Pay More, Expect More, Get More
- It's time for
more retailers to test the 'pay more expect more, get more'
theory. It seems that
retailers have always argued against higher wages, benefits and
full-time positions citing exorbitant wage costs as the reason. While it is true
that the expense, in dollars would increase it certainly does not
follow that the actual wage percent would increase. And it is the
percentage that is key...
Get Out of
Town - Really -
It is
impossible to direct an operation without knowing how it works. How it
really works, not how it is supposed to work. If you are in charge of a
retail operation and don’t have your next out of town store
visit trip booked …do it now. It’s more important to visit out
of town stores more often than you visit stores in close
proximity to Head Office.
Culture: What a
difference it makes! -
Have you ever wondered
about the impact a true leader can have on the culture of a
company? Having worked for several prominent retail
organizations I have seen the impact of both positive and
negative cultures on the workforce, the customers and, of
course, the success of the business. Have no doubt whatsoever,
the head of the organization dictates, through words and
actions, what the culture will be...
Retail Employees
vs. Customers -
Customers are NOT the
retail employees’ enemy. After viewing a ‘down with
retail’ website today, I find myself very disturbed at the distance that has
developed in the understanding between some retail employees and customers.
Wild generalizations are being made such as ‘customers have no respect for
retail employees’ and ‘retail employees don’t care about their customers’...
Communicating for
Profits and Customer Satisfaction
- The real reason retail
personnel appear to be indifferent to their customers....
The President of a 200+ store division of a major
retailer learned of a serious communication problem
and commented that ‘this was to be expected in large
organizations’. Well, that clears everything up.
Many retail executives don’t believe that
communication is important enough to get it right by
coming up with a methodology that will ensure accurate
and timely communication to field personnel...
The House Account – A case for using it.
-
Retailers use different methods to record and
monitor sales and to compensate their associates. Some allow, and in fact
insist on, the use of a House Account and others forbid it.
Manager
Unfairly Perceived as Negative
- To really
learn about field operations, retail executives need to nurture their
relationships with Store Managers. Many Store Managers have a lot of
valuable information to offer the organization. They are rarely asked to
contribute but often offer it anyway. And that is where the problem starts.
Sales vs.
Task Orientation -
It is reasonable to expect people to do well in
activities they enjoy, or at least, do not find difficult and
unappealing, then it would be reasonable for sales associates
who enjoy selling to be more successful, and to make a bigger
contribution than those who do not. For the
individual who does not enjoy selling-either because s/he does
not have the skills or simply does not want to do it – a
position in a retail store may still attract them due to ease of
entry. Store Managers should be very wary of this individual.
The Store
Manager is a Lighthouse -
Throughout history the lighthouse has
played an important role in navigation and pilotage at
sea; its purpose is to guide, to show the way, to warn
of danger and generally provide safe entry into harbors. The Store Manager is the lighthouse for
the employees of a retail store and the Head Office is
the lighthouse for all of their retail employees
nationwide.
Unreachable? -
What? The
executive team is unreachable? Impossible, you say? Retail
executive, like any others, need to be accessible. Imagine a
situation where employees and management cannot have any access to
the President. Far, far from the open door policy, there are some
retailers who allow absolutely no access to the top executive in the
company...
Customer Service
Fanatics
- Be a Customer Service Fanatic and be proud
of it! If more retail managers were Customer Service Fanatics we would see a
much different picture in the
service industry. All customers, not just a
fortunate few, would be properly treated as they part with their hard-earned and
over-taxed dollars. Isn’t that the way it should be?
...
Multi-Channel
Retail - One Critical Key to Success - More and more retailers are realizing the benefits of
multi-channel retailing. Leveraging brand equity in multiple
touchpoints has been proven to drive loyalty and interaction among
consumers. With trends clearly showing the Internet as the core
component to pre-purchase research, brick and mortar brands can
ill-afford to take a wait and see approach as it relates to core
multi-channel offerings...
Improving the
Morale of Your Employees: One Step at a Time:
If your customers are to enjoy a
positive shopping experience and be inspired to purchase whatever it is you
have to offer it really makes sense that your store employees feel like
valued members of your team.
Pushing for Performance
- The fiscal month is coming to a close. The store’s
sales performance has been lackluster for several months but, this month, they
are doing much better. This coming Saturday is the last day of the month. The
Store Manager wants to take the day off to do something with family members. The
District Manager says no...
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