Some retail employees only start thinking about their job when they walk in the door, stop thinking about it when they walk out and think as little about it as possible in between. They take their Shop Assistant's Industrial Award literally. They assist the shop.
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They confuse themselves with the shop counter.
They count the hours until time to go home, calculate the days until their day off, compute whether their money will last until pay day and estimate the weeks until their holidays. They count the number of good-looking passersby, the flies in the window, the phone interruptions and the number of stupid customers.
They'd be happier if nobody came in and messed up their displays or fiddled with the stock.
They might be very nice people but in a business they are as effective as shoulder pads in a bikini.
And then there are salespeople - show biz people - customologists!
When you meet a real salesperson you see the difference straight off.
I was scheduled to deliver a number of seminars at a Business Expo in Canberra. Arriving at th hotel that night and being told that I wasn't due until the following day and that the hotel was full (another story...) the expo organisers and I decided to go across the road to a restaurant while the hotel sorted itself out.
Arriving at the restaurant a young man greeted us at the door. 'Do you have a table for three?' we asked. He sized us up (rather well, I might add).
'For you three? Certainly not.'
I was standing at the door, holding it open (it was winter...). I gave him 'the look'.
'Are you going to shut the door, or what?' he asked.
'I'm not shutting the door until you give us a table,' I retorted.
'Would the table in the window suit Madam and her friends?'
'Certainly would. Thank you very much,' silently chuckling to myself.
From that moment on we had the best service, best food, best time.
And watching the staff who were 'on' that night - all young, gregarious, obviously enjoying themselves and their customers, it became apparent that we were in the hands of a showman, a true customologist.
And the customers - us included - loved every minute of it!
If you get to Canberra, go to Belluci's in Woden and ask for Sean. www.bellucis.net.au.
Debra's Blog

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