Bringing service back to Department Stores?

[Lola Getz]

As someone who has worked retail for close to 25 years, I can tell you that I have used "Are you finding everything all right?" because a) people who may just be browsing don't feel bugged/stalked and b) it enables them to open up and ask questions about the merchandise without feeling like they're being pressured to buy.
I can't tell you the number of times I have said "Good morning" to a customer and they've responded with, "I'm just looking!" That's nice--all I said was good morning.
Weston, your attitude will make you successful. Retail can be a joy to those of us who love to meet, help and chat with new people.

 

[Alexi]

I was at the deli counter the other day and they had a big piece of meat the said "rosemary ham", it was shaped like prosciutto, so I asked if it tasted like prosciutto. The guy behind the counter just said "dunno ham tastes like ham to me." I stared at him blinked a couple times, and walked away.

 

[scottyrocks]

I worked in retail camera sales for a short time right after college. It was a small shop in Bellmore.

I know how to be pleasant, talk to people, and help them any way I can. However, when the store owner/manager told us to remove the 'accessories' from the camera box (batteries, strap, etc), and sell it as a $9.99 'extra,' I found it difficult to be that naturally friendly, helpful person, knowing I was being encouraged to 'shtup' the customer. I believe the boss discounted the camera and then made up the difference with the extra charge for what should have been that included stuff. If we werent doing anything and everything to move volume, there was a problem. And more than one customer looked at me like I was crazy for charging extra for the 'extra' stuff. How can you be sincere in a situation like that? I didnt stay there long. The store went oob a long time ago, btw.

As a customer, I cant stand sales people standing around doing nothing, or even something, when its obvious I want their help. If a customer needs help, thats what a sales person does first. I also cant stand sales associates having an obvious private conversation in front of me, or walking by me like Im not there when Im looking right at them with an 'excuse me' hand up. All of these things happen so often at the Freeport Home Depot that I hate going in there. It is so obvious that these always-the-same people-in-question dont give a $#!+. I may actually be moved one day to write to corporate management about it.

 

[Foofoogal]

I also worked as a teen at Sears and was taught customer was always right. We had some doozies too. Never could argue with them no matter what.
I thank Sears for giving me my sales foundation.
http://sandysfancypants.blogspot.com

I may actually be moved one day to write to corporate management about it.

I have written to corporate to tell when someone is very good at their job. Not sure if it matters anymore but I will do it.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Sears to close 120 Sears/KMart stores:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/27/us-sears-sales-idUSTRE7BQ0AV20111227

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Hmm. Wonder if the one my brother, sister, and I worked at in High School is on the list. That place has been going downhill for years.

 

[ButteMT61]

It's tough enough to compete with online shopping, but to add into the mix a poor experience, less than stellar "help" and often remote locations, you see why.
OTOH, I go to the local Macy's and love it. Great staff, clean stores, well stocked. If you're going to make it in the brick and mortar world today, you have to provide an excellent experience. Others like Apple also raking in the money. I know I won't "shop" in person unless I'm going somewhere that makes me feel satisfied and happy I got out of the house...but like many here, I grew up with Sears and the Catalog and find it sad, like many other things that have passed.

 

[Deco-Doll-1928]

Hello all,

Been reading the dept. store thread with interest. I just gained employment working in a large department store that is NOT owned by Federated. I'd love to take your suggestions or ideas for ways to bring a "golden era" level of service to my customers. Thus far I've worked in a couple departments, so any advice is welcome.

Thus far I've just done the usual: held the door for ladies anywhere, helped those in clear distress with packages by carrying them to their car, gift wrapping etc.

I need some seriously old school ideas.

I work in retail myself. It can be an extremely frustrating job. You never know who is going to walk in the door. They could be really nice or extremely grouchy.

The best advice to you that I found helps not only other people, but helps your state of mind, is to be as upbeat as you can. A smile, patient, and calm demeanor goes along way. It doesn't hurt to sympathize with other people or laugh with them (just be careful what you joke about--keep the humor clean). Even when people don't respond to people being nice to them (and certainly you will encounter people like that), don't take it too personal. Keep telling yourself, in the end you are doing the best that you can. Good luck!

 

[Bugguy]

My 24 yo daughter just quit that "M" store. One horror story after another. They carved up their departments into small designer speciality shops, so she was working her favorite brand. The dressing room assignment was pure torture... in her words, the women were slobs. Men hang their clothes or take them back to the rack. Women leave them in piles on the floor. Seems like they're making a personal statement or protesting in private. She was expected to be "on-call" if they needed her and would get her hours cut in retribution if she wasn't available. Really... she's in her twenty's and deserves a life. In my business we have this concept called "call pay".

As the gangsters would say, the staff were "dixie cups". Use them and throw them away. How can you model good customer service when you routinely burn your staff... the current attitude in the retail workplace tracks pretty well with the decline in corporate loyalty - going both ways. They, and indirectly us, are getting what they pay for.

 

[Captain Neon]

I worked as a supervisor in a factory for a manager that treated his employees like indentured servants. My "regular" schedule was 3:00 PM to 1:00 AM. He must have thought that I never slept, or did my sleeping at work while invisible fairies took care of things. He thought no thing of calling me at 9:00 AM to ask a question or to take care of some minour thing that could wait until I came in at 3:00 PM. He always asked, "Did I wake you?" He regularly scheduled me to come in early at least once a month (7:00 AM) for a few days without notice, and then right back to 3:00 PM to 1:00 AM once I had just started to get used to coming in at 7:00 AM. If that wasn't bad enough, he would often schedule me to come in at 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM for a few days, and then when he had had his fun for a few days it was back at 3:00 PM. I can count on one hand the number of Saturdays that I had off in a year, and worked every other Sunday. I typically worked 70 hour weeks, but only got paid for 50 hours. People typically in my position quit after 4 months. I lasted 24 months. It would have been one thing if I was eligible for a sizeable quarterly bonus, or if my boss worked the same sort of hours or worse, but he came in at 9:00 AM was out the door by 6:00 PM, and never worked a Saturday or Sunday the whole time I was there. On Friday, as he was leaving around 3:30 PM, if he had even come in at all, he would typically say, "Have a nice weekend!" My Monday meeting usually began with, "Did you have a good weekend?" He also managed to get his all-day doctor's appointments scheduled when big wigs from corporate were visiting. Completely worthless, and between him and the atrocious "Maintenance" department, it will be why that plant gets closed in a couple of more years. He's been getting away with this for over 12 years, and gets huge bonuses for him self of ~$20K each year. I would now be considered a peer of his for an other company, similar size workforce at a similar type of plant with the same number of direct reports. I know what I do, I know what I did there, and I know what my former counterpart on day shift does, and I continue to ask my self just what the guy does all day when he is at work. I think he simply sits in the plethora of conference calls and meetings that my former company has, and takes credit for his subordinates' work and blames them when some thing goes wrong. My job as his 2nd shift supervisor was to serve as scapegoat. Were the 1st shift supervisor to retire, he would be completely lost and would have to take early retirement himself. The sad thing is that he will be one of the first people to seem surprised when the factory is closed as no longer being profitable.

 

[ButteMT61]

My 24 yo daughter just quit that "M" store. One horror story after another. They carved up their departments into small designer speciality shops, so she was working her favorite brand. The dressing room assignment was pure torture... in her words, the women were slobs. Men hang their clothes or take them back to the rack. Women leave them in piles on the floor. Seems like they're making a personal statement or protesting in private. She was expected to be "on-call" if they needed her and would get her hours cut in retribution if she wasn't available. Really... she's in her twenty's and deserves a life. In my business we have this concept called "call pay".

As the gangsters would say, the staff were "dixie cups". Use them and throw them away. How can you model good customer service when you routinely burn your staff... the current attitude in the retail workplace tracks pretty well with the decline in corporate loyalty - going both ways. They, and indirectly us, are getting what they pay for.

Is that "M" as in Macy's I mentioned above? The staff here has for the most part, been there for years. Departmentalized, but it seems to work there. Sorry about your daughter. As I tell my kids - jobs like those are there to motivate you to go to school and for hard so you don't spend your life miserable. Not that there's anything wrong with those jobs if it's your thing and working for a good company, just my line to motivate them to look higher...

 

[flat-top]

I like this:

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01...d10|htmlws-main-bb|dl12|sec1_lnk3&pLid=130274