One year later

Well, it's almost been a year since being laid off by Doug and Netshops. Hope everyone who was let go in the past 12 months has been able to move on and have found a satisfying position.

To those still employed by Netshops keep your resume updated and keep your eyes open for the next opportunity to come. When it does, jump on it! After all, we can't all open an ice cream shop with a Netshops owner. If I did, I wonder if I'd be exempt from future layoffs....

As always, any info you want to share can be submitted as comment here or emailed to me.

Stay classy Netshops.

Netshops taken off Wikipedia

I wonder if it was someone's job on the SEO team to monitor the Netshops Wikipedia page. If so why they didn't see that it was nominated for deletion and has, in fact, been deleted?





Netshops no longer on Wikipedia

Just a tip for whomever it was that was supposed to maintain the page. If you have a meeting scheduled with Doug in the next couple of days and he says "I think we need to go in a different direction" just get a box.

Also, I've heard that the warehouse was not sold, but almost the entire warehouse staff has been replaced....how many employees were out there? 15? 20? (I'm sure some of those were temps or part timers so they won't be counted against the federal layoff numbers, but they're still out of a job, one way or the other so they count just as much as a full timer in my opinion.) That would take the total number of Netshops employees laid off to over 100 this year alone.

Those of you still there - do you still believe in Doug's long term, 'scaleable' plans? Seems to me 'scaleable' really means 'layoff employees and reduce the scale of the workforce'. Maybe that's just me though...

As always, keep your resumes updated and keep the rumors coming!

6 month anniversary, laid off by netshops

So its been 6 months. I know I've moved on to bigger and better things. More opportunity with [shock!]actual potential to move up in a company[/shock!]! Hope everyone else in the Netshops Layoff Class of '07 is moving on in a similar fashion. (Maybe that'll be the theme for Doug's next sync meeting...)

A special message for Doug, Tina, and all the other management who participated in the layoffs - both here in Omaha and those that took place in Duluth:

Simon's identity?!? Netshops shill trying to get ahead.

I've heard that "Simon" - the person defending Netshops for so long was really Joey S. (However you spell his name. Whatever. It is what it is.)

Poor Joey. Always passed over for promotion - not even good enough to be made Andrew's assistant, dealing with transportation issues. Y'know, just my opinion, but I think it was your sh!tty attitude that held you back. If you didn't have such a big head and had actually been open to criticism, you might've have moved up.

Maybe sucking up to management by causing trouble on this blog was your ticket to moving up? I sure hope so - you need something to justify your sad existence...

Response from transition team member - Temps running Thralow.net sites

Kind of a lengthy response, but I can understand how they might be upset. Keep in mind, to my knowledge, I've never heard from this individual before, whereas I have heard from the other person/persons providing info on Netshops - thus the reason for my belief that this individual was someone spinning the story for Netshops. (Wouldn't be the first time someone from the company has tried to stir the pot here, right 'Simon'?)

Anyway, here it is:

I can assure you that I am not a Netshops shill. Please do not assume that because I said that the information you received from your previous source was
incorrect it means that I am from NetShops and want to cover something up. I have very few positive things to say about NetShops and am very happy to be back in
Minnesota. I am most upset by the fact that you made assumptions on my legitimacy based upon unsubstantiated information you received from your previous source.

I would be interested to know who gave you that information and how they can "prove" that it is true. Of course I do not expect you to give me that information but I would suggest that you ask them to prove it.

There are still quite a few previous Thralow employees who still cannot let this go. We were all very lucky to work for Dan. Blaming the loss of their job on him
and giving out false information is not going to get their jobs back.

We all know that NetShops is not going to be able to run our sites like we did...come on, they have temps doing our jobs! Three weeks of training as compared to years and years of experience with the reps we had
running the show, having supervisors from other departments come to oversee things when they had less training than the temps that were on the phones did...the list goes on!

I would prefer that if you had any questions that you ask me directly before posting assumptions on your blog. I am happy to be truthful with you!

This individual is right about a couple of things.

I have no way of knowing that any of this information is true. All I'm doing is relaying info that is passed to me. Consider this a gossip/rumor blog if it makes you sleep better at night.

Also, it isn't Dan Thralow's fault those of you from MN lost your jobs. I'm sure Doug shook his hand and said something like 'we'll keep your people and take good care of them, blah blah blah' - he kept you for all of 6 months to get through the holiday and then let you go when he needed the lift for his bottom line. Doug and Netshops is who you should be upset with - not Thralow. Once he sold the company, it was out of his hands. (Of course, some would say he shouldn't have sold the company to Netshops, based on Doug's previous history of laying people off, but that's a different story....)

Another interesting piece of information was revealed in the above email. Temps are running the Thralow sites. Now, I don't know if that means they're handling the customer service calls or they're actually managing the sites themselves. I suspect they're only in call center roles. Regardless, weren't temps part of the problem last holiday season? Lack of knowledge, lack of enthusiasm, and just there to make a quick paycheck - those aren't the Netshops employee qualifications I remember. Maybe cheaper labor, fewer benefits to provide and more profit as a result is worth the loss on customer service related issues.

Course, that could be why Netshops loses so much money from the call center end of things. Or it could just be the call center management doesn't know what they're doing....

Update - Thralow.net sites not struggling? Netshops warehouse for sale?

I received an email from someone saying they were part of the 'transition' team and the information about Thralow was not correct.

Unfortunately the individual did not go into details. If they'd like to provide some additional information, I'd be happy to correct any misinformation. (I've received another email from the original person saying they can confirm the info though... so is this in fact true? Maybe the person on the 'transition' team is again, a Netshops shill trying to put things in a positive spin?)

Another email I received this week states the Netshops warehouse has either been sold or is up for sale. Again, I don't know if this is fact or not - just relaying what I've heard. Supposedly it comes from someone higher up the chain who was impacted by the layoffs.

So, the warehouse - Doug's jewel and a bragging point when talking to potential vendors "We have our own 10 bajillion square foot warehouse with 12 docks to handle product on a seasonal basis" could be up for sale. Wonder why?

Thralow sites may or may not be doing well. Optics versus wine racks. Which do you think is going to take more time to learn about? Which do you think would be a more technical sale?

Here's how I'd imagine a Telescopes.com customer service call would go:
Customer 'I'd like to look at the Netshops Nebula in quadrant alpha delta beta zed. Will this telescope let me do that?'

Netshops rep 'Ummm... let me submit a product question and we'll get back to you.'

Now the Wineracks.com call:
Customer 'I need a wine rack to hold 26 bottles.'

Netshops rep 'I've got one here - it says it is MDF'

Customer 'What is MDF?'

Netshops rep 'Ummm... let me submit a product question...'

Funny story - Netshops pay sucks

Man walks into a bar with a leprechaun on his shoulder...

Wait.

Wrong story.


Waaaay back when, I was interviewed and hired by Netshops, I negotiated for a number of things - higher pay, more vacation, etc. Regarding pay, I was told they couldn't match what I was currently making, but if I was with the company for a year and was promoted, they'd bump me up to what I'd been making pre-Netshops.

Silly me, I believed them.

When it was time for my review, I met all of the requirements discussed in my interview. I got a raise, but it was well short of what I'd been making in the past. I convinced myself (and my family) that it was ok, because the benefits and the 'fun' of working at Netshops outweighed the pay I wasn't getting.

Then I got laid off.

As you know, I've had a new job for quite a while now. Funny thing is, I'm making more now than I was before I started at Netshops. So I guess I owe Netshops management a thank you. Thank you for lying to me about my future pay increase, thank you for laying me off. I'm better off now for the experience and I no longer have to worry about being laid off once every 6 monhs.

Current members of management still have to though...

Karma's a bitch.

Quick update - Thralow.net site sales down, Netshops letting Thralow reps go

Just want to pass on a very interesting email I received the other day:

Thralow site telephone sales are down 80% since Netshops took over. Dan Thralow was fired by Netshops. They also fired one of the Thralow transitional employees without cause and he had to sue them for his severance. They have only one Thralowite left down thereand that took a six figure severance to buy his loyalty.

Wow. If this is true, I can just hear the spin coming out of Doug "Well, its taking some time for us to understand the product and the market. We've never done optics before, so it might be a while before it is profitable for us. We started out with just Hammocks and turned it into 150+ stores - and we can do it with these stores too. It will just take time. We knew that going in and expected it." While behind closed doors, upper managers are very carefully answering questions, for fear they'll hear Doug utter those famous words "We need to go in another direction" and they'll be packing a box before the day is thru. (Kind of like he did with Vince and Dale....)

Another reorg?!?

Wow. That didn't last long.

Is another layoff on the horizon? Buyers on the chopping block? Hmm...

How to get high at work and get promoted at the same time

I'm glad you're all happy I'm posting again. Good to see you missed me. And for those reading from their desks at work, I'd try Nebraska Workforce, Monster.com, or CareerLink instead of reading this. It'll benefit you more in the long run if you start looking now.

On to Caleb and his Live Journal. He's got this high at work thing down. For all those who enjoy the ganja, you should take tips from him - and get your application in to Tina. She's hiring, since they're understaffed and the big Father's Day holiday push is in full swing. (Who's getting laid off in July this year? Can I get in on the office pool even though I'm no longer there?)

Caleb, I wonder, since you pulled the posts that I copied and linked to on your LiveJournal page, do you still have a job? (Buy Tina some shoes or a Coke and you'll be ok. Just ask Paulette.) I've heard you do, but you probably shouldn't be posting blog entries from work anymore. (Just FYI.)

Since you pulled those two posts (good thing I thought to copy them for posterity, idnit?) here are a couple more hits from Caleb's bong.

OMG MORE blogging? [Sep. 16th, 2006|01:30 pm]
One would think that having so much freetimeat work would suck a whole lot, but NO! I can sit here and write disjointed little nothings in internet blogs that will get run across by someone at some point. YAY!

So I spent last night in the apartment of some girl I don't know very well smoking out of a bong and watching the Boondock Saints... It was, believe it or not, decent. I may do it again tonight if the whole Spinal Tap thing doesn't pan out. I wanna go seet Spinal Tap at the Dundee tonight, but I want COMPANY GODDAMNSITALLTOHELL! Tired of amusing myself. I need NEW people to pick on. Joins me, people. Joins me....
link post comment

Well, you got your wish. Someone ran across your internet blog. Congrats. So, this bong smoking thing, I'm seeing a pattern here. Do you want to be on the executive board for Netshops? We think you have potential to grow with the company.

Here's another 'hit' from the past.

...Like Gargling With Bong Water [Sep. 16th, 2006|07:28 am]
It's been an all-together eventful week. I wanna be sleeping, but those who ration my monetary notes say I gotta be here at work.

You ever half-sleep for an entire night? It's exhausting. You lay in bed, not really sure if the noise you just heard was real or not. Maybe that's just me. I do have a lot that goes 'bump' in the night. The coffee's broken and it's not waking me up.
I wonder if I can trade myself in for a better model. I have to remember to ask my mom if she kept the warranty.
My initial thoughts this morning are like this: I'm going to THIS IS SPINAL TAP this evening, and whoever would like to come is totally fuckin' invitied. It is a sure-fired jolly time of Caleb-like proportions.


I'm really very bored with all of this and wish that I had someone to talk to or hang out with. But I don't. OH, ABBA-ZABBA! YOU'RE MY ONLY FRIEND! And the internet. The good old reliable internet.....
link post comment

Did I say 'hit'? Almost, like from a bong?

Hope you get that promotion you so obviously deserve. Yet another brilliant choice by Netshops management. Excellent evaluators of talent and potential I tells ya!

Oh, and me? Yeah, my new job is great. Fuck you Netshops.

Netshops and unemployment benefits

Are you getting your unemployment benefits yet? If you're still unemployed due to the layoff, you should be by now - unless you had a huge vacation balance and got a larger severance package than I've heard of.

Someone emailed me about a discussion they had with a representative from the Nebraska Workforce Development office. I'm going to post the email because it goes into detail about the situation. (All names have been removed to protect the innocent.)

Apparently, severance pay for a number of Netshops employees was not reported accurately (whether by the individuals or by Netshops is unclear). This has resulted in some former Netshops employees being overpaid unemployment benefits. The adjudicator said that Netshops has been a nightmare to work with during this. The end result of this is that there are people who have been receiving benefits when they, apparently, were not entitled, and will have to pay whatever they have received back to the state.

The initial misunderstanding seems to have come from confusion regarding vacation pay and sick pay. The state differentiates between the two, and Netshops does not, so Workforce was unsure how to pay out benefits. Then, with the severance, the former employees were asked if they received anything, but Netshops was to provide the amount, and this wasn't done in a timely manner, according to workforce.
Workforce stated that they contacted Netshops numerous times in an attempt to clarify, but Netshops did not get back in a reasonable amount of time.

I certainly don't think that Netshops was intentionally trying to screw us over, but their slow response time to Workforce's inquiries amounts to the same thing, at least for some of those involved in the last round of layoffs.

Not sure, if you can use this in the blog or not, but my attempts to get any sort of accurate information from Workforce has been slowed by weeks by Netshops lack of timely response.

Is anyone else having this problem? Have any of you out there heard of similar issues with Workforce? Please let us know!! (As always, I won't post your info or your emails unless it's ok with you.)

Netshops not on Omaha's Best Places to Work list for 2007

Congrats Doug! You've taken a company that was on the list 2 years running and dropped them from the list. Is that the 'scalability' you were hoping to achieve with this recent round of layoffs? The 'efficiencies gained'? Who needs another award to clutter the office?

Back to the subject at hand. Netshops isn't on the list. I wonder why? Couldn't have anything to do with the recent layoffs, the increased work load on the remaining employees, the news that the Thralow reps weren't going to be allowed to stay in Duluth (like they were told when the purchase initially went through), the corporate churn - laying off employees just to hire more to replace them (in an attempt to appear more profitable in the short term), or changing people's jobs without regard to what their future goals are, either on a personal or professional basis.

I bet that last one is what really hurt Netshops in the voting. Yes, change is inevitable, but people also like some job security and knowledge that they are growing with the company. Moving someone from a position where they're the person resolving issues with vendors and talking about issues with store management to a phone rep position isnt going to win you points. Demoting an employee after they've busted their ass for you all holiday season (or longer in many cases) isn't much of a 'reward'.

Best Places to Work in Omaha 2007

Winning companies with 50-250 employees:
1. Lutz & Company, PC
2. Home Instead Senior Care
3. Olsson Associates
4. SilverStone Group
5. MSI Systems Integrators

Winning companies with 250+ employees:
1. Quality Living, Inc.
2. PayPal, an eBay company
3. Farm Credit Services of America
4. Marriott Global Reservation Sales and Customer Care
5. FirstComp

Quality Living Inc - a rehab based business - has been #1 three years running now, so it is possible to earn a spot on the list multiple times. I guess the difference between a company like Quality Living Inc and Netshops boils down to consistency.

Netshops meetings

I remember sitting in meetings like these.

Hodgepodge of Netshops layoff related info today

A little fun for all you Netshoppers reading right now, because I know you aren't doing anything job related....

Take this quiz

Duluth News Tribune picks up on the impending layoffs.

Thralow employees offered jobs in Omaha
Jane Brissett Duluth News TribunePublished Friday, March 16, 2007

NetShops, the Omaha, Neb., company that that bought Web sites from Proctor-based Thralow Inc., has begun offering jobs in Omaha to employees of the local e-commerce firm. Those who aren’t hired will be given a severance package, said NetShops’ human resources director.

All operations from Proctor are moving to Omaha, said Dana Coonce, human
resources director at NetShops. Dan Thralow, who founded Thralow Inc. and now
works for NetShops, said that 35 of the 39 employees who work in Proctor elected
to go to Omaha at NetShops’ expense to see the headquarters and learn about the
company.

NetShops is just beginning to assess how many people it needs and to make offers to workers in Proctor, Coonce said. If Proctor employees aren’t hired to work in Omaha and aren’t retained by Thralow Inc., they will be cut from the payroll and given a severance package, she said. NetShops, which has more than $100 million in annual sales, bought 40 of Thralow Inc.’s Web sites — but not the company itself — in November. The sites include Binoculars.com, Telescopes.com, Peepers
.com and others.

Thralow said the company named for him will remain in Proctor at 9803 Westgate Boulevard in the JOBZ tax-free zone where the company’s warehouse building was recently completed. Thralow said he “can’t answer” what Thralow Inc. will do or how many people it will employ. “There will be a payroll,” he said.

Thralow said he has no plans to move to Omaha.

When the sale was announced, NetShops said it would keep all of Thralow Inc.’s employees. NetShops is a private firm that owned about 120 retail specialty sites — such as PatioUmbrellas.com, Hammocks.com and Dartboards.com — at the time of the acquisition. It was named Inc. magazine’s 13th fastest-growing company in America in 2006.

Thralow Inc. started as a retail outlet called Peepers in downtown Duluth’s Holiday Center. The company began selling sunglasses online in 1996 at Peepers.com and expanded to binoculars and other optical products with various Web sites. Thralow sold the business to Eye City Inc. in 1999, then bought it back at a fraction of the
original sale price when EyeCity folded in 2001. Thralow Inc. was named the
203rd fastest-growing company in America in 2006 by Inc. magazine.

The Omaha World Herald reported on Feb. 7 that NetShops laid off about 50 people to achieve efficiencies and didn’t plan more cuts. Coonce said that was due to a
reorganization unrelated to the current transition.

The integration of the Proctor and Omaha work forces probably will take several months, she said.

Read the comments on the article here.

On a positive note, Laura Erickson's new blog appears to have been pulled. Maybe she's getting Birderblog.com back? Right now, Birderblog.com goes to Binoculars.com, so I have to assume something's going on with the two sites. Laura, if you can, please give us details.

Another person not happy with how they were treated by Netshops.

Amanda Collier's blog

As always, feel free to email me or post a comment.

Netshops has been banned from Wikipedia

A bit about Wikipedia. Wikipedia is literally an open book. It can be written and edited by anyone on the internet. It can be a great resource for information but ONLY if everyone using it is being honest and abides by Wikipedia's policies. If individuals (or companies in this case) are only using Wiki to further their own agenda, Wikipedia becomes less of a valid resource.

Back to Netshops being banned from Wiki. This isn't news for any of the older employees. That bit of information made the rounds about the office back in late September/early October '06. Apparently they had been banned for spam linking - linking articles to Netshops sites to try and increase their own organic search rankings via external links.

I've been looking for proof of this since I was laid off. Its one thing to hear about it at work through the grapevine - quite another to write about it on a blog about Netshops and their questionable ethics.

Luckily, one of my readers did the legwork for me. Thank you!

A bit of info and then the screen caps. Netshops main IP address is 66.37.239.14 - anyone with a halfway decent hit counter on their web page can figure this info out.

Here are a couple of screen captures of Netshops' activities on Wiki



Wiki Netshops user talk



Netshops Spam

And here is a list of all the changes made by Netshops to various articles on Wikipedia. Notice a pattern?

Unfortunately, the ban was for a 6 month period and Netshops will soon be able to edit posts on Wikipedia again. (Well, from the company IP that is. They've been editing it even over the past 6 months, but it has been from employee's homes or other networks.) I wonder how quickly they'll go back to their old tricks?

Karma's a bitch.

Piss one person off and they'll tell 10 of their friends. Piss two off and they'll tell 20 people, those 20 will tell another 5 - 7, those 5 - 7 will tell 3 -4, and soon, hundreds will know about problems within a company.

I wonder how many more people we'll see start to speak out about Netshops and Thralow now....

Just read the blog after the jump

Laura, good luck in your fight. Go get 'em.

Funny - I don't remember hearing anyone say the 60+ people laid off by Netshops were 'not growing with the company'. Is that what Doug and Co said to the Thralow reps when asked about the layoffs? If so, I've got performance reviews to prove otherwise. Heck, I've even got year to date store performance reports from some of my stores. If I wasn't 'growing with the company' I wonder why my stores were all profitable.

Makes you go "Hmm..."

One last thought for the day. Duluth is about 2.5 hour's drive from Mall of America - the biggest mall in the United States, not to mention these other attractions. Knowing that, why would Netshops take the Thralow reps to area malls (and Chuck E Cheese - mustn't forget Chuck E Cheese) as a selling point of moving here? Talk about not understanding the people you're selling to. Could be an indication of how well the current Netshops staff will understand Thralow's group of sites...

As always, I look forward to your emails and comments!

Decision day and my reply to "D"

How many Thralow reps decided to make the move? Is it really 3 of 50 like I've been hearing?

For those of you electing to be laid off, here is information on how to file for unemployment benefits.

Now, onto D's posts.

D said

Communication definitely broke down with the old org chart. Since the
layoffs and the revised org chart, the structure makes a lot more sense, in my
humble opinion. Also, depts are now being tasked with creating SOP (standard
operating procedures) which is par for the course with most companies of this
size. The SOPs are going to specifically address accountability and provide
training material. We are long overdue for them.

The old (August 06 - Feb 07) 'stage' org chart was similar to the store management way of doing things. That 'style' of management worked well in stage 1 & 2. Stages 3 & 4 seemed to lose something - in my opinion it was because of a reduced # of staff in each area working on the sites.

SOP's should have been something done over a year ago when the operations team was in place. Accountability and real, definable measurements of job performance was something that should have been handled by that team as well. (Maybe then we wouldn't have the fraternization issues we have now. Is Paulette going to KC on a shoe run again anytime soon? How many days off did she take unpaid last year? Did all the employees get treated the same way or was she given special treatment?) Yes, Netshops is a 'growing' (or is that immature?) company and 'these things take time to develop' - sort of like the supplier score cards. When I was there, I didn't find a single one that had been completed. I hope Doug hasn't been led to believe that they were....

Maybe if someone was actually accountable for getting these projects done, Netshops wouldn't have needed to lay off 60+ employees in February. Those employees would have moved out of the company on their own based on clearly defined criteria based on their jobs, instead of just a (seemingly) random bloody swath being cut through the work force.

D also said (about the layoffs)

I went directly to the exec in charge of my department and asked for an
explanation. And I got one.
NetShops is not a failing business nor is it run
solely by Doug. Doug is a visionary leader who often asks for the seemingly
impossible while the other two's pragmatism provides the balance. NetShops also
has a unique business model - only our copycats like CSN come close - and we're
still trying to figure out how to make it run like a well-oiled machine. Growing
pains with such rapid expansion were inevitable. At one time only human bodies
could get the job done but now with so many technological advances being made
internally, humans are being replaced by computer applications. Do you think it
was a coincidence that the first layoff occured immediately after Site Manager
was rolled out? You may recall a chunk of merchandisers were let go or
repositioned.

Very interesting thoughts D. "Growing pains with such rapid expansion were inevitable." Sure. I can appreciate that. However having fewer people to do the same amount of work is insanity. Having fewer people to do more work (if Netshops rolls out another 50 - 60 sites again this year) is just plain stupid. Now, Netshops has applied for some tax breaks, namely the Nebraska Advantage Act. As you can see from the article, Netshops indicated they are going to invest 9.2 million and create 440 new jobs. So, if "growing pains with rapid expansion" really was inevitable and those laid off were being replaced due to technological gains, such as the use of Site Manager, why would Netshops need an additional 440 employees? Again, this strikes me as an easy way to look profitable for the investors. It is corporate churn and an example of how little the employees doing the job day to day are really valued by Doug and Co.

NetShops is getting itself ready to go to the next level. Much like when you
negotiate a mortgage with a banker they talk accounting ratios to get an
approved loan amount. The same is happening to NetShops - we had ratios that
made us unattractive to investors and they needed to be fixed. You can bitch and
moan all you want, but these rules are applied to any business with the goals
NetShops has. Doug telling potential investors that he couldn't let go of
employees because they're good loyal workers would have meant proverbial doors
slammed in our faces and the inevitable tanking of NetShops as a whole.

Again, "ratios that made us unattractive to investors" does not make sense when Doug is applying for tax breaks and claiming he's going to add 440 new jobs. If the ratio was wrong in the first place, why would he need to hire new people? I don't know about you but when I bought my house, the bank didn't tell me I had too many children and I'd need to let some of them go.

Once you go "corporate", there's no going back and the Dougs of the world don't
make all the rules anymore.

That's true. Why do you think Netshops isn't as fun as it used to be anymore? Why did a special 'activity committee' need to be created? Where are the patio umbrellas on the call center side? Where are the hammocks/daybeds and adriondack chairs where people can meet and exchange ideas? Those have been traded for more traditional conference rooms to look more 'corporate'. I guess that's what we need to do when the Buffetts and Blumkins of the world come to tour the office.

I once worked at a plant that was profitable for 33 years straight with no
layoffs. And what happened? The plant was shut down for the better of the entire
company. Fair? Nope. Look at the Big 3 and their job security policies - all
three are so far in the red they may never recover.

By 'big 3' do you mean Doug, Julie and Mark? If you think they aren't making money in this venture you're crazy. Do you think they're doing this for the fun of it? Also, how do you know they're 'in the red'?

I'm still working at NetShops but I admire the balls it takes to follow through
with a very difficult decision.

A 'difficult decision'? It wasn't a difficult decision - it was a quick fix. If profits were really down, why weren't more of the upper managers let go? Why was it store managers on down? If things weren't working, why are the same people still in place in the upper portions of the company? Tina, Dave, Marina, Dawn, etc are all still in their positions. While the store managers and buyers had input on what happened to the sites, ultimately the responsibility falls on the stage directors. If the 'stage' approach wasn't working, why is the person who thought of it still there? Oh wait - she's an owner. (Not that she's going to be there much longer from what I've heard. Once she leaves for the baby, I've heard rumors that she may not come back...)

A healthy, growing company does not let 60+ people go because of 'technological advances'. Especially not when they're applying for tax breaks and claiming they'll be adding 440 new jobs to the city/state economy. (So, really after Netshops lays off the Thralow reps, that will bring the total laid off to approximately 100 employees let go in 90 days. In reality, they're only creating 340 new jobs, not the 440 as submitted on their application.) Netshops has issues and those issues start at the top and roll down from there. As always, I look forward to your emails and comments.

So, what would you say...ya do here?

I already told you: I deal with the god damn customers so the store managers* don't have to. I have people skills; I am good at dealing with people. Can't you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?

* Yeah, I changed it to be more Netshops specific. So what?

I just wish I could have taken a copier with me when I left....

Netshops affiliates have become aware of this blog...

Apparently the Netshops affiliate network has become aware of my blog. If you want to read the thread, do so here.

To those reading from the affiliate forum, no, I'm not Peter Peter. Leader, you make some very valid points - I'll touch on those in a moment.

Layoffs at Netshops?
I just put together two bits of information and got
nervous. A few weeks ago, Spilsbury went bankrupt and left a bunch of affiliates
unpaid in the lurch (http://forum.abestweb.com/showthread.php?t=86242).Now it seems
that Netshops is having layoffs:http://laidoffbynetshops.blogspot.com/2007/02/missed-this-article-in-omaha-world.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetShopsIs everything OK? Should
affiliates be worried? Is there any information other than what is doubtless the
party line of "Don't worry, everything's fine"?Pete

Nate - your response

NetShops is a very healthy, rapidly growing company. Most people don't know
we recently purchased another company and inherited about 50 employees. Plus,
because we are still a young company (just turned 5) in a rapid-paced market, we
frequently make necessary structural changes. So yes, some employees were
transitioned to new roles within the company and some were let go. But NetShops
is NOT going anywhere but UP, and you needn't worry about not getting your
commission checks!By the by, we were #13 on Inc. 500's list of fastest growing
companies last year, and the company we purchased was #244.

That's great and all, but the layoffs were of existing employees - not those inherited from Thralow. How many of those 50 'inherited' employees are going to make the transition from Duluth to Omaha? Estimates I'm hearing put the number at, oh, about 3. The song and dance Netshops put on - touring the Netshops office, going to the Henry Doroly Zoo, scavenger hunting at Chuck E Cheese pizza, etc - really didn't 'sell' the 'inherited employees' on moving. So, if 3 of the 50 Thralow reps don't move, they'd have to be laid off, so that would put the 90 day layoff total at about 105 employees released in less than a 3 month period. This is not a sign of a 'growing company'.

"Frequent structural changes" = frequent changes in direction, reorgs and layoffs (in layman's terms). It also confirms what I've been saying all along - there is no job security at Netshops, there is no possibility of a long term career path for employees and the only direction Netshops is going is in a balls to the wall, flat out, mad rush to look profitable for investors.

Now, if this were just a blog by one person and I was bitching and moaning about how unfair it was to be laid off, I didn't deserve it, etc, that would be one thing. Unfortunately, for Netshops, this blog has started to take on a life of it's own. People are sending me information on a daily basis - the current reorg, what the Thralow reps feel like (and what they're doing) and questions they'd like me to throw out there - because they don't feel safe in the current environment asking them themselves. It's really too bad.

Don't believe me? Take a look at all the comments posted to the blog. There isn't a single one done by me and that just scratches the surface.

Leader, your comment -

With anything negative you read: You need to pay attention to WHO is talking,
and JUST WHAT their beef is. Then decide if you think the complaint(s) are
reasonable, and if you should consider the complainers to be credible.

These are mostly former employees talking. However, I am getting information from current employees and some of those 'inherited employees' Nate mentioned. (I wonder how the Thralow reps feel about being called 'inherited'?) Nate does need to tow the company line and I understand that. (Glad I didn't have to be in the meeting about this blog...) Sorry about any additional pressure you might find yourself under Nate. You always seemed like a decent guy and I hope I haven't put you in an uncomfortable position.

Employees get disgruntled when something SUCKS! A company shouldn't have
any/many hugely disgruntled employees, and when they do, that in itself is a
sign of a problem.

Employees at Netshops have been disgruntled for a long time now.

After the layoffs in August of 06, people were pretty upset. Some quit as a result, some were put into positions that weren't what they were doing before and they weren't given much time with the Christmas holiday looming to learn their new roles very well. (They weren't given choices in these new roles either by the way - we came into the manager's office and were told, "Here's where you are on the new org chart. Hope you like it." Even more people quit. Those that didn't and weren't happy were made to apply and interview for, essentially their old jobs as the people who quit were replaced. Nice, huh?) By the time October hit, Netshops employees were asked to do extra work - taking calls in the call center, answering customer service emails they weren't trained to handle, and working in the warehouse - usually 50 - 60 hours per week - along with their normal duties. It was called the "Lend a hand" program. Worst. Idea. Ever.

Many of us thought with a profitable holiday (more profitable than any before - up 85% year over year) we'd be safe from a reorg and layoffs. Unfortunately, we weren't able to hit our gross margin or our profit goals. (Is this because of something the employees did/didn't do, or, because of wildly inaccurate & unattainable goals? That's a subject for another blog, another time.)

And the problem's not the employee (assuming that the angry employee is
reasonably sane). The size of the company is important to consider, though; any
big company probably has several employees who hate it and who will usually be
quitting soon anyway, but a small one ( under 50 people ) only needs a couple of
antis to indicate a problem.So the question is "what is it?" What sucks so bad
that someone has been made angry enough to write blogs and wiki entries about
it?! It's a mistake to assume in favor of the company in these cases. Usually
when the employees start to say a place sucks, it's because it does! (Sometimes
it's just some kook or lamer who had unreasonable expectations, but I haven't
seen that too often.) Personally I find it quite relevant , and would like to
know if promoting NetShops means promoting a bad employer. (And I don't see any
keywords on that blog that'd count towards a what I'd consider a G-bomb...it
doesn't seem to have any "choice" words directly linked to NetShops' URL. )

Again, very good points. At one time, Netshops had approximately 440 employees. In less than a year, I'd estimate they're down to about 300-ish based on the people I saw leave between August and February, and the February layoff. Not a 'growing' company in my opinion. Yes, they're adding more stores. Great. Without the staff to handle the stores they have, how are they going to continue to grow? How will they handle customer service issues? (Off on a tangent here, how do customer service issues/failures effect affiliates?)

Something else to think about. Netshops purchased Thralow, like Nate alluded to. Good company, good people, good sites. Binoculars.com, Telescopes.com, Pans.com, OperaGlasses.com, EMetalDetectors.com, Utensils.com, etc, etc. Those sites are drastically different from hammocks, diaper bags, slippers, pajamas, beds, christmas trees, and adirondack chairs. The technical knowledge needed on the Thralow sites is an important part of selling product on those sites. Netshops reps aren't going to have the experience needed to make an educated guess, much less an informed opinion on what a customer should do. How well do you think Netshops is going to do in categories they don't fully understand?

Last thing for tonight.

"D" - since you've asked that I don't repost your comment, I won't, but I do have a reply I'm working on. I'll need to repost some sections of your post, but I won't repost it in full. That's the best I can do.

Eric - yes, I'm still interested in continuing our conversation - I'll email you soon. Sorry for the delay in responding - interviews have been taking up my time these past few days.

Churn and what it means

In the business world, hiring people while laying off others is called churn.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, Netshops laid off 60+ employees 2/1/07. This was done because they've "gained some efficiencies" according to Doug Nielsen (per the Omaha World Herald article).

If they've "gained some efficiencies" then why are they hiring more folks?

"Churn" (also known as "attrition") is a term used commonly to mean all kinds of departures from companies, including voluntary resignations and those fired as well as those laid off. Looking at the intentional churn created solely by layoffs gives insight into how much companies are controlling how their workforce changes. - Mercury News 12/21/2006

Was this layoff a tactic to appear more profitable? If so, maybe upper management doesn't fully understand the cost of an employee. Were some of those individuals let go due to be released based on poor performance? Possibly. Were any of them told about their poor performance? Only one that I've heard about - and that was through her comment on this blog. If the employees let go were distracted, unmotivated or just simply in the wrong position, perhaps a solid career path would have helped motivate them. (At least, that's what an article from Inc.com suggests. What would they know? They only put out the annual list of the 500 fastest growing US companies.) With as many reorgs as I was part of in the time I was there, it was tough to figure out what my current responsiblities were, much less where I was headed six months down the road. I can't imagine I as the only one who felt that way, but maybe I was. Despite this, I think I was still motivated to do a good job every day - staying late, taking on extra responsibilities and in general trying to go above and beyond what my job description called for. Maybe this wasn't the case? Who knows - I certainly wasn't told about any areas I was lacking in. Based on my most recent review, I was an 'above average' employee. (I was above average on my previous reviews as well.) Too bad that doesn't equate to job security these days.

As always, feel free to email me or post your comments. I look forward to hearing from you!