A year like no other The last twelve months have been really challenging for our retail shops and staff . Three of our shop managers tell us candidly about the highs and lows, and why every sale is now more rewarding than ever

A year like no other...

Sorry CLOSED WE’RE

DEVON AIR AMBULANCE

...but we’ll be back soon!

Three national lockdowns in twelve months have been hard for all of the staff at Devon Air Ambulance, but probably the most impact has been felt by our retail staff . They are a gregarious, outgoing bunch of people, who love interacting with customers and our volunteers and the variety ‘non-stop’ world of charity retail. With our shops closed, many of our retail staff have been furloughed and others have been asked to step outside their ‘comfort zone’ to support our new online shopping operations

Retail Operations Manager Chrissie Peel talks to three of our shop managers to get their candid views on what work has been like since the pandemic started, about the steep learning curve they have all been on and some of the highs – and lows – of a year in retail like no other.

Nick Rous I started work for Devon professional photos of stock and how to ‘sell’ a product without any of the usual customer interaction and feedback. I’ve even Air Ambulance six years become one of the Charity’s ‘Digital Champions’, a group of ago, as the manager of the newly opened staff members who look to encourage others and give them South Molton shop. the confidence to explore new ways of working with IT, so I I have always had an interest in hope I have been able to help my fellow retail managers over technology, so I am now leading on the last year. the online website using the skills and Maintaining the high quality feel of our website has been really knowledge I have learned over my years challenging, but I think we have all done a great job and we of work. However, even though I was pretty hot on are very proud of how professional it now looks. I now spend a IT before this happened, it doesn’t mean the last year hasn’t lot more time staring at a screen, which is very different from been without its challenges! my previous experience in DAA retail when you never stopped Working online has been a really big eye-opener for me, and moving and every day was full of variety. I’ve had to really enhance my multi-tasking and ‘juggling’ skills, When you spend so much time making the website look particularly around how the back office and stock is managed. professional, it is amazing how rewarding and satisfying it can Putting our retail operations online during the pandemic has two be when you make a sale, however small. It makes all the major benefits, not only can we reach a much wider audience hours of sorting, photographing, researching and uploading – particularly for our high quality items – but it has also helped worthwhile! secure our retail income that would otherwise have been lost. And your favourite item ? I’m a sucker for a checked shirt, and On a really positive note, I feel I am even more confident there’s a particularly nice orange and blue one by Sonoma for now and I’ve also developed new skills, like how to take sale now. Retail

Meet: Chrissie Peel - Retail Operations Manager

Julie O’Sullivan

I was lucky enough to be taken on by DAA as Assistant Manager at Topsham about 3 months ago, having worked for twenty four years for an importing business. I think it has been great how DAA has embraced e-commerce and working in the digital world, I particularly like the homewares we have for sale in our online shop. I enjoy researching each item, although I have found taking professional quality photographs of items is much harder than you might think! It is particularly challenging when you have to photograph glassware or anything with glass in it, like a framed print, because of the reflections from the shop ceiling lights. As Homewares was the most recent ‘department’ to go live, it has been great to see how the whole online shop has developed. Like Nick, I love it when we get an order for an item I have researched and photographed – I think ‘I did that’! which is really rewarding. And your favourite item ? As a fan of Great British Bake Off, I really liked a hand-made cake dome we had for sale recently.

Sarah Woolfenden

I started working part-time at our new Heavitree shop fourteen years ago but, after moving to Topsham, I’ve never looked back. Our traditional shops are great, but I love working in our Vintage format as we get some fantastic items for sale. When we first went ‘digital’, as someone who hadn’t previously engaged a lot with IT, I found it quite daunting and a bit challenging. However, I’ve learned so much since we started that my confidence has really grown and grown, and much of what I’ve learned at work has also helped me with tech at home. One thing I have missed this year is the interaction with people, our customers and volunteers. That has been hard to deal with, but I agree with Nick and Julie, you get a real buzz of pride when you sell something because you have had to invest such a lot of time and effort into getting it online. And your favourite item ? I love quirky

collectables! We recently had a hand-held whisk broom used for sweeping crumbs off a table, which we thought was probably about 100 years old – I like to think it was used by a servant in a grand house!

Spotlight on gr t fi nds...

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