Straight from the Shop Floor
What four years in retail taught me.
Retail is a hard job, one that often goes unrecognised and unthanked. I spent 4 years as a manager in one of the worst retail sectors, mobile phones, and I learnt a lot from it.
1. People are everything
Success doesn’t come from the products you make. It doesn’t come from the money you spend on advertising. It comes from the people you work with.
The people you hire need to be the best you can get, and you need to work to motivate and inspire when the going gets tough. If you’re there for them, they’ll be there for you. If you leave them in the dark, they’ll leave you by the curb.
Your customers are people, and understanding this will take you far. Treat them like you would any other person, regardless of how arse-y they might get. They are the ones who have faith enough in your product to pay for it. They are the ones who will shout from the rooftops if they love your product. They are the ones who will make your business crash and burn if you fuck with them.
2. Sell what you believe in
If you don’t believe in what you’re selling, people will notice. If you don’t have faith in the product you’re trying to sell, don’t sell it. Find something that you believe in and sell that instead. Customers will notice your passion and faith in the product, and they’re more likely to want it.
3. Never lie
You will get caught, and you’ll look like a fool. Telling the truth is the only surefire way to establish faith and confidence. Your customers may not always like to hear the truth, but at least they’ll know they can trust you.
4. Customers aren’t always right
They just think they are. The only thing your customer always is, is your customer. Don’t be afraid to correct misunderstandings, it’s better for everyone in the long run.
5. Tall hierarchies suck
When the message from the CEO has to go through 5 or more people to get to the people who are supposed to act on that message, you’re doing it wrong. If a decision affects the way people work, deliver the message directly to that people. Hierarchy layers lead to warped and reinterpreted messages, and the original motive is lost.
Have you ever played ‘Chinese Whispers’? You pass a message down the line, person to person, and see what comes out the other end. Remember how many times it was the same at both ends? Exactly!
6. Tell it to ‘em straight
People can see through the masquerade of business speak. They see it for what is it, a wishy-washy way of skirting round the facts to upset the least number of people. If you’re cutting staff to save money, don’t say “We’re streamlining operations in response to market conditions”.
7. Feedback. Feedback. Feedback.
If you have no mechanisms to enable feedback, you’re doomed to fail again and again. If the people witnessing the issues can’t tell the people who need to fix it, you’re screwed. Your customers will get impatient, your staff will feel powerless, and you’ll lose the support of both.
8. No favourites
Favouritism and bias towards certain members of your team may lead to short term gains, but they’ll kill morale in the long term. Treat everyone as they deserve, and help everyone achieve their potential. They’ll respect you, appreciate your support, and work they arse off for you. It’s a win-win.
