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I can honestly say, that I enjoy the work that involves being in retail. If I whole-heartily believe in what I sell…I never actually feel like I’m selling anything. I feel more like I’m being a representative of a product that I have tremendous passion for, and then simply sharing that passion with others.

If I do my work with sincerity and give attentive customer service….a good solid product sells itself - with no force.

I’ve been involved with corporate retail for almost 20 years now. And what I find incredibly sad, is watching this industry turned into homogenized milk.

Where there use to be uniqueness, energy, and excitement, now lies a paralyzing competitive fear to “follow-the-leader.” Most retail corporations are doing the same thing, in the same way, in order to win the customers. And by doing this - an underlining tension is felt, thus pushing the customer further and further away.

Everything about selling to the customer has now turned into the pressure of getting personal information such as: phone numbers, email addresses, and home addresses - so they can sell 24 hours a day, 365 days out of the year. They claim, that this is to give their patrons outstanding customer service, when in reality…it’s invasive.

They sit in their corporate offices, totally removed from the customers, having absolutely no idea what the customer wants or needs; making choices based on figures from last year, in the hopes that they’ll triple. And doing so, because they claim that the cost of living is on the rise, when in reality, they’re the ones who are contributing to the rise.

It’s a never ending cycle of self-competition.

They have also figured out how to create the most animosity between their sales associates, so that they’ll fight and compete for commissions, because the their hourly salaries have been reduced to peanuts. They hope and pray that they will develop a “killer shark instinct” because this means more profit for them. After all....they don't have to swim with them.

And as I look at their self-created madness. I can’t help but wonder why they constantly overlook these basic simple truths….

When you give…with a genuine and honest intention of simply servicing the needs of the public…without having any fear of not receiving…you will then prosper and be successful.

And when you begin to create a happy, caring, and nurturing environment for your employees, you will also create the proper environment for them to service the customer with honest integrity, which in turn, will create happy, loyal, and devoted patrons.

Corporate retail has sadly forgotten about the business they‘re actually in….to SERVE.

Wake up to success.




Photo: romap

8 comments:

  1. You speak truth, Ron -- and the corporate ignorance is sad to see and alienating to be exposed to...


    A little common sense could change it all, could make it magic and warm and welcoming and genuine -- and the bottom line far richer, if only the short-sighted penny pinchers could just see the bigger picture. Grrrr !

    Wages should be increased to $15 an hour for all employees who are on minimum wage across the U.S. Period.

    No personal information necessary or required upon purchase - no e-mail, phone numbers, etc. (asking/saying/knowing a customer's NAME makes for more good will than harrassing them for private info because of management policy !)

    No-one should play music or have any kind of holiday advertising UNTIL the last holiday is over with. ie. until the day after Thanksgiving, no christmas stuff allowed anywhere.

    All stores should be closed from 5:00 on Decmber 23rd through 9:00 a.m. January 2nd so that people can be with their families.

    Just my 2 cents.

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  2. Evening Annie~

    Thanks for your "2 cents"...cause to me...it makes A LOT of sense!!

    And HEY... I LOVE your idea for minimum wage being increased to $15.00 an hour!!!

    As a consumer, myself...I can see and feel what's happening, so when I'm at work, servicing the public...I try and respect their "space" and treat them as I would a guest in my own home.

    Like I said...I DO love what I do...and as frustrating as corporate retail has become...I want to make a difference.

    God...I also LOVE your idea about being closed for that week of Christmas til January! Can you imagine corporations actually doing that???

    NOT!

    Like you said Annie...just KNOWING the customers name, is such a huge thing in giving that "nice personal touch" which would make more of a everlasting impression...and make that customer WANT to return!

    You said it, girl....just some COMMON SENSE!

    Thank you for sharing your feelings and ideas about this, Annie!

    You and I should open up our own private retail store...we'd be a SMASHING success!

    We could call it, "AnnieRon's"

    Have a great Sunday, Annie.

    Ciao,
    Ron

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  3. I'm with you Ron. I also agree with annie about stores closing from the 23rd Dec to 2nd Jan, if you haven't got it by the 23rd you don't need it!

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  4. Holiday Greetings Akelamalu~

    That IS a GREAT idea isn't it???

    Those last few days before Christmas can sometimes be the most intense, because of "last minute shoppers" and then the whole idea of Christmas is lost.

    Thanks for stopping by today Akelamalu. Hope your having wonderful Sunday!!!

    Ciao,
    Ron

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  5. ron,
    need to ask a technical question on the blog layout. How did you get the picture to line up on the right side of your blog title. I can't figure out how to do this in the blog template I am using.
    Thanks for your help.
    Dave

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  6. Hey Dave~

    Good to see ya!

    When I added the header to the page elements (header)...the way the header was designed...it just ended up in that position.

    I had to remove ALL the borders to this template, because the header was actually too big to fit in the header border.

    I did however change the HTML coding for the blog title "position" and "font".

    I think you CAN actually use the coding to change the blog header position too.

    Give me some time, and I'll try and find out how you can do that.

    I'll ge back to you this evening.

    Let me know if it's ok to contact you via your email address - just leave me a comment here.

    Talk to you later,
    Ron

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  7. Hey Dave....I'm back!

    I tried to find out if I could move the header photo in the HTML code...and I had no luck. I'm pretty new to this stuff, but there STILL may be a way of doing it, that I don't know about.

    I will continue to search for you, buddy...and if I find anything, I'll let you know.

    Hey....I visited your blog and saw the new template. I LOVE it Dave!!!
    Doesn't it feel great to change it? It's like rearranging your furniture.

    Ciao,
    Ron

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  8. Hi Ron,
    Thanks for the imput. I had no luck in moving the header stuff around. Thought there may be a little html trick I could use. I am still green on the coding myself.
    You can certainly email if you wish.
    davidjoan@snet.net
    Have a great day my friend.

    ReplyDelete