Retail Contrarian

Don't ask permission

I have a question: Is your customer's experience better when someone on your staff is involved in their experience than when you're not? 

Of course it is. You and your team have the knowledge, experience, and information that benefit your customer. You can help them find the right products(s) that meet their needs and wants.

If they're in a hurry, you can get them out the door faster. If they're not, you make their shopping experience much more enjoyable.

So if we add value to the customer's experience, why do we ask permission? Shouldn't we just do it?

We ask for permission more often than we know.

"How may help you?" That's asking permission.

"What can I help you find?" That's adding value.

 

"Can I answer any questions?" That's asking permission.

"That's a very popular widget." That's adding value.

 

"Would you like help carrying your purchase out?" That's asking permission.

"Let me get someone to carry your purchase to your car." That's adding value.

 

"Would like to see the matching wallet?" That's asking permission.

"Here's the wallet that goes with that bag." That's adding value.

 

That's why we don't ask for permission.

Even if a customer says "no" to our offer, we've at least demonstrated that we add value to his/her experience. That's something many of our competitors never do.

The same holds true for exceeding your customer's expectations. Don't ask for permission.

 

"Can I get you a bottle of water?" That's asking permission.

"Here's a drink for you to enjoy while shopping." That's exceeding the customer's expectations.

 

"I can call the other store to see if they have them in stock." That's asking permission.

"I'll call the other store to see if they have them in stock." That's exceeding your customer's expectations.

 

"I can call you a few week's before your wife's birthday." That's asking permission.

"Hello, Mr. Jones. I'm calling to see if I can help you pick out a couple of gifts for your wife's birthday." That's exceeding a customer's expectations.

 

Even if your customer declines your offer, you have still demonstrated your point of differentiation and your desire to WOW them. That's what makes you special.

So let me ask, are you asking for permission to deliver an extraordinary customer experience? 

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their results. Visit our website or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

Your 2012 resolutions

I know how busy for the last few weeks, so I've taken the liberty of putting together some potential resolutions for you and your team in 2012.

This is a fairly extensive list, and you're probably already very good at most of these things. Even so, there might be one or two areas where improvement will have a positive impact on your business.

If you will, let me know which of these are right for you, and tell me about any of your resolutions that I've missed.

1. Taking your customer experience to the next level. Your store/company's customer experience is good, but deep down you know it could be so much better.  

2. Improve your staff's sales abilities. Your staff is really nice and delivers a very good customer experience. Now you aim to translate that to higher conversion and average sales.

3. Better clienteling. As online sales continue to grow and outpace traditional retail, in some segments the personal relationship between the customers and staff will become vital to keeping and maximizing customers.

4. More relevant marketing. The good news is you've got your Facebook page up and you're posting on a fairly regular basis. The bad news is you have no idea the impact it's having on your business. That probably means it isn't having much.

5. Increase accountability within your store/company. This could be in all sorts of different areas. Maybe it's expecting more from your frontline employees. It might also be holding managers and district managers more accountable for each store's sales performance.

6. Move the underperformers up or out. If you're tired of talking about the same underperformers over and over, maybe 2012 is when you finally improve their performance or promote them to customer. Yes, this goes hand in hand with #5.

7. Challenge and grow your top performers. The worst thing you can do is to not continue to develop your top people. It might be time to either create a new program for high-potential employees or, at the very least, figure out a way to better leverage their talents.

8. Invest more time and focus on developing your people. Unless you're competing on price you're probably competing with your people and the service/experience they deliver. Are you spending the appropriate time and energy on them?

9. Be more comfortable giving people the direct feedback they need to be successful. One of the managers I work with recently said to me, "I can't believe I coach without thinking about it! It feels natural now to give feedback at anytime, to anyone, and not worry about how it will be taken. We all "get it" that it is just information we need to get the results we want!" That's how we all need to think.

10. Improve your hiring process. This could be interpreted to be about improving the quality of the people you hire, but I don't want anyone to think that you haven't hired good people. You just need to get better at your process so you can do that more consistently. 

11. Standardize your training and development. Chances are you and your stores/staff are good at training new people. The challenge is that no two new hire trainings are the same.

12. Work more strategically. Some people say you should work smarter but not harder. I think if you've survived the economy we've had for the last few years you're pretty smart. A lot of people they just need to work from a better-defined plan and then work the plan. 

13. Delegate more. I hesitated about putting this on the list since most of the time delegation isn't the real issue. It's usually either that people can't give up control or they don't have the quality of staff to delegate to. Whatever the reason, you probably need to do less.

14. Become a better merchant. Whether it's buying, visual presentation, or financial management, you know that if you improve in this area you'll see an improvement to the top and bottom lines. Frankly, I put this at the bottom of the list since I know that most of you I know are stronger at these things that the above items. But hey, they're your resolutions.

15. Be more action oriented. Your list of things you were going to do or wanted to do is probably longer than what you did. Don't feel bad, that's true for most of us. But did you do what you know you needed to do to be more successful? The road to mediocrity is paved with good intentions.

So let me ask, what will your resolution be for 2012?

 

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their results. Visit our website or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

Are you getting your additional 13%?

The 2011 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer finds that 70% of American consumers are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service.

13%! That's up almost 50% over last year, when 58% of consumers said they would spend an average of 9%.  So even more people are willing to spend even more money for excellent service.

Here's the news that's either good or bad, depending on the quality of your customer experience.  Four in ten (42%) said companies are helpful but don't do anything extra to keep their business.  And one in five (22%) think companies' take their business for granted.

The problem is that most retailers think about the experience, or talk about the experience, but don't have the discipline or leadership to actually deliver an excellent experience.  It comes down to basic fundamentals delivered with every customer.

1. The customer is the only highest priority.  Everything else comes second.

2. The staff is attentive and available.

3. The customer is acknowledged/welcomed upon entering the store.

4. The staff adds value to the customer's experience without pestering.

5. The staff is passionate about helping their customers make a purchase.

6. The staff is driven to meet, and attempts to exceed, their customer's expectations.

The key for specialty stores to maximize their opportunities is to execute those last three fundamentals extremely well.  If that doesn't happen employees are either perceived by customers as annoying, or they miss sales.

Here's my challenge for you.  Rate your store/company on a scale of 1-10 for each of the seven fundamentals, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best.  Take your lowest number and come up with two or three specific actions (things someone can see or hear) that each employee can take today to improve that fundamental.

So let me ask, are you getting that extra 13% from the 70% of customers who want that better experience? They don't give it to us....we have to earn it!

 

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their results. Visit our website or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

The 3 P's of the Engagement

One of the differences between average and extraordinary specialty retail associates is the ability to comfortably and effectively engage the customer. No, I'm not talking about the person who walks up and asks how they can help someone.   I'm talking about the associate who can create an immediate and effective relationship with a customer.

These are the three P's of Customer Engagement that extraordinary associates execute so well:

1. They are Personable - They're comfortable approaching and addressing customers.  It doesn't matter if the associate's personal style is energetic or laid back; they're friendly, outgoing, and good conversationalists.  

I've never forgotten the time I realized I'd made a mistake in hiring someone. When, after this woman been with us for about two months, I pulled her aside to discuss her performance she told me that she hated talking to people. When I asked her why she worked in retail she said that even though she hated it, it paid well. Needless to say, she did not remain our employ very long after this conversation.  Extraordinary associates like talking with people.

One thing I hear from time to time is that associates don't believe they can "be themselves" when asked to work within a structured approach to engaging the customer. I don't agree.  I see a structured approach as critical to a specialty retailer's success. To me, such an approach is a roadmap. Not a script. It guides the associate through the expected customer experience outcomes, but he/she is still at the wheel.  Structure should have no bearing on how personable someone is with a customer.

2. They make it Personal - Unlike associates who approach all customers the same way, extraordinary associates relate individually to each customer. They are truly interested in the person they are engaging.  They know that the more personal the experience, the more productive their time spent with the customer will be.  Even that is not quite enough, though.  Extraordinary associates seem to enjoy that personal connection as much as the customer does. They create a relationship.  It's no wonder that these are the same employees customers come back and ask for time and time again.

3. They engage with Purpose - Every conversation with a customer should be undertaken with purpose and a desired result in mind. Consider the initial small talk when a customer first enters the store. That initial non-sales related conversation helps breaks down barriers that naturally exist between customers and retail associates. It's almost like a verbal decompression that needs to happen before the customer and associate relationship to form. Many retail associates skip this small but important step and as a result they struggle to initially engage the customer.

Extraordinary associates use the initial small talk to begin learning about the customer.  They can discover if it is the first time the person has been in the store, what they might already own, the occasion that brings them out shopping, their name, and on and on.  If a sale takes one hundred steps, they're ten steps closer after that initial conversation. (By the way, that's a metaphor and not an endorsement for 100 steps to a sale.)

Every question is asked for a reason. Every answer from the customer is used to determine either another question or a comment.  It's also used to determine which product or products to show the customer.  It's almost like a chess game - except both the customer and the employee are on the same team.

As you work with customers ask yourself if you are nailing the three Ps - being Personable, Personal, and Purposeful.  If you are, you're sure to add another two Ps - Productive and Profitable!

 

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their results. Visit our website or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

Delivering a great experience with customer knowledge

The more you know about your customer, the easier it is to deliver a great experience and create a sale. There are three levels of knowledge you can obtain in every customer interaction.

The first level of knowledge is surface information. These are the basic things you learn about your customer at the start of her experience. You learn how her day is going, why she's out shopping, what she thinks about the weather, if she's been to your store before, etc.

While surface information is important in building a relationship with the customer, it is of little use in creating a sale.  Good specialty retail salespeople understand that it's vital to go to the next level if and when the customer is ready.

The second level of knowledge is customer specific.  At this level you begin to know who your customer is as you learn particular information about him/her.  You might learn his name, when he last shopped at the store, what products he owns or has bought at your store, the motivation for coming in today, etc.

Knowing these things enables you to personalize your customer's experience, show and recommend specific products he/she may choose to purchase, and definitely meet and hopefully exceed the customer's expectations.

How do you gain this knowledge?  Easily, by asking open-ended questions when connecting with your customer and when you're transitioning to talk about the products.

Here's a simple test to determine if you're reached level two.  If you were called away in the middle of working with a customer, could you easily introduce her to a colleague, mentioning two or three things about her that would enable your colleague to easily continue to serve the customer as well as you had been.

For example, "Bob, this is Sandy.  Sandy is a first time customer and is considering purchasing the blue widget I recommended for her friend Mary's fortieth birthday.  She's also thinking about treating herself to a green one."

The third and deepest level of knowledge is understanding your customer.  At this point you understand why your customer would choose a green widget over a blue one. You know why the customer would never buy the ABC brand widget over the XYZ brand.  You might also know where and when the customer will first use the widget.

Getting to level three is much easier than people know.  It is as simple as asking the customer what and why questions after he/she makes a comment and/or when you're showing the product.

"So why would choose the green one for yourself over the blue?"

"Why would you not buy XYZ?"

"What do you like or dislike about this widget?"

When you've reached level three you have created a level of trust and connectivity that elevates your customer's experience from ordinary to distinct and memorable.  You're also able to make more specific recommendations, find new products that he/she would never have even considered, and WOW him/her throughout his/her experience.. 

Not only do you positively win the customer at level three, but you'll also maximize your opportunity and create dramatically higher sales just by taking the time to make it through all three levels of customer knowledge.

So let me ask, at what level do you normally operate?  Are you at the surface, specifics, or do you make it to understanding your customer?

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their results. Visit our website or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

Five tips for ruining a customer's experience

On a recent shopping trip to the local mall, it seems like everywhere I went some small but annoying thing happened that negatively affected my experience. Since it happened so often I came to the conclusion that there must be some people who get up in the morning with the goal of ruining other people's shopping experience. I guess we all have a calling and it was obvious to me that these people found theirs.
 
I realize now that I've done a poor job of serving these people focused on delivering memorably poor retail experiences. (PARODY ALERT!) So, out of fairness, I present five tips for ruining a customer's experience.
 
1. Tell the customer everything you can about yourself even though it's clear they're not interested. If you're going to be stuck at work being miserable you might as well take some hostages, right? I met a saleswoman once who holds a black belt in too much information. In return for making one small purchase I was treated to her complete life story. It's amazing how many bad relationships that woman has had before the age of thirty. I'm told that the key to success with this bad experience tactic is that the minute the customer starts to share details about himself you ring him up and send him on his way. Who has time to listen to customers?
 
2. Continue to have personal conversations with your co-workers whenever a customer is near you. Why should you have to quit talking just because a customer wants to look at something you're standing next to? Give yourself extra points if you talk about recent drinking escapes or the last customer that was a pain in your you-know-what. Newer employees may have to make things up but that's okay, it's all in the name of bad customer service.
 
3. Answer the phone by speaking as fast as you can and then put the caller on hold. When you think about it, it's not really rude because you did say "please" before hitting the hold button. The only time you should avoid this tactic is when you're ringing up a sale and the phone rings. In that case by all means carry on a phone conversation, especially if it's a personal call.

During the call, avoid eye contact with your customer until you can see that he/she is obviously annoyed. Once you see the customer in front of you is about to lose it, smile innocently and shrug your shoulders in a way that places all the blame on the caller. It takes a lot of skill to deliver a poor experience!
 
4. Never give a customer an estimate of how long they'll have to wait. This is a favorite tactic of bad customer service people since it usually leads to a long slow steaming buildup in the customer. Most customers really don't mind waiting as long as they know roughly how long a wait it will be.
 
But when a customer has no idea how long a wait to expect the minutes can feel like hours. For this to be truly effective, avoid talking with your customer while they wait. For fun you can look her direction but the minute she makes eye contact quickly look away and go back to what you were doing.
 
5. When a customer says she's ready to buy something, ring her up quickly and get her out the door. I'm sure you've got more important things to do than help a customer find additional products that will enhance her purchase. If she needs accessories or additional products to go with her purchase she can always come back. Then again, she probably won't. I'm thinking that's the whole goal of bad service.
 
Obviously readers who want to deliver a memorable great experience will NOT be inclined to follow these tips. Whatever your experience goals, I hope you work for them with passion and a sense of purpose.

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their results. Visit our website or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

Your exceptional day

There are two ways to have an exceptional sales day. For most stores and sales associates, an exceptional day results from a combination of traffic, weather, specials, and luck. We'll call it TWSL.

For a few stores and sales associates, an exceptional day is the result of being exceptional.  While TWSL contributes to their results, the number one reason they have an exceptional day is because they've created it themselves.

Here are five actions to create an exceptional day:

1. Be determined.  Most people say things like, "Let's shoot for $5,000 today" or "I'm hoping to do $1,500."  Exceptional people use positive language. "We're doing at least $5,000 today" or "I'm selling a minimum of $1,500, but aiming for $2,500."

2. Focus on how.  When most people wait around for TWSL, determined teams and individuals are focusing on how they're going to create their exceptional results.  How will they drive in traffic?  How will they develop that relationship with their customers? How will they engage customers with products?  How will they enhance the sale so that customers love what they buy?  How will they succeed?

3. Deliver an exceptional experience. Retailers who don't elevate their customer experience are destined to become an Amazon.com showroom. You create an exceptional day by making sure that every customer leaves your store feeling like he/she just visited the best store in town, maybe the best store anywhere.

How you do that varies from store to store, but what doesn't vary is it's the result of exceeding each individual customer's expectations. A lot more stores think they do this than really do. Be positive you are.

4. Stop asking for permission to be exceptional.  Drop the "Would you" in your interactions with the customer.  This is a huge opportunity for many of you.

Stop: "Would you like a bottle of water?" 
Start: "Here's a drink for you to enjoy while you're shopping."

Stop: "Would you like to see that?"
Start: "You just have to see how beautiful that is on?

Stop: "Would you like me to get you a basket?"
Start: "Here's a basket to make your shopping easier."

5. Maximize every customer opportunity. Here's how.  After a customer leaves your store, quickly rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how well you maximized that customer opportunity. Ask yourself:

* How well did I deliver an exceptional experience?

* Did I get the customer's contact information so I can add her to our community?

* Did I recommend and show the products that he might like to own?

* Did I get the product on her, or in her hands, so she can experience how wonderful it is?

* Who stopped the sale? The customer or me?

* And most important of all, did my customer just leave believing she just experienced the best store in town and maybe anywhere?

I guarantee that if you honestly score yourself a 9 or 10 with every customer you will indeed create your exceptional day whatever the TWSL.

Is it easy? Of course not.  If it were, everyone would be doing it. 

Is it possible? Absolutely.  I saw it last week.

So let me ask, will YOU have an exceptional day today?

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies to improve their on-floor and management performance. Vist our website or call him at 866-535-6331 to discuss improving your company's customer experience and results.

Assorted musings from the road

Two weeks I was checking into a hotel and noticed that the front desk employees were all wearing big buttons with different numbers on them.  One person was wearing 26, another's button read 52, and the third was wearing 94.  I approached 94 in case they were displaying their recent mystery shop scores.

When I asked about the numbers the employees sighed almost in unison, and 94 told me the numbers were based on the 100 things that make their property unique.  Each employee then begrudgingly shared his/her number.

I like the idea of getting the employees to engage the customers on the uniqueness of the property, but very few people feel good about wearing company buttons.  I'll never forget the time I asked a store employee about the button he was wearing and he replied, "It should just read I've got a loser job."  I don't think he had a loser job, but the button sure did nothing for morale.

I'm not totally anti-button (although I'm close), but it was a great reminder that our employees need to feel good about the customer engagement and marketing programs we create.  I'm sure someone at this company's corporate office thought this number campaign was brilliant, but it didn't look so smart when #26 looked like she was being tortured as she shared her line on what made the property unique.

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One way we can differentiate ourselves in the market is with premium offers and services.  One of the fastest ways to disappoint, or even lose, a customer is to fall short in these areas.  Sadly, there are no points awarded for effort.

Here's an example from the road.  For the last few days I've been staying at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas.  One of the premium amenities is an in-room printer.  That's a big deal for a road warrior like me.  Now I can print client documents and boarding passes right in my room. Well, I could if the printer wasn't out of ink.

So now I'm disappointed that the printer doesn't work even though I didn't even expect a printer in my room.  There are no points for effort.

What are some of the premium or unique things that you offer?

Free gift wrapping, or offering to carryout a customer's purchase?  You can't be too busy to ask.

Free drinks?  Either you do it or you don't, but if you do and you don't offer a beverage to every customer you could lose one of those customers who isn't offered something to drink.

It's almost unfair that you could lose a customer because you didn't do something once that practically every other retailer doesn't bother to do at all.  Then again, we score the points and they don't.  Remember, there are no points for trying.

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A shuttle driver at the Doubletree hotel in San Antonio totally exceeded my expectations. I was told at the front desk it would be a twenty-minute wait for the next shuttle to the airport, but the driver who was standing there took the initiative to take me immediately since it was only a five minute ride. Talk about making my day!

Here's where it got strange. The front desk clerk actually questioned him in front of me about whether he really wanted to take me to the airport. Hello!!! I'm standing right here. One employee is trying to deliver a great experience and the other one is trying to talk him out of him it. You can't make this stuff up.

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I love when retailers promote in their newsletter and Facebook the things they do to make their stores a great place to work.  Daily Take Five reader Tanya Burmaster, owner of baby store Snuggle Bugz, recently posted this on her Facebook page.

Just heading out to make a surprise pancake breakfast for our staff meeting at the Burlington store this morning ... should be a blast! :)

Now check out a few of the responses:

Lisa G. I wish I worked for a company that did that for its staff! :)

Nicole G. I'd like to work at Snuggle Bugz. Sounds like a great place to be employed!

Oakville Moms. You guys are so nice to your staff! Great job!

Of course Tanya couldn't let that one slip by.  She responded:

Well, we are hiring!  If you know anyone that is looking for a job have them check out our website.

Imagine all of the positive impressions this post made.  The more you share about your store and your fabulous team, the stronger the connection you'll make with your customers.  Well, within reason.

Have a great week, and I hope to see you on the road.

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies to improve their on-floor and management performance. Vist our website or call him at 866-535-6331 to discuss improving your company's experience and results.

Simply Brilliant

Simplicity is a competitive advantage. Most people overcomplicate things, and when they do they lose their effectiveness.
 
Here are some examples I've seen and, sadly, even played a part in:
 
* An 18-page performance review.  You know you've complicated things when your thesaurus runs out of words to help you.
 
* An 88-slide fiscal strategy PowerPoint for a small retail chain.  By slide 36 I knew it was going to be a bad year.
 
* A checklist for a checklist.  You can't make this stuff up.
 
* I was once invited to a meeting to prepare for a planning meeting for a meeting.  I declined. I was too worried I'd be confused about which meeting we were talking about.
 
* A store's fifteen-steps of the sale.  I always figured by step eight the salesperson either quit on the sale or just told the customer to take it or leave it.
 
It's human nature to want more.  If that weren't the case Costco wouldn't have a business model and Dr. Drew wouldn't have a television show.
 
It's not easy to be simple.
 
It's easier to write a paragraph than a sentence.
 
It's easier to make the store look great by making twelve floor moves than three, but three gives you more time with the customer.
 
Why can't a performance review or a strategic plan be one page?  It might be hard to create but it would be a lot easier for everyone to understand and execute.
 
Don't confuse "keeping it simple" with "dumbing it down."  People know the difference. Dumbing down is not how you win friends and influence people.
 
Of course you'll be ineffective if you're too simple, but that's rarely the problem. Especially for owners, executives, and managers.
 
The simplest way to keep from overcomplicating things is to keep asking yourself, "Is this simply brilliant?"  If it's not, you need to determine what has to change and/or be removed.
 
Remember, simplicity is a competitive advantage.
 
So let me ask, can you be simply brilliant today?

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies to improve their on-floor and management performance. Vist our website or call him at 866-535-6331 to discuss improving your company's customer experience and results.

Tempted to text

During a recent shopping expedition I couldn't help but notice the number of store employees using cellphones while on the floor.  I wondered if these companies allow their employees to use their phones at work, or if these folks were just not following company rules.  I did ask one person if her company was okay with her checking email instead of paying attention to her customers.  Oh, if looks could kill!
 
So I instead of running the risk of being hit by a flying cellphone, I decided to ask the readers of My Daily Take Five instead.  Here's what they said.
 
1. Do you allow employees to carry their phones with them while on the floor?
    Yes     20%
    No      70%
    Other  10%  (Mostly in case of emergencies)
 
2. Do you allow employees to access their phones while on the floor?
    Yes     15%
    No      75%
    Other  10%  (Mostly in case of emergencies.)
 
3. Do you have a written policy on cellphone use at work?
    Yes     55%
    No      45%
 
4. How many locations do you have?
The size of the organization doesn't make much of a difference to whether or not cellphone use is allowed.  Not surprisingly, multi-store locations are more likely to have a written policy.
 
Most readers are pretty firmly against cellphone use by employees.
"Cellphone use on my clock is strictly prohibited.  They must be turned OFF upon arrival to work and all purses are left in the office to help prevent employee theft."
 
 "We would like to allow the use, but invariably they end up texting, gaming, or on Facebook and customer service suffers or is ignored completely."
 
A few people are fine with it. 
"I don't mind if my employees access their phones as long as there are no customers in the store."
 
"In today's world cells are an integral part of life. They are used in lieu of a watch. Kids and elderly parents need just one number for emergency contact. Quick texted messages are less disruptive than phone calls to/from the store.  But phone conversations are to be taken off the floor.  If phone isn't a disruption/ doesn't impede service, is ok."
 
One store manager even leverages the phone for good service:
"We let employees take pictures from their cell of product to email customers with new merchandise or product that they think their customer is interested in."
 
So what's the right answer? Should or shouldn't you allow cellphone use at work?
 
I'm torn on this one. Part of me says that we're all adults and we shouldn't have to have a rule. Shouldn't we be able to expect our employees to do what's best for the customer and the business? I wish it were that easy.
 
Here in Massachusetts, the legislature recently passed a new law prohibiting emailing or texting while driving.  Not even at a stoplight or in a traffic backup.  As a smartphone junkie, going cold turkey has been extremely difficult, I'll admit. I've had a few slips, but I'm doing my best!
 
The temptation to text, email, and Facebook is very tough to overcome.
 
I can't say what's right or wrong for your business, but let me share what I would do for my business. Again, it may or may not work for you.
 
First, I would have a written cellphone policy that is reviewed and signed by the employees annually.  It would be short and to the point, spelling out specifically what is and is not allowed.  I knew it was dumb and dangerous to text or read email while driving way before the state outlawed it, but my behavior only changed when the law did.
 
Next, I would have to go with a zero tolerance for phone use on the floor except in an emergency. I wish I could say otherwise, but I do think most people will check their phones when they shouldn't.  We see it all the time in our daily experiences.  Not long ago I encountered a Starbucks barista checking his phone while taking my order. The customer and his/her experience has to be our priority.
 
It's fine with me if people use their phones in the back on break and at lunch.  As a matter of fact, I might even consider putting a computer in the break room for employees to use during break and lunches. A number of my Daily readers didn't agree with me on this one,
 
I would also implement a two-strike policy.  Strike one, you're on probation.  Strike two, you're terminated.  I know that sounds harsh, but in reading my reader comments it seems that many of you are having a challenge with people following your policy.  That bothers me. Either people follow the rule or they don't.  Sadly, if there are no consequences for actions then some percentage of people won't follow the rules.
 
At the same time I would be extremely lenient when asked by an employee if they can check email.  I know we live in connected world, but at the same time we can't afford to let anything distract us from winning the customer, maximizing the opportunity, and creating an incredible store experience.
 
Yes, we live in connected world, but the most important connection we can make is with our customer, at every opportunity. The rest can, and will have to, wait.

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Doug Fleener is a proven retail and customer experience expert that helps companies to improve their on-floor and management performance. Vist our website or call him at 866-535-6331 to discuss improving your company's experience and results.