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.