Photo by Igor Zakowski
04 / RETAIL
Was it something I said? Independent retail consultant, Liam Kelly dispels some of the persistent truths of successful retailing
O
ver the years I have learned the importance of listening to clients. Hearing them speak and understanding their words and body language can tell you a lot about them and how they think and work. This is especially true of owners and managers as it gives you a fair idea of how the business is run, what their priorities are and what drives or motivates them. Some tend to spout marketing mumbojumbo and guru-speak they have picked up from small gods and one too many self-help books or videos. Others tend to tell you what they think you want to hear, avoiding honesty as if lies will help me fix their business and solve their woes. After a while your ears and brain adapt to separate truth from fiction and reality from buzzwords and phrases. During these conversations there are a number of expressions and sentences that cause alarm bells to ring in my head. No real thought has been put into the words that the speaker is saying and they are just repeating something they have read or paying lip service to some glib consultants who have no concept of what it means any more to work in the real world of retail. If we read, hear and then just repeat everything we think sounds important we will end up like those that share nonsense and lies on social media sites, or those that speak their prayers in a trance-like state in their place of worship without ever listening to the words and what they mean.
Understanding, and in some case questioning, what you have been taught to say is a crucial part of life lessons. No doubt I have been guilty of the same transgression in the past, but age and a good sprinkle of cynicism have made me question most of what I hear and read these days. So here are 10 statements that cause me to raise my eyebrows and feverishly write notes if they come up in a conversation with a client. There are many more too, but I think these will get my point across.
1 - The customer is always right A ridiculous statement when taken out of context, as the customer is rarely right. Anyone who has worked at the coalface of retail can attest that the customer invariably gets things wrong and some will even go out of their way to deceive you. What this statement should mean is that in retail you need to empathise with the customer, get to the heart of the issue and apply problem-solving skills to reach an amicable resolution for the business.
2 - EPOS systems are just overpriced tills Spoken by those who don’t put the time, effort and understanding into their systems. They don’t input the correct information, nor do they harangue their supplier for the reporting ability that would be meaningful to their business,
Autumn/Winter 2016 / www.horticulture.ie / HORTICULTURECONNECTED
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