and after purchase. It is solely for their purpose to get more information on their products, manufacturers and manuals. The Walmart site however, is for suppliers and manufacturers to better understand growing customer needs. While this in the long run may help the retailer focus on more customer centric programs, it seems like the same thing every other retailer has done through the loyalty cards (studying shopping behaviors)


I asked one of the merchandising girls at work about her opinion on Walmart launching this site. Her first point was that Walmart is late. She said that plenty of retailers already have these sites (to my dismay she didn't know about the Sears site!). She also said that she didn't know if Walmart customers actually want/need the site. Her issue was that Walmart customers have a love/hate relationship with the retailer (I can agree) and that if this kind of site, which would be watching shopping behaviors and sharing those behaviors with many third parties was known about, then customers may have be uneasy about shopping with Walmart, particularly online (where most shoppers are already weary). Her second point was that she didn't think Walmart was very customer driven. I asked her about the "Great low prices, everyday" mantra and she said that the low prices cannot trump the customer un-friendliness in store. She's ultimately not at all impressed by Walmart's attempt.


I personally think that although the Walmart site may seem beneficial to suppliers and manufacturers to know information about the Walmart customer, its simply online. If the online AND store customer centricity does not translate than the site could possibly be a waste. Maybe a loyalty program in-store too, would help the situation but then again, Walmart is such an easy retailer to just go too. Some customers may go more than once a day in which case Walmart knows where its loyalties lie. I'm skeptical that the site will actually benefit customers directly (like the Sears site is specifically for them to use). While many of the in-store customer service attempts by Walmart may appear catered to the customer (money services, returns, etc.) the actual treatment of customers tells otherwise. The site seems to benefit Walmart more so than the customer. If this is going to be a common conception for the site, it won't help Walmart's reputation...at all. 

Source: Retailing (2011, July 25). "Walmart, SymphonyIRI to introduce Customer Advantage platform" Retreived on July 25, 2011 from http://www.retailingtoday.com/article/walmart-symphonyiri-introduce-customer-advantage-platform

Week 6: The Retail Biz'

Throughout my internship, I've learned so much about the retail industry and myself. Honestly speaking, retail was the last thing I wanted to go into except if I was selling my own stuff, of course. It just didn't seem appealing: long days, horrible hours, angsty customers, un-inspired employee's, and I wanted nothing apart of it. Now, I have a bit of a different perspective on it. I can honestly say that after about 10 weeks of working in the retail industry, we have a love/hate relationship. There have been times when I'm more than ecstatic to go out on the sales floor and interact with customers. There have also been times when I get out there and have a customer or fellow employee bite my head off for something I probably couldn't even control. Through that all, I'd rate my performance a 10 all around. No matter how my day was going, I'd always make sure to do whatever I could for my management team and for our customers. I by no means know everything about Sears processes or retail in general but my knowledge of the industry has expanded so much from what I knew coming in. My image of the professional corporate industry has also changed. The whole "upitty" judgement I had made on the corporate sector couldn't have been more wrong. My own image has even changed for the better. Lastly, my communication skills have had a very positive change. I've learned to speak up more and voice my opinion despite what I think others may say and for the most part, my assertiveness has helped me.


Sadly, but truthfully, during my internship I feel my greatest abilities lie in *shivers* office work. Seriously though, when I'm in the Human Resources office answering customer calls and listening to customer problems as they come in, I feel like I'm actually doing something that affects their perception of the Sears brand. It's really a good feeling to have a customer come in so angry and then you can do something to calm them and satisfy their need. Most customers feel like employees aren't listening or can't understand their issue but a sympathetic person that can do something to remedy the problem goes a long way!


I definitely need improvement understanding and relating corporate metrics to the customer and employees. Of course, I understand we're in business to make money. For example, Sears pushes credit. Employees struggle to get credit applicants all the time and their jobs are stressed by it. The customers don't want credit cards all the time! They especially don't wanna be pushed to applying for one during checkout. I don't understand why the amount of credit applicants and approvals trumps the happiness of employees and customers. I need to improve my understanding of overall corporate metrics and how those metrics positively affect the store level. I also need to improve my resiliency from a bad day, particularly not being able to make a customer happy. I often bring home the feelings I have for customers and worry about it when I can't make a customer happy. I know that if I don't separate the two, in the retail business, I will have a sour experience.


My best experience by far was the trip to Chicago! I learned so much and met a ton of friends that had the same interests as me. I also have enjoyed seeing the Kardashian line unravel. From the launch to actually getting the product in the store, it has been really exciting seeing the Sears brand transition to a more trendy look. My worst and about the only bad experience of my internship has been getting chewed out by customers and thinking I would get in LOTS of trouble for it!


My biggest fashion lesson learned: Never wear heels to work in a department store. Toms shoes are your friend.

Current Event #5: Labor

While some of Sears' biggest competitors like Walmart and more recently Target, are having labor disputes, it seems that the retail industry is getting this sentiment across its biggest businesses. In the article, "Target's Honeymoon Could be Over" there is talk of labor unions arising among Target employee's and the comparison to Walmart's labor disputes. The article says that like Walmart, Target "pays workers similar wages of between $9 and $11". While Target is significantly smaller than the Walmart brand, the attention of the labor unionization is not small. The article says, "Over the past year, Target has followed Wal-Mart by shifting more of its workers to part-time...Some employees say their hours have been cut from 30 per week to fewer than 10. Part-timers must bank at least 20 hours a week, on average, to qualify for benefits.". 


With all of these labor problems apparent, it seems likely that if employees are not happy with pay, hours, etc., they will fight back.  It took me by surprise that Target and Walmart are paying their employees $9-$11 while Sears is around $7.25-$10.51. It also surprised me that as I was looking up information on labor disputes within Sears, I couldn't find any information after 2007. While there seems to be a great deal of dissatisfaction within the store with positions and pay (mostly at the cashier level), it isn't translating to such the degree of Walmart and Target, which is great for Sears but I'm wondering if it is just a matter of time. I asked a cashier who has been at the same level for 25 years what he thought about his overall satisfaction with Sears as a retailer. He told me that basically the older Sears employees are neither happy or angry with the company in regards to treatment, pay, and benefits. It's the younger employees who think they deserve more than they get and that in turn makes the older employees frustrated. 


To an extent, I believe that. Just from my personal experience, I think that many of the older employee's thought that I was just some college kid, making more than them for doing nothing. Now, of course, that sentiment is gone because they have seen my work ethic and etc. However, I think (particularly for Sears), the employees who have been there for their whole lives and still making minimum wage will, soon enough, begin to realize they are worth more than that. This same issue was brought up at the internship conference and in essence we were told that corporate would be working on the issue of competitive pay in the business to ensure that employees are satisfied with their jobs. These new unionization problems may not be an issue with Sears right now, but I do think that if they aren't taken care of quickly, Sears may be the next big company in the light. 


Source: 


CBSMinnesota.com (2011, July 14). "Targets honeymoon could be over" Retreived on July 16, 2011 from topix.com/business/retail - http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/07/14/targets-honeymoon-could-be-over/

Week 5: Chicago

My four day stay in Chicago is over and I was sad to go. The weather was AMAZING and so was the Sears corporate offices, Hoffman Estates. I learned so much about the company and got a real feel for the culture (which is more concrete at the corporate level than the store level). Everyone is so energized and excited for the transition that Sears is going through and open to our ideas and insight which was so refreshing! At the store level, none of that translates. Of course, some core values have made their way down but for the most part the store (more so the cashiers and sales people than management) is not passionate and the "mojo" is inconsistent. throughout the store. We all were able to give our insight and the corporate people really seemed to listen! It was nice. =) The CEO, Lou D'Ambrosio gave us a 45 minute talk he is hilarious! We also heard from directors and heads of all of the business industries Sears is in, including automotive, home improvement, appliances, and electronics. My favorite of course, was the director of apparel and home fashions, John Goodman. He was beyond fab! We went to spiffy dinners, had limo's, and stayed at a decent hotel, except it was in the middle of nowhere! I also had lunch with two of the buying interns that work in corporate and can I say, jealous?! I met so many people that I know will develop into lasting friendships. 


Here are some pictures from the trip. I'll add more in my project.

                                               One of the pretty glass/mirror covered buildings.

                                                      There were three floors of a sample store!

The atrium of one of the buildings in Hoffman.

Analise, a Kmart intern from Seattle.

                                                           The famous Kmart "blue light". 
Through all the merchandise directors we had speak, apparel had the most exciting news! Along with the Kardashian collection, they will be rolling out more celebrity collections at all locations. Right now, SOME of the Kmart and Sears stores have the Audrina Patridge, Selena Gomez and Sofia Vergara collections. Soon, all the locations will have their corresponding collections for more consistency. They are trying new vendors and brands to make themselves more relevant which I'm really looking forward to seeing. In addition to the classics that Sears sells in general to their older customer base, they are really branching out to the trendy and trend driven consumer which I think will pay off in the long run. The prices for some of these new collections however, is a bit questionable. Although they bear the name of a celebrity, I think a dress for example, $150 isn't going to resonate with the Sears customer. Hopefully, they are marking up just to mark down, otherwise I don't know how well the collections will do. Honestly, if I'm going to buy a dress for almost $200, it wouldn't be at Sears. I did ask about the price decision and I was told that the prices are set by the level of quality. I haven't seen any of the clothing firsthand so I don't know if the quality is much better than the house brands. 




I really do think I gained valuable insight at the conference though. It was very engaging and definitely made me more confident in the route the company is going in. The experience was truly amazing. As for next week, I'm looking forward to using some of the knowledge I gained at corporate at the store level. Especially because many employee's including managers have never been to Hoffman so I really need to be grateful and share everything that corporate shared with us. 

Current Event #4: Diversity

I remembered a story a few weeks ago about a Muslim woman suing Abercrombie and Fitch because they fired her for wearing her hijab at work. After reading full story, I realized that Sears may be one of the retailers that is lax with their dress code when it comes to this issue. We have many employee's at my specific store that wear their religious and ethnic garb without any consequence from management or corporate which I greatly appreciate from Sears. 


I asked one of the visual girls, Fatiway, who is Muslim how she felt about the Abercrombie issue and the supposed equal opportunity laws. Her take on the situation was that it was obviously unfortunate. She said her experiences have always been positive when it comes to working in retail and her religious observations. "I've never had a problem with wearing my garb at work. If anything, Sears has been very accommodating with me wearing my head wrap of any color. They treat it like an accessory that would be on anyone else."


It's detrimental for any company to deny someone employment or reprimand them for their religion. I cannot fathom why Abercrombie would even try it as if their reputation can take it! If things like this continue to happen within retail, there are certainly going to be more stringent laws and potentially less employees who would even want to work in the sector. 


Just from hearing what Fatiway had to say and experiencing the Sears culture myself, I can tell they are extremely open and diverse. We even do "potlucks" once a month for good customer reviews where everyone brings a food. I'm very grateful that my first retail experience could be with such an accepting company! 


Source: 10tv.com (2011, June 28). "Muslim woman sues Abercrombie and Fitch over hijab". Retrieved on July 9, 2011 from  http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2011/06/28/story-new-albany-woman-sues-abercrombie-head-scarf.html. 

Week 4: Retail Life

Busy, busy, busy! Apparently the life of someone who works in retail NEVER stops. I mean, I knew the ups and downs of working in retail but gosh!


The upside, I have made plenty of friends at work. Me and the national trainee hit it off pretty well and we hang out in and out of work. The downside, everyone at work calls us twins (because we're always together) and when one of us does something, its assumed the other one knows what's going on. I don't know how to feel about it. 


Anyway, I love my coworkers! One of the cashiers is adamantly insisting that I date her son because she doesn't like his girlfriend. It's the highlight of my day, everyday! I've also seen that many of the employee's have very specific opinions about management which is interesting because I don't see the same aspects of it that they do. Overall, I think I understand the working dynamics and for the most part I like them. 


Although I can't take pictures in the store, we have the new ad for the Kardashian Kollection out now! It's basically an aisle pole kind of ad. 



I think its fitting for the collection as a whole but 1. We only have one sign up, in one aisle. Who's gonna see it?! 2. The sign is dark and for the most part blends in with Sears apparel surroundings. 
I really think there could have been a more creative way to advertise the collection instead of using the same sign we've been seeing since the launch proposal. I know everything in the collection isn't going to black, and if it is we need to do some accents to bring more attention to the "young" in the collection. Really though, Sears is not very fashion oriented when it comes to these things. We have a visuals team but from what I've seen, they focus on dressing the mannequins and setting ads in the juniors department. I think that's because the other clothing lines provide the signs to us, but this Kardashian Kollection is specifically for Sears so it would make sense for them to have some say!


I'll attempt to "sneak" and take some pictures in store. I'll definitely be taking some pictures at the intern conference in Chicago next week! I'm really excited! We'll be visiting the Sears Hoffman Estate and have a lot of network opportunities. Until then!  

Current Event #3: In denial

A few days ago, Zacks Investment Research published a short article about the top 5 companies in the department store industry based on relative performance. The analysis was based on recent trading activity on stocks that have the potential to outperform. Guess who wasn't on the list? 


The list in order was as follows:
1. Macy's
2. Kohl's 
3. Saks
4. Nordstrom
5. Dillard's 


Again, Macy's is kicking Sears' butt! It's number one on the list with a mere loss of 0.57% compared to Sears' lost of 2.6% in the last quarter. I asked the corporate trainee, who expects to be an assistant store manager in about 6 months, what she thought about the future of Sears in comparison with other department store retailers. She said, "I'm not worried about it. Sears is still a Fortune 500 company. So we're doing something right"


Despite the Fortune 500 company designation, it's obvious companies are doing something BETTER than us. For example, Walmart who ranks number one on the Fortune 500 list and Target at number 33! Although Macy's is a little lower on the list at 107, consumers are preferring them over us. I'm starting to think everyone is in denial! Everywhere I turn, someone is telling me that Sears is near bankruptcy...no one shops there...Sears is old news.


All in all, I think everyone is in denial. No one that works at the store level is worried and maybe they don't have reason to be. However, if all these companies continue to flourish without us doing anything, we will have something to be worried about!


Bibliography:


TOP 5 COMPANIES IN THE DEPARTMENT STORES INDUSTRY WITH THE BEST RELATIVE PERFORMANCE (June 23, 2011). Retrieved June 25, 2011. From http://www.zacks.com/research/get_news.php?id=174l7435.   

Bon-Ton and Sears Post 1st Quarter Losses (May 20, 2011). Retrieved June 25, 2011. From 

http://departmentstoreretailing.blogspot.com/2011/05/bon-ton-and-sears-post-1st-quarter.html. 

Week 3: Back to normal

Corporate meetings are over at our store! YAY! They weren't that tough but considering all managers HAD to work 6 day weeks (including the intern: me, and the national trainee), I think we're all happy it's over. There were several 12 hour days getting ready for the meetings. I haven't had an off day since last Tuesday, but I finally get one on Saturday! Enough of my complaining.

We just got a new truck in two of my favorites at the store: UK Style by French Connection and Apostrophe. =D. UK Style shipped us some thick long sleeve leopard shirts...a little early for winter clothes to be selling, but maybe they're thinking ahead. =) And Apostrophe always sends really cute floral stuff. I honestly and sadly didn't know Sears carried "trendy" clothes until this internship even though my family has been shopping with them for years. Which means no one else in the "younger" crowd knows it either! The current ad campaign in our area doesn't even highlight clothing, it's about a couple purchasing a washer and dryer. =\ I mean, we get it. Sears sells appliances. But we also sell a bunch of other stuff, at really good prices but no one hears about that until there's a sale. Our back stock on clothing is ridiculous and I can only attribute that to customers not buying it, right?

 Sears' target market is defined. It's a married couple, younger or older. They have recently purchased a home or remodeling a home. They may have kids or maybe their children are grown. So, Sears likes families. I think they reach this market pretty well. The customers that shop Sears, always do and they love it. They have all the rewards memberships, any possible cards, and so on. But, from what I've seen in the store, younger women and men don't shop Sears. In fact, I've seen a lot of parents shopping FOR their teens and if a college-age kid does wander in, they are disgusted with the selection unless they came for a particular item. I find this disheartening because we do carry some good stuff, I promise! We have plenty of graphic tee's and lace-y tops/dresses that SHOULD be selling. But they end up on clearance and I buy them with my employee discount. We aren't appealing to a huge potential market. If Sears could get teens to come WITH their parents to shop, we would sell a lot more apparel. I even offered to take my little sister shopping at Sears for back-to-school and she declined saying she'd rather go elsewhere. =0 The nerve! The visuals in our store are appealing though, the mannequins are fashionably dressed and there are aesthetically appealing colors and lights; the problem is getting everyone in there to see them.

In other news, I've been working the register a lot in the men's department and the cashiers aren't happy. Apparently there's a lot of tension about credit applications within all the departments because Sears pushes credit. It's not fun for the cashiers though. One friend I made, Gemella (who I adore) is a bubbly, out-going, and confident lady who hates credit apps. I've learned it really brings everyone down in the area. I'd hate credit apps too, honestly. If I was being "graded" on how many credit applications I got from customers, I wouldn't be happy either. No one wants credit. Customers want to pay for whatever they're buying and leave.   Not fill out an app, wait for it to be processed, then be denied. You've wasted about 10-15 mins of that customers' time! There is a $15 incentive if the customer is approved. IF...

This week has definitely been a learning experience. I've been observing and absorbing plenty. I'm looking forward to working with Brand Central where all the appliances are. Not that I'm interested in toasters at all, I'd just like to see how their customers are and the employee dynamics.  

Current Event #2: Macy's takeover

While Sears is known for its housewares and appliances, Macy's is looking to gain some share. According to RetailingToday.com, Macy's has launched a new event, "Chef's a Go-Go" where well-renowned chefs will tour the country using Kitchen Aide appliances and teaching customers new ways to use them along with recipes. 


While Macy's is coming up with clever ideas to gain appliance sales, Sears is simply declining in sales. :-( The Chicago Tribune wrote, "In May, Sears reported that it swung to a first-quarter loss as sales sank at Kmart and Sears stores and its core appliance business continued a downward slide". 


I asked a coworker how she felt about this news and she commented that Sears doesn't have the kind of money to do a "Chef's a Go-Go" venture. When I asked why, she simply replied, "I don't know". That same employee though, decided to go "shop" at Macy's to compare prices and appliance selection. She reported to me that the prices are very similar and we have a wider range of appliances. So why are our sales declining and Macy's is able to spend money on celebrity chef's touring the world? We even match the prices of other retailers IF a customer finds it cheaper some where else. I have my own personal beliefs of why Sears isn't "flourishing" like it's other retail counterparts. Just from seeing store operations and dynamics first-hand...I think Sears has all the right tools but something, somewhere is going wrong, but no one really knows what it is. 

Bibliography/ citation: 

Retailing Today: (2011, June 21). "Macy's chefs hit the road". Retrieved on June 21, 2011 from: http://www.retailingtoday.com/article/macys-chefs-hit-road

Tribune staff report. (2011, June 21). Fitch Downgrades Sears. Retreived on June 21, 2011 from: 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-fitch-downgrades-sears-20110621,0,1282117.story

Week 2: Overtime

So my internship is now in FULL swing. No one has to tell me what to do anymore because there is PLENTY to do! Since my last post, I took a survey of the associates' perception on the "Shop your way rewards" program for my end project. I also finished my 30 day training on the Sears intranet way before 30 days! Woot! I've started hating computers! I learned PCN, stock locating, and pushing freight which is not very hard but kind of boring after going through all of our products, from soft lines to home goods including appliances. My favorite tasks still involve working on the floor with customers; Sears has the best customers ever!

Just from interacting with the customers, I can tell Sears has a very loyal base. In the store, from what I've seen, Sears is very family-oriented and friendly. Every morning my manager says, "Remember: a name tag and a smile!" It's very important to make the customer happy by any means necessary so Sears is also loyal to their customers.

I happen to LOVE my coworkers! There are still a few I haven't won over but I'm still working on it. :-) We just got a corporate trainee that just graduated from the University of Tennessee and she's done the internship already so she gives me plenty of tips! It's exciting! I'm getting to work with the visual team a lot too. It's been good times....except this week our district manager came because we're having the CEO and some other head honcho guys check out our store because it's doing really well. :-) It's good and bad. It's good because, yay! The store is doing so good, they want to see how we run. It's bad because our very nice district manager (she really is nice) took away my off days to help get the store ready. I don't mind but I'll be working more than I do now, which is already a lot! So, next week I'll be doing job rotations AND running around helping with sprucing up the store. Ahhh!

Luckily, I'm living at home and don't have to worry about cooking or anything after a long day. I have to get on taking some pictures to post! I'm looking forward to booking my flight to Chicago for the three-day intern conference which I'm very excited about! ...until my next post...*sleep*

Current Event #1: The Kardashian Kollection

Week Number: 1

Company Name: Sears

Internship position: Management intern

So, I may have spoke too soon about ALL the associates hating me at Sears. Its actually only a few. Everyone else is very pleasant and nice. :-) 


In other news, during my first week, while following Khloe Kardashian on twitter (because we are personal friends lol) I found out that the Kardashian sister's are launching a line for Sears! Immediately after I found out I searched for my mentor Katreena, who's in charge of all apparel in our store. She's pretty excited considering some departments in apparel don't do as well because the merchandise isn't what customers like. She commented saying, "Some of the stuff in Women's isn't trendy enough which is why no one buys it! Hopefully the new line will bring up our sales."


I love the idea of the Kardashian's releasing a line for Sears. Their popular, trendy, and most of all, fashionable. However, the median age of the Sears shopper is 45 so I'm not sure how the perception of the Kardashian name will go with the older audience. Overall, the hope is that this new launch will drive sales.


The products are set to include ready-to-wear, lingerie, jewelry, footwear and, handbags. It's to be released in August. Also, Sears just recently launched the line on the Sears website where customers can sign up for email notifications: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/dap_10153_12605_DAP_kardashiankollection?

i_cntr=1307889215474

Bibliography/ citation: Beck, Lani. (2011, June 2).

Kardashian Kollection: The Kardashian Sisters Soon to Launch Apparel and Handbags. Retreived on June 10, 2011 from: http://www.handbago.com/blog/kardashian-kollection-kardashian-sisters-soon-launch-apparel-and-handbags

Week 1: No one tells me anything!

On Monday, June 6th, I started my management internship at the Sears in Cumberland Mall in Atlanta. It has been...interesting. It's not that I haven't enjoyed my first week because I have! Customers are my favorite people in the world, I've realized. It's just that...no one really tells me anything! Which is understandable, no one should have to tell me what to do every moment of every day BUT considering it was my first week and I'm new to the company, some general guidance would have been nice.

So far, I usually start each day at 7:00 am with my mentor (she's in charge of all apparel). We put new clothes out from stock until the store opens at 10:00 and then I work on the sales floor for an undetermined amount of time (I kind of just stay out there for a couple hours because no one has given me a structured time to change activities). I go to a 30 min lunch and then to the training room for some laborious online management training. I stay in there...awhile...and then head to my managers office for some instruction and he usually tells me to continue training or do some sort of task for him. I've made posters for a promotional event for Father's day and put together plenty of outfits for racks. The managers like to give me "fashion" tasks as they say.

I also get to sit in on the manager and department meeting. I have missed 2 meetings so far! :-( No one tells me when they are even though I asked! Everyone seemed to think it wasn't a big deal though. I've noticed that the working dynamics are pretty lax. My mentor, Treena, says that I'm way too quiet in comparison with everyone else but I think thats just because it was my first week. My manager is very chill. He basically allows me to decide what I'm doing for the day. I just wish there was more structure. The associates don't seem to care for me very much and when I ask them questions, very few are happy to answer them. :-( But I'll get over that.

Now about customers...I love Sears customers! They like help and I like to help so we get along so well! I did experience one customer though, that was looking for khaki's in the Men's department. I directed him towards them and he went searching for a few minutes, and came back to me saying, "Hey, I have to wear these today and there is dog hair all over them. What can you do about that?". I was very confused because even though I'm new to Sears, I'm almost certain they don't sell puppies! I could only tell him that MAYBE, just maybe, customer service has a lint roller...it was really funny. Even though I could only laugh at it by myself.

As for next week, I'm looking forward to hopefully some more hands on training opposed to the online stuff. I get a general understanding about Sears from online but I think actually experiencing it would serve me better. Also, I have an internship presentation to start working on! Sears has a "Shop your way rewards" program for customers to join and apparently not many do join so it my job to analyze the problems with it and suggest solutions. I've started off by making a survey for associates to fill out so I can examine their understanding and approach to the program. I will put it in the break room and I'm looking forward to seeing how much participation I get. Otherwise, I'll be asking a batch of associates individually the questions and I'm sure they won't care for that either!

All in all, its going okay!