RIP Sir Ken Morrison

Droolinggimp · 1 Feb 2017 at 18:34

Short term illness took him as far as I know. 85 years old.

As some of you may know, I worked for Morrisons for 15 years. 11 years, if my memory serves me right, as a Butchery and Fish manager. If it wasn't for Morrisons I would not know and be what I am today. I was taught a great deal in all aspects of the meat and fish trade and also how to deal with and approach people when issues arise. The company back in 2000 when I started was a amazing. We grafted, did long hours, respected everyone from car park staff all the way up to the board and in return we were respected and treated very well. Rewarded too, and I mean REWARDED. Great benefits, proper yearly pay rises, proper staff nights out etc. Over the years at my store I worked at I worked with 7 GMs. Each had different views on how to run the store. Only 3 of them were under the guidance of Sir Ken. This was back in 2000, 2007 and 2009. The store and I assume the others in the company (iirc around 140 back in the early 2000s) ran very well, great fresh food on offer and the right attitude. However once Marc Bolland took over it sort of went a bit crap. Crapper still, once Dalton took the reigns. Still good to work for but the way they took the company it didn't seem right.

I wont ramble on anymore but in conclusion, and I speak for a large number of people I still know work for them and are good friends, the company should not have took over these concessions, or delve into uncharted operations but they should have remained what Sir Ken made.

A grocer. Not a virus spreading out across the Uk, buying this out and that out and trying to make it into something it is not. If it remained what it was it would not be one of the big four but it would have a strong following and stronger customer base.

Rose tinted glasses maybe but back then it was fun to work there and rewarding. Now, not so much.

RIP Ken and RIP Morrisons.

StoutMeister · 1 Feb 2017 at 20:19

Sorry for your loss......but, your name, Hah!

Arsonist · 1 Feb 2017 at 20:42

I worked for Morrisons for 3 years between 2010-2013 in various supervisor roles. I did notice with Dalton that morale dropped significantly for most staff. Just ran the business into the ground really.

RIP Ken, hopefully he wasn't too upset that his brainchild was so badly ruined!

robfosters · 1 Feb 2017 at 21:48

RIP Ken,

Have so much respect for people with the aptitude and work ethic to build up from hardly anything to a massive multi million pound business. Even better if they stay down to earth, which it sounds like Sir Ken did.

Hedge · 1 Feb 2017 at 22:09

After hearing about him on the radio today I can respect what that guy achieved. RIP.

robotSocks · 1 Feb 2017 at 22:18

He died rich, ATEOTD

Scania · 2 Feb 2017 at 00:00

A decent blole by all accounts but his company (since he retired I would add) is a bit of a basket case, working in the distribution industry I visit many Morrisons Distribution centres around the country and they are pretty crap tbh, hours to unload, wait more hours for paperwork to be checked and then have goods returned because they are "damaged" - bearing in mind I watch my trailer being unloaded by forklift drivers as its curtain sided, no damage when it's lifted off yet mysteriously reappeared from their "checking area" with "damage" is far from uncommon, thing is, we don't have the same issues with their competitors namely Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda where the experience is usually far quicker and rarely - if ever - with any issues.

The distribution centre at Wakefield went up in flames recently, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a disgruntled driver had snapped and torched the place!

He achieved an awful lot but his successors are taking the business in the wrong direction imo and the likes of Lidl and Aldi are going to continue to eat their dwindling market share.

MookJong · 2 Feb 2017 at 08:56

With all of these industries it starts as a race to the top and then becomes a race to the bottom as you try and undercut your competition. OP was lucky to be with the company in the best times and hopefully try and pass this ethic on.

I think it's maybe harder for the younger generations to understand what it was like working for a family business or growing organisations back in the day. I have to agree with the OP on the way of the world changing but it's been survive or die since 2008.

RIP

Steeps · 2 Feb 2017 at 09:32

Kermit said:
Maybe he was tight but suspect it was more to do with him wanting to keep the books correct as from what I've heard myself and from the OP, Morrisons employees have always been treated pretty fairly, decent enough benefits & reasonably well paid considering the retail sector on balance isn't that well paid.

Were treated fairly. Since he retired the management of the stores has really gone to pot. All the benefits have gone, Sunday is once again in retail considered a normal day and morale is still very low. Our stores was one of the ones taken over with the Somerfield buyout, has a turnover that competes healthily with stores twice its size... but all the Morrisons perks were added at the takeover for existing staff then slowly eroded away, staff turnover is higher than it's ever been and it's now a witch hunt to blame others for poor work standards when the scheduling is so poor.

Haze · 2 Feb 2017 at 10:09

Steeps said:
Were treated fairly. Since he retired the management of the stores has really gone to pot. All the benefits have gone, Sunday is once again in retail considered a normal day and morale is still very low. Our stores was one of the ones taken over with the Somerfield buyout, has a turnover that competes healthily with stores twice its size... but all the Morrisons perks were added at the takeover for existing staff then slowly eroded away, staff turnover is higher than it's ever been and it's now a witch hunt to blame others for poor work standards when the scheduling is so poor.

100% this at my store, Things are much better since Dolton has gone, but everyone is fed up, not enough hours, but thats mostly down to ppl sneezing and taking time off, because they have no interest in being at work

fergie128 · 2 Feb 2017 at 10:59

I worked for Morrisons for 9 years, eventually becoming a Assistant Deputy Manager of a store. It was a great time for the company when I was still there about 5-6 years ago, my store was turning over £1.1m a week, staff turnover was low and, in my opinion, staff morale was high and we had a lot of long tenured staff.

I've since left, but my same store now turns over just £470k a week on average, staff turnover is high and they simply do not replace those that leave. I still shop there and I must say the quality of the displays, availability and cleanliness has dropped dramatically. Only some form of loyalty keeps me going there or else I would just go to Aldi.

Dalton was an idiot, to be quite frank.

jimferno · 2 Feb 2017 at 11:24

Steeps said:
All the benefits have gone, Sunday is once again in retail considered a normal day and morale is still very low.

Staff voted to lose their benefits(Sunday working) in exchange for a payrise, a payrise they'd have gotten anyway due to the Government's introduction of the 'Living Wage'.

RetiredGreyFox · 2 Feb 2017 at 11:34

Kermit said:
decent enough benefits

My Sister has been a store Manager for many years and gets no benefits.

skaif · 2 Feb 2017 at 11:35

robotSocks said:
He died rich, ATEOTD

And I bet he wishes his grave was made out of gold and buried with millions of notes right?

ATEOTD when you die you take nothing with you.

Money is not everything and, by the sounds of it, he knew that and built a company which valued its people and customers regardless of what others did after him.

RIP

FishFluff · 2 Feb 2017 at 12:28

I shop at Morrisons every week as the bakery and deli counters there are just so much better than Tesco/Asda/Sainsburys.

Droolinggimp · 2 Feb 2017 at 13:16

SexyGreyFox said:
My Sister has been a store Manager for many years and gets no benefits.

Company car, 34 days holiday per year, potential of 3% bonus each year, share save scheme, service awards (inc paid for holiday/events/bonus payments etc), pension, life assurance (one off payment to family if you die), health care plan, staff discount and performance related pay rises.

Plenty of benefits for all levels of staff for morrisons.

elrasho · 2 Feb 2017 at 13:20

Who else had to Google ATEOTD ?

Droolinggimp · 2 Feb 2017 at 13:28

fergie128 said:
I worked for Morrisons for 9 years, eventually becoming a Assistant Deputy Manager of a store. It was a great time for the company when I was still there about 5-6 years ago, my store was turning over £1.1m a week, staff turnover was low and, in my opinion, staff morale was high and we had a lot of long tenured staff.

I've since left, but my same store now turns over just £470k a week on average, staff turnover is high and they simply do not replace those that leave. I still shop there and I must say the quality of the displays, availability and cleanliness has dropped dramatically. Only some form of loyalty keeps me going there or else I would just go to Aldi.

Dalton was an idiot, to be quite frank.

Totally agree with all that. My ex store did 900k-1m weekly then that turned into 750/800k. I was told the other week that there has been a few managers in the store who have stepped down to full time team members due to the silly expectations they have shoved on themselves. It's getting ridiculous there now and I am sure it's like that at most if not all the stores around the country.

Staff leave and not replaced. The introduction of Timpsons dry cleaning/key cutting and shoe mending concessions has made things bad too as the staff that worked at the morrisons dry cleaning depts had to move to timpsons and their contracts changed to Timpsons and not Morrisons this included loss of all M benefits and perks inc staff discount iirc. Everyone was up in arms about it and if the didn't want to stay working at the store with Timpsons they would be made redundant.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Morrisons as I worked there for so long seen the good and the bad but I have no sympathy for the company now. The staff there, I feel for. They are being run ragged and down to the ground. It's not fair on them.

Once a great company to work for now it's crap and I can tell from everyone who I know still works there.

Edit: I have not set foot in my ex store since leaving last year but I have an itch to go and see what it's now like as I know they have had a refurb again. I might go in in my hoody, hood up looking shifty and see if I get followed round and see what manger confronts me.. I have a 99% certain feeling I know which one it would be too

RetiredGreyFox · 2 Feb 2017 at 14:28

Droolinggimp said:
Company car, 34 days holiday per year, potential of 3% bonus each year, share save scheme, service awards (inc paid for holiday/events/bonus payments etc), pension, life assurance (one off payment to family if you die), health care plan, staff discount and performance related pay rises.

Plenty of benefits for all levels of staff for morrisons.

She definitely doesn't have a company car and doesn't get staff discount but I don't know about the other stuff.