Working in retail can be demanding however that your role offers the opportunity to interact with many people. Therefore, being able to excel as a retail employee will help you leave a lasting impression. After all, working in retail can help you develop transferable skills that you can apply to any future job. So here are some top tips for working in retail that will help you impress your manager, support your coworkers and offer good customer service.
Know the store layout
No matter the size of the store whether it’s a small shop or a large supermarket, you should learn the layout of the store. During your first few weeks spend some time familiarizing yourself with the layout of the shop floor. Learn where each category of product is located, the location of the nearest toilet and any other important areas of the store. This way you’ll be able to point customers in the right direction and help them find what they are looking for.
In the storeroom you should know where everything is kept and the location of each item of stock. This will reduce the amount of time you spend searching for products for customers.
Learn the company policies
Every store will have policies and processes for things such as refunds, exchanges, accepted payment methods, selling models or discounts. Some of these will be based on consumer rights laws and others will be the company’s own policies. Make sure you learn all of the company policies, what is allowed and what isn’t allowed and how each process works. It is likely this will be part of your induction but if not be sure to ask.
Being clued up on the policies means if a customer has a query you will be able to handle the situation yourself. Plus, having knowledge of the store’s policies will likely improve your confidence whilst serving customers.
Keep busy
In any retail store, there will be times when the shop is quiet with not many customers. Use this time to tidy stock away, carry out some cleaning, tidy the shelves or other tasks that often get forgotten about when the store is busy. Not only will this make your shift go faster it will avoid all of these tasks being left to just before the store closes. Plus, if you carry out these tasks without being prompted it will show your manager that you can take the initiative and keep yourself busy without them having to ask you.
Build positive relationships with coworkers
Like any other work environment, working in retail means you will get to work closely with lots of other people. Spend some time getting to know your coworkers and building positive relationships with them. This means you are far more likely to enjoy going to work each day and will find it easy to work with everyone. Plus, having a good working relationship with your coworkers means you’ll be able to rely on each other for help when the store is very busy or if you need support.
More like this: How to give good customer service
Work on your customer service skills
One of the key skills for anyone working in retail is customer service. Being able to provide a great customer experience is vital when working in a retail environment. Greet every customer as they enter the store, help them find what they are looking for, deal with any queries professionally and be friendly and polite to every person in the store.
It is easy to tell when someone is disinterested or disengaged with their job. Even if you are not planning on working for retail forever or you don’t want to work that particular Saturday afternoon, don’t let your feelings show.
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