Granted, many times the employees don't care themselves but sometimes the higher ups treat their store personnel like serfs. Why am I bringing this up? The store manager at the place I'm working part-time was fired yesterday for reasons none of the employees or even managers even know or are being told. He was beloved and almost no one that worked with or for him had a single bad thing to say about him. Sometimes, when sales are bad, the higher-ups become robots that only look at stats. Granted, they have a lot on their plate and a lot to keep straight but they don't know what goes on at a store level often times. It's like undervaluing what Chuck Hayes meant to the Rockets for so many years because he didn't light the League on fire in the box score. Another sports analogy is that the results weren't what the execs were pushing for (though, we don't know for sure if that's the case at my store), he was like the head coach who got fired as a scapegoat. I think it's why there's such a high turnover in retail. The higher-ups know that the store people can be replaced (though he hired some good people with high integrity and comradery) and just treat employees like ants, which is partially why in turn employees don't stay loyal to them. I'm off my soapbox but my boss got a raw deal.
I worked as a store manager for a major american retailer for 16 years and over 20 years overall. I can tell you they can't say anything about why he might have been dismissed, but someone knows and it will eventually get out. Personally, if it was "sudden" I would be willing to bet a nice sum of money it was loss prevention related. You just never know about some folks.
And it's funny you mention that because I heard a rumor about loss prevention mentioned tonight. Still, it's a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The higher up couldn't see the forest for the trees.
What I meant by loss prevention related is that its possible he could be involved with stealing with the company. I once had a very good friend of mine frog marched out of the store I worked in by local police in handcuffs. He and I had worked together almost 2 years and we were friends outside the store...drinking buddies, softball, etc. I never had a clue he was stealing till I saw him taken out.
I thought only cool kids get to work at A&F. It's my life long dream to be able to work there and have a cool 8 pack going.
It's not just retail. Thirty-odd years ago and right upon graduation, my brother-in-law went to work for the fraternity he had pledged in college. He lived in their dorms and hit the road for them immediately. Twenty-five years later (circa 2005-6) he has risen to be President of the fundraising division. Then comes 2009-10 when it gets hard to fundraise. They FIRE him and replace him with an outside "expert" whom they ask to leave barely six months later. Naturally them come acourtin' with hat in hand. My brother-in-law says thanks but no thanks because he has a great new job that he loves... THANK YOU!
While anything is possible, I doubt this guy stole anything from the job. He wasn't arrested or anything and just grabbed his stuff and left Tuesday night, emotionally. That should tell you how much passion he had and how well like he was because we all had a tough time the next day (yesterday).
A supervisor at a retail job I worked years ago was just suddenly let go one day because multiple registers came up short a week or so before. They told her they didn't have definitive proof that she stole it, so they weren't going to have her arrested or pursue legal action if she resigned right then and there. It was all so very weird. She was a personal friend and I don't believe she actually stole anything, but the main reason everyone was upset about about the whole thing is because she used to give us free weed, often baked into something delicious. Most people quit shortly thereafter.
Had a buddy in HS who stole over $10k from A&F over a couple years. I cant remember what he did, but something along the lines of faking returns or something. All I remember was I was jealous of how much money (and A&F cologne) he had.
I worked retail management after college for a few years. It happens, a lot actually. He probably lucked out if he gets out of retail. The reason for high turnover rate is that it burns people out, especially management. That being said, I've seen just as many quick firings in my post retail jobs, it happens everywhere.
Yep, retail is rife with theft. I found out over a decade after the fact that some of my HS classmates that worked with me at Walmart were running a theft ring and stole around 70k of merchandise. They stopped once the cops got involved. I remember a detective talking to everyone who worked there at the time. I was completely clueless about it. Crime doesn't pay though; their fence ended up never paying them for the merchandise. Why would he? A bunch of punk high school kids with no backup.
He used to work 80 hours a week sometimes just to get stuff done. His original assistant quit on him and never really did much to begin with, so he had to pick up the slack that much more. That's why I'm pissed his boss just installed an assistant as they sent the store manager out the door. I almost wanna play the race card but that can be a cop out (as even I myself have argued before) so I'll leave it alone but he still got a raw deal, especially since sales were about to exploded during the Summer season.
If you don't know why he was fired, then it's probably premature to be up in arms about it happening.
Hey anything is possible but the guy busted his tail and provided a fun working environment that allowed his employees, who wanted to do so, grow into better employees and people in general. As I said, he has basically been holding the store up without an assistant for a long time and his would-have-been new assistant is already been given some powers that the fired guy wasn't allowed so he can clean up a "mess" that was left behind. Besides, though I don't know everything, based on the chatter I've heard in the background, especially from some of the other managers, it seems obvious he was screwed.
