unfair treatment lenscrafters

[robdon]

I am currently a lab manager with lenscrafters and have 23 years of experience including a general manager for pearle and owned my own business.I was under the understanding that when my current g.m.left I would be promoted to g.m.You can imagine my surprise when I had an unusual 2 days off in a row and apon my return a store associate told me our regional director had promoted our retail manager with a total of 3 years experience to g.m.She is approx. 10 years younger and a female (i am 46)of the 23 stores in our region only 4 have male g.ms.I am A B O certified and she is not,I have an AA degree and she does not, I have been to optician school(nostra) she has not.Can someone please help me make sense of this decision.I have no disciplinary action and exceeds expectations evaluations.I wont even mention the derogatory page of men jokes that were hanging in the lab after this decision. What would you do/

[optigoddess]

I am curious as to :
1) how long have you been with the company ?

2) who told you that you would be promoted? Was this the gm, RDO, RQC ?

3) What , if anything, do you have in writing (such as on your review, regional manpower planning, career development plan etc) that substantiates the fact that you were "promotable" ?

Just curious & "all too familiar with LensCrafters...."

Karen

[shanbaum]

I would contact the Regional Director and discuss my concerns with her.

I mean, him or her.

I would add - in evaluating one's qualification to manage anything (but especially, a retail business), the kinds of experiences you enumerate may not be as significant as some other characteristics such as: personality, social skills, charisma; not to mention organizational skills. There is no reason to believe that a supremely competent optician will by virture of that competence make a good manager - the two roles require largely different skill sets.

For that matter, managing a lab, and managing a store, are two very different tasks.

[chip anderson]

Don't know why no one has pointed this out, but she may have other things and qualifications that you do not. Could be that her heretofore unrevealed talents became evident during your absence.

[Darris Chambless]

Hello there,

The reason you didn't get the promotion is because you're over educated and over qualified. Unfortunately you are caught in a strange postition.

Sorry to hear you didn't get the promotion,

Darris C.

[Pete Hanlin]

Given the fact that we know little of the actual personnel dynamics of your particular office, it is hard to know exactly what is going on with your situation.

However, my experience has shown me one thing- work isn't fair. It is entirely possible that you were passed over because:

• they can pay her less than you
• the regional manager is weak and feels threatened by underlings (like yourself) who know what they are doing- so s/he is protecting his/her own job
• she is younger than you
• the regional manager just "likes" her better
• she has brown nosed better than you
• she is attractive
• the company feels they need to promote women at this time to even out their management structure

I would add, however, that you consider the following possibilities:

• she might have better personal relations skills
• she might be a natural leader
• she might have better dispensing skills
• the former manager might have recommended her for the job

I'm not saying that she does have these things- or that you don't. However, you need to make a fair and honest assessment before you make your next decision. That decision, of course, is whether or not you will pursue legal action against your employer.

If you have been discriminated against because of your age, your gender, your religion, or any of the other reasons stated by law, you have a chance of winning an anti-discimination case in a court of law. Of course, the company will have a crack legal team- on retainer- to fight you every step of the way. AND, if there is ANY legitimate reason (and "its not fair" isn't a legitimate reason) for the promotion of this young lady over you, you WILL lose in court.

So, there you have it. If you have been discriminated against, go get 'em! If you haven't, face up to whatever the problem is, and get on with life. Either work on changing the things that are holding you back, or accept things as they are (and enjoy managing the lab). For your own sake though, think before you act (unless you have another job open and waiting for you)!

Finally, if this young lady is truly incompetent- don't worry... she will eventually fall on her face. Whether or not management recognizes this when it happens is another matter!

Pete

[Joann Raytar]

To add to Pete's last statement:

LC does take its open door policy seriously. You must follow protocol correctly and not be afraid to go up. If you do not get a resonable response to your inquiries as you go up the chain of command, do not be afraid to call their Human Resources Department.

[Cindy Hamlin]

When you approach your supervisor, do not do so pointing out all the reasons their choice was inferior. That will do you no good.

When you go in, ask what skills and areas you need to work on so that the next time there is an opening you will have those skills developed and will be considered. Pointing fingers gets no one up the corporate ladder. Be the bigger person and make a lasting impression on your regional by seeking to better yourself without trashing your supervisor!

Good luck!

~Cindy

[Cassandra]

Hmm..this situation sounds a bit familiar

Our store, or should I say my old store, just recently went through a major overhaul as well. After our old GM was promoted to RQC in another region, we had the GM position opened. Funny thing was that no one wanted it. Being the the store was the largest in the region, and one of the top in the midwest, it was considered quite the bear to deal with. So we ended up recruiting from outside.

Some of the various things brought up were these issues. I know our region is trying to make sure all GMs have both lab and retail experience. Preferrably taking a turn as both area managers. This is a bit different from the traditional way in LC to promote the Retail managers since they are the ones mainly dealing with the customers and the majority of the P&L type of stuff.

Another manager was denied a promotion on the basis that she was too valuable where she was at. That removing her with out having someone able to fill her shoes as well as she did was too detremental to the store.

Without knowing how long you had been there, how long she had, and how the people and orgainizational skills are, it is hard to say. Maybe they have another store in mind for you, and just want you there to help the transition so its not so rough for her, who knows?

But if you are seriously wanting to get promoted, talk to your RQC and RDO. I have worked in a couple of different regions, and I have always found the RQC and most of the RDO's very approachable. Tell them your goals, and have them work out a development plan with you. Then call them everytime you accomplished part of your plan. Don't let them forget you, and your goals.

I was out of management for a while, but wanted to get back in after getting things settled with family and all. I was getting frustrated to the point where I was shopping my resume around. It wasn't till the RQC actually took a look at all I have done, and then took the time to talk to my GM and former GM that he realized what he was overlooking. Now I have a healthy pay raise and a lab that was in desperate need of help. In the new situation, I finally got back the respect and admiration I was lacking for quite sometime. And as a bonus it is the store where our RQC offices at, so he hears how much people enjoy the change all the time :)

If you approach the regionals, but to no avail; then you got to call human resources. You have to give them a chance to work it out and go through arbitration first before you can actually sue. Unless of course you actually got by with not signing the associate handbook.

With a company that is opening more and more stores, and is always looking for good GM material, I bet once they have their eyes opened, things will change for you.

Cassandra

PS what region are you in? I have worked in a few different ones, so I am a bit curious :)

[JERRY HUANG]

Hello! I was in Lens Crafters, class 1986. In order to be promoted, I "asked" for it more than worked for it.

[Joann Raytar]

What Cassandra, Jerry Huang and optigoddess have said is true - you have to let them know that you definitely wanted the promotion and that you have trained someone under you or know of someone trained in another store who will be able to take your place.

[spazz]

hey there!

Having worked for 'The Evil Empire' for 4 1/2 years, I've found human resources to be very helpful in guiding associates in conducting the type of conversation you need to have with your RDO. Unfortunately the company has a habit of unofficially promising things that don't happen, or that happen only after the 'squeaky wheel' starts squeaking. Call HR with your concerns, (write them down for reference when you call), and let us know what happens. If your RDO is who I think he is (from your location) he was always a fair guy when I worked in his region. Good Luck!!!!

[Cassandra]

Is your ADQC based in Atlanta? If so, then I know you should be able to talk to your regionals. George Z was my RQC in Seattle a couple of years ago. He was very easy to talk to and seems to make things happen :)

[morinput]

Rob, if I were you I would be careful what you wished for. LC has at least for the past 7 or 8 years gone out of it's way to put young marginal talent with little optical experience in GM positions, instead favoring those with a strong retailing (esp. women's apparel) backgrounds. It has always puzzled me how being good at making sure the sweaters were folded correctly adequately prepares one for the diverse challenges of optical retailing but perhaps that is for another thread. Perhaps the underlying reason is they see this other person as "hungier" ie: more willing to tow the company line and spew their rhetoric with abandon, willing to work sixty hour weeks while cutting the hours of full time employees to next to nothing during the "fourth quarter crunch", and best of all to never, ever even think that there might be another way of doing anything other than the "LC/Stepford Wives Way". You are at least partially in control of your own destiny in the lab with much less political BS from middle management to deal with. This is only my opinion, I could be wrong.

[Darris Chambless]

I can't help it, :)

We need to keep talk of LC on the QT for the visiting VIP's. The GM has spoken to the DM and ADQC has listened to the concerns of the IC in their perspective RH. RQC has by no means been left out in the cold, btw. But HR will have to clear up a few things with RDO so that the corporate memos don't end up MIA or they will be put on KP. So let's hope that all the talk comes in DOA and we can forget all this nonsense and get on with life for the time being :)

TTFN :)

D.C. ABOC, MOAIS :)

PS. I just couldn't help it :)