The Biggest Secret in Retailing

Chris Mackey

• Publisher: Odd-Guy Pty Ltd
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9780648720225
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

FIND THE OPPORTUNITIES TO OVERCOME OBSTACLES

As Food Retailers today, your team and your community expect a lot from you right now. However, who among you has ever had to navigate through a global pandemic and its aftereffects?

Now is time to develop a plan for your business that will help you create new opportunities to thrive in a climate where everything is rapidly changing.

The Biggest Secret In Retailing is that by using your existing skills, returning to some of the basics, and then getting creative, you can find new ways to thrive in the ever changing times we are in.

This book will give you tactics you can use in the next 30 days that will help you gain the support of your team, your suppliers and the communities you work in to enable your retail food business to prosper in this new reality.

CHAPTER FIVE

Conflict Tactics

The new rules about social interactions are in place now. It's not something that you, as a food retailer have decided to do - it's the law. However, there are still different interpretations of these rules that are catching many food retailers unaware.

Customers are just as confused, if not more so, than your team. The rules seem to be constantly changing, taking away more and more of the freedoms we have all taken for granted. Grocery shopping has become very stressful and time consuming. It's no wonder people are angry and frustrated.

In this pandemic reality of stock shortages and long line ups that we are living in right now, you and your team may not always be shown the respect you deserve from your customers and from the community.

You have invested much time, energy, and money in your organisation and now your frontline team is having to sometimes deal with your customers' anger and frustration, and in some cases, abuse. Perhaps they are taking more time off for stress, or even worse, resigning and finding employment in other areas, or just taking up some of the government grants that are available to them.

I don't think there has ever been a better time to give your team extra training in communication and conflict management skills. This will give them tools that they likely need on a daily basis right now.

Here are some tactics your team can use to help reduce conflict:

1. Allow customers to talk

Allow angry customers to talk and express their feelings until they release their frustration and calm down.

2. Show you care

Use empathy statements to show you understand the customer’s feelings or frustrations.

3. Use the correct tone

Don’t smile, laugh or mock upset customers. Convey empathy with a soft tone.

4. Be neutral

Do not offer your opinion, agree or disagree with customers. Offer empathetic support and work to solve their problems effectively.

5. Don’t react

Never respond to angry comments. Allow the customer to voice their opinion and interject with helpful redirection when appropriate.

6. Focus

When a customer is on a tangent, redirect the conversation back to the important issues and focus his attention on constructive solutions.

7. Use verbal softeners

Use words like “likely”, “typically”, “perhaps”, “sometime”, “possibly” or “occasionally” with customers who might not respond well to categorical words like “always” or “never”.

8. Make angry conversations private

Avoid talking with angry customers within earshot of employees or other customers.

9. Agree

Find something to agree with the customer about. An agreement will result in collaboration and cooperation...

Table of contents

• NEW OPPORTUNITIES
• YOUR TRADING STOCK IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS
• THEFT IS ON THE RISE
• SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS ARE A HIGHLY VALUABLE ASSET
• Conflict Tactics
• WHEN IS SOCIAL MEDIA TO MUCH?
• ROSTER PLANNING
• MANAGING CASH FLOW
• HOW TO GET MORE HELP