WC Blog 740
Stop Shoplifting -3
Sensormatic hard tags-3
Building A Culture Of Customer Service To Stop Shoplifting And Grow Sales Part 2
Most people in retail management are at least familiar with Sensormatic hard tags and what they do. Whether they choose to use them in their stores to improve their sales and profits may be another story. Most store managers will also pay lip service to the value of customer service in a store but I am not convinced all of them really know what great customer service looks like. I thought about this following a recent trip to a fast food restaurant and experienced what great customer service truly looks like. I shared this in Part 1 of this series. This business was extremely busy and had the employees been stressed out or short tempered it would have been understandable. Instead, the employees were smiling, engaging customers and there was plenty of help available. The culture of customer service in this restaurant should be emulated in every retail store. I can assure you that if you apply this model in your retail business you will boost sales and you will enhance the anti-theft capabilities of your Sensormatic security system (pssst…if you don’t have a Sensormatic system we will talk about that too).
What is it that made this store stand out from its competitors and what is management doing to make it happen? I would suggest that the employees were happy. The crowd was not a bother, a challenge perhaps but not a bother. I saw a manager (I’m pretty sure it was a manager) who was smiling, talking to his team encouraging them and giving direction but was pleasant in the process. This type of leadership is infectious and creates the climate for that shift or the day. What kind of leaders are working for you? What is your leadership style? How do YOUR managers cope under pressure? I would also say that based on the staffing level on the day I was in this establishment management had planned on a large influx of customers. Do you consider how you will stop shoplifting or the increased opportunity for it on busy days? Do you do anything differently to support increased patronage in any way? If you aren’t properly staffing you are hurting yourself.
When you have enough coverage it takes a strain off of your workers and they don’t feel overwhelmed. I have no idea what tools this business uses to plan but retailers can plan for business by using customer counting devices on their Sensormatic towers. Using the information from these counters can aid in planning and scheduling based on your customer foot traffic. Know when the peak times are for shoppers (and shoplifters) and you can schedule staff more effectively. Your employees can assist more patrons on the floor, increasing add-on sales and it also serves to stop shoplifting since crooks don’t want the attention. You can also have enough front end coverage that someone can respond if Sensormatic hard tags set off alarms be it by an attempted theft or cashier failure to remove a tag. Paying customers are less likely to be angry at an alarm activation if someone friendly responds to the doors quickly. Again, good customer service goes a long way to maintain happy customers who will return to a store to shop. Bill Bregar the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) recognizes how important proper staffing is to customer service, how it impacts sales AND can stop shoplifting. That is why he strongly recommends his customers install door counting sensors. Often the sensors can be seamlessly incorporated into existing systems. If you have avoided purchasing a system because you fear the cost will be out of your budget try looking at the LPSI ROI Calculator on their website, you will be very surprised at how affordable it is.
I am going to add one more thought on the importance of focusing on customer service in retail. When employees aren’t happy they don’t care as much about the tasks they need to accomplish. Associates may not take time to properly place Sensormatic hard tags on merchandise or they miss an occasional piece of merchandise. Cashiers are careless in removing hard tags leading to false alarms. A cashier with a negative attitude leaves a bad impression on customers. Any of these can be a cause for shoppers to decide not to return to a store. Be sure to create an atmosphere in your store where your employees are happy and encouraged to perform their best. Staff the building to minimize the stress level and your employees will appreciate it. As they do the level of customer service will improve and that will boost sales and reduce shortage and that is what your goal should be.
Need information on Sensormatic hard tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Most people in retail management are at least familiar with Sensormatic hard tags and what they do. Whether they choose to use them in their stores to improve their sales and profits may be another story. Most store managers will also pay lip service to the value of customer service in a store but I am not convinced all of them really know what great customer service looks like. I thought about this following a recent trip to a fast food restaurant and experienced what great customer service truly looks like. I shared this in Part 1 of this series. This business was extremely busy and had the employees been stressed out or short tempered it would have been understandable. Instead, the employees were smiling, engaging customers and there was plenty of help available. The culture of customer service in this restaurant should be emulated in every retail store. I can assure you that if you apply this model in your retail business you will boost sales and you will enhance the anti-theft capabilities of your Sensormatic security system (pssst…if you don’t have a Sensormatic system we will talk about that too).
What is it that made this store stand out from its competitors and what is management doing to make it happen? I would suggest that the employees were happy. The crowd was not a bother, a challenge perhaps but not a bother. I saw a manager (I’m pretty sure it was a manager) who was smiling, talking to his team encouraging them and giving direction but was pleasant in the process. This type of leadership is infectious and creates the climate for that shift or the day. What kind of leaders are working for you? What is your leadership style? How do YOUR managers cope under pressure? I would also say that based on the staffing level on the day I was in this establishment management had planned on a large influx of customers. Do you consider how you will stop shoplifting or the increased opportunity for it on busy days? Do you do anything differently to support increased patronage in any way? If you aren’t properly staffing you are hurting yourself.
When you have enough coverage it takes a strain off of your workers and they don’t feel overwhelmed. I have no idea what tools this business uses to plan but retailers can plan for business by using customer counting devices on their Sensormatic towers. Using the information from these counters can aid in planning and scheduling based on your customer foot traffic. Know when the peak times are for shoppers (and shoplifters) and you can schedule staff more effectively. Your employees can assist more patrons on the floor, increasing add-on sales and it also serves to stop shoplifting since crooks don’t want the attention. You can also have enough front end coverage that someone can respond if Sensormatic hard tags set off alarms be it by an attempted theft or cashier failure to remove a tag. Paying customers are less likely to be angry at an alarm activation if someone friendly responds to the doors quickly. Again, good customer service goes a long way to maintain happy customers who will return to a store to shop. Bill Bregar the founder of Loss Prevention Systems, Inc. (LPSI) recognizes how important proper staffing is to customer service, how it impacts sales AND can stop shoplifting. That is why he strongly recommends his customers install door counting sensors. Often the sensors can be seamlessly incorporated into existing systems. If you have avoided purchasing a system because you fear the cost will be out of your budget try looking at the LPSI ROI Calculator on their website, you will be very surprised at how affordable it is.
I am going to add one more thought on the importance of focusing on customer service in retail. When employees aren’t happy they don’t care as much about the tasks they need to accomplish. Associates may not take time to properly place Sensormatic hard tags on merchandise or they miss an occasional piece of merchandise. Cashiers are careless in removing hard tags leading to false alarms. A cashier with a negative attitude leaves a bad impression on customers. Any of these can be a cause for shoppers to decide not to return to a store. Be sure to create an atmosphere in your store where your employees are happy and encouraged to perform their best. Staff the building to minimize the stress level and your employees will appreciate it. As they do the level of customer service will improve and that will boost sales and reduce shortage and that is what your goal should be.
Need information on Sensormatic hard tags? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
