Everyone's a salesman!
Every one's a salesman. That's a lesson that must be learnt.
Compare my experiences with two major retail stores in Bangalore. One's the famed Big bazaar that sells decent quality items at competitive prices. The others is 'Total' that tries to be and maybe even better what Big Bazaar does. On a personal note the shopping ambiance at Total appeals to me over Big Bazaar. But this post is more about shop floor personnel service.
There are some items, especially groceries that don't come pre-packed with a price tag, at both stores. The shopper picks the quantity he needs, say for a grocery item, takes it to a counter where its weighed and tagged with a price. Now, I've had the experience of forgetting to tag an item, and coming to know of it only at the checkout counter. But, what surprised me is the reaction of the checkout billing clerk at both stores. At Big Bazaar, the billing clerk kept the non-tagged item aside, proceeded to bill me for all the other items. At Total, The billing clerk asked one of shop floor personnel to take the non-tagged item to the weighing counter, tag it and bring it back. After this was done he billed me for all the items that I had picked. What's even more interesting to note that in the case Big Bazaar, the check out line had just me in it, and so there was no hurry for the clerk to bill me as quickly as possible.
What's the result of this experience? Well, the 'act' at Total benefits both the shopper and the company. The shopper gets to take that item home, which he had forgotten to tag. The Retailer gets the sale price for the item in question. Moreover, the shopper leaves with a pleasant experience to remember that can get him to come back to the store.
In most places, selling is seen as a job only for the salesman. That's the biggest flaw with which any business firm can operate. From the CEO to the salesperson, every one's actually a salesman. A firm and its employees exists because customers exist. That 'eternal truth' must never be forgotten.
Compare my experiences with two major retail stores in Bangalore. One's the famed Big bazaar that sells decent quality items at competitive prices. The others is 'Total' that tries to be and maybe even better what Big Bazaar does. On a personal note the shopping ambiance at Total appeals to me over Big Bazaar. But this post is more about shop floor personnel service.
There are some items, especially groceries that don't come pre-packed with a price tag, at both stores. The shopper picks the quantity he needs, say for a grocery item, takes it to a counter where its weighed and tagged with a price. Now, I've had the experience of forgetting to tag an item, and coming to know of it only at the checkout counter. But, what surprised me is the reaction of the checkout billing clerk at both stores. At Big Bazaar, the billing clerk kept the non-tagged item aside, proceeded to bill me for all the other items. At Total, The billing clerk asked one of shop floor personnel to take the non-tagged item to the weighing counter, tag it and bring it back. After this was done he billed me for all the items that I had picked. What's even more interesting to note that in the case Big Bazaar, the check out line had just me in it, and so there was no hurry for the clerk to bill me as quickly as possible.
What's the result of this experience? Well, the 'act' at Total benefits both the shopper and the company. The shopper gets to take that item home, which he had forgotten to tag. The Retailer gets the sale price for the item in question. Moreover, the shopper leaves with a pleasant experience to remember that can get him to come back to the store.
In most places, selling is seen as a job only for the salesman. That's the biggest flaw with which any business firm can operate. From the CEO to the salesperson, every one's actually a salesman. A firm and its employees exists because customers exist. That 'eternal truth' must never be forgotten.
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