Just when it seemed that things were beginning to get smoother, the phone rang at 7:20 this morning, Sunday. Not usually a big deal on Sunday since I'm up early to get everyone ready for church, but we didn't have church service today because we met last night. So my once in a long while to really sleep in was ruined. Why? Because an employee failed to show up for work. One hourly employee missing is usually not that big of a deal. You deal with it. You make choices and compromises about tasks and customer service and breaks and lunches. But this was different because it was an openning employee. Meaning they were to enter the building with the manager first thing in the morning. For obvious reasons we don't enter a locked building alone. Staying alive is the most obvious and a dead witness can't tell the Police what they saw. So we don't go in alone.
Well, it was my openning manager calling me. Give him credit, it appears that I was the last person he called. He tried every other manager and every person scheduled today, but I was the only one to answer. I wish I could say I had a magic response that fixed everything, but I didn't. He wanted permission to go in alone, but I nixed that. Don't need a fatherless family weighing on my conscience. I recommended he call one of the other managers that lives nearby and ask them to wait in the store with him until the next hourly associate arrives. Inconvenient for all, but I was trying to actually accomplish something by making everyone else uncomfortable. Instead of me being the one to hold someone accountable, I wanted those managers to do it for me. I want them to step-up to the plate and hit the no-show with all their frustrations at having their day interrupted. The no-show stocker provides the fuel and I lit the match. Now I didn't call back and no one called me, so I guess that was the right call. I'll find out in the morning when I talk to the managers involved.
All this is to say that attendance issues are one of the biggest problems retail managers face each day. Tardy, absent, sick, no-call-no-show, leaving early, and late lunches drive me crazy. I think all the time about the unemployment levels and how everyone is always begging for more hours and I am amazed that this goes on. Not only is it a problem for me, it is a problem for other employees and customers. An openning cashier is stuck at the register until the closing cashier gets there. An early morning customer might have to wait in line longer if an openning cashier is late for work. This is a problem that permeates every retail store I've ever worked in.
This attendance issue seems to be tied to a certain age of employee. Better yet, it seems their maturity level is a great indicator of their attendance habits. And it is easily observed that maturity levels are falling in the current crop of young employees (under 25 years of age). I get a few here and there that actually have some vague semblance of work ethic and responsibility, but those have been few and far between over the last year or so. It seems that a sense of entightlement has swept over a generation and getting them to understand the facts of life is a never-ending task of mine. But my personal opinion is that their parents should have taught them how the world works and how to be a responsible adult, not their manager. So maybe the problem is with the parents of this generation. People that believe the lie of "It takes a village." It doesn't take a village. It takes a mom and a dad with the courage and intelligence to say, "NO!". Or to say, "Do it right now, the right way." I see the way my employees behave or fail to act like adults and I see all the things I know I must train my children to be better. I will do my part, because I will not leave raising my children to their boss.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Rosetta Stone
This is for a contest:
Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.
This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.
To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!
Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.
This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.
To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Customer Complaints
Customer complaints are a given in retail. They are a daily occurrence in any retail store with enough customer traffic. The sad thing is, it doesn't matter how hard you work at satisfying customers, someone is going to find a reason to be unhappy.
A legitimate complaint from a customer is actually quite helpful. You can learn a lot from hearing your weaknesses from a customer's point of view. There are things that we walk by in the store everyday and don't even notice, because we are used to it. Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes, from a new perspective to show you what is really going on.
On the other hand, the customer that complains just because things aren't the way they want them or they had to pay more than they felt was fair for some item, is a customer that I don't really need. This is the same person that starts their complaint with, "I spend thousands of dollars in your store every week/month/year." My response is typically, "Really? Wow." But inside, I'm thinking, "Whatever. I've never seen you before in my life, and after working 10-12 hours a day, six days a week for years in this store, you think I would have noticed you spending all that money." This is also the complainer that is likely to use profanity. Nothing nicer than the church secretary dropping an "F-Bomb" on me because she usually only pays $XX for an item. And when I say church secretary, there is a specific reason I use that example. It is pretty well known that church people are some of the worst to deal with. They are chronic complainers, hateful to most everyone, exceedingly cheap (not frugal, cheap), and generally difficult to assist without mocking their employment/representation of a church. I am a regular church attender and born again Christian, but if I weren't the witness these people provide would not compel me to learn more about Jesus.
We do like to have fun with the really hateful complainers that are just beyond ridiculous. We also are able to anticipate these people. On Black Friday each year we take bets on how long after we open the doors before a customer uses some form of the "F-word" on me. Last year was a new record of 20 seconds. That's right, the fifth man through the door used it twice in his first statement to me. It didn't stop at that. He kept on and on and on. I finally just walked off and worked my way through a crowd of people that actually came to buy something. Since I was no longer there he turned to someone dressed somewhat similar to my employees, but was actually a customer and hurled some lovely profanity at him. Nice, huh? The customer is always right? I don't think so.
I started all this to write about how I respond to customer complaints and how customers react to my response. After this many years, I'm pretty quick with a solution to just about any problem, but only if it is my problem. If it is something the customer is responsible for/caused, I feel no need to provide a solution beyond pointing them to someone else that can fix their problem. Maybe contacting a manufacturer or seeking out a repair service. There are times a customer doesn't want a problem fixed, just want to vent their frustration and then tell you they are never shopping at your store again. I deal with this occasionally and I listen to the complaint. I respond with sympathy and a sincere pledge to look into it and fix what I can so no other customers face those same frustrations. This will sometimes win the customer back, sometimes not. Some people say you should give a gift card or offer a discount to an upset customer, but what does this solve? Sometimes it gets them out of the store and allows a situation to cool off, but usually it just trains them to kick the hell out of the manager and they will get something for free. Not the precedent or the type of training I want to provide.
So, if you want to complain here are some guidelines:
1. Be polite, kind, courteous.
2. Be specific, but don't make judgements about the employees other than how you felt.
3. Be realistic about what you expect. Not everyone is Snow White and chipper/happy/joyous every minute of everyday. Are you super happy every minute you are at work? Neither is ever cashier/stocker/salesman.
4. Tell the manager what you want. Don't make us guess, because if we offer you nothing but an apology you will be even madder if what you really wanted was a discount or some special treatment.
5. Be polite, kind, courteous. I repeated this because most people skip this step.
I have many times wanted to ask customers that are complaining as loudly and rudely as possible how they would handle the situation at their retail store. I know they don't manage a retail store, because they would never act like that to another manager.
A legitimate complaint from a customer is actually quite helpful. You can learn a lot from hearing your weaknesses from a customer's point of view. There are things that we walk by in the store everyday and don't even notice, because we are used to it. Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes, from a new perspective to show you what is really going on.
On the other hand, the customer that complains just because things aren't the way they want them or they had to pay more than they felt was fair for some item, is a customer that I don't really need. This is the same person that starts their complaint with, "I spend thousands of dollars in your store every week/month/year." My response is typically, "Really? Wow." But inside, I'm thinking, "Whatever. I've never seen you before in my life, and after working 10-12 hours a day, six days a week for years in this store, you think I would have noticed you spending all that money." This is also the complainer that is likely to use profanity. Nothing nicer than the church secretary dropping an "F-Bomb" on me because she usually only pays $XX for an item. And when I say church secretary, there is a specific reason I use that example. It is pretty well known that church people are some of the worst to deal with. They are chronic complainers, hateful to most everyone, exceedingly cheap (not frugal, cheap), and generally difficult to assist without mocking their employment/representation of a church. I am a regular church attender and born again Christian, but if I weren't the witness these people provide would not compel me to learn more about Jesus.
We do like to have fun with the really hateful complainers that are just beyond ridiculous. We also are able to anticipate these people. On Black Friday each year we take bets on how long after we open the doors before a customer uses some form of the "F-word" on me. Last year was a new record of 20 seconds. That's right, the fifth man through the door used it twice in his first statement to me. It didn't stop at that. He kept on and on and on. I finally just walked off and worked my way through a crowd of people that actually came to buy something. Since I was no longer there he turned to someone dressed somewhat similar to my employees, but was actually a customer and hurled some lovely profanity at him. Nice, huh? The customer is always right? I don't think so.
I started all this to write about how I respond to customer complaints and how customers react to my response. After this many years, I'm pretty quick with a solution to just about any problem, but only if it is my problem. If it is something the customer is responsible for/caused, I feel no need to provide a solution beyond pointing them to someone else that can fix their problem. Maybe contacting a manufacturer or seeking out a repair service. There are times a customer doesn't want a problem fixed, just want to vent their frustration and then tell you they are never shopping at your store again. I deal with this occasionally and I listen to the complaint. I respond with sympathy and a sincere pledge to look into it and fix what I can so no other customers face those same frustrations. This will sometimes win the customer back, sometimes not. Some people say you should give a gift card or offer a discount to an upset customer, but what does this solve? Sometimes it gets them out of the store and allows a situation to cool off, but usually it just trains them to kick the hell out of the manager and they will get something for free. Not the precedent or the type of training I want to provide.
So, if you want to complain here are some guidelines:
1. Be polite, kind, courteous.
2. Be specific, but don't make judgements about the employees other than how you felt.
3. Be realistic about what you expect. Not everyone is Snow White and chipper/happy/joyous every minute of everyday. Are you super happy every minute you are at work? Neither is ever cashier/stocker/salesman.
4. Tell the manager what you want. Don't make us guess, because if we offer you nothing but an apology you will be even madder if what you really wanted was a discount or some special treatment.
5. Be polite, kind, courteous. I repeated this because most people skip this step.
I have many times wanted to ask customers that are complaining as loudly and rudely as possible how they would handle the situation at their retail store. I know they don't manage a retail store, because they would never act like that to another manager.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Motivation
Being a Monday, we review all the results of the previous week. As usual there is the good (nobody really cares about that) and there is the bad (this is what everyone focuses on). The good results are expected. After all, that is what you are paid for, right? The bad results are not okay, unless maybe everyone had the same bad result, then you can look to external pressures/forces. Anyway, the store had a pretty good week last week. Number one in several categories, but last place in one of the primary initiatives. That's what I want to write about today.
Now, initiatives are the little things we are tracked on besides sales and profit. This particular initiative is very basic and very simple to excel at. The cashier asks if the customer wants to sign-up for a free program that would benefit the customer. Eighty percent of customers say "NO!". That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that when you only ask 10 out of the 100 customers you see in a day, you only average 2 sign-ups, rather than the 20 statistically likely. Why is this so hard? I have tried many things to get consistent results: rewards, punishments, threats, etc. Some stores have cashiers that average forty or fifty sign-ups per week. My best cashier averages 15. Now I know that one of the things pushed on us at the store is total accountability for every employee. Meaning, in this case, I would set a goal and if it is not met that results in a verbal warning the first time, a written warning the second, a final written the third, and then termination if the cashier still cannot get the job done. While that sounds easy enough, you have to remember that we have poured many hours of coaching and training into this cashier. Also, it's not easy to hire people in my area. Out of the 100 applications we receive each month I am very, very lucky if even one person is qualified to even be interviewed.
The total accountability option is not much of an option if you ask me. If that was their primary job and they couldn't do it, I could see that. But that is a minor part of what they do. That would be like terminating a stocker because he couldn't talk a customer into buying some $2500 widget. That's not his job really, although he may occasionally have to make the attempt.
Well, I guess I am running out of answers. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that I will have to start tracking results by individual and the make an example out of someone. It's never fun, and somewhat scary. The fear part comes from, what if your best cashier is the one that stumbles and can't keep up with the others on sign-ups. This person works hard and is the best at everything else they are asked to do, but just cannot make this happen. I suppose that is a chance I will have to take.
Now, initiatives are the little things we are tracked on besides sales and profit. This particular initiative is very basic and very simple to excel at. The cashier asks if the customer wants to sign-up for a free program that would benefit the customer. Eighty percent of customers say "NO!". That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that when you only ask 10 out of the 100 customers you see in a day, you only average 2 sign-ups, rather than the 20 statistically likely. Why is this so hard? I have tried many things to get consistent results: rewards, punishments, threats, etc. Some stores have cashiers that average forty or fifty sign-ups per week. My best cashier averages 15. Now I know that one of the things pushed on us at the store is total accountability for every employee. Meaning, in this case, I would set a goal and if it is not met that results in a verbal warning the first time, a written warning the second, a final written the third, and then termination if the cashier still cannot get the job done. While that sounds easy enough, you have to remember that we have poured many hours of coaching and training into this cashier. Also, it's not easy to hire people in my area. Out of the 100 applications we receive each month I am very, very lucky if even one person is qualified to even be interviewed.
The total accountability option is not much of an option if you ask me. If that was their primary job and they couldn't do it, I could see that. But that is a minor part of what they do. That would be like terminating a stocker because he couldn't talk a customer into buying some $2500 widget. That's not his job really, although he may occasionally have to make the attempt.
Well, I guess I am running out of answers. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that I will have to start tracking results by individual and the make an example out of someone. It's never fun, and somewhat scary. The fear part comes from, what if your best cashier is the one that stumbles and can't keep up with the others on sign-ups. This person works hard and is the best at everything else they are asked to do, but just cannot make this happen. I suppose that is a chance I will have to take.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
First Post
This is my first entry on this blog. I've been told by others that I should create a blog many times. I always immediately dismiss the idea as being too trendy or too time consuming. But, I've decided to give it a shot. After several days of trying to decide what I would write about (and how quickly I would run out of ideas or material) I decided to write about what I do everyday. Not for any one person or group, but more for me. This way I can get the thoughts, feelings, and ideas that each day produces poured out without drowning my wife and family.
So, since I was off today and didn't really have any retail management experiences to write about, I guess I will just enter a few blurbs here and satisfy myself for today.
There is always competition between stores of the same retailer within the same market. Who has the most sales, most profit, best initiatives, etc.? But I kind of prefer a different way of determining the winner. Who has the best stories? That seems like a much more interesting way to decide which manager has overcome the most or endured the most. Although my store leads in some categories off and on and lags way behind in others, I tend to have the best stories of all the managers. Some have said it is my "negative aura" that pulls bad/unusual people and events to me. I can't say I agree with this, because even when I am amazingly optimistic and cheerful it seems like a disaster is waiting with the next phone call or page. I like a good challenge occasionally to spice up the work day, but when calamity strikes constantly it turns into a battle of wills. I'm not going to go into a story now, but I can confidently say that I have faced almost every situation conceivable in my retail career except a shooting and a robbery. However, since I wrote that last sentence I have no choice but to look forward to those happening tomorrow.
So, since I was off today and didn't really have any retail management experiences to write about, I guess I will just enter a few blurbs here and satisfy myself for today.
There is always competition between stores of the same retailer within the same market. Who has the most sales, most profit, best initiatives, etc.? But I kind of prefer a different way of determining the winner. Who has the best stories? That seems like a much more interesting way to decide which manager has overcome the most or endured the most. Although my store leads in some categories off and on and lags way behind in others, I tend to have the best stories of all the managers. Some have said it is my "negative aura" that pulls bad/unusual people and events to me. I can't say I agree with this, because even when I am amazingly optimistic and cheerful it seems like a disaster is waiting with the next phone call or page. I like a good challenge occasionally to spice up the work day, but when calamity strikes constantly it turns into a battle of wills. I'm not going to go into a story now, but I can confidently say that I have faced almost every situation conceivable in my retail career except a shooting and a robbery. However, since I wrote that last sentence I have no choice but to look forward to those happening tomorrow.
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