Friday, November 23, 2012

Where is the Complaint Department?

Let's get right to the point:  what happens when a customer complains about something which has happened in our store?
I need you to know that we rarely get complaints.....and that is because our staff is top-notch, committed to customer service and to making all our customers feel welcome, at home and treated well.
Yet sometimes something goes wrong.  It is usually a miscommunication or a misunderstanding which, with a little effort, can be turned around and the problem solved.
A critical aspect of making things right is listening to what our customer has to say and not working up an excuse while the customer is complaining.  Believe me, that can sometimes be difficult.  It seems personal, even though it isn't usually so.  The complaint can be hurtful, can bruise our egos and we have to learn to separate the complaint from our personal feelings.

Now, a little secret...one us folks in retail don't like to admit.  Sometimes a customer is simply in a bad mood, crabby, and gruff and when he or she comes into the store, that customer is looking for a reason to complain.  And how do I know that?  Cuz sometimes I am just that sort of person, too.  Every day is not always the best for all of us and when things go wrong, and we are walking around with a black cloud over our heads, we can haul off and get upset about the least little thing.
Occasionally we forget that the person on the other side of the counter is not to blame for our bad mood.  And sometimes we forget that the person who is ringing up our purchases is equal to us in every way.  There is a kind of hierarchy in the retail world which may place the worker at a less important level than the customer.
In reality, we are all customers of some store.  We all want to be treated respectfully.  We all want to get the best assistance possible.  We all want compliments and praise for the choices we make.
In our case, as a local retail store, there is no far away corporate office.  There is no CEO somewhere in a highrise building we can email or write to with our complaints.  We are onsite everyday.  So when there is a problem, we are right on it, to solve it and put things in their proper place.
In this holiday season, when we are under a little stress, when there doesn't seem to be enough time to get everything done, when we don't know if we are coming or going, we can be a little gruff.  Take a deep breath and put that smile on your face.  It means a lot to the person behind the register. 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Shop Locally Day in Tulsa!!

Somebody, somewhere has declared that Saturday, November 24 is "Shop Locally Day".
Hey, I am all for that and yet I find it sort of strange that we have to declare a day set aside for patronizing our local merchants.
Yes, it is true that occasionally I order a book or cd online.  In defense of myself I do this because local stores aren't carrying the book or cd I am looking for. 
But since I am a local merchant I am tuned into shopping locally.
I also remember the day when only the Sears catalogue was used to order merchandise.  I remember C.R. Anthony's, Renberg's, Borden's Cafeteria and the Golden Drumstick.  I remember a time when everyone shopped locally and Tulsa had many local merchants.  So it comes naturally to me to look around my hometown for clothes or shoes or accessories, books, music, etc. and purchase these items in local stores.
I am not a grump about the internet or the web or catalogues that come through the mail.  This is our world and it is a great big open place to live in.
Hey, even today I sent a text message to a friend who is in Israel and then I sat back and admired how wonderful it was to do that.
Yet I still think it is a bit strange that all of us need to be reminded to look around Tulsa and patronize our local merchants.  Hopefully the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, our elected officials, our local newspapers and magazines are always promoting Tulsa merchants.  People say that small business is the back bone of our country. 
My back bone occasionally gets a little sore when friends and customers tell me they bought something on line when I know for a fact they could have purchased it at a store in Tulsa.
I suppose the day is coming when purchases made online will be taxed just like purchases made locally.  What do you think might happen then?  Will there need to be a campaign to support local merchants or does it really matter to most of us if we pay tax or not?
We could talk about where all that tax money goes....that's a subject for another time and place.
I say:  get out on Saturday and stop at all the local merchants you can.  Spend a little of your holiday money in their stores.  We'll be looking for you at Sweet Tooth.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

What is Shopping Music?

For several years now, Jeff and I have had conversations about the music we play in the store.   The debate was on the subject of "What is Shopping Music?"
Years ago, just because Jeff is still a theatre techie at heart, he thought it would be fun, for example, to play Sound Effects at Halloween.  You know, creaking doors, ghosts flying, squealing, etc.  Somehow I felt that such "sounds" would send people straight out the door.  I couldn't imagine that Sound Effects would put people in a shopping mood.
At Christmas time, Jeff liked to find the most unusual holiday music.  It might be lyrics of a humorous type put to familiar Christmas music.  It might be some sort of jazzed up version of "O Holy Night".  It might be dogs barking to the tune of "Jingle Bells" or cats meowing in the spirit of "Here Comes Santa Claus".
Holy cow!  This music would really grate on my nerves.
I spoke up...not unusual for me...and told Jeff that these tunes were not "Shopping Music".
To me, music to shop by are melodies and even lyrics that are familiar to most people.  Shopping Music is songs that cause people to hum the tunes or even quietly sing along under their breath.  Of course, my generation is more likely to remember 50's and 60's rock and roll, which to our parents was music that was quickly turned off when it came on the radio.
In fact, I remember when KBEZ on Tulsa radio played only music, no lyrics.  That was my Mom's favorite station.
Someday I suppose Rap and Alternative and Whatever will worm their way into "Shopping Music" and in some stores now those tunes are perfectly acceptable.
Just the other day I was working at the Gift Register at Sweet Tooth.  I noticed a woman walking around, shopping.  Pretty soon I could hear her humming to the music playing in our store.
Hoorah!  I had triumphed!!  Here was the living proof that my definition of Shopping Music had won over Sound Effects and crazy Christmas lyrics.
And just one more thing.  Have you ever been in a store where NO MUSIC is playing?  It is totally weird, causing me to turn into myself, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible (did I spell that word right?).  We are just too accustomed to having our lives accompanied by sound to live in a completely soundless world.  And as for shopping...I'll take that lady humming to the music any day over the store where quiet is so overwhelmingly loud!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Delivering the Goods!!

Sweet Tooth has entered that time of the year when retailers either make it or break it.  You've heard of Black Friday, haven't you?  The Friday following Thanksgiving day?  Traditionally this is the first day of the year when retailers move from being "in the red" to being "in the black".
Of course it isn't always the case but the 4th quarter is truly the best time of the year for retailers.  Manufacturers and vendors work all year long to court and woo retailers.  In this case, retailers are the customers and manufacturers and vendors work hard to encourage us to purchase their products to sell during 4th quarter.  They begin in January to point us retailers in that direction.
We can talk about how American culture has turned the 4th quarter into a shop and drop season.  We can also talk about how much fun it is to purchase a gift for family and friends which truly puts a smile on their faces and warms their hearts.
Through all the pressures of holiday shopping, there is often that moment when we find pure pleasure in knowing that we have found just the right gift for that person who means so much to us.  Personally, I like making my shopping list.  I like reviewing it to see if it is balanced and authentic, if it represents how I feel about those who are on the list.  I like purchasing the gifts and putting them in our Gift Tub and then one day bringing that Tub into the house for the final wrapping and taping the gift tag on each package.
At Sweet Tooth, we joke a lot about all the glitter that ends up on the carpet in the store during the 4th quarter.  Occasionally pieces of glitter are there for months afterwards.  We talk about how the "aisles" in the store get smaller at this time of the year.  We worry about whether we have room for all the candy and gifts we have stored in our garage and now need to find just the right place in the store.
But nothing compares to the fun we have when our customers begin searching Sweet Tooth for just the right gift.  Actually we have already sold 3 boxes of Ribbon Candy to a customer who came in last week to see if that wonderful candy had arrived.  It was our first sale of the season!  And as he walked out the door, I think I saw a little satisfied smile on his face...just the right thing for him.
So come on Black Friday.  There is nothing better than seeing a customer leave our store with a smile and a wave goodbye.  We are doing our job....who says there is no Santa?  We have made our list early in the year, for all those people who count on Sweet Tooth and even without a sleigh and Rudolf, Sweet Tooth is delivering the goods.