Well, it's started. Employees are leaving because of the stunningly stupid new policies at my RetailEstablishment. I really wish I hadn't been right in calling that . . . It would be nice to work a whole holiday season with well-trained, experienced co-workers. We all have our impossible dreams.
Actually, on a more inquiring note, a co-worker and I were discussing the new focus on pushy sales tactics. This particular employee is a born salesman. He's very good at persuasion and sincerity. (He's a high school speech and debate coach in his spare time.) The way he sees it, if you go into a store, you should be prepared for the employees to sell at you. I see a certain amount of merit in that idea. However, there's a downside that goes unexpressed that says, "and if you aren't prepared for that don't come to our store."
But I thought we were desperate for business? How is it good for business to harass a good percentage of your regular, paying customers out of the store?
Being both shy and independent, when I go into a store, I do so to find what I'm looking for and then leave. I wish to do so in as much peace and quiet as I can because I do not like shopping, and I don't need the stress of added human interaction in the form of fending off sales people offering things I don't want or need. I am a person on a mission, and if I need help with my mission, I want to be able to find assistance in a clearly designated spot. That would be my ideal shopping experience.
I am being asked to do unto others what would make me leave the store. Wait, not asked, told to do so and told that I will be fired if I don't. I just don't get retail. I guess someone somewhere is crunching numbers and deciding that the easily swayed yutzes who can be convinced to buy what we want them to are better for business that the steady, faithful customers who spend more money regularly to begin with. As one of said steady, faithful customers, I feel a bit put out by this. :)
If you enter a retail establishment, do you prefer someone to pounce on you as soon as you enter, asking you if you need help or suggesting something to you, or do you want to go in, look around, and find help somewhere if you need it? I'm really curious because the split seems to be almost clearly down male-female lines on this issue, and I'm fascinated by that.
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I worked in a department store for a couple years, and my store's policy was "smile and say hi". Basically, I would be working in my department, and when a customer came in, I would make eye contact, smile, and say "let me know if I can help you with anything." Customers often needed help finding sizes/colors or getting items down from wall racks, or wanted suggestions, but I always figured it was enough to just be there, visible and working (as opposed to homing in on them like the Nautilus or following them around staring at them).
ReplyDeleteThe only thing we were asked to "push" was the store credit card, which I actually didn't mind, because my store gave genuinely useful discounts on a regular basis to card users. Even then, I would mostly just point out "if you use the store charge you'll save an extra (calculated amount) on that." (I got good at percentages while working retail.)
So, I pretty much did to others as I wanted to have done to me: I don't want to be ignored, but it's enough that an employee let me know they're available if I need them. I can sometimes tolerate one or two "just so you know, blah-blah-blah is on sale" comments, but I hate getting stuck in a bottleneck on the way into a store or having an employee holding me up if I'm in a hurry. I'd rather see that kind of "today on sale..." stuff on a notice board.