Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - WHEN CHANGE VS REALITY

For so long now, we have been kind of  'hanging'.  No longer do I look for any one person or one particular change to come in and rescue us from the slump.  Although, it would be nice. 

There are new changes coming, we are told.  With technical support the aim will be to make shopping more convenient and more personal for the customers.  Hey, we are told, it has worked for other companies.  But anymore I am not so sure that anyone really puts any stock into these changes coming, for we have been down this road before.  There have been high hopes on many different changes in the past but, things never turned out as what was expected.  But, it is a new day and age and the changes made are considered progress that follows the paths of many other companies.

But the one thing that I have always noticed is that when changes are made no one ever gives any consideration to the problems that already exist.  There is no question as to what should we do but, more of what we will do.  We just seem to cover things up and keep going forward.  But the problems keep pulling us back, taking us further down.

When a company is not a well known, or a high profile, company then reputation is of the essence.  And that, more or less, is passed on by word of mouth - customers.  So, more so than the high profile companies, a smaller establishment has to work harder at how they represent themselves in order to get noticed.  They have to put more effort into what they do and how they appear to the consumers. 

Over time, I have been through quite a few managers but only two of them showed me what it takes to make sales.  Each, in their own way, knew how to project their department towards the customer.  And really, it was quite simple.  One of the managers was very precise in how his department appeared.  He knew it had to be detailed, organized and selective in what was presented to the customer.  And he was right - I see that now.

Customers look for quality, selection and prices in order to make their decision as to where to shop.  Sorry, but Customer Service is not at the head of the list.

The other factor that these two managers brought with them was teamwork.  Their staff was customer oriented and they took pride in how their department looked and they worked well together putting everyone on the same page - we had a purpose. 

Our managers kept us laughing and it kept up our spirits while we worked so hard to maintain a certain standard. 

But those managers are gone now, as is the original staff, and with them they took what was needed to succeed.  And it took no time at all to see how valuable they had been.

Not too long ago a friend of one of these managers was in the store and upon seeing me, he came over and we chatted.  I asked him how this particular manager was doing and he told me.  I told him how I missed this manager's expertise and definitely his jokes.  He responded by saying, "Oh, he doesn't joke anymore.

I said, "Mmm, that's okay we don't laugh anymore.'

Talk at ya later!



 

Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - 'UP CLOSE & PERSONAL'

On this Blog, I have written quite a few posts which describe the many benefits of good employees.  How they perceive their jobs, their work ethic, their frustrations along with the benefits they provide their employer.  And, on the flip side, I have described what is lost when they decide to leave.  But, no matter how many times I have witnessed this it hasn't been until now that I truly understood the benefits that the majority of these people have provided their employer.

It's only been the last couple of months that I have seen, first hand, what happens and how big a void is left when such an employee leaves.  From the organizational skills to the appearance of a department, each and every step takes a hit.  No longer is their a team effort in promoting a department only the frustration of picking  up the slack.  Not everyone is on the same page when it comes to quality control and no one has the same outlook on function and appearance.  The department becomes a tug of war and finger pointing is rampant.   But the most important issue is that there is no pride and no personal effort being put forth for customer satisfaction.  For an employee there is no satisfaction only frustration leaving a department disconnected and lost. 

What once was an important part of an employee becomes nothing more than a job to be done.

And although there are quite a few steps that lead up to this it is the loss of a good employee that caps it off.

What is more, is that employees hired on to fill the spots cannot begin to fill the void.  All too many do not have the work ethic that was provided by previous employees.

I have often wondered if it is the pride of an employee or the personal investment an employee makes in their job that provides this valuable quality.  Until now I would have chosen, pride.

But now, having been a witness from the beginning to the present, I firmly believe it is the person themselves that renders this quality.

And that, cannot be replaced.

Talk at ya later!