Making the most of floor ti mg

i.lOW rhar you have buildozed I lpaper work with the suggestions in my last article, you can spend 8090Vo of your time on the sales floor.

important last. Rrll out anything that can be covered on Oe sales floor and check your calendar for notes pertaining to the floor. With rhese on a clipboard, head out into the store.

Let's assume you have the following standard operating procedure for the store/yard" no matter the size. The unit is divided so every employee (including sales desk staff) has an area to cover with desk people having smaller areas. Each person is responsible for reporting out of stocks, maintaining cleanliness, replenishing warehouse goods, etc. With this method, you can determine who is Setting the job done and wbo is not. Assign yourself a different area to check each day.

Make a quick floor tour before the store opens, look for and note obvious problems. Greet the crew. If any are visiting instead of aking care of assigned areas, point out the glitches. After a few reminders, they will be getting ready for customers.

Just before opening, head for the front door. Depending on how busy openings ale, have other staff there. Greet everyone coming in. Use their name if you know it. If customers want to talk, listen. Make them feel you are genuinely glad they came into the store.

Next make a quick tour to make sure all areas are covered. No one should be in the warehouse or stockroom at this time. Now it's time for coffee and the office. Write quick notes on the glitches and warts observed on the floor and ask the secretary to get them to those responsible for the cures.

If this happens often, be less polite and more pointed.

Go to the aisle scheduled for review. Check for full end caps, well displayed and signed o grab he customer's eye. Check several sections or bins. fue the adjacencies correct? Is he merchandise displayed so Oat it is user friendly? Keep those two words in mind.

No one should have to get on his knees or slretch to reach merchandise. Signs in front or next to each item are to inform, not hide. Stock underneath. Put accessories close to categories requiring them. This is what I mean by adjacencies and user friendly.

Spend an hour or two each day on reviews (except on the busiest days when you prowl the floor) and you'll cover the floor two or three times a year. Schedule your staff to help when you are sure they know what to look for and accomplish.

Alternate between the office and floor. Check on yesterday's glitches. Ask the customers if they are being taken care of, finding what they want" happy with the service. (Be prepared for some nasty answers.) Since paperwork will take different amounts of time each day, the crew will never know when you will be out on the floor.

Story at a Glance

Ways to work smarter, not harder ... procedures to keep store operating efficienily, employees on their toes, customer servace at an all time hi9h.

If you don't have time to finish the final paperworlq put it in tomorrow's file. Tasks will rise to the top if important or become trivial and be thrown away.

Start by getting to work 30 minutes to an hour before the store/yard opens to organize the day. Plan to do the toughest paperwork first and the least

Tackle the two toughest tasks for the day, finish them and retum to the floor. If customers are waiting or wanting while the help is doing siock work, visiting or lingering in the warehouse, remind salespeople to "Please help a customer in aisle {f-."

Never make floor time look like a wirch hunt or inspection. Everything you do or say should be customer oriented and discussed as a customer function. Without making direct references to what employees need to do, you will step up the pace. Learn to discipline yourself to be productive. Never become a robot or martinef Work smarter, not harder.