Great Retail Customer Service Starts With Great Employee Relations
Small retailers have an edge over larger competitors that treat employees like any other expense line to be reduced and controlled.
Published by Inc.com
By Ted Hurlbut
Every now and then, the Big Boys have a brain cramp, and remind all the rest of us slogging it out in the trenches day after day that it's really not so hard to thrive amongst them.
The latest example of thick headedness came across the wires at the end of August. The headline was so amazing that you almost thought there had to be some mistake.
"Radio Shack fires 400 employees by email" (Associated Press, Aug. 30, 2006).
It turns out that the 400 effected individuals at Radio Shack's headquarters in Fort Worth were greeted on the morning of Aug. 29 with the following message in their in-boxes:
"The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated."
Good morning, indeed!
Company spokeswoman Kay Jackson was quoted as saying: "It was important to notify people as quickly as possible. They had 30 minutes to collect their thoughts, make phone calls and say goodbye to employees before they went to meet with senior leaders."
Some leaders!
You couldn't make this up. It's enough to make you never open another email.
Once you finish shaking your head at something so insensitive and thoughtless, an initial rational question might be something like, "How did Human Resources at Radio Shack ever let them pull a stunt like this?" Until you realize that it was most likely Human Resources that came up with the idea in the first place -- and that to those folks, it didn't seem like such a bad idea.
While Radio Shack has appropriately earned a measure of scorn over this episode, it is only a particularly egregious reminder of the great blind spot in large-scale, corporate retailing. For if there's one thing that the Big Boys typically can't seem to get right, it's people, starting with their employees.
These retailers do a great job of delivering commodity products at the lowest possible prices -- they have operational and supply chain efficiencies managed to the last decimal -- but as they've grown larger, and their business models became predicated on high volume and low margins, their people evolved from representing a distinctive competitive advantage into being an expense line to be reduced and controlled. As consumers, we experience it in the quality and extent of the customer service they are able to provide.
Therein lies a critical competitive advantage for small and independent retailers, for great retail customer service begins with great employees and great employee relations. Experienced, empowered, knowledgeable and motivated employees can be the difference between thriving in amongst the Big Boys, or being overrun by them.
I like to tell the story of my mahogany deck. Mahogany is a great decking material, but it's a very hard wood and simply won't absorb most deck stains. But when I took my problem to a local paint and wallpaper specialist, a true small retailer, they had the solution to my problem -- not just the specialized stain that I needed, but the expertise on how to apply it to get the best, most long lasting results. Problem solved, and a loyal customer made!
Customers turn to smaller retailers not just for the products that they sell, but also for their expert product knowledge and customer service. Customers turn to small retailers to solve problems. Your employees are really problem solvers. Think for a minute about all of the different problems that your employees can help your customers solve.
Great retail customer service begins with employees who fully engage your customers, take an active interest in learning how they can be helpful, and truly go the extra mile in solving problems. And employees like this don't exist in a vacuum; they are continually empowered and coached by their owners and managers.
The very best small retail owners and managers give their employees the authority to do their job, and then let them do their job. They make sure that they possess state-of-the-art product knowledge, and are constantly updating that knowledge. They set clear, challenging, attainable goals, monitor their performance, and coach them if they fall short. They understand that every employee wants to feel they are making an important and meaningful contribution to the company. The very best small retail owners and managers are actively engaged, face to face with their employees, day in and day out.
And not by email.