Are you a little confused as to what the title means? If so, then you've never had a retail employee call you that or any of the casual names related to it .
Recently, I was in a store where I needed a little help finding something. I asked an employee for assistance and she replied, "Right over here, Hon." When someone outside my own family or circle of friends calls me that, I do a slow boil. The terms are supposed to be endearing, but are not taken that way when used in a retail setting.
Perhaps I'm a little sensitive to that, but I believe Honey, Sweetie, Hon, and others like them have no place in the workplace. They are overly familiar, condescending and unprofessional. You must be able to use a proper term when addressing a customer. Mr., Mrs., Miss, M'am, Ladies, Gentlemen, etc. seem very formal, but they are respectful titles that are rarely used today. I have to say, whenever I've used one of these terms, I've always gotten a positive reaction.
When you are at work, you should be presenting a professional facade, no matter how you feel. We don't have personal relationships with the majority of our customers and they should be treated with respect and dignity, not addressed an a casual manner, unless specifically requested to do so. (I do have a few customers who prefer to be addressed by their first names...it's perfectly okay to do so in that case!) Please remember to treat your coworkers in that manner as well. I believe it will foster good relations and help increase your business.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Politics, Religion and Sex
WOW! Today's title really caught your attention, didn't it? That's because those three words stir a lot of emotion. They're simply hot-button issues. And that's the reason you should NEVER discuss these subjects at work. While we all have opinions and are entitled to them, it's not wise to voice them in a work environment. I'm sure there are other subjects that maybe your employer doesn't want you to talk about such as salary or position. Those also can cause some discourse between co-workers. But lets take a quick look at the things I mentioned.
Because your political opinion may differ from other associates or clients, people sometimes want to persuade you to think the way they do. Things can escalate when they feel quite strongly, especially in an election year or when there are important issues on the ballot. Think about your ideas on an issue you care about...do you feel as if the other side is not getting the right information? Do you feel that if they'd just listen to this particular argument, they'd change their mind? Now, think of how things can get out of hand, just because you want to convince someone how important this issue is. Or vice-versa.
As far as religion goes, I recently witnessed a "laying on of hands" situation in a retail establishment. An associate felt led to pray for a customer, and before the customer knew what was happening, she was caught in an uncomfortable moment. The other associates and customers were clearly uncomfortable, as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm a woman of faith myself. But there is a time and place for that and even if you feel led to pray for someone at that moment, do it silently, or excuse yourself and do it in private.
On the subject of sex, it's just plain in poor taste to discuss such things at work. No one wants to walk in a conversation about personal things and it can be very embarrassing for both the customer and the associates involved. I know that when you work with people for a period of time, friendships sometimes develop and we tend to reveal intimate details to close friends. But again, there is a time and place for those subjects and it isn't in the workplace.
As I said before, these are hot-button issues and in retail, your purpose is to please the customer, not to express your views. It's best to stick to light conversation while at work.
Because your political opinion may differ from other associates or clients, people sometimes want to persuade you to think the way they do. Things can escalate when they feel quite strongly, especially in an election year or when there are important issues on the ballot. Think about your ideas on an issue you care about...do you feel as if the other side is not getting the right information? Do you feel that if they'd just listen to this particular argument, they'd change their mind? Now, think of how things can get out of hand, just because you want to convince someone how important this issue is. Or vice-versa.
As far as religion goes, I recently witnessed a "laying on of hands" situation in a retail establishment. An associate felt led to pray for a customer, and before the customer knew what was happening, she was caught in an uncomfortable moment. The other associates and customers were clearly uncomfortable, as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm a woman of faith myself. But there is a time and place for that and even if you feel led to pray for someone at that moment, do it silently, or excuse yourself and do it in private.
On the subject of sex, it's just plain in poor taste to discuss such things at work. No one wants to walk in a conversation about personal things and it can be very embarrassing for both the customer and the associates involved. I know that when you work with people for a period of time, friendships sometimes develop and we tend to reveal intimate details to close friends. But again, there is a time and place for those subjects and it isn't in the workplace.
As I said before, these are hot-button issues and in retail, your purpose is to please the customer, not to express your views. It's best to stick to light conversation while at work.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Making Change
One of the first things I learned on my first official job in retail was to count change back. This should give you an idea of my age! ;-) We had to learn to do this because our registers did not figure the change for us.
Today, the cash registers do everything possible for you, except maybe wash your hands. The need to know this skill has been replaced with a "fake count-back". You know what I'm talking about...it's when the register tells the clerk it's $7.88 in change, so they "count" it back to you - "5, 6, 7 & 88 cents." What's the purpose of doing that? I wish I knew...I mean, I can clearly see that the register wants me to have that much. But what happens if the clerk puts in the wrong tender? I usually see the "deer-in-the-headlights" look on their face while they figure out what went wrong.
One of the reasons we had to learn to count cash back was for our own protection. Back in the "old days", we were responsible for any shortages that occurred on our bank, so we were extra careful in giving change. It protected us from customers that claimed that they gave us a certain amount, too, since we always called out what bill we'd been given. It was also protection for our customer, so they knew that they were getting the right change.
How do you count change back? Here's a short lesson:
1. When you tell the customer the total and they give you the money, you say, for instance, "$15.62 out of $20.00." At this point, you'll put the tender in and the register will tell you how much change comes back (if you put it in right).
2. When the drawer opens, put the bill in the right slot, but leave the spring arm up. That way if the customer says she gave you a $50, you'll know it was only a twenty, 'cause that slot's arm is up.
3. As you take out the change, count it to yourself, starting with the customers total, and adding pennies to get to an even amount..."$15.62, 63, 64, 65"
4. Now that you're at $15.65, you'd add a dime (because that's next denomination) to get to $15.75, then a quarter to get to $16.00.
5. At this point, you start adding dollars to get to $20.00..."$17, 18, 19, and $20.00."
Hopefully, that explanation wasn't too hard to follow. Try it yourself at home and practice a little...you'll get the hang of it. Remember, it protects you and the customer.
Today, the cash registers do everything possible for you, except maybe wash your hands. The need to know this skill has been replaced with a "fake count-back". You know what I'm talking about...it's when the register tells the clerk it's $7.88 in change, so they "count" it back to you - "5, 6, 7 & 88 cents." What's the purpose of doing that? I wish I knew...I mean, I can clearly see that the register wants me to have that much. But what happens if the clerk puts in the wrong tender? I usually see the "deer-in-the-headlights" look on their face while they figure out what went wrong.
One of the reasons we had to learn to count cash back was for our own protection. Back in the "old days", we were responsible for any shortages that occurred on our bank, so we were extra careful in giving change. It protected us from customers that claimed that they gave us a certain amount, too, since we always called out what bill we'd been given. It was also protection for our customer, so they knew that they were getting the right change.
How do you count change back? Here's a short lesson:
1. When you tell the customer the total and they give you the money, you say, for instance, "$15.62 out of $20.00." At this point, you'll put the tender in and the register will tell you how much change comes back (if you put it in right).
2. When the drawer opens, put the bill in the right slot, but leave the spring arm up. That way if the customer says she gave you a $50, you'll know it was only a twenty, 'cause that slot's arm is up.
3. As you take out the change, count it to yourself, starting with the customers total, and adding pennies to get to an even amount..."$15.62, 63, 64, 65"
4. Now that you're at $15.65, you'd add a dime (because that's next denomination) to get to $15.75, then a quarter to get to $16.00.
5. At this point, you start adding dollars to get to $20.00..."$17, 18, 19, and $20.00."
Hopefully, that explanation wasn't too hard to follow. Try it yourself at home and practice a little...you'll get the hang of it. Remember, it protects you and the customer.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Naming Names...
I just wanted to address the fact that I won't be naming any names as I blog about my retail experiences. Aside from the fact that I don't want a lawsuit, I also don't want to hurt revenues at any particular place. I mean, the reason I'm doing this is to help improve business! So while a lot of my experiences may be positive, and could help...the idea behind the blog is to help people understand from a customer perspective as well as a retail perspective, the way customers should be treated.
And just F.Y.I., Dorothy Ellen is not my real name, either. I currently work in retail, and do not want to be in violation of the social media clause in my employee handbook.
Just sayin'...
And just F.Y.I., Dorothy Ellen is not my real name, either. I currently work in retail, and do not want to be in violation of the social media clause in my employee handbook.
Just sayin'...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
"Have a nice day!' - a variation of "Thanks?"
I can't tell you how many of my retail transactions as a customer have ended with "Have a nice day!" That would be a great way to end our interaction except for one thing...most clerks use this INSTEAD OF "Thank you!" I'm so tired of people using this on me.
Why is it that people find "thank you" a hard thing to say? I believe it ranks right up there with "I'm sorry" and "I love you" in the difficulty dept. But it is a necessary statement. We must ALWAYS remember to thank our customers for patronizing our establishment. If they don't frequent our store, we don't get the sale. If we don't get the sale, we don't make a profit. If we don't make a profit, we go out of business and then we don't have jobs. So a "thank-you" is letting the customer know that we appreciate them coming in. They do, in an indirect way, provide our paychecks.
Whenever I wait on a customer, I always make sure to thank them for their business. It's not a hard thing to do when you get in the habit of it. I've noticed that some customers are even surprised when I say it, but they shouldn't be. It's just that they're not used to hearing it very often. The other thing I've noticed is how appreciative they are when I thank them. This really does foster good customer relations, so make sure to use it every time. And if you want them to "have a good day" that's fine, too...just make sure to thank them first.
Why is it that people find "thank you" a hard thing to say? I believe it ranks right up there with "I'm sorry" and "I love you" in the difficulty dept. But it is a necessary statement. We must ALWAYS remember to thank our customers for patronizing our establishment. If they don't frequent our store, we don't get the sale. If we don't get the sale, we don't make a profit. If we don't make a profit, we go out of business and then we don't have jobs. So a "thank-you" is letting the customer know that we appreciate them coming in. They do, in an indirect way, provide our paychecks.
Whenever I wait on a customer, I always make sure to thank them for their business. It's not a hard thing to do when you get in the habit of it. I've noticed that some customers are even surprised when I say it, but they shouldn't be. It's just that they're not used to hearing it very often. The other thing I've noticed is how appreciative they are when I thank them. This really does foster good customer relations, so make sure to use it every time. And if you want them to "have a good day" that's fine, too...just make sure to thank them first.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Suggestive Selling
"Another holiday...more holiday themed products to push! UHHH!" That's what I used to think when my boss would tell us we had to "suggest" these things to customers. I have since changed my attitude.
I remember telling my district manager that I found it difficult to try to sell all this stuff, that I wasn't good at "forcing" people to buy what they didn't really want or need. She asked me what I thought of the products and I agreed that they were cute and that some could be fun or useful. She asked me about the products...did I know how they worked or who could use them or what they could be used for. I told her everything that I knew and about how I would/could use them myself.
My D.M. then told me that all I had to do was just to share the information with the customer. They would make their own decision on whether they wanted to buy it or not. In essence, we were just providing them a service by telling them about the product. When I looked at it like that, it made sense. We don't tie them up and pull their wallets out and take their money. It IS their decision. And it IS part of my job to share the information.
I now feel more comfortable about this aspect of my job. And it also helps when people suggest things to me. We all make our own decisions. Hopefully, this will give you a different outlook, too.
I remember telling my district manager that I found it difficult to try to sell all this stuff, that I wasn't good at "forcing" people to buy what they didn't really want or need. She asked me what I thought of the products and I agreed that they were cute and that some could be fun or useful. She asked me about the products...did I know how they worked or who could use them or what they could be used for. I told her everything that I knew and about how I would/could use them myself.
My D.M. then told me that all I had to do was just to share the information with the customer. They would make their own decision on whether they wanted to buy it or not. In essence, we were just providing them a service by telling them about the product. When I looked at it like that, it made sense. We don't tie them up and pull their wallets out and take their money. It IS their decision. And it IS part of my job to share the information.
I now feel more comfortable about this aspect of my job. And it also helps when people suggest things to me. We all make our own decisions. Hopefully, this will give you a different outlook, too.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Golden Rule
When I was a kid, the Golden Rule was pounded into our heads. In case anyone is not familiar with it: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In other words, treat people like you'd want to be treated. It took a long time for this to actually sink in, but I finally got it. And I apply it daily to my retail life.
I try to treat each customer with the respect and attention they deserve. After all, they came into my store to spend money. We must make sure they're treated properly.
I know what you're thinking. "How do you treat someone well, when they came in with a poor attitude?" I'll give you a little tip about how I handle that.
I know what you're thinking. "How do you treat someone well, when they came in with a poor attitude?" I'll give you a little tip about how I handle that.
At our store, we always greet the customer. I always say something like, "Good morning/afternoon!" I try to read the way they answer. If it seems like they're not exactly in a chipper mood, I find an opportunity when I can ask them one simple question. "How's your day going today?" And then I listen to their answer. If they're having a bad day, it always helps their attitude to have someone listen. Think about it. Doesn't it help you, too?
By the way, this question also helps when I'm the customer and the cashier/clerk/associate that's waiting on me is not in a great frame of mind. Everyone just likes to have someone listen. I think if you try this approach, you'll see that it works.
Thanks for listening to me.
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