John Marcenek
PO Box 942, Cocoa, Florida 32923
Telephone: (321) 890-6565 E-mail: jmarcenek@yahoo.com

RE:
Sears Holdings Corporation
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

(847) 286-2500

To whom it may concern:

As of yesterday, I worked in Sears store 1175 in Merritt Island, Florida. I have been employed by Sears for about a year and a half. Last year, I was given an award for the most protection agreements sold for Home Improvement (including tools, hardware, lawn/garden and patio, and sporting goods). I put division six (sporting goods) into the number one spot for protection agreement sales for the first time ever in this store’s history. About two weeks ago, I was wondering how two salespeople in the tool department managed to raise their protection agreement sales numbers seemingly within a few weeks. One night, while closing solo in the tool department, I noticed about a half-inch stack of coupons stacked on the side of registers 531 and 532. Registers automatically print three to four coupons on each sale. Most customers leave them on the counter and tell us to give them to someone who might need one.

Up until this point, I was just crumpling them up and throwing them in the trash can. I realized the sales people in tools were doing the opposite; they were saving them and using them to get sales. I asked Frank King about it the next day and he said that was in fact what he was doing, he gives them to customers and others that are hesitant about buying a protection agreement. I thought this was brilliant. I started saving ones that customers did not want for sporting goods and lawn/garden. Over the next week, I used two that I can remember. Both were similar sales, one a tractor, and one a treadmill. Both customers were hesitant about buying the product AND a protection agreement. For example, on the tractor sale, I offered him a $25 coupon that another customer left if he bought both the tractor and the $300 protection agreement. He instantly came onto the YES side of the fence; he was no longer hesitant and said yes. Therefore, in effect, I got the company and myself a protection agreement sale that no one would have had if a previous customer did not leave the coupon on the counter and I offered it to this customer. It helped close the sale, close the package deal. For illustration purposes, say half the coupon came off the tractor and half off the protection agreement, we (the company and myself) got 287.50 from a coupon discounted $300 protection agreement. We would not have gotten that sale, that money, if a previous customer did not leave the coupon on the counter and I offered it to this customer.

Yesterday… Monday June 24, 2008, Anthony, the store’s loss prevention manager, called me into his office asking me if I liked my job, how long I had been working there. I stated yes and a year and a half. He said let’s talk coupons. He asked why I was offering customer’s coupons. I told him because the register prints them on every sale. He said it was against company policy and I was violating company policy. I must admit, I was thoroughly confused about this as 1) The company’s own registers printed the coupons with every sale and 2) It helped increase revenue for the store, the company, and me by increasing sales. 3) If the customer was not offered the coupon, they WOULD NOT BUY the protection agreement; if they were offered the coupon, they WOULD BUY the protection agreement. 4) If offered the coupon, everyone wins… the customer, the store, the company, and me. How could this be wrong? Nothing appeared underhanded about it to me. Anthony stated I was offering unauthorized discounts and that it was a violation of company policy. He made me sign a statement that I understood this and would not do it again. I was not aware this was a violation of company policy and I agreed to what he wanted and signed the statement.

After going home, I called a Sears Human Resources consultant at the associate service center for advice on this (888-88S-ears, case number 6067037). The woman told me while she understands both points of view… Anthony’s and mine; it is actually a violation of company policy and I should not offer the coupons to customers again. I agreed.

Today I came into work at 1:00 PM. At about 3:30, I was called to Claudia’s office, the store manager. Anthony and Claudia were in the office. Anthony told me that he escalated his report on me to the associate service center and it has been decided that I would be terminated because I offered unauthorized discounts to customers.

I went home and called a Sears Human Resources consultant at the associate service center for advice again. I told her how this is wrong from so many angles as 1) Anthony violated company policy by only allowing 4 hours work time between warning me about the violation and terminating me. I offered no coupons to customers in that four-hour time span. 2) No opportunity was given to show that I stopped any company violation. I was warned then terminated, a violation of company policy. 3) Anthony could not provide me anything in writing showing this was a company policy violation. 4) This all opens the company up to possible wrongful termination lawsuits. 5) None of the other sales people in the tool department also using the coupons in the same way, the sales people I learned this from, were terminated. 6) As previously explained above, this results in loss of sales and revenue for the company (I am sure company stockholders would not like any of this). She replied that it is still a violation of company policy to offer these coupons to customers because I am not authorized to give them and that my termination would stand. I told her how flabbergasted I was that the company was willing to lose sales and employees over this.

Later, after speaking with a paralegal friend, I called a Sears Human Resources consultant at the associate service center for advice on this (888-88S-ears, case number 6067037) again. This time, I received an answering machine at which point I stated that it is not true I am not authorized to give these coupons. If it were true what she said that only management were authorized to use the coupons, the coupons would not print out at the register; they would be e-mailed or faxed to managers. The mere fact that the company has them set to automatically print with every sale at the register authorizes me to use them. If the sales people are not authorized to use them, then why do they print at the register with each sale? I looked through ALL the Sears employee paperwork given to me, there is nothing regarding how these coupons are to be used, and I do not recall any paperwork I was asked to sign over my time there stating the same. As of June 25th at 11:30 AM when I am writing this, I have received no reply to the issues or points I raised above.

I believe in this company. I would like to see it survive. But policies and decisions like the above leave you wondering and your head spinning. In conclusion, I am almost sure that Sears’ investors, stockholders, and executive management would not be happy with any issues raised here.

Respectfully,

John Marcenek
Terminated Sears Store Employee