Closing Bonus , What’s the facts?

[hurtfeelings66]

Liquidators will promise the world to try to get people to
not quit but what’s the real story about the closing bonus? From any stores that closed how much did you
receive, was it 2 weeks pay? 1 week pay?

Was it taxed into a smaller amount that you expected?

Did the liquidator make any other promises to keep people
from not quitting?

Comments

I want to know too, how big is the closing bouns!

[anonymous]

ok so its a % of your pay or a weeks pay at your current rate or wtf!

$500? $1000? are taxes taken out? is it all just BS!

Re: I want to know too, how big is the closing bouns!

[anonymous]

if the liquidator hasn't talked to you about it, then you aren't getting one so it really doesn't matter, now does it?

Re: I want to know too, how big is the closing bouns!

[anonymous]

no one at our store got a closing bonus!

Re: I want to know too, how big is the closing bouns!

[anonymous]

When our store closed the retention and sales bonuses were for GM/ SM and IS only. They were pretty crap. Your liquidator will go through the exact amounts with you within the first 2-3 weeks of your closure.

The retention bonus was pro-rated by day and paid out according to the number of days your store stays open. They offered me $700 if the store remained open 9 weeks. Ours closed a few weeks earlier and I received much less.

The sales bonus is based on last year's sales. They offered $500 if we beat our goals by a certain percentage.

GMs will get more, IS will get less.

Here's where the crapiness begins. I did the numbers and our store more than surpassed our sales goals but folks from our store were told we did not qualify for the sales bonus. I had no way to fight this so I took what they gave me.

Also the bonuses are taxed with the luxury tax which is more than 40%.

I was an SM and after taxes I made about $415. It's something but I was expecting more.

[anonymous]

As a supe, I could have "potentially" gotten $1,000...partly pro-rated on how long your individual store stays open, and partly based on sales goals of the entire group of stores in your cluster. When all was said and done, I wound up scheduled to get about $700 of that potential $1,000 and after being taxed up the wazoo, my check was something like $412.

[anonymous]

I forgot to add, the bonus is only offered to the GM, Inventory or Sales manager, and Inventory supe. Cafe supe is not eligible. The fixture point person is offered something too, but even less than what the supe is offered. Maybe $150.

[anonymous]

that sucks that all the people who run the store-has to be service manager and close/open the store during liquidation aren't givn a little something.

[anonymous]

My fixture bonus was included on my last paycheck. Since our last day of work was a Sunday, the last day of the week, it was completely eaten up by insurance charges. Which, if I had known we were closing I never would have renewed my insurance. Bitches. Anyway, I wasn't fixture manager, just the secondary fixture person. My bonus was $62.00. Our store sold over $100,000 in fixtures.

were you a manager?

[anonymous]

were you a manager?

[anonymous]

If you're not a supervisor or manager, you won't get anything. There is no severance or bonus or any other kind of monetary award to booksellers, cashiers, or cafe workers. I was the fixture manager at my store when it closed and I "maxed out" the bonus at $250. But since bonuses are taxed at a higher rate than wages, the check ended up being about $120. AND when I received that $120, that same amount was deducted that week from my unemployment benefits so the whole thing is a wash. Bottom line: Don't count on any additional money after your final check.

sounds like nothing to me.

[anonymous]

So basicly as a manager I should expect to be told of these wonderful bonus funds but I shoudn't expect anything more than $100 or so.

How long after closing does it take to get it? one guy said it came after he was on unemployement.

Re: sounds like nothing to me.

[anonymous]

if it's still the same as it was during the first round, managers will be offered $1250 as a "potential" bonus (GM=$2000, Inv. Supe=$1000). About $700 of that is the retention bonus for staying til the end, figured for a 9-week sale. If your store closes earlier than that, you are pro-rated in your bonus, so you don't get the entire amount. The remainder of that money is a bonus if ALL the stores in your group (the ones your liquidator is responsible for) beat a sales plan. They most likely won't, so don't count on that. They ponied up an extra $100 or so for us as a consolation prize. It's also heavily taxed: 40%, so that eats away a huge chunk. It will arrive within 30 days after all the stores in your round have closed. Mine took about a month.

Re: sounds like nothing to me.

[anonymous]

If you're referring to my comment above about being the fixture manager and netting $120, that's different than being the store manager. You guys will get more -- I believe a post below this one spells it out in detail -- but I was just commenting about being in charge of the fixture sales. That bonus isn't worth getting excited about. The best you can do is $250 and after it's taxed at a higher rate, the net is going to be around $120. But to reiterate and clarify: STORE Managers can expect a little better. Not sure about those details.