This kind of management causes within the company confusion, poor accountability, unclear goals and fosters a mindset of, it's not my job... These issues breed poor results in all areas from product production to workforce environment.
Huh????.....
Like most every other weapons manufacturer, S&W has a website and on line storefront. Many manufacturers have a storefront, but don't sell on line, you must go through one of their listed dealers, Gallery of Guns, etc. In the case of S&W, it's just a minor operation – they don't want to undercut their dealer network, but they do offer a place you can buy an uncommonly found item like a 300 Whisper/Blackout upper. They complete the storefront by listing some other common items, like mags, but know they won't sell many because most buyers will go to Brownells, Midway, etc, because those prices will be much lower.
In November, President Obama is reelected. In December, Newtown. Almost overnight there is a Tsunami of buying panic in the weapons industry. Six months or more of weapons are sold in one month, and even a larger amount of ammo, parts, and mags are sold and ordered.
Now even the S&W website is overwhelmed. What was once almost a mom&pop operation is inundated with orders for which they do not have the manning or computer power to handle. Their customer service is under the same intense pressure because that same increase of six months or more weapons sold in one month also translates into six times or more the usual number of customer service requests.
Easy fix, right? Just hire more people. But you don't hire permanent workers if you anticipate their need for just the next couple of months. So you hire from a temp agency, you've got bodies answering phones and emails, but for a few weeks they are just temp help learning the system, asking others for technical details and unable to make company decisions. In the end, the buying panic passes, customer service gets control of returns, storefront orders are filled and return to the previous normal. Happy ending.
