Store Closure
about
I loved Gap, but was very disappointed when, after being promoted to Store Manager in November '07 and being told the store would remain open until at least 2010, I was given the news about two and a half months later that the store was closing. What was even worse: I was told we had FOUR WEEKS!! The "closing store checklist" started 3 months out - everything had to be condensed into less than a month. Probably the thing that was most frustrating was, on top of being sad (that store was practically my second home having been there for four years and starting as a sales associate), everything was handled horribly! Even after a long conference call about the timeline of events, everything that was apparently scheduled to occur was actually not scheduled - the woman who was in charge of scheduling anything and everything that needed to be removed, taken down, disassembled, etc., and who had given me the timeline of events (I can only assume) didn't actually have anything scheduled. The guys who had come to take down the exterior signs were given the wrong address, for crying out loud - my store was in Texas and they were given the address of a store in Georgia! I received a call from one of the guys when they somehow got the information that they were headed in the wrong direction and didn't know if they would be at my store by the expected time the following day. I loved the company - they know how to take care of their people, from my point of view. After this incident, however, it is hard for me to even walk into a Gap store. I can't help but think about how the loyal associates of that store, including myself, were "rewarded" with that kind of treatment - I felt like we were shown no sympathy from anyone other than my DM and Store Managers in my district. I'm understanding of a store closing due to economic factors, but it's still my opinion that it is the company's obligation to show those people support, sympathy, and gratitude for our years of service.
