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Once-dominant Kmart isn't what it used to be

Posted Mar 29 2008, 06:34 PM by Karen Datko
Rating:

"FMF" at Free Money Finance worked one summer years ago as a management intern at Kmart, so he has an insider's perspective on the chain's decline. In his new series of store reviews, he gives his former employer an F.

When he worked there, "Kmart was the king of mass merchants, but my particular store was panicked because a new competitor was headed into their region, some company by the name of Wal-Mart," he says. "... they were bracing for an invasion that they expected to be about as terrible as the Huns coming to ransack their city."

The ransacking apparently has taken its toll. By the way, FMF gave Wal-Mart a B+ rating.

Now, he says, Kmart is "a low-end Wal-Mart." (Ouch!) Sometimes Kmart advertises a really good deal, he says. Another bonus is that his local Kmart is near a Taco Bell. Overall, he says, "Stores are crummy and in poor locations, prices are only OK, employees are rude, merchandise is weak."

Many who posted comments agreed with FMF, although some readers said they like Martha Stewart brand items and the gardening supplies. Reader Kristi wrote: "The thing that always boggles my mind is why on earth Martha Stewart would want her name at all associated with a store like Kmart." Reader Bobby replied, "Or why Kmart would want their name associated with her."

Kmart also takes it on the chin at Rate It All. "Excelsior30" pretty much summed up many reviewers' remarks with "I will consider the store as a last resort to looking for a thing that I can't find anywhere else."

Sonya at No More Mumus gave Kmart a somewhat good grade for plus-size clothes last May. "Well, Kmart was a teeny bit better than Target, but not by much. At least they had some clothes in their plus-sized section," she wrote. In another post, she complimented Kmart's selection of swimwear.

Comments

 

The problem k-mart has is that their staff does nothing to help the shopper. At the check counter their is no eye contact it's just cash or credit..This store I mention is in redlands cal. On redlands blvd. See for youself. NINER1.

I like Kmart. I just don't have one in my area any more. The clostest one is 45 minutes away.

I love to shop where prices are lower and treasures can be obtained at slashed prices. KMart has some good deals, but some higher prices too. KMart is not as good as it used to be - I actually used to buy a lot of baby presents and Christmas presents there, but now I don't. I like the Garden Center in the spring. It has a great selection of bedding plants and hanging baskets. The employees really try, but standing up for hours at such low pay with no say so in the company's policy and no good wages or benefits is truly an awful way to make a living. I have had some really nice customer service and some awful. The stores I have been in are substandard. Kmart doesn't want to spend any money to be competitive - what is wrong with them?!

You know, I can fix KMart's problems. I can improve their image, increase their sales, bring customers into the stores, and take the chain to the level that it can achieve. How?

1. Hire more sales clerks on the cash registers. No one wants to wait in a long line when there are 10 lanes but only 1 cashier at 5:30 in the afternoon.

2. Clean the store so the aisles are clear, merchandise easy to reach, and pricing readily seen. Yes, there are 439,394,904 different kinds of Tide Detergent, but you really only need to stock and sell 4 of them. Forget the bulk sizing, go small and medium, at a fair price. Keep working on getting clothes for the taller women and men, plus sizes even. No one out there is doing this, so be the leader. And don't worry about what the competition is selling.  Make them worry about what you are selling.

3. Move the Pharmacies to the front of the store. Get rid of the coupons for new scripts, and the cheap generics. Give the customer excellent customer care, keep them up on the drug interactions, stock more, and perhaps go to the extreme and hire a delivery service.

4. Get management to work all shifts, and get the managers on the floor where you can see them.

5. Train "roving salespeople", who may cover several different departments, but know their inventory, and be available to order online right then and there.

6. Light the store. Put in sky lights if you have to, but get light in there. Keep the store well lit and clean.

7. Sears was all about customer satisfaction. Kmart is all about the bottom line. Go back to the sear's mentality, follow my 7 steps to success, and within 1 year, people will no longer wonder where the nearest Target or Walmart is.

I always loved Kmart I wish they could get themselves back on their feet. Walmart has rude employees and less than desirable customers.

I get much better service from K-mart employees rather than Wal*Mart. The fact that Wal*Mart builds these giant stores that are impossible to make your way from one end to the other. Not to mention K-Mart as a company does not berate entire communities and shut down indipendant buisnesses into the towns they move into.

Kmarts problem is bad management in  most stores and the CEO's dont even know that the little people "managers on down" are breaking the company, they are still nursing the same negative attitudes of the then full time associate now part time associates that lost a lot of investments, I say get rid of the ones that dont want to come into the 20th century and is still having a woe is me, feel sorry for me I lost in the great big world of retail, get over it and move on, I love Kmart I choose the store I shop by the staff they have, you can tell a good staff by walking in the store, if you are not greeted with a smile before you start to shop, turn around and walk out because its poorly managed and 9 times out of 10 it is not clean and organized.

Working for a kamrt store now.It is hard times when you work 8-12 hours a week, they will not give more for part-time and there is no full time.i always try to put myself in your shoes when dealing with customers.Don't judge everyone by one person.The economy has got everyone down.I don't shop at wal-mart they chased me out of store for a 10 dollar baby gate that I did not steal!!!!!!!!!!!

Alot of you complain bout this and about that. The three stores, Wal-mart, K-Mart, and Target, all have there ups and down. the price and all three have went up, and all three stores shelves are mostly empty because the stores dont usually carry back stock. All the pallets you see when you shop at night, usually just came off the truck. How do i no this, i used to work at Sam's Club and workin at that wholesale club taught me alot about the little stores. The stores dont order merchandise, it is all distributed by a inventory computer system.  They usually print reports of what was sold and what the present inventory is. then the distribution or headquarters will ship what they THINK that store my need. Not realized what may have been returned to the store and put back on the shelf.  To the lady who got the rain check, sorry to say it like this, maybe that item wasnt a high sellin item and the HQ didnt send or felt that store dont need any of that item right now. Good systm, but it hurts alot of the stores, thats many of the reason why alot of the employees have the atitude. the customer give you attitude, you giving atitude back. Alot of the stores are not clean, because its hard to keep clean when your store is 24 hours. thats goes for the 24 mc donalds too.  Just remember when you in a store, it would help if you put your unneeded item(s) back on the shelf. I remember when walmart and the other stores would close at 11pm, there night team was ready to come to the floor and clean, wax the floors and restock the shelves, now alot of that cant be done due to the constant flow of traffic. yes its much better to shop at night, just dont complain bout the mess you will see.

kmart to me is the best place to shop by far i have not been treeted bad at all at anying kmart that i have been to thru the u.s.a that is where i have been shoping at ...you see i drive a big rig......           as for wlmart they suck they have most of the u.s.a shopers bluff in to think that thy are geting a great deal what a big joke they are.....

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