Deathwatch: Comet edging closer to the brink?
February 10th, 2012 • 52 Comments
It’s not looking good for Comet – the beleaguered electrical chain has just announced another 450 job cuts just a few days after it was bought for a nominal TWO POUNDS by private equity firm OpCapita.
It looks as though the new owners are going to cut away as much fat as possible in an attempt to keep Comet going, and they job losses show that they’re cutting back their in-house repairs operation for starters, focusing “single-mindedly” on the stores themselves.
But things could get worse before they get better. It’s being reported that Samsung are yet to agree a new supply deal with Comet, which won’t reflect well on the chain if negotiations break down. Similarly, it could be another month before Comet secures credit insurance, which will make suppliers twitchy when it comes to dealing with them.
Perhaps the £2.00 spent by OpCapita was a last-ditch punt and we could shortly see another major name disappear from the UK retail landscape…
Comet still recruiting staff, hmmm. I admit I did ask once and even the staff member I asked said they are only basic hrs available and they change like the wind. There seemed no passion in the job from her, infact she seemed like most staff in there that day a robot!
As a customer when I was interested in purchasing a TV, the staff were more concerned about the extras, oh you need a mains socket with this and that, you need a HDMI cable costing £99 you need a clean cleaning kit and oh a nice £299.99 remote control WHAT ! Needless to say thank goodness I failed the credit check lol.
Admittedly there are some good staff but that is very rare, and by the comments I have seen on here, I am not surprised moral is at an all time low, and it seems inevitable that one day Comet will be like a Woolworths, an online only company.
I totally agree with the above comments. BULLYING staff is the order of the day for most senior managers at Comet. Certain area managers BULLY the store management teams if they are not coming in with the numbers…They in turn BULLY the colleagues, usually by threatening them with disciplinary action basically to cover their own arses. The whole set up is totally hollow. Most of the management colleagues are so TERRIFIED of their bosses they take it out on the staff that work for them. (I apologise to the good managers that actually treat their staff well but unfortunately judging by comments made by staff in other branches you are few and far between!!) Colleagues are expected to arrive at least 10 minutes before their shift is due to start and then are forced to stay on after the store closes to tidy up…All of it UNPAID I might add. There is no incentive for these guys to do a great job for the company and the ones that do perform well are put on even more! I can remember when Comet used to be a great place to work. We turned up and knew that we would do a good job and have fun doing it…Unfortunately these days are now a distant memory