Selective deafness

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Polish_Army_Parade_2015_(21023591328)I stopped by a local shop the other day.  I was in a hurry and just needed to pick up one thing.  Grabbing the item, I headed to the registers.

Along the way, I overheard a customer talking with a salesperson.

“It’s as if you didn’t hear anything that I’ve said!”

That is a phrase you never want to hear a customer say and I know that interaction had gone badly. I only wish that I hadn’t been in such a rush or I would have stopped to observe more.  I moved on to the registers and was quickly out the door.  As I was getting on my bicycle, I looked up to see the customer getting in his car and driving away; empty-handed.

Bagging a bit better

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IMG_0937My brother bagged groceries in high school.  He was good at it and proud of his skills.

He knew how to sort groceries coming down the belt so he could bag more efficient.  Separating the boxes from the cans, the produce from the meat, the fragile from the durable.  He knew how to build a foundation layer in the bottom of the bags so they would be stable in the car and on the kitchen counter ( back when only square bottom craft paper bags were in use). He knew how to double bag to prevent tearing and bagging meats and produce so that condensation and contamination were not an issue.  Of course, he bagged so eggs would not be broken and bread would not be crushed.

My brother’s success as a bagger led to his next position as stocker and 40 years later, he still earns a comfortable living working for a union grocery store.  But this post is not about my brother.

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Back in 3 minutes

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Stopwatch_AMy wife and I were out at one of our favorite local bicycle shops on the quest for the perfect bicycle helmet for my wife’s commute.  While perusing the vast selection, several salespeople approached us offering help.  But since we were not ready for help, we politely declined.

As each turned to leave, they mentioned that there was more sizes and colors available in the basement stock area that they would be happy to retrieve for us.

After trying on dozens of helmets, the choice was narrowed down to one.  Unfortunately, the desired helmet in the size and the color we wanted was not on the shelf.  Now instead of approaching us, we went in search of a salesperson.  We quickly found one.

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S-B-I-A

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The Acme Thunderer -The World's Finest Whistle

The Acme Thunderer -The World’s Finest Whistle

One advantage that athletic coaches have over sales managers is their whistle.  When an athletic coach blows the whistle, everything stops and people listen.  More than once I longed for my Acme Thunderer to get the attention of one of my employees when they were messing up on the sales floor.

Ongoing coaching is critical for the development of effective and efficient retail sale people. The ability of managers to effectively communicate with their employees about their performance is often the difference between success and failure of both the employee and the store.

With so many retailers feeling the squeeze on payroll, many store employees receive little or no training before they are set free on the sales floor to see to the needs of the customers.  With limited training, sales people are left to learn, typically through trial and error , on the floor.  With an attentive and observant manager that is willing to coach, the salesperson will develop much quicker.

That is where coaching and SBIA model come in.

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In retail history

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hudsonslogo

The Hudson’s Bay Company is founded on May 2, 1670 making it the oldest commercial enterprise in North America.

Incorporated by English Royal Charter as The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading onto Hudson’s Bay.  Founded as a fur trading business, HBC was once the largest landowner in the world with control of 15% of the total acreage in North America.  As such, it served as the de facto government until European states and the US laid claim.

As the fur trade dwindled in the early 1800s, HBC reinvented itself as a mercantile business establishing stores across Canada. HBC continues as a retailer today operating Hudson’s Bay, Lord & Taylor (the oldest luxury department store in North America), Saks Fifth Avenue, Home Outfitters, Gilt and Galeria Kaufhof.

In retail history

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Original Target Logo 1962-1967

Original Target Logo
1962-1967

On May 1st, 1962, the Dayton Company opens their first discount retail store, Target.

The Dayton Company traces their roots to  the Goodfellow Dry Goods Store opened in downtown Minneapolis in 1902.

The company prospered as a traditional downtown department store for over 60 years and in the 1950s began to expand to suburban shopping malls.

John Geisse, a Dayton’s employee, suggested opening upscale discount stores in the suburbs. The company and its board were originally hesitant since their did not want to “cheapen” their brand. The name Target was used to prevent customers from associating the discount store with their traditional department stores.  Geisse would go on to founded the Venture chain and the Warehouse Club.

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Not so much as a smile – Part 2

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IMG_0909While having my bad experience in the bookstore two days ago, I spotted a travel book that looked interesting but that I decided to take a pass on.  Once I got home, I realized that the book would have been a welcome addition to my travel library and I decided I should go ahead and buy it.  This called for a return to the scene of the crime.

So yesterday I stopped back at the bookstore while I was out running some errands.  The plan was to run in, grab the book and be on my way.

The store was quiet when I went in.  I found the book quickly and headed towards the registers.  Just like the day before, I was greeted by great spring weather framed by the front windows and two cashiers having a friendly conversation.  Luckily my cashier from the day before was not one of them.

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$129.40 & not so much as a smile

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Version 2

(Just left my local bookstore with a tale to share.)

It is not hard for me to find over $100 worth of books to buy at my local bookstore and today was no different; a newly released business book, a Richard Feynman bio, a couple of magazines, several travel books, and a collection of Faulkner short novels that I should have read back in college.

Like I said it is easy for me to spend money in a bookstore.  What is not so easy for me is to stop looking and to leave the store before I go broke.  But today I found the strength to stop looking and to leave the store.

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You say tomato, I say tomato

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Version 2

I was in a favorite cooking store today looking at all sorts of things that I did not need but some how felt I could not live without.  It is part of the attraction of this store.  While there, I had the opportunity to listened in on a conversation between a customer and a salesperson about cookware.  As they approached the fixture the customer said, “This is the type of Calphalon I use” mispronouncing the brand in the process.

“It’s Calphalon” the employee stated rather emphatically while using the common pronunciation.  I was a bit stunned by the strong correction coming from the clerk and anyone could see the annoyance on the customer’s face at being corrected.  I thought to myself that the clerk did not need to correct the customers pronunciation and the correction did not move the service forward.

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In retail history

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Woolworth Building by Hugh Ferriss Source WikiCommons

Woolworth Building
by Hugh Ferriss
Source WikiCommons

On April 24th, 1913, the Woolworth Building opens in New York City.

Designed in 1910 by renowned architect, Cass Gilbert, the building headquartered the F.W. Woolworth, a pioneer five and dime store, for 85 years.  This neo-Gothic building was originally planned to be only 20 stories tall.  But by its opening, the building had been expanded to 60 stories and was the tallest building in the world from 1913 until 1930.