A friend of mine once said that retail would be so much easier if it wasn't for the people and the products. Sometimes he would add, "And the product part isn't that difficult." Of course he was joking. Okay, maybe there were days when he was only half joking.
In my years of managing a retail staff I've had the privilege of working with some wonderful people. These are people that I thoroughly enjoyed working with. I'm still friendly with a number of former colleagues today. Of course these aren't the people to whom my friend was referring.
He was talking about people like James. (Name changed to protect the guilty.) James was a full-timer who constantly went back and forth between being the nicest guy in the mall and the crankiest. What made James really difficult to work with is that he could switch back and forth faster than you or I could wipe down a cashwrap. James was a great salesperson but, to say the least, a challenging teammate.
Got any cranky people on your staff?
I do - and since I usually work alone we know who the cranky one is!
We're all human. We all have up days and down days, but when an employee has too many down days or too many moody days it becomes a problem that impacts the entire team. And when that happens it impacts the quality of the customer experience and ultimately sales. Not good!
Here are few tips to deal with Mr. or Ms Cranky:
1. Don't make excuses for them. We all have things going on in our lives. Some people from time to time have a lot to deal with outside and sometimes inside the store, but that still doesn't give anyone the permission to act in a way that negatively impacts the rest of the team. That doesn't mean we're not empathetic, but it does mean that we can't allow anyone to constantly display behaviors that impact the store in a negative manner.
2. Address the cranky (or worse) behavior as soon as it becomes a problem. Most of us can have some (sometimes justifiable) cranky moments from time to time but the moment passes and we move on. But when Mr. or Ms. Cranky can't seem to stop sharing the bad attitude and dark cloud you need to take action.
3. Help Mr. or Ms Cranky turn it around. Let them know what behaviors you are seeing, the negative impact it is having on the team, your expectations for the behaviors to stop, and your confidence that the individual can snap out of it.
You can't say, "Whoa, someone got up on the wrong side of bed" and expect things to get better. Instead you might say, "I notice that when talking with so and so you were extremely short with them and were very dismissive. (behavior) Because of that everyone is avoiding you and it's impacting how we work together today. (impact) I need you to be more respectful with your teammates (expectations) and I'm sure that won't be a problem for you. (stated confidence)"
Chances are Mr. or Ms. Cranky doesn't even realize they're acting this way because they're in such a cranky mood, and they'll be even a bit embarrassed that you've had to address it. The really cranky employees sometimes get even crankier as a result of your talk. You may need to move forward with a more formal corrective action approach with these folks.
Here's the bottom line. If Mr. or Ms. Cranky's behavior is disruptive to the store, then it doesn't matter how good they are or what position they're in. They're hurting the team, and as a leader you can't allow that to happen. More important, you have to be positive that you're not Mr. or Ms. Cranky.
So let me ask, are you addressing any cranky employees and helping them turn it around?
- "I was blown away. Thanks for your time and effort to make retail a better place to work." - Jim
- "Your seminars were amazing. I took tons of notes and have already planned a management meeting, met with my team, and we are implementing the POPS as a team." - Roxanne
- "This meeting was just what I needed to get me going. Thank you." - Lori
- "Your insights in retailing were very motivating to me. I'm back and ready to execute what I learned." - Jane
Comments