Yesterday I promised more on my wonderful, amazing, I’m-so-thankful-for-them staff. So, here we go; get ready to get gushed.
I…love…my…staff.
Over thirty-four years, I have definitely had people come
and go, but, even after they’ve left, my staff members and I stay close. I get to hold their first babies and attend
their parents’ funerals.
This is one of the things I love about being a boss and
owning a retail store: you share in life’s ebbs and flows. For one season in their lives, my employees
and I walk together at The Menagerie, and then, later, it might be time for
them to move on to another season.
While they’re with me, I try to teach them these principles:
NEXT
Don’t get hung up on anything one thing for too long. Make a mistake? No problem; just move on. Say to yourself: NEXT. Is a customer less-than-kind to you in any
one moment? No problem; just say NEXT
and move on. Did a vendor promise you
something only to fail to deliver? Don’t
let it derail your day; remember: NEXT.
We always try to respond to and handle any issues that come
up, of course. The “NEXT” principle
isn’t a “bury your head in the sand” tenet.
It’s simply a way to extend yourself grace. If you’ve done the best you can, and you
can’t do any more, then let yourself move to the NEXT thing.
Life is way too short not to have fun. We spend fifty, sixty, seventy hours a week
together; we want to enjoy one another.
So I make sure that I hand-pick people who, not only will be the best at
helping my customers, but will also be a good fit with the whole team. We’re a tight-knit group with a very small
working space (have you seen our back
room?) – we need to be able to get along.
Picking well in the first place and laughing a lot in the second place
help keep our ship on an even keel.
“How can I help someone today?” That’s what we try to focus on. We work on other things as well, of course –
excellent product knowledge; an awareness of our customers’ lifestyles (we read
lots of magazines!); our own personal growth (you have to have a life outside
of work). But, when it comes down to it,
I always, always, always tell my staff that the customer comes first. We put
ourselves last and do our level best to serve each person who walks through our
door, no matter what kind of day we’re having or what amount of work we have
piled up on our desk in the back.
My hope is that we succeed in making each customer feel like
he or she is the only customer, the
most important person in the world. And,
that we have fun along the way!
See you tomorrow for more about what it’s like to own and
operate a retail store.
