What is AAFES?

[Realitycheck]

Since this site seems to be bogged down with misinformation (anything resembling the truth is quickly deleted), I thought I would try (again) to set the record straight:

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is a joint command of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, and is directed by a Board of Directors who is responsible to the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force through the Service Chiefs of Staff. AAFES has the dual mission of providing authorized patrons with articles of merchandise and services and of generating non-appropriated fund earnings as a supplemental source of funding for military Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs. To find out more about AAFES' history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit http://www.aafes.com/pa/default.asp.

[TheFreud]

The only posts thathave been deleted by the admin of this site were advertisements posted by various names under the same email &/or ip addresses.
If, by some mistake, your post was deleted, please by all means, feel free to defend yourself.

In the mean time, take into account this site is run to get the attention of AAFES regarding the shite service and selection we get as consumers.
I don't know about my other members, but I dont much shive a get about the history lessons on AAFES- You sound like a crappy AFN commercial- "A part of our American military heritage, yadda yadda yadda." I don't care if they served Christ Himself in the gutters of Korea...They suck now. MWR. If that is your only defense, you need a new one. Serving the best customers in the world is your motto not- "Screwing you over to pay for ski trips and football games"

If you want to be a more valued member of this forum, I suggest you try addressing the current issues posted here, instead of the typical brick walling defense that I so often get from 99% of your associates. How about...
~Why there are no Xboxes... Since I had somone tell me from YOUR store that someone decided they wouldn't be ordering anymore untilt the 360 was released (that was 4.5 months ago) only to find out that US locations can't get the 360's much less your mickey mouse operations. Not because there were no more regualr xboxes- someBODY decided not to order anymore.
~How about WHY it took me 8+ months to get something when I requested it be ordered for me? "We finally found out someone in TX cancelled the order"... It took y'all 6.5 to find out this information?Then another 2.5 months to ship the shit? My CAR got here faster, and that was on the world's slowest boat.
~Why does the online store offer free shipping to the states, but not to the overseas locations that need it? Especially on the bigger items that no one else will ship here? Your online store even has shipping restrictions on SIZE, for cripes sake. Where are we supposed to get these things?
Oh wait, I know- settle, like we are always expected to do. The answer does not always lie off base, jackass.

Before you begin spouting off with the same old shite full of empty answer and meaningless platitudes- reread your reply, and make sure it is something ou would want to hear from an employee after the umpteeth time youhad been disappointed by a retail chain.

[Pro1st]

I think it's great to show both sides. Way to go for posting informative data, too.

[usaf_wife]

I can probably answer some of your questions - the Xbox thing...first off that is not the fault of the manager. It was more than likely the fault of someone at HQ. They make the final decisions as to what is bought and who gets what.  If it's not in the system to order - you cant order it. Period.  Most of the buying power is set on the buyers themselves and the retail manager. Have you considered maybe emailing the person that is in charge of AAFES overseas? If you do - you will need to clean up your language since it is a General...don’t want that to backfire on ya.

As for the 8 months to get your cleaner. Did you fill out a customer order form?  Or did you just go on hoping that someone else was filling it out for you?  If the latter - then that's your own fault.  ALWAYS fill out the customer order form yourself - and keep checking on it!  Like anything that has to be ordered - it will take 6 - 8 weeks to get it in. Why? Because the LDU has to be filled in order to receive it. Once in awhile a store may be able to do an item transfer but that can still take awhile if it has to be put on a delivery truck. Now - you might wonder why 6-8 weeks? Like I said the LUD has to be filled (i.e. the minimum order has to be filled - so 3 of that item or whatever the LDU happens to be has to be ordered before it's placed on a container and shipped on a boat). Hassle? Yes - but it's better than nothing.

The shipping thing. That's not AAFES that's MPS. The MPS has strict restrictions as to weight, height, etc. You want to yak about that to someone yak at the MPS.

Now - you may want to know how I know what I know. I USE to work for AAFES as the RA (Reorder Associate) so I still know the ropes as to why things work the way they do.  You cant expect AAFES to be a Walmart.  AAFES is like 5th or 6th on the buyers table...they just don’t have the buyer power that some of the bigger names have (Sears, Penny's, WALMART, KMart, etc..) There are lots of things that I don’t agree with and many things I question - but at least we have SOMETHING over here and we don’t have to fully depend on the internet shopping sites or having to go on the economy every time we need something.  A person would get so much father with their complaints if they did it in an adult manner and did not have to result in cussing and pointing fingers.

[TheFreud]

Did I fill ou.... OMG. I filled out, I called, I talked to people everytime I went in. 6-8 weeks my big ass.

The people at the Vogelweh exchange know who I am, if not by face, then certainly by reputation. I am not a big believer in "No." I like detours to get around obstacles... More's the pity that your associates are not trained to think that way- especially te managers. Countless are the problems and disputes that can be solved with a few well placed phone calls or emails to the right people...
And "I don't know" should be removed from all associates vocabularies in one of those crappy training tapes I am sure theyhave to watch when they are hired.

[Quityerbitching]

Alright .. here we go again ... I dont know what your talking about ..... AAFES all over Europe have already sold out of their allotment of XBOX 360s..  most were a  few days off the release date of the 22nd .. however that have all came in and gone out already ... and before you get to bitching about us not orderinf them ... our allotments were what microsoft sent to us .. trust me if I could have gotten truckloads full I would have .... it was not up to us ... it also wasnt up to us to not carry the old XBOX .. there werent being sold to us about 6mos before the release of the new one ...

[TheFreud]

The 360... I understand each store (of most chains) was given like 40 of them(Bigger chains got more... I bet Billy-Bob's Store didn't get many). Those who didn't pre-order from Micro-sucks are up shite creek. My complaint is not with that, really.
My bitch is about our xbox crapping out and wanting to get a replacement over the summer- and having none... being told by your employees that there were none, and they weren't getting any. I asked "Why not?", as naturally I would.
"Because we were told by management that they weren't ordering anymore." (This was an associate on the phone from Ramstein)
Um...
k...
"Well then... who in management can I call about this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Who!? Youknow... Name? Number?"
"Um, I don't know ma'am."
"You don't know? Who does know?"
...silence... "Uhhhh, You can call my manager, but he is on leave this week."
Aaaaarrrrrghghhhh!!!!
It's not just the lack of stuff, but the attitude about it.
I if hear I don't know in these stores one more time I am gonna have to bitch slap the person standing across from me.

[TheFreud]

few days off the release date of the 22nd ...

Odd thing that- as I have found a post from a soldier on <a href="http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:DVQXXQqKWNoJ:www.gadgetmadness.com/shop.php%3Fc%3DVideoGames%26i%3DB000BVZF1M+xbox+360+aafes&hl=en&client=safari">another site</a> who posted this- (and yes it is a direct quote) "my congratulations to those who actually got one. I went three places...one location refused to sell me the last one, at another location the guy in front of me got the last one, and at another they had them all sold by Noon the previous day, even though sales weren't supposed to begin until midnight...the 22nd." He also says in the post that he is a soldier in Germany... so we know we are dealing with the same set of BX's- so no one here can say "It wasn't us".
So...
Just out of curiosity- which KMC location screwed up and sold them on the 21st?

I am quite sure Mr. Gates and his minions of Microsucks wouldn't be very pleased.

[usaf_wife]

The 360... I understand each store (of most chains) was given like 40 of them(Bigger chains got more... I bet Billy-Bob's Store didn't get many). Those who didn't pre-order from Micro-sucks are up shite creek. My complaint is not with that, really.
My bitch is about our xbox crapping out and wanting to get a replacement over the summer- and having none... being told by your employees that there were none, and they weren't getting any. I asked "Why not?", as naturally I would.
"Because we were told by management that they weren't ordering anymore." (This was an associate on the phone from Ramstein)
Um...
k...
"Well then... who in management can I call about this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Who!? Youknow... Name? Number?"
"Um, I don't know ma'am."
"You don't know? Who does know?"
...silence... "Uhhhh, You can call my manager, but he is on leave this week."
Aaaaarrrrrghghhhh!!!!
It's not just the lack of stuff, but the attitude about it.
I if hear I don't know in these stores one more time I am gonna have to bitch slap the person standing across from me.

yeah - I would be pissed too.  Always take a name! And write a comment card!  Those things are read and they do make a difference!

[K2]

I can see AAFES not carrying the xbox in their state side stores if the want to, but overseas is a different story all together.  You see in the states if I were to walk into a PowerZone to buy an xbox 6 months ago and there were none... I would get in the car and drive to Walmart, Target, CompUSA, Best Buy... Well I hope you get the point because AAFES management does not!  We don't have the option over here to just go to another store and pick one up, well we could but it would not work with our TVs, games, or 110 current we have on base!  If They were here to server us they would have them in stock... I work at small site and 3 people out the 27 we have there have wanted to buy an xbox over the last 5 months 2 have picked one up when they when home on leave and I had my dad send me one.  I talked to one of the employees at the store and they said it made no sense to them as well, She said every time they came in they were selling out in a few days.  So there was demand for the systems, just none to sell.  The way I see it some Overpaid moron in TX made a decision based on overall sales in all their conus and oconus stores and did not want to get stuck with a bunch of xboxs after the 360 came out. As I said even the employees said it was stupid.. So it is a breakdown (or maybe there was never a system in place to breakdown) in system of reporting up the chain.  Either way it is a perfect reflection of how AAFES top brass think or rather don't think.

[Quityerbitching]

ok .. one more time .. the stores got them here a FEW DAYS AFTER THE 22nd... there were none sold by AAFES EUROPE before that date..there was even an article in the stars and stripes about it.... As I said before it is not that we dont want XBOXs .. we cant get them .. tI would odrer them in by the boat if I could ... just like with the other flavor xbox .. we could not get them in our buyers could not buy any ...and we dont the storage space to house a years worth of freaking video game consoles .. it is not our prime bizz... once again being everything to everyone cannont happen...trust me if something sells as soon as it hits the shelf we want to get it back in as soon as possible ...we are here to try and make money ya know... if i cant get high demand items it is not because I am not  trying .. it usally means that they are allocated by the mfg . 

[K2]

They AAFES need to fire it buyers... All this talk about how big you are and you can't even buy xboxs?  Come on.  I just did checks of some retailers some bigger and some smaller they AAFES and yes they all have the XBOX in stock and ready to ship!!! and that is after black Friday.

If a chain as big as AAFESS can't get their hand on a single xbox in 5 months then something is wrong, and there is no bull that you can still to explain that away.

[Quityerbitching]

I really dont understand  why  every thing has to broken down to such a simple level for you .... and who said anyhting aobut how BIG aafes is ... we are a very very small company we compared to thelANY other big Chain retailer .... we only have  an 8 billion bollar revenue .. and dont go getting all excited about that number .. it is not as big as it seems ... Hell walmart has more stores in Cali than we have in the world ....
either way ..  here is your special little explanation of the XBOX thing .. one more time .... dont worry I will hold your hand and connect the dots for you ...
We WANTED TO BUY XBOXS .. xbox wouldnt sell to us because we repersent such a small % of their customers/bizzness...other companies can stockpile and meet the min order amounts to stay in stock ... microsoft also cut the production of the first console so it could focus on the production of the new model .. making it even harder to buy the original...  ok ..get it ... one last time for clarity's sake .. WE WANTED TO BUY THE FREAKING THINGS  BUT THEY WOULDNT SELL TO US B/c  THEY WANTED TO MAKE MONEY AND MAKE SURE THEY SOLD EVERYLAST ONE OF THE OLD VERSIONS by selling in mass numbers to specailty stores and mass market retailers... GET IT >>> GOT IT ? GOOD !!!!

[TheFreud]

Let me tell you why things are broken down on a simple level- Because it is simple.
YOU as a manager need to make phone calls and find out WHO said no more xboxes (the regular ones)... and report this prick to his manager... In Atlanta or Dallas. Also tell said manager that they need to order them and send them and re-input the SKU- or whatever needs done to meet the customer needs.
Is it so hard to make calls and try to implement change?! You can't call Dallas from a phone? You can't call Mary who says talk to John, who in turn sends you to Larry- and Larry sends you to Steve- and Steve can make it happen?
I worked in medical billing- I KNOW what phone run around is- persistence is rule #2.. It makes the difference in selling stuff and GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.
How about you call the other KMC managers and get them to make the same phone call to said prick in Dallas or Atlanta.
The only way to ever motivate management is to bitch and moan.
I hate the "It's not my fault" attitude. If no one thinks they can fix it- no one ever will.
Tell you what- Lets make a little wager...
Freud will start making phone calls, and I will get answers faster and maybe even results in the amount of days it takes you to find a phone number of Prick in Texas. I WILL ALSO CALL MICROSOFT, if you can't look up a phone number on their website and find a manager to talk to.... and his manager, and his. I will find the two people responsible on either end and get them to talk to each other- It's not hard- it;s going the extra mile. Like we ask our troops to do every day.
There is a way to tell someone to "Go to hell" in such a way to have them looking forward to the trip.
How about.... $1000.00 for our bet.
If you want to know the power of a phone call... call TKS, or better yet, the guy who manages the contract for cable on base (he's in Mannheim) and find out what I did about TKS blocking internal ips on base after being told kindly to go screw myself by TKS. DILIGENCE.

There is a way around every problem- IF YOU ARE WILLING TO TRY. Holy Shite- are you telling me you never thought of that? Or is it really that you think so little of your position that you didn't think you could make a difference?!

PS- 360s are being recalled all over the place to fix a faulty power supply. Don't let that stop you, Hoss. Raise some hell, and find a detour.

[TheFreud]

Let me tell you why things are broken down on a simple level- Because it is simple.
YOU as a manager need to make phone calls and find out WHO said no more xboxes (the regular ones)... and report this prick to his manager... In Atlanta or Dallas. Also tell said manager that they need to order them and send them and re-input the SKU- or whatever needs done to meet the customer needs.
Is it so hard to make calls and try to implement change?! You can't call Dallas from a phone? You can't call Mary who says talk to John, who in turn sends you to Larry- and Larry sends you to Steve- and Steve can make it happen?
I worked in medical billing- I KNOW what phone run around is- persistence is rule #2.. It makes the difference in selling stuff and GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.
How about you call the other KMC managers and get them to make the same phone call to said prick in Dallas or Atlanta.
The only way to ever motivate management is to bitch and moan.
I hate the "It's not my fault" attitude. If no one thinks they can fix it- no one ever will.
Tell you what- Lets make a little wager...
Freud will start making phone calls, and I will get answers faster and maybe even results in the amount of days it takes you to find a phone number of Prick in Texas. I WILL ALSO CALL MICROSOFT, if you can't look up a phone number on their website and find a manager to talk to.... and his manager, and his. I will find the two people responsible on either end and get them to talk to each other- It's not hard- it;s going the extra mile. Like we ask our troops to do every day.
There is a way to tell someone to "Go to hell" in such a way to have them looking forward to the trip.
How about.... $1000.00 for our bet.
If you want to know the power of a phone call... call TKS, or better yet, the guy who manages the contract for cable on base (he's in Mannheim) and find out what I did about TKS blocking internal ips on base after being told kindly to go screw myself by TKS. DILIGENCE.

There is a way around every problem- IF YOU ARE WILLING TO TRY. Holy Shite- are you telling me you never thought of that? Or is it really that you think so little of your position of manager that you didn't think you could make a difference?!

PS- 360s are being recalled all over the place to fix a faulty power supply. Don't let that stop you, Hoss. Raise some hell, and find a detour.