Chichvarkin's color letters. Chichvarkin's letters, or HR of the era of financial problems

The actively promoted opinion that the prices for mobile phones in Euroset stores are lower than those of competitors, for some reason, is not disputed by anyone. In fact, the market has long stabilized, and manufacturers work with all networks on the same terms. Competition rules force other networks to set prices no higher than in Euroset. Despite the outrageous image, Evgeny Chichvarkin's company has become a recognized leader in the mobile retail market. And this is with frankly poor service. What is the phenomenon of the success of a company operating on the principle of "sell and forget"?

Last year's August purges of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it would seem, "whitewashed" the supply of mobile phones to Russia. Euroset representatives say that, according to their estimates, there are no more than 20% of “gray” pipes on the market now. But there are still many small companies with 3-4 employees that import mobile phones and sell them in bulk on the domestic market. An employee of one of these structures anonymously made it clear that all the "gray" schemes for transporting mobile phones across the border remained the same.

Indestructible dullness

“Several chiefs at the Vyborg customs were removed, but new ones took their place. Customs officers will always take bribes. If not for this, companies like ours would not survive at all. All our small suppliers of "gray phones" both worked and work. According to my estimates, the share of such tubes in the market is from 25% to 40%. Of course, large companies, including Euroset, have to make official "white" purchases, but it is simply unprofitable to trade only "white" phones, ”says our interlocutor. A company employee in charge of purchasing will always try to buy devices on the domestic market at a lower price than from the manufacturer. With such a scheme, according to the source, on some models you can earn $ 100 - 150 more from each mobile phone compared to legal sales schemes. Euroset, by the way, is also our client - it buys telephones from us through a subsidiary, ”our interlocutor sums up.

The temptation to buy so-called operator's phones is still great, foreign cellular operators can sell devices at a price of about 10 euros to attract new subscribers. Dmitry (he asked not to give his last name) worked for more than six years in a small company that imported “gray” phones into the country and reflashed them in order to sell them to large wholesalers. Not so long ago, he decided to change the field of activity and got a job in a company that supplies equipment for computer networks, however, his friends still import operator phones and unblock them on their own. Such devices are brought in batches from several hundred to 2000 - 3000 pieces. “We used to bring devices from the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and Europe. There was a supply channel through Belarus, but the key person from the customs was imprisoned, but other partners remained. Now “gray” phones are mainly going to the regions,” Dmitry notes.

There is also another “gray” import scheme: large retailers simply send their representatives directly to factories in China, where you can buy a batch of devices that exactly repeat the models of leading manufacturers. And here we are talking about batches of fakes of several tens, or even hundreds of thousands of pieces.

“I worked at Euroset for a long time,” a former employee of the office, the curator of retail in the company, shared with Ko. - A fairly large proportion of phones sold in stores was "gray". Sometimes even in the windows there were devices with logos of European operators and Chinese characters on the case. Now everything is not so obvious, but at least look at phones encrusted with Swarovski crystals - they are not certified. After the scandal with Vertu, Euroset offered Mobiado wooden-cased devices, which are also not certified, as an exclusive product.

The Euroset showroom at Rimskaya metro station, chosen by random choice, did not disappoint: there was a Sony Ericsson K790i in the window. After studying the device and packaging, it turned out that the internal IMEI (unique identification code) of the phone displayed when calling the *#06# command did not match the one indicated on the box. This is a sure sign of a "gray" device. Igor Kozlyakovsky - product manager Sony Ericsson explained that "gray" usually are the most running, popular models. In this case, Sony Ericsson K790i turned out to be counterfeit – a rare model that is in demand.

Problems with "gray" phones arise soon after their purchase. But to return the money for a problem mobile phone is almost impossible. Even those heroes who are able to stand in queues at the service center rarely achieve significant results, simply because the “gray” device often turns out to be beyond repair.

One of the buyers of Euroset complains that she had to take her phone in for repair twice: the mobile phone turned off spontaneously. Both times the device was repaired for 30 days. Each time after the repair it was given to the client with the same problems. The service center of the company refused to issue a conclusion that the phone should be returned, and offered to repair it again. The receiving manager expressed sympathy to the buyer and recommended that she simply sell the handset at half price via the Internet. According to him, other methods will not give results.

The service center of the company is ready to accept the phone for repair “until the spare parts run out”, but not to fix the breakdown. Another example is our colleague, who bought a Siemens SL 75 telephone from Euroset in February 2006. Two months later, the buttons on the device failed, dialing any number turned out to be practically inaccessible or required considerable time and diligence - to press ten times on one and the same same button patience is not enough. A day after the “clamshell” was repaired in the Siemens service salon, where the Euroset managers recommended to contact, the LCD panel of the SL 75 stopped working. Another fix, although it eliminated this shortcoming, however, gave rise to a new problem - a greenish spot appeared in the lower right corner of the screen. Only after the fourth examination of the device (the repair procedure took about two months - during this time SL 75 fell in price by about 30%), the functions of the tube were restored.

Consumer flashing

Somehow, Euroset, as a New Year's gift to its customers, agreed to take back phones that, for some reason, buyers wanted to return. One of the authors of this material witnessed how a huge queue lined up in the salon in Tsaritsyn, reminiscent of long-forgotten times of shortage. But people stood for hours not at all in order to buy something, they wanted to return the phones to Euroset. “There is an internal rule - do not take the goods back under any pretext,” says the former senior salesman of Euroset. This is especially true for expensive purchases. When returning, the seller will be forced to fill out a lot of internal documents and also risk paying a fine.”

According to the Interregional public organization consumer rights protection society "Public Control", half of all complaints addressed to them occur about mobile phones and other digital equipment. At the same time, almost every second device is subject to repair or replacement. The overwhelming number of claims, says Pavel Morozov, head of the legal department of OZPP Public Control, are addressed to Euroset, Eldorado and Betalink. One of the main problems is that authorized service centers (SC) of manufacturers refuse to accept "gray" devices. The number of such phones, says Morozov, has decreased, but there are still a lot of them. When selling, retailers often do not show lists of authorized SCs, offering to accept the guarantee of their own service centers, advertising the quality of service in every possible way. Service centers of retailers, according to Pavel Morozov, of course, hide the "gray" origin of phones, using a number of tricks that violate consumer rights: they do not indicate the timing of repairs; exceed the maximum legal period of 20 days; do not provide a similar device for the period of repair; carry out low-quality repairs, after which the phone very quickly fails again. A breakdown is often attributed to improper handling of the device, and managers try to define the breakdown as a non-warranty case and demand money for repairs. In addition, often masters flash software instead of the necessary replacement of key blocks, and without the consent of the consumer, which is also illegal. According to Morozov, managers of network service centers often say that they take the device for examination, but only independent expert centers have the right to conduct it and only for money. The verification carried out by the specialists of the same SC is not an examination. It is difficult to make claims for repairs under the Consumer Protection Law in such cases, since warranty repairs are free, and in order to claim compensation, it is necessary to start from the cost of the service. Pavel Morozov recommends that consumers, in case of problems with the purchased device, take it in for repair only through the seller. Moreover, it is imperative to require the drawing up of an act describing all the characteristics and appearance phone indicating the absence of external damage, traces of moisture, unauthorized opening, etc. Only in this case will you protect yourself from unfounded accusations of misuse. In order not to encounter such service problems, it is best to immediately demand a replacement device or a refund.

The price of fatigue

The policy of companies operating on the principle of "sell and forget" is quite understandable - the organization of a normal service is an expensive and complicated business. It is easier and much cheaper to create the appearance of caring for customers. "Ko" was provided with 20 of the brightest (out of 570) reviews of "mystery shoppers" of the independent agency Nextep about the level of service in Euroset stores. This study was carried out in autumn. Of the 20 reviews studied, 7 were negative, 3 were positive, and 10 were neutral. It is significant that " mystery shoppers” often noted the fatigue of Euroset sellers.

Fatigue is the price Euroset pays for market leadership. The majority of employees, both current and former, say that it is very difficult to work there: there is too much corporate pressure. A person feels like a cog in a large conveyor, working for wear and tear. It's interesting that former employees Euroset, even after a long time after the dismissal, prefer not to give their names, referring to the company's serious security service.

Euroset, of course, is trying to look attractive in the eyes of newly hired employees. Probably because there are fewer and fewer “soldiers” who want to work for little money - there are enough frightening stories about working at Euroset, and the new generation has not yet grown up. Company swamped lawsuits from former employees. The management doesn't deal with them very well. In February of this year, throughout the network, which employs about 30,000 people, a list of employees who most actively use the Internet for personal purposes. With photos, full names, positions they hold, and sites they frequently visit. Among them were girls who were accused of actively viewing porn resources. I wonder if the collection of these statistics took into account the fact that local computers could be infected with worms that automatically increase porn traffic? In any case, such treatment can lead to psychological trauma for life, not to mention the "good" glory...

St. Petersburg network Ultra, recently taken over by Euroset, is experiencing the consequences of a change in leadership. “Many workers simply left immediately, without waiting for reforms; some are being filmed now, especially with key positions, - says an employee of the partner company "Ultra". - One of the Ultra managers was sent to work from St. Petersburg to Ufa, it seems that the person simply had no choice. Of course, there is always a choice, he could write a letter of resignation own will, but quite difficult, having invested a lot of effort and spending far more than one year on professional development, just take it and give up everything.

“Often there are layoffs of the whole department, along with the head, if the plan is not met,” says the former manager of the network development department. “I survived three such purges: almost all the employees of the development department were fired, including the vice president. I stayed in my position only because I fulfilled personal plan- opened two salons a month. When it became physically impossible, I changed the organization.”

“Each employee of the company wakes up with the thought of being fired that day or not. The head of Euroset, Evgeny Chichvarkin, personally travels to salons and checks the quality of the work of sellers, the former coordinator shared with Ko. retail sales. - At first glance, it looks like concern for customers. But in fact it turns out the opposite. Hounded sellers rush between the instruction “everything for the client” and internal rules - do not accept the sold goods by any means. It is necessary to sell those brands for which given time an "amnesty" has been declared, ignoring the products of "anathematized" manufacturers."

In the blog of a person under the nickname mrak_, you can find a recent story about how the father of the family tried to buy his daughter a Nokia phone of a certain model in Euroset. For half an hour, he was told about the non-existent disadvantages of this pipe and the frequent cases of marriage with the manufacturer. As a result, the man bought this phone in a nearby salon of another network.

The customer-oriented service of high-tech goods, which Evgeny Chichvarkin talks about, in fact often turns into a banal “cheburek pushing” (to paraphrase the Euroset advertising slogan): you never know what’s inside - high-quality meat or something else ... The sellers of pasties are trained and trained to sell exactly what their boss wants. The methods of influence are simple: sudden raids on outlets, inspections, fines, dismissals. “Once Chichvarkin launched a stapler at the head of a salon salesman in Pyaterochka, who did not pay attention to visitors and was so tired that he did not even notice his appearance,” recalls an employee who witnessed one such raid by high authorities. - Having issued an order, Chichvarkin personally checks its execution. Once I measured the distance between the phones in the window with a ruler, if it was more than 10 cm (for example, 13 cm), I fined all the store employees.

The role of Yevgeny Chichvarkin, who has been cultivating the image of a tough but fair boss for years, is generally indicative. It was he who initially relied on humor "below the belt" and a strong word, promoting the advertising image of the company to the masses. How embarrassed the girls blushed when they saw the catchphrase “prices are just oh ... oh” on mugs or T-shirts. But market analysts, for the most part, took this advertising innovation favorably. For some reason, no one remembered a simple truth: in a decent society, they don’t express themselves like that.

Chichvarkin, speaking his language, “scored” on decency for the sake of the prosperity of his native company. Business is a jungle where the fittest survive. His letters for internal use, which were leaked to the network - and it does not matter whether their author was Yevgeny himself or whether it was the fruit of the collective mind of his subordinates - fed in the eyes of the public and in the subordinate team the "fair image" of the leader. For those who are not familiar with the work of the head of the company, here are a few characteristic excerpts: “From May 11, we will wet everyone with advertising. This is the peak of activity. When competitors see the word "Euroset", they must understand that they Pi..ts!". Another quote, this time from a letter that expressed Euroset's tense relationship with Samsung: “And the most terrible thing: since September 1, not a single employee in the company has a Samsung phone for personal use. Everything can be sold through a retail network as used and take all the money for yourself. It's a matter of principle. This is a loyalty test. If you don’t like it, wow… But from the first of September, Samsung will fly into the wall, and the proud admirers of the Labor Code will go out the door.”

The figurative style of these letters, according to psychologists, quite clearly reveals the portrait of the chairman of the board of directors of Euroset. “A young optimistic person, a player by nature, with a well-developed imaginative thinking. He highly values ​​his personal time, and he constantly lacks it. We can say that he lives in constant time pressure,” says psychologist Elena Yankovaya. According to her, Chichvarkin is purposeful, has general idea about what he wants to achieve, but he shies away from drawing up a plan on paper. “He doesn’t like to write,” Yankova continues. - Judging by the letters, it is difficult for him to clearly and clearly formulate thoughts on paper, translating them into direct instructions. Employees must catch everything on the fly, otherwise they are transferred to the category of mentally handicapped.”

According to the psychologist, Chichvarkin is educated, familiar with the basic techniques of marketing and management, but from the entire course he took out two basic principles for himself: “carrot and stick” and “divide and conquer.” He applies the latter both to his own employees and to competitors. In his work, he often relies on his own life experience, not taking into account the fact that each person has his own. He does not like to delve into the little things and details ... He just feels sorry for wasting his precious time on this.

Doctor of Medical Sciences, a member of the International Association of Emergency Psychiatry Mikhail Vinogradov, in turn, notes that the letters were most likely prepared by several people. But the task in terms of style of presentation, manner of communication with subordinates, "good" for profanity, was set by Chichvarkin himself. Vinogradov refers him to the category of rude, primitively impudent individuals who disregard the norms. “A kind of caveman who suddenly came into the light from the darkness of centuries. A small digression into history. Since the time of Peter the Great, the Russian merchant class has been clearly divided into two directions. The first was represented by boors, rude people, impudent and impudent types, who immediately seized the main positions and quickly got rich. A bright representative of this cohort is Demidov. The second direction was formed only after a century and a half - from people who think, analytical warehouse mind, striving for a high culture of production, communication and to improve their own personality. Ryabushinsky, Mamontov, Tretyakov, Morozov and many others from among them. It is thanks to them that boorish merchants have gone down in history,” the psychologist notes. However, the analysis of Yevgeny Chichvarkin's letters, according to Vinogradov, brings us back to the time of Peter: with obscenities, rewinding, poking, the formation of internal whistleblowing, squealing, authoritarianism bordering on dictatorship. “The down-to-earth style of communication shapes the down-to-earth style of work. Rudeness always breeds only rudeness. At all levels within the team and with consumers of services,” sums up Vinogradov.

Nevertheless, the company, despite the "non-print marketing", has found its rather numerous customer. Euroset knows perfectly well who their client is and how to attract him. “Low” prices, below-the-belt humor, promotions with the right attitude towards customers: for example, strip naked in public and get a phone for free. The company is also loved by pensioners who have the opportunity to attend exhibitions for free - they are attracted by free yellow buckets, basins and rubber boots, which are so useful in the household.

The strategy of the owners of Euroset looks obvious: maximum profit by any means. The success of the mobile retail market leader turns out to be simple - conditionally low prices, harsh treatment of staff and minimal service. Maybe in a century and a half it will be different.

One of the functions of modern leaders is to form a correct idea of ​​the company in which they work for each employee. And this hard work for a manager is always intertwined with the struggle against those who surround this employee.

For example, a manager knows for sure that one can earn one hundred thousand rubles in the position currently occupied by an employee. He comes, sits down, takes a piece of paper and begins to consider what he needs to do in order to earn such a sum.

And in the evening to the same employee his colleagues-klutzes prove the opposite. That this is impossible at all, that for this you need to “bend in front of the authorities”, that the last time this happened was two months ago, and during this time the market has already managed to collapse, and so on ...

And what will he believe?

Of course, the second! Because in order to prove it, nothing needs to be done! Sit still and wait, everything will be confirmed by itself.

And in order to prove the correctness of the first position, you need to work from morning to night.

With all this, the manager has no right to give up and, if he wants his people to really earn a lot, he must constantly pump up this topic, sweeping rubbish out of the heads of his subordinates and placing the necessary information there.

This is such an eternal struggle.

But there are things that a manager can accidentally forget about. It can even be interpreted ambiguously, leaving the choice to those who listened to it. And then a person will fill the empty space in his head without fail with what is not needed. In 100% of cases.

The first time I heard this was from management consultant Tigran Harutyunyan. That's what he said in his seminars.

BRANCH "NORTH-WESTERN"

INFORMATION MAIL

St. Petersburg

This letter must be posted from June 13 to June 18, 2006 in all back rooms and on all bulletin boards in all countries where the Company operates.

Some leaders, apparently out of Komsomol habit or after watching TV, misunderstand the power over people that the Company has given them. A few days ago, Art. salesman "Ivanovo - 4" Levko Polina. They had +32 at the point and there was no air conditioning. Since air conditioners are a sore point every spring, if you recall the letter, it was promised to turn off the air conditioners in the offices of the branch whose AHO did not take care of the outlets.
The reaction was harsh and immediate. The leadership of the AXO and the branch was put a little cancer. Within 3-4 days the air conditioner was installed. But on June 07, 2006, Levko Polina was fired for complete ignorance of the services and tariff plans operator "MegaFon" and for failure to recertify. The first thought that came to mind is that the leadership is getting rid of people who can vote. To my great surprise, the information letter contained several dozen more fines, including Levko. Levko was called by me to Moscow for certification, which I successfully passed and, if I repeat verbatim the words of an employee training center: "There was nothing to fuck with." A fine of 50 e., imposed on Levko will be paid by Khrustalev D, Zhdanov O., Egorova E., Fofanova E. ($ 50 each). Moreover: for formalism and complete misunderstanding of the principles of the company's work, Balandin A., Zhdanov O., Egorova E., Fofanova E. become interns for a period of 1 month, with passing exams to the employee of the Training Center indicated by me. Khrustalev D., the manager of the Regional Center branch, for real merits in raising the branch, remains to fulfill his duties with a black mark until the end of summer, with the impossibility of receiving bonuses and bonuses (with a black mark) until the end of summer. Levko P. is reinstated as a senior seller at Ivanovo - 4, Balandin A. can remain a salesperson at Ivanovo, or go as a senior to another point at will.
Conclusion: freedom of speech in the company is an achievement and an indisputable liberal value, a portal has been created for this, my email and mobile phone. If somewhere there is a ban on entering the portal under the threat of dismissal, I want to know about it, the reaction will be the same, if not worse.
You must be able to answer for your fuckups to everyone, including management. All formalists, martinets, thieves, lazybones and other assholes will sooner or later overtake a bitter fate. Polina Levko cannot be dismissed from work or transferred to another point for 2 years, unless she wishes to do so. In response to promises to bring the store and communication to people in perfect condition.
P.S. To the attention of leaders: Leading by example is the ideal means of managing people. If such situations arise after June 08, I will expel all retail management, up to the head of the branch.

E. Chichvarkin

(Log in to clean up the page.)

The crisis is forcing many managers to master a new genre - letters to employees. You can learn how to make a letter to employees intelligible from the former co-owner of Euroset Yevgeny Chichvarkin - hardly anyone else addressed subordinates with such a vivid appeal

Photo ITAR-TASS

Moscow. 9th December. IFX.RU - How to build internal corporate communications in the hard times of the crisis? Difficult business conditions force many managers to master a new genre for themselves - letters to employees. They call for an increase in work efficiency, warn of possible negative consequences financial crisis for the company and its employees.

Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a veteran of the epistolary genre, chairman of the board of directors and former co-owner of Euroset, can tell a lot about how to make a letter to employees understandable and intelligible. The latest example of his work is worthy of inclusion in textbooks on corporate communications. It is unlikely that anyone else addressed subordinates with such a bright letter of anti-crisis happiness.

There will be NO New Year. It is this phrase that opens the colorfully designed New Year's Eve letter sent to Euroset employees on behalf of Chichvarkin. In particular, lazy people will lose their favorite holiday, “because you can’t even buy Bush’s legs on the salary of lazy people, because there is no more Bush”, and boors, “because now, thank the eggs, you can hire boors". Nothing to celebrate former employees offices, "who did not produce anything", and competitors, "since our prices will be 10 rubles less, even if there is a deep minus." "Because we need money," explains briefly pricing policy Euroset Chichvarkin.

Owners of bad habits are also at risk of meeting New Year in a sad mood. "To all leaders! If it seems to you that there is no one else to expel, look who is smoking near the entrance," the appeal says. Chichvarkin also warns that if landlords do not significantly reduce rates, the number of salons will be reduced "by 1,000 or even 1,500." "And several thousand underperforming employees will end up on the street," he adds.

"Best bonus in 2008 - workplace for 2009!" Chichvarkin states gloomily.

The author emphasizes that in these difficult times it is necessary to pay as much attention as possible to customer service. "The love of buyers is the real hard currency and the only value," the letter says, a copy of which is at the disposal of IFX.RU.

"MANY SEEMS that in a crisis, buyers are not interested in anything other than price. That you can fulfill your dream and, having put your gray face on the floor, be rude, mumble and grumble. This is a BIG MISTAKE. policy (spelling and style preserved - IFX)," the chairman of the board of directors of the company warns.

And for those who try to cheat, Euroset threatens to arrange unpleasant communication with law enforcement agencies. "Whoever commits Fraud (draws contracts (for connection to one or another mobile operator - IFX) for non-existent persons), will be at least expelled, money taken from the last salary, and materials for the fraud case handed over to the most evil policemen with a request to bring him to legal decision," the text of the letter reads.

One of the most memorable visual images Chichvarkin's letters are a couple of medieval (apparently) lumpens wrapped in rags, dejectedly wandering along the road. The picture calls on the Euroset employee to solve a simple dilemma, dressed in an obscene couplet: "Either ... (an idiom that can be voiced as "work hard" - IFX), or ... ("leave immediately")".