Pros
SAS used to be the greatest place on earth to work for. When I first joined the company I couldn’t get over how much of a family environment it was. It was hard to call something “work” when you enjoyed what you did so much. The pay was never “great” but it was something a lot of people were willing to overlook because of so much else this company offered that you just couldn’t put a price tag on. This company used to stand for something great and gave its employees something to be a part of and believe in. At its peak we had a thriving customer base and little to no competition to stand against us. We made ALL of our shoes in America, by American workers, and it was something that we were proud of and our customers greatly appreciated. We had such an outstanding reputation in the industry that we didn’t need to bother with commercial advertisement due to the popularity and “word-of-mouth” we would receive from customers about the quality and comfort of our shoe line. We USED to sell the greatest product that was ALL "Made in America". We USED to have one of the greatest reputations in the country. We USED to care deeply for our employees and SAS family members. We USED to believe in the dream Terry and Lou started back in 1976. We USED to provide the absolute best in customer service but have now completely alienated the very customer base that got us to the top in the first place. So what went wrong?
Cons
Yes it is very true that every retail company needs to stay on top of an ever-changing environment if it wants to stay in business. Unfortunately, SAS is a textbook case of how not to go about making changes in the world of retail. CUSTOMER SERVICE They have successfully (and I mean that in the worst way) found a way to cut out the very customers that made them what they were. They went from high quality relationship selling to “get-their-money-and-out-of-the-store” transactional selling. HOSPITALITY Terry firmly believed that you treated your customers as if you would a guest in your home, and that your customers always leave your store as a friend. He was such a huge believer in hospitality that it kind of got out of hand at one point. This is one aspect that I will agree the company needed to change, but not abandon. Our company was known everywhere for our hospitality and customer service. I would constantly have customers joke with me at the stores about how they would shop here for the $150 chocolate truffle and get a free pair of shoes thrown in as a bonus. It was that kind of environment that made it such a joy to work with customers every single day. I understand changes were needed. I understand that where something nice is set in place, you will have people ready to take advantage of it. But nobody said you had to give away costly truffles and shortbread cookies all day long. You could have just as easily had your managers by bags of inexpensive Jolly Rancher hard candies and had gotten the exact same smile on the customers faces and saved a ton of money in the process. But instead you gave away one of the very things that made you different from all the other shoe stores out there. You gave away one of the very things that made you golden SAS. The one thing that made customers say “yeah the shoes are expensive, but you know what? It’s worth it!” REVIEWS The person who posted the “AIMCC” review was truly a district manager for this company at one time and I couldn’t agree with their review more. What they said was 100% spot on and true. What I find absolutely hilarious is the company’s poor attempt at damage control over the sudden increase in negative reviews. From their cookie cutter responses, to their downright fake reviews posted by the company themselves (I’m looking at you “DISTRICT MANAGER” review). TURNOVER This company has had tremendous turnover in the past eight months that there is no amount of positive spin the company can put on it to explain to its employees why these people have left. It has become somewhat of a running joke as to who will be announced in our email from corporate about who has left the company this week. I’m talking about long time employees. People who have been with this company for 20, 25, & 30 plus years. People who gave their heart and soul into this company. Just from a district manager perspective there have been seven (count ‘em, 7!) district managers that have left this company in the last 8 months. Every single one of these people earned their right to be in that position, but left due to what’s going on internally in this company. It boils down to poor leadership from the top that absolutely refuses to listen to sound reason from those that bridge the gap between the stores and the corporate level.
