By Tony DeMasi, editor
aving never been in a Starbucks, I can’t talk about their products
or service but nonetheless I am in awe of how they took a major
step to retrain employees. Not too long ago they closed all 7,100
United States stores for three-and-a-half hours to retrain the staff. WOW!
On the surface, they probably lost a few dollars during that period, but in
the short run they made new fortunes—in both business and service. With
Starbucks closing for three hours, they indicated that customer satisfaction
comes before revenues and profits. It also served as a message to employees to
focus first on the customer.
How about your store? Do you have the savvy to retrain all employees in one
fell swoop to make sure everyone is up to standards? I’ve come across too many
retailers who think “employee training” is something done for an hour or so
on the first day of employment, and even then, it focuses on how to use the
register, not on how to sell or know the merchandise.
I have worked as a mystery shopper and didn’t hold back to give the retailers
who hired me fully detailed reports on what I experienced. You might want
to consider going that route before any massive retraining. Mystery shoppers
are easy to come by. Invite friends and others of various ages, ethnicities and
socio-economic levels who are not known to the employees to experience your
store with open minds. Have them look around and time how long it is before
a salesperson acknowledges them. Encourage them to get the salesperson in a
dialogue about the merchandise… to make a purchase and use any services the
store offers, such as free gift wrapping or shipping. Have one or two mystery
shoppers make returns, visit the store 10 minutes before closing or after opening
to test employees’ attitudes and skills.
I like shopping early or late and it always amazes me how many shops are not
open on time, or the door is open but the salespeople are busy opening registers
and getting ready for the day. Perhaps even worst is when a store’s door is
locked or the security gate is almost to the floor 15 or so minutes before closing.
I once visited a chain store jeweler to get my wife a present about 15 minutes
before closing time. I knew just what I wanted and expected a fast transaction.
Instead, I was faced with a 90 percent down security gate and a “salesperson”
yelling at me to come back tomorrow because the store was about to close.
I told her the store had 15 more minutes to be opened and I knew exactly what
I wanted. You would have thought she was deaf. She just ignored me!
The next day I went to the shop when it was supposed to open only to face
the down gate again and “salespeople” counting money, cleaning cases, etc. A
“salesperson” told me through the gate to come back in 20 minutes! I ended
up buying something else in a different store. Later in the day, I revisited the
first store and told the manager what I experienced. She could not have cared
less and told me that “no store really opens and closes on time.” I hope your
manager doesn’t follow that train of thought.
As I said, mystery shoppers and retraining can do a business a world of
good, but you have to act on the findings.
It’s showtime! Get ready to go to the trade
shows. Do some homework first. Know what
seminars and special services the shows offer.
Contact your usual vendors about show specials.
You might be able to take advantage of
them before time and thereby free up your
schedule to visit new vendors. Most market
centers and trade show producers have travel
package deals that can save you money, but
look into other ways to save, too. Check with
the city’s chamber of commerce or convention/
visitors bureau. They might know of travel,
hotel and restaurant deals above and
beyond what the shows offer.
Travel agents often have flight and hotel
packages that save a lot of money. So you are
booked as a tourist, what difference does it
make?
When in the shows’ cities, visit some of the
local shops. You will be surprised how many
ideas you can pick up from a busman’s holiday.
|
SGN Newsletter
