BUILT FOR GROWTH Expanding Your Business Around the Corner or Across the Globe

Chapter 7. Customizing Customer Service

IF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER sounds as though merchandising is a matter of clever placement of high-margin goods … well, much of it is. But the human element ultimately dominates merchandising. The way a store treats customers on a personal level will do more to keep customers in—or run them out—faster than any other aspect of a store. A rude clerk can negate the benefits of knowledgeable merchandising. A helpful clerk can overcome poor merchandising, at least after the customer enters the store. In an effort to prevent mistakes and to ensure consistency, however, too many of the rules regarding employee behavior seem geared to produce robots instead of pleasant store personnel.

My son worked for a shoe store ...