I’ve promised to take the team out of the office for the morning to visit some of the stores so they can hear and see first hand what it’s like at the coalface of retailing. I must admit, I do have a secondary reason for suggesting the visits and that’s so they can appreciate the implications at store of what happens when a mistake is made.
It’s one of those things, I don’t reckon you can really understand until you’ve been on the wrong side of a customers wrath in store when they can’t find brand X which they’ve been buying for years – they don’t care that there was only them and one other person in Toowoomba who was buying the product and that’s why it’s no longer on the shelf.
We go into the first store and within 2 minutes of being there it becomes evident that there’s a bit of a question mark from the store as to exactly what we’re doing there, what we’re spying on and why we’re invading their environment. I wouldn’t say the atmosphere was exactly unfriendly but I don’t imagine we were top of the list of popular visitors for the morning.
Having a look down our aisle it quickly becomes evident that the most recent layout hasn’t been implemented yet although it was despatched to stores 5 weeks ago. I’m just wondering how to broach this potentially thorny subject with the manager when I’m interrupted by a lovely old lady demanding to know why she can no longer buy her favourite brand of corn plaster in the store. I hastily explain that while I don’t buy the category I will take her query back to the relevant buyer. This then sparks a long discussion on all aspects of the store covering everything from general range to the size of the bbq chickens. I surreptitiously look around for back-up only to catch sight of the rest of the team hiding behind a pillar laughing. I resolve immediately to offer their services to assist in cleaning the stores chiller cabinets. Nothing like a bit of hands on experience…
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