Policy is that we greet every customer within 60 seconds and ask them if they need assistance. If they say no, we let them know that we’re happy to help, and leave them to it. But since we can’t just stand behind the counter twiddling our thumbs (stock doesn’t put itself out, price tags don’t change themselves, and paperwork doesn’t fill itself in), we have to go and do other things- and we simply can’t be everywhere at once. Obviously we’re going to give priority to people who want our help, but there’s usually no way to know unless we ask them if they need any help in the first place…
Putting the sales staff in charge of security seems like poor policy to me. Don’t most stores have a security guard?
Well my preference, and I think most shoppers’ preference as well, is to go find what I want, and if I can’t find it, or have a question about it, I will simply approach you while you are changing price tags and ask you. I’d think it would be better for the store. Your way, you have to be diverted from your other duties to accost me as I walk in the door, then have to be diverted again if I have a question later. My way, you only have to assist me once. This is the model supermarkets use, and it seems to work fine. Nobody says, “May I help you?” when I walk in the supermarket door, but if I’m having trouble finding an item, any employee who is stocking shelves or whatever is happy to assist me.
I do understand the argument that by making your presence known, you are intimidating anyone who might be a potential shoplifter. It’s a pity that it also has the effect of intimidating the vast majority of shoppers who aren’t shoplifters.
[QUOTE=lowbrass]
Putting the sales staff in charge of security seems like poor policy to me. Don’t most stores have a security guard?/QUOTE]
No. Some do, but most don’t. Dedicated security staff costs money and most of the time there isn’t any need for them.
Not in this country. Only major department stores have their own security guards. Everywhere else, the staff do it- even places like Target, Big W, and Bunnings Warehouse.
We tried that, and the customers complained we were ignoring them. :smack: You can’t win some days.
All of my local supermarkets have someone who comes and asks if you need any help when you enter, letting you know what’s on special, and answering questions about what’s located in which aisle- as well as being able to ask the staff on the floor, too.
As I mentioned above, our customers have consistently indicated that they’re not intimidated by our presence, and indeed will complain or go elsewhere if they feel we’re ignoring them. Must be a cultural thing. Also, most of our customers don’t know anything about the products we sell (a very common question involves wanting an MP3 player, but they don’t have a computer or an internet connection, and then trying to explain to them why they’d be wasting their money).
Personally, I’d find staff following me around to be annoying and irritating. But I appreciate staff letting me know they’re available if I need a hand with anything, and then leaving me to it.
Martini Enfield - I see what’s going on now. There’s obviously a cultural difference here. We don’t do things the same in the U.S.; grocery store clerks don’t greet us at the door and say “May I help you?” Australians must have different preferences than Americans.
In the U.S. though, I think stores might be wise to consider not having their clerks pester the customers too much. It’s a big turn-off for many here. I see accounts here in this forum all the time of customers who will not give their business to stores that have overbearing sales staff.
And Target does have security staff in the U.S.; I have seen security agents at Target Stores, and have even personally spoken with one. They tend to place themselves in conspicuous locations, too, which in my opinion is a much better deterrent to theft than having sales clerks pester the customers. And I do not recall ever having a Target sales clerk ask “May I help you?” Which is why I enjoy shopping at Target.
In fact, what the low-service places have discovered is that people buy more when you allow them to browse on their own. Stores will even move their merchandise around periodically so that people can’t find what they’re looking for right away, and will expose themselves to more merchandise. I think it’s a dirty trick, but it obviously works, or they wouldn’t bother. I think places that hassle customers and won’t let them browse are shooting themselves in the foot.
I don’t even think they realize how much business they’re losing. On many occasions, when I look through a store window, I can see that aggressive sales clerk standing there, just waiting to pounce. I have pretty good intuition as to whether it’s the kind of store where the clerk isn’t going to leave you alone, and if it looks like one of those stores, I won’t even go in.
Most stores simply cannot afford dedicated security. A Radio Shack might have two or three employees in the store at any given time. Adding a security guard could increase their staffing costs by 30%, and staffing is typically the biggest expense the store has.
Even 7-11 trains their clerks to acknowledge customers when they walk in the door - it’s annoying to have to talk to someone every time I walk in the door of a convenience store, but they do it because studies show that it seriously cuts down on shoplifting.
[QUOTE=Sam Stone]
Most stores simply cannot afford dedicated security. A Radio Shack might have two or three employees in the store at any given time. Adding a security guard could increase their staffing costs by 30%, and staffing is typically the biggest expense the store has.
[/quoe]
I believe that argument more than the “we need to determine who’s going to need help” argument.
They may train them that way, but they don’t generally do that at 7-11’s around here. Perhaps they aren’t such sticklers as Radio Shack management are.