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:

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.)

Resources for employees laid off by Netshops

Here are a few resources:

Fired-layed off-downsized employees handbook

Gifts for laid off employees

Oh look. Dilios has been updating Netshops' Wiki entry... I wonder how long it will be before it gets changed back to accurately reflecting the 'multiple rounds of layoffs' Netshops has gone through...

Corporate accounting scandals

Why would ^ that be here....

Unemployed, underemployed or anxiously employed? Take a look at UnitedProfessionals.org

Oh, by the way, the job fair next week at the Holiday Inn Central - it is mostly for journalisim/news media professionals. The next job fair for the rest of us unemployed (or underemployed or anxiously employed - like most of Netshops workforce right now) is April 10th. Circle the date. Like I mentioned - some of you owe me drinks and I don't drink cheap liquor.

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.

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....

Hope the meeting with the Thralow reps goes well...

You can do anything you set your mind to when you have vision, determination and an endless supply of expendable labor.