I’m amazed they are still in business

with the economy the way it is. all electronics stores are going to suffer. the last thing people want to do right now is go out and buy home electronics when they cant put food on their tables.  Hopefully tweeter can make it through these turbulent times because they do sell quality merchandise at decent prices compared to others in the market place

This company is already on it’s way out.  There is still to much dead wood left in upper management. Their basically heading down the same path they were before Chapter 11 just in a smaller package.  They have nothing special to offer the CE marketplace and haven’t effectively marketed themselves.  I have spoken with current employees and new customers are not coming in the doors.  You can strip all the operating costs you want but if you don’t have sales you are still in the same boat.  The only thing that I think can turn this company around would be to hire someone in the CE industry that really understands how this business works. As of yet they haven’t.  I don’t think that they have anyone knocking on their door either.  Sad but true.

I am a current employee. I joined Tweeter after years of successful management experience in several professions because I wanted to just have fun helping people in an area that had always been a hobby of mine. I am not in management within Tweeter and cannot speak to all the facts or to specific qualifications of the Management Team. What I can say is that the Tweeter sales and installation teams are the best educated in the industry. I can say that our Corporate staff works diligently to support us all. I have managed and bought and sold many companies and consulted to hundreds of small businesses in my past lives. I understand the comments of the “previous employee” regarding management having specific experience within this industry. I believe that would be a plus. However, an efficiency expert is an efficiency expert generally across any vertical. This is an undisputable fact as I have lived it. Perhaps fresh ideas from the outside are exactly what the doctor ordered. We all understand investors invest to make money. I spent 15 years in litigation before Tweeter and have known of George Schultze for a long time. He has an impressive track record. Tweeter, as every other entity in this business, must struggle to identify its ever changing market and identify itself with the correct communication to that market. It is not easy to hit a moving target. If anyone in this business can survive, or has the people resources to survive, it is Tweeter.  As the expression goes “you can take that to the bank”.

Let’s hope that Tweeter can survive this difficult period. I once worked at Cambridge Soundworks, another CE company & unfortunately,they suffered a similar fate & now only sell their original line of products online. Less CE retailers = less choices for consumers which could lead to higher prices or the choice of Best Buy or Walmart, unless Circuit City can survive.

In order to get their fixed costs inline, they will have to cut payroll. They have already renegotiated all the store leases. In my humble opinion the knife has not cut deep enough over the last 13 months. They have kept the same executive management layer. They have kept all the same players. I think this time around you can count on radical change. More store closings for sure. This will perhaps keep them afloat till Feburary when this company will be peiced out. If I were driving this bus, I would clip the entire installation services department. The quality of work performed by employeed installation technician is not any better than what you get on the open sub contractor market. This would cut at least 5 million in payroll. I would keep a small handfull of guys who can handle more complex jobs. I would close the service department as well. This department has never made the company money. I wish all of the employees good luck, get your resume polished and your interviewing skill honed. Be prepared for what is next. Do not stick you head in the sand it could be a rough time with many people hitting the job market at once.

I have to agree with several of the previous posts (long time employee-familiar with all the players)Shultze is going to take a bath on this misadventure no matter what-might as well get it together during Christmas and bail in February-
unfortunately for him, Tweeter really has no assets left.And yes, they need to get rid of several middle management clowns who laid off all the wrong people and left their cronies in place (you know who you are).They have driven what used to be the gold standard in Customer Service right into the ground which was the only reason to shop here.The amount of customer complaints and problems has escalated to the point that they can’t be handled properly.You can lay people off and slash and burn, but at some point you have to do proper marketing and sell something!Granoff was a poor choice from the start-a knee jerk reaction to Joe Maguires departure after Shultze laid off the core team in a PR stunt (he hired most back later in a major mea culpa, but the damage was done)What was needed was an industry veteran who knew the business, not a hack who couldn’t save Ames and Bradlees.So as predicted, it’s come to this.Too bad Judy and her overpaid minions (hired her neighbor as basically an assitant for a six figure salary,etc,etc.)started the death spiral that has cultimated in Tweeters demise-And the adice to start looking for a job now is spot-on, don’t wait till everyone is looking-bail now!!!

The guy who was at the wheel at Bradlees, Ames, two of his own companies, consulting at Polaroid and London Fog couldn’t turn this ship around?

Well, frankly, I’m shocked.

I hear he’s got a room in the cellar with all the taxidermied heads of the workers in his wake.

I agree with allot of what zninja is suggesting. Get the existing executive team out of there.  They have not produced results before the Chapter 11 filing or after. I think that sacking installation may be a risk. I feel they need to go in the direction of custom.  They just have not executed it properly.  I would say cut the mobile department out of the model.  It’s been dead for them along time and they no longer seem to put the same amount focus as they did on it.  Cutting Service out is a tough one. This is something that I think makes them different.  It’s true they have run this dept. at a loss but it does not have to be that way. Executive management never paid the proper attention to it and it is a valuable tool.  I know this from first hand experience. They really, really need to hire a veteran to turn this ship around if that is even possible at this point.

Tweeter has never had the right people in place.
they hired clown after clown, like judy Q.This woman didnt know squat about the electronics industry.joe m was a clown ,why would you make an
accountant a ceo just does not make sense , and neither did any of the things he tried to do for the company.they chased all of the good guys away
from the company like chris o cary t. and dave t.
jeff stone was probably the smartest one he got out first.every year they try to be something different instead of staying the course they set the prior year.the companys execution is so poor
they would screw up a popsicle stand.there is a lot of good people who care about this company who will be out of a job come the first of the year,thats too bad it did not have to be this way

The tweeer way:
1. Find someone to buy the company who is in it for the term, to turn it around.(like Shultze is)

There are a lot of very hard working people at tweeer who had faith that Shultze ment that.
oh well, water is wet, sky is blue, people lie

2.Have the best sales staff.
Sadly you cant make a profit when you exchange year old sets that the customer has damaged themselves.

3.Have the best distribution center.
If the best means destroying more sets in a week then you did in the prior year then they have the best.
If that means driving some poor persons set 1000 mile to get it next door then you made it.

4.Have the best newest products to sell.
oops cant do that if you have no credit with the manufactures (did someone forget to send the check?)
cant do that if you exchange old sets for new ones
because people tell you if you dont they wont buy that $30,000 system from you.Where did all those systems go?

5.Have the best service department
Maybe, if you had someone who knew about service running it (hey Tim. do you know what a schottky diode even is?)
maybe if the manufactures would send you parts
(who was supposed to mail those checks anyway?)

I guess in the end the tweeer way is the hang the employees who had faith and worked hard. along with the landlords, and the manufactures, and the customers out to dry.

The internet is hurting tweeter along with the economy.some of their product line can be had for hundreds less although not always authorized dealers online.it is hard to support a sales staff and showroom and keep prices competitive with online dealers having no real overhead.

Sadly,
I have seen senior upper executive management make the same mistakes and poor decisions for years and they are all still there ( Mostly). Imagine being on conference call after conference call where the only point to the call is to CYA and try to explain how to hide the fact that you don’t make a difference in what you do. Trust me I have been on these calls and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Sadly all who knew how to make this machine work either left or was made to leave for one reason or another. Its a shame to say the least. They lost their soul years ago and the Executive staff does not have the answers as to what to do IMHO.. ( They are in fact the problem) That opinion is based on hands on viewing the problems for a very long time. I feel for the last remaining real good people in this failing company, there are many left and they bear the brunt of the failed execution of those above them. Its a common and sad story. Look at Wall Street and the greed and bad judgment that left millions suffering, this is a microcosm of that unfortunately.
To those who do their best each and every day I say, Im sorry and I really wish the best for you all, you really deserve a better life. Hopefully you will find that better life soon.
To those who made Millions or slightly less Bleeding this company… Shame on you. Hopefully Karma will reach those who made huge sums tanking a otherwise good and proud company. They say what goes around comes around….I for one hope so.

A very very sad story indeed. All of the best of the best left or like the previous post said, were made to leave. The 1st sign of a Bad company is when they start losing good people. The last sign of a failed company is when they MAKE the good people leave. I have seen both happen and all to often. A lot of Bad people made a lot of money making this ship sink and a lot of good people took most of the brunt, that’s just sad.
They ask themselves in private meetings..“Are we relevant ?”. They ask this often. The answer is No they are not. You can buy at a better price online from good dealers like Amazon and get better service. Also just walk into their stores and talk with their people, they don’t look or act happy. They have been given one salary drop after another and all the promises of a better tomorrow never came. I know several Tweeter employees who started buying CE products elsewhere even while still employed. The fact was you got better service as a customer elsewhere then you did as a employee within the company.
The gravitationally challenged women has begun to sing that sad sad song..Again.

With more than a Decade in country so to speak, all I can say is…You have no idea. What went on and how bad the organization was run on a daily basis. If you knew you would wonder how it lasted this long.

Just a month or so back I got a mailer from Tweeter touting the new Samsung tv lines. The ad indicated thety would be available for viewing and purchase. I had wanted to view and perhaps purchase the Samsung 55A950 which was in the ad. When I went to a Tweeter store(in Orland Park,IL), they didn’t have any of the product they advertised and a salesman told me they would have it for over a month. I went right to ABT, they had the product, and I bought it. Goodbeye Tweeter! Someone turn out the lights.

Does Jeff Lascar still work their? Does he still not wear deoderant? Maybe the smell coming off his armpits was scaring people out of the store. Man that guy could clear a room faster than anyone I know.

my dad used to tell me nothing could be worse than being f***ed with sand in the vaseline.

I guess that is what the outside technicians felt
like today when they were told that the company they worked so hard for was going to f em.After friday they have no jobs. how is it that when you leave a company you have to give two weeks notice,
but they don’t have to give squat?no wonder there is no loyalty to a company anymore.

That is probably what the people in pennsylvania probably felt like when they were told they have until friday to empty the building.

Ditto the people in the distribution centers.

Ditto the people in the service centers.

Ditto the landlords.They should have known better. a lepoard can’t change it’s spots.
You should have gotten more money up front.

Oh well, they deserve what they get for believing
that someone was committed to turning this once great company around. When it comes down to commitment or a balance sheet, the balance sheet wins every time, no matter what the cost in peoples lives.(here’s your vaseline)

As for the customers there is enough vaseline (and sand) for them too.
They have to try and get their equipment back after the doors close.(better hurry)

There is even enough for the people who wait for companies to go under so they can get a “good” deal. wait til they find out that the set they bought has no factory warranty on it because it used to be some other guys set.

I guess in the end, the saddest thing is that the company could have been turned around(The guy who bought the service department in California is running it right and making a profit) and been profitable.

If had had been run like a business and not like a circle jerk.

TOO BAD,,SO SAD..HERE’S ..YOUR VASELINE

Yup-The fat lady is singing!

All distribution is closing down including the new one in PA they just finished last week!You can’t make this stuff up!

Every employee is about to get screwed-they’re trying to weasel around the Massachusetts “30 day notice” closure law and bleeding it slow….

The big joke is the clowns told us in the meeting yesterday that the stores are the new warehouse/distribution centers-as if this company is going forward-like anyone is stupid enough to belive it.Stick a fork in it-layoffs start friday-Get out now before the flood!

This company is like watching keystone Cops..Its just to funny. Want more here’s some… Weeks after Tweeter received the new Klipsch line of speakers after almost a 10 year hiatus the upper Brass had no idea they even carried this name brand again. No kidding. One day a senior Regional sat in a store when a Manager said..” Hey I have these New Klipsch speakers,do we sell them again” The answer was ... “Huh, what do you mean..” Just sad folks sad..
For those who got the layoff notice don’t feel so bad. I heard some Managers found out they were closing the Main MA distribution center from the guy who washes the windows..Now that’s a well run machine…I hear singing in the background.
Laaa la la laaaa la la laaaa la la

Tweeter was going out a year ago when the bankruptcy was filed.  The so called “turn around” for the company never happened.  It was Corporate jargon that the leadership could not back up.  No major decisions or changes were made in the 8 months i was there following the bankruptcy that showed me they would have been able to turn the business around.  You can only see bad decisions made so many times before you know the bottom is about to fall out, that is why i jumped ship.
Little fact for everyone, 3 days ago, a message was sent to all distribution personnel at Tweeter that the distribution centers are to be closed and product moved to the stores.  You can’t support 100 stores without your own distribution network so be warned, step one of the close down of Tweeter is underway.  The official announcement should come in the upcoming weeks.

The company could have been better run if three year old in pull-ups ran it. The big wigs sit there with there fingers plugging there butts and laugh and joke and we the actual people who give a damn about our job are trying to figure out what to do with ourselves how to pay our bills in the next upcoming months. We were first told we would get severance pay and now there are talks we have no money for severance pay luckily my pay check didn’t bounce today. Lucky enough I have someone who can support me, i feel bad for the poor ######## i work with who aren’t as fortunate as me STOP STRINGING US ALONG LET US GO NOW!!! at least we will have time to find something. Just let the bird die, while all ten customers we have left still have a good taste it their mouth.

we were gathered on monday in the corporate office for a big announcement after nothing new was said someone asked so whats our short term goal. the reply “to stay open until x-mas”. News flash with no products to support our customers WE AREN’T GONNA MAKE IT!!!!!

I M BITTER because when i look back, “I shoulda toined left at Albuquerque”.Had I known then…

Then the president at least tried, although he hired all the wrong people.

This is just television and stereo sales and service, what in the world did judy q want with grand pianos in the stores at christmas.maybe it was her eyes,she just couldn’t see people go to a tv store to by tv’s and stereos. they go to concert halls to hear pianos.
At least she did something. The person the last president hired hasn’t done a damn thing. but then again he was hired by george g who didn’t know the tv and stereo business either, having experience in painting and partys isn’t quite the same is it?
In his defense ..Tweeter Chairman George Schultze praised Granoff’s acumen, citing Granoff’s, “established record of focusing organizations on their core strengths.
Maybe tweeter just didn’t have any core strenghs.
They seem to always look at two people for a position and the take the loser and let the right one stay in california, making money, instead of sitting at his desk getting a bj from c.n.(glub glub, slurp slurp,) spit? or swallow?
Maybe if she went (down) from store to store we wood(y) all feel beter.(what do you think tim?)

In the life cycle of any endevor it starts out with totally committed people who pour themselves and their lives into it, then it goes to the next layer, of people who work hard for their career, then to the layer of people who figure"what the heck if it doesn’t work out i will go somewhere else” And finally to the layer where it’s “I,m going to get what I can and screw the rest”(or face f’ em)

I guess I M BITTER because i see the little people who work really hard (no pun intended tim)
at their jobs to make the company better, and then i see the supposed leaders getting out the vasoline and sand to give us our christmas bone.

It is really sad, there are small chains out there in CE that are making the right decision and making a profit. I guess a degree from a top university does’n make you smart. But it does teach you not to care about the people you have been entrusted with.

Oh, if your interested in selling all the companies assetts for .25c just pust it to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  I know it is more then it is worth, but i am feeling generous.

Liquidation time is here…over 200 people let go today..More coming.

Back to the porn business…