Secrets You Can Only Learn From Someone in Retail

Okay, now I know that this topic does not apply to everyone, but for those of you that is does (and you know who you are), here are some helpful hints from someone who knows.

Trust me on this; if you believe nothing else I say, how you treat the employees of a retail establishment has a direct correlation to getting the results you desire. Let’s all call this Christine’s Law of Returnability, because I have always been jealous that Newton has laws and I want one of my own. So what if mine has nothing to do with physics and I had to make up a word?!

Christine’s Law of Returnability:

A return of merchandise to a retail establishment will stay in motion unless acted upon by an equal and opposite rude customer.

Exhibit A: A woman comes in to Target with a return. She has no receipt, we no longer carry the product, but she is very nice to the Guest Service employee, so that employee calls over a manager to see if there is any way to help this woman. Even though you must have a receipt dated within 90 days to make a return, especially on an item that has gone clearance and we no longer carry, this woman has been so nice and understanding that said manager finds a way to make the return happen and she leaves a happy customer.

Exhibit B: A man comes into Target with a return for which he has no receipt. He doesn’t care for our policy that we can exchange the item for another item in that department of equal or greater value. He is very abusive to the Guest Service cashier, who is simply doing her job by quoting, verbatim, the return policy. He wants his money back, even though we have no way of knowing what price he paid for the item.

I’ll bet you can all guess the rest. After watching this man verbally attack one of my team members, I was not in the mood to do anything that might result in the outcome he desires, as this will just encourage this kind of behavior in the future. Once someone has this behavior bring about the desired result ONE TIME, they will get it in their head that this is the way to achieve results.

Guess again. Managers at retail establishments hold all the cards. If you come in with a fantastic attitude, I can promise you that you will leave satisfied. Contrary to some peoples’ belief system, managers don’t cave just because you are being belligerent. We are not afraid of you. In fact, we laugh at you as soon as you leave the store.

In closing, treat each employee as a person, not an enemy, and you will get what you want. We want our guests to leave happy, but will not tolerate anyone abusing our staff that make minimum wage and certainly do not get paid enough to put up with you and your bad day (or permanently bad disposition).

The views expressed in this blog are mine and should not be considered a corporate statement of any kind from Target Corp.