In the world of retail it can be a bumpy ride, so get ready for a whole host of ups and downs along the way. You’ll come across all sorts of experiences that you hadn’t expected out of the retail life, and we’re focusing on them today. I’ve picked out six examples of things you’re never told when starting a retail business. Let’s take a look!
You’ll Never Eat Lunch Properly Again
Ah, the days of sitting in an office and taking the time to eat your lunch are over. Here’s the more likely scenario. From now on, you’ll be rushing to the local store while a colleague takes over your duties. You’ll pick up a quick sandwich and rush back as quickly as you can. Then, you’ll be asked to deal with some customers, and by the time they leave, your lunch will have gone cold/stale. One bite, and you’ll spot a customer in need of help once more. Welcome to retail.
Your Restrooms Have A Big Effect On Your Success
Who’d have thought that something as simple as a restroom would have such a big impact on retail success? You better make sure you have a customer restroom in the first instance, or your staff one will be taken over regularly. If you want to avoid bad reviews and complaints, you’ve got to account for everyone. Before long, you might be buying baby-related equipment at BabyChangingStation.com or disabled equipment at Home-Med-Equip.com. If you don’t, you could be faced with a barrage of customer unhappiness.
Consistency Is Never Guaranteed
You know how people say that Saturdays are great days for retail and something like a Tuesday rarely is? That’s true and everything, but retail doesn’t always follow the rules. Sure, Saturday might be a great day for business, but it also might be a horrendous one. You can’t bank on anything or you’ll be constantly disappointed.
The Customer ISN’T Always Right
I don’t want to teach you bad habits because it’s always a good idea to satisfy your customers’ needs. But, you’ll quickly come to realize that the customer isn’t always right, even if they think they are. As explained at PositiveSharing.com, there are a lot of reasons why this is. You’re going to have to let customers down gently in this instance. Their obsession with being ‘right’ will often cause disagreements.
One Bad Experience Could Ruin It All
If you achieve lots of success in the early days of your retail business, you have every right to be happy. However, you should never bask in your glory and let your standards slip. It’s true that just one bad experience could potentially ruin your entire company. You never just know who that person is and how powerful a presence they might have. One negative tweet could find its way to hundreds of thousands of people instantly. To avoid problems like this make sure you automate as much as possible, so that human mistakes aren’t easily made. To begin with, you’ll need a code scanner to avoid pricing mistakes.
You’ll Lie…And You’ll Feel Bad About It
I HATE to say this. At some point in your retail career, you’ll lie to a customer out of desperation. You’ll instantly feel bad about it, and any sale that generates from it will feel like an unfair one. As long as you do things in the right way, you shouldn’t ever need to lie. Put the customer first and understand that desperation won’t achieve long-term success.