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In many cases those complaints are warranted. Note the reputations of Costco vs Walmart for customer service. There's a Sam's Club a mile away from my house, but we drive the 4-5 miles to Costco instead. Why? Customer service.
I drive the extra distance to get to Costco due the higher quality on many of their products, the return policy and, to a much lesser extent, the other clientele found there.
Personally, I find the stores (Costco and Sam's) to be about the same in terms of cleanliness and checkout experience.
Whats so funny about it? He tried something new. Perhaps it might not work out but its not like he was calling for everyone to do it. It was for his company.
What's so funny? Maybe the fact that he's a dumbass? It's ALWAYS funny when someone does something that is a no brainer that they will lose but still do it.
What's so funny? Maybe the fact that he's a dumbass? It's ALWAYS funny when someone does something that is a no brainer that they will lose but still do it.
Why? Nothing ever would have gotten done, including the computer you are typing on, without trying new things, and failing many times. Better to try and fail than never to have tried and all that...he has no regrets. What I find really odd is how many here seemed to actually root for him to fail, it's the crabs in the pot who are miserable and so want everyone else to be, too.
What I find really odd is how many here seemed to actually root for him to fail, it's the crabs in the pot who are miserable and so want everyone else to be, too.
I agree. I think it is a bunch of people thinking "I worked hard to get to 70K a year, how dare some random company pay their employees 70K to start". They want them to fail to help make themselves feel better that they are more successful that someone else.
It really is the minimum wage conversation all over again. How dare McDonalds pay their employees 15 an hour when I work my college educated butt off for 15 an hour.
Why? Nothing ever would have gotten done, including the computer you are typing on, without trying new things, and failing many times. Better to try and fail than never to have tried and all that...he has no regrets. What I find really odd is how many here seemed to actually root for him to fail, it's the crabs in the pot who are miserable and so want everyone else to be, too.
It's not that people were rooting for him to fail. It's just that most people know a computer would never get made by a guy starting with a loaf of bread, some twine and two tennis balls. This guy was DOOMED to failure. His salary adjustment would never have been enough to cover what he tried to do, so he had to take from others who didn't deserve such a punitive move. He devalued his best employees, bumped up less qualified staff to salaries that are not even in the ballpark of the market. He screwed his shareholders and his cofounder, and ultimately destroyed his company with an unsustainable idea that will cost everyone their jobs. It's incompetence. People aren't rooting. But they are aghast at this level of crazy.
It's not that people were rooting for him to fail. It's just that most people know a computer would never get made by a guy starting with a loaf of bread, some twine and two tennis balls. This guy was DOOMED to failure. His salary adjustment would never have been enough to cover what he tried to do, so he had to take from others who didn't deserve such a punitive move. He devalued his best employees, bumped up less qualified staff to salaries that are not even in the ballpark of the market. He screwed his shareholders and his cofounder, and ultimately destroyed his company with an unsustainable idea that will cost everyone their jobs. It's incompetence. People aren't rooting. But they are aghast at this level of crazy.
Not per AugieC's post from the previous page, hope he doesn't mind if I repost it here:
"In more recent news, it seems like Gravity Payments is doing well.
Customer retention is up 4% from 91-95%
Revenue is growing about 30%
They've lost two employees since the announcement.
Profits have doubled, but it appears to be a fairly low margin business anyway.
The biggest threat per the article is the lawsuit from his own brother.
Either way, I'm glad this guy seems to have pulled it off, and wish him continued success. Quite possibly to the chagrin of too many "conservative" types. Funny how people are all about private enterprise and such, and then when a CEO decides to do something to help his employees, they scream "SOCIALISM!!"
[RIGHT] [/RIGHT]
For those that did not read this I will summarize:
The increase in entry level wage from $35,000 to $70,000 was announced in April, 2015. It is to be phased in over 3 years (if it is such a good idea, why phase it in?). The entry level pay is now $50,000, not $70,000. Non entry level employees were not given a raise, so one can not say what percentage of employees were effected. It is not clearly stated, but I think it can be reasonably deduced that the results are for the third quarter 2015 vs. third quarter 2014.
It would not be surprising to me if there was a temporary boost in productivity and employee retention due to the promised pay hike. One can't be sure based upon the results of only one quarter if the improvements in productively are related to the pay hike or part of an existing trend. The main costs and the fallout from losing two of the most senior employees are still down the road. Presumably by offering a higher entry level wage, the company can attract the most productive and motivated employees, so the more productive and motivated employees will largely offset the cost of the increase in entry level salary, this will be misinterpreted by people with agendas to mean paying people more makes them more productive, and that is in part true, but the greatest gains will be made by their ability to attract the best people.
What's so funny? Maybe the fact that he's a dumbass? It's ALWAYS funny when someone does something that is a no brainer that they will lose but still do it.
Not such a dumbass. His gamble is paying off. And he is willing to take cuts to his own pay to make it work. I admire that.
Now the company is in the process of instituting the larger pay increases, which immediately raised the lowest salaries to $50,000 a year and implemented $10,000 raises at the bottom each year for the next two years. Those who already earn between $50,000 and $70,000 will also get $5,000 raises.
The whole plan will cost $1.8 million. To help cover the expense, Price cut his own pay from $1.1 million to $70,000. He’s also sold all of his stocks, drained his retirement accounts, and mortgaged two properties to pour $3 million into the company. He’s vowed not to fire employees, raise prices, or cut executive pay further to make it all work.
Quote:
Price’s big bet that significantly higher salaries will pay off is grounded in some support from economists. Two economists surveyed years of research and found that when major American companies raised pay, it increased productivity and performance, enhanced customer service, reduced turnover, and attracted better job candidates, all of which can lower costs and increase sales. One of the studies they examined found that more than half the cost of higher wages can be offset through such improvements, while other research has found that a higher minimum wage can benefit companies through improved efficiency, reduced turnover, and improved recruitment.
I drive the extra distance to get to Costco due the higher quality on many of their products, the return policy and, to a much lesser extent, the other clientele found there.
Personally, I find the stores (Costco and Sam's) to be about the same in terms of cleanliness and checkout experience.
The return policy is pretty freakin sweet isn't it? LOL. My dad has a membership at Sam's and I haven't seen a "people of walmart" character when I go with him. I will say I've noticed the clientele there seems to skew older, but to each their own.
I will disagree on the cleanliness, but only based on my anecdotal experience with Sam's. I will note the food area seems to be cleaned with more regularity at Costco, either that or there's a LOT more traffic for the Sam's pizza.
As for the employees, I still maintain that the employees at the Costco close to us just seem friendlier than the Sam's. The Sam's employees aren't necessarily unfriendly, more indifferent. I don't have payscale information to support any sort of premise there, just an observation.
It's not that people were rooting for him to fail. It's just that most people know a computer would never get made by a guy starting with a loaf of bread, some twine and two tennis balls. This guy was DOOMED to failure. His salary adjustment would never have been enough to cover what he tried to do, so he had to take from others who didn't deserve such a punitive move. He devalued his best employees, bumped up less qualified staff to salaries that are not even in the ballpark of the market. He screwed his shareholders and his cofounder, and ultimately destroyed his company with an unsustainable idea that will cost everyone their jobs. It's incompetence. People aren't rooting. But they are aghast at this level of crazy.
This thread is 24pgs now, so I don't have time to peruse the entire thing to find a few choice excerpts, but there were DEFINITELY people rooting for him to fail. Unfortunate to be honest, but it is what it is.
As for the rest of your fairly negative take on his decision to bump salaries... well, it's his company. He was the majority shareholder by a significant margin (I believe 70% owner).
I don't think he went about with the intent of devaluing his best employees, and if he's only had two leave, it looks like the vast majority of his best employees didn't construe it that way either.
Again, refer to the article I linked to; it doesn't look like his company is failing. In fact, the only major threat is the lawsuit filed by his brother. I do feel bad that Mr. Price took such a heavy toll upon himself in order to spread the wealth by such a degree. People who take risks to start their own business should garner some rewards for themeselves. However, he felt the income inequality within his own business was an issue that he needed to address and he did.
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