Just came back from the supermarket in Lake Tahoe. As I reach the checkout counter I notice that the line is literally wrapping around itself, I wish I would have had my camera with me. It felt like we were in line to get on a ride an amusement park. Nobody likes to wait in a line for anything, so why did the people at the Raley’s in Incline Village think that they wouldn’t need to staff up during the week of 4th of July? What made matters more frustrating is that staff members were located throughout the store that either were not asked to help or had no idea had to run a cash register.
So what is the moral of this story? Try to anticipate customer behavior, there were literally several folks who threw there groceries down in a fit of anger and said that they were going to go to another grocery store. Part of running a successful business is being able to anticipate what your customers want and how you’re going to give it to them.
Continuing with another moral of the story, why completely segment and isolate tasks among the staff members? Grocery clerks should also know how to operate a cash register during times when unexpected crowds form. Operating a cash register is not a difficult task and should only take a little while to learn. This way you can increase overall operating efficiency. It’s fine to specialize employees for a particular task, but in the end, make sure that your entire team is capable of performing the basic functions of the business. It will come in handy, especially when a swarm of people suddenly decides to purchase something, ask a question, bring back a return, or wish to get some more information about something.
Have you seen other examples where people are so specialized that they can offer you know help for a basic general inquiry, or cannot perform a basic task?
Thanks for reading
Comments