edf40wrjww2CF_PaperMaster:Desc
- overall- these folks are full of themselves since theyíve had nothing but success to date and think they'll head into LPB and whip this company into shape
- they fire 50 out 53 middle managers up front- housecleaning is common after an acquisition but this is fast and deep- and it's the people who know the business- Debbi & Randy clearly feel they don't need this- their IT and management style render this experience unnecessary- theyíll live to regret this
- LPB managers are older, better paid, run their stores and know local conditions- they likely have a real sense of ownership of their stores. Debbi & Randy wheel in new IT and say "Meet the new boss". These managers overwhelmingly ìvote with their feetî and THIS expertise is lost as well- no problema say Debbi & Randy- we'll bring in the college kids and the Day Planner...
- this is a big mistake- VERY different type of business. How does the Day Planner work here? At 9AM make 5 ham sandwiches, 1 with cheddar, 2 with no mayo? Also- this is a sit down restaurant- much harder to manage- much harder to automate management. Consider managing a wait staff for example and dishwashers and cooks- the combination of the Fields 20-something ìmanagersî and the Day Planner is not up to the task. The Fields vaunted systems are based on the cookie business, in effect, digitizing Debbi Fields' expertise. They don't know this business and their technologies don't either...
- the corporate systems will likely be relatively portable in that they're generic, but as noted above, the in-store systems are custom designed for the "cookie-cutter" Fields model- it's Debbi's model that forms the basis of the Day Planner, Debbi's views of la ...