15 Things You Must Teach Seasonal Employees
This is such advise I'd suggest teaching them to everyone.
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I subscribe to many email newsletter as I imagine you do. This one is from a speaker and consultant in the retail environment Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor.
His newsletter this week was 15 things to teach the season staff but I'm betting most jewelers don't teach this to their own staff.
I'd suggest at your next sales meeting (you do have regular sales meetings, right? Of course you do!)
- Going over this list with everyone
- Print a copy and give one to each employee
- Post it on the bulletin board in the kitchen.
Here's Bob's 15 things to teach seasonal (all!) employees:
1. When you see a customer, stop what you are doing, look up so you can meet their eyes and then approach them in a non-threatening way with a greeting like, “Good morning” or “Good afternoon.” If a customer is at the register waiting, take the initiative to see if you can ring them up.
2. Listen to the customer to find out why, on this day, they came in to your store. Your time will go by more quickly, when you see every interaction as different.
3. Say we not them or they. Otherwise you sound like an outsider. You are a part of our success. We will not survive in business without you.
4. Be on time. There will be traffic. There will be parking off-site and having to wait for a shuttle. There’s still no excuse for being late for a shift.
5. Turn your phone to vibrate and put it away while on the floor. We’re not paying you to look in the palm of your hand, so use your phone on your time.
6. Customers can be rude, angry and unreasonable. Don’t share your stories of how awful they were with other employees – and especially not to our customers. The pace of the holidays will be crazy busy; keep your own attitude above the fray.
7. We all have stress, family and personal concerns. We will all get along much better if there is no additional drama brought onto the sales floor. When you walk in the door, leave your problems at the door.
8. Patrol the floor. If you see it, step over it or kick it – pick it up and dispose of it. That goes for anything from a ripped price tag to a used diaper- yes, we get those now and then.
9. It’s great to have friends, but please don’t have them visit you while you are working; you’re working.
10. Since we spend a lot of time on scheduling, a manager has to approve any “switching” of days, times or breaks.
11. We take theft seriously and will investigate and prosecute accordingly. We also conduct random checks of the trash.
12. Just because you may not be able to afford some of our more expensive items, doesn't’t mean our customers can’t. Your goal is to help us sell that merchandise and make our customers’ holiday gifting fun.
13. You are an important part of our business. You’re here to make some extra cash for the holidays. We’re here to make our customers’ holidays joyful. We can’t do it without you.
14. It’s never a sin to wear a grin. Remember to keep a sense of humor.
15. If you don’t know the answer to a question posed by a customer, tell them you don’t know and that you’ll find someone who does.
I'd suggest adding Bob Phibb's email blog to your weekly reading.
Then go to the very bottom left of the page and click on his blog link and sign up there.
Have a great season
Sincerely
David Geller
Director of Profits