Article Number : 4564 |
|
Article Detail |
|
 | |
| Date | 6/15/2009 8:18:32 AM |
| Written By | LGM & Associates Technical Flooring Services |
| View this article at: | //floorbiz.com/BizResources/NPViewArticle.asp?ArticleID=4564 |
| Abstract | Just when I think you have covered every possible topic, you come out with a new one and surprise me. The ideas in your April 20/27 article (“I’m proud of us”) are right on, and I wanted to thank you for... |
| Article | Just when I think you have covered every possible topic, you come out with a new one and surprise me. The ideas in your April 20/27 article (“I’m proud of us”) are right on, and I wanted to thank you for reinforcing the values we have always tried to sell by. My husband and I try to treat every customer as we wish to be treated when we are purchasing something. But, some days have been especially tiring lately with the current economy. We are doing most of the sales and installation ourselves. It has become increasingly difficult to find salespeople that truly wish to work, and qualified installers seem to have vanished in our area. The only way I seem to be able to get ahead is to do the sales myself. I did speak with another Abbey store at convention, and they seem to have better luck hiring part-time salespeople looking for a decent hourly income. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong, but when I talk to other people in different trades, they seem to have the same struggles. To make a long story short, I just wanted to say thanks for the uplifting thoughts and ideas. These articles put me back in the right frame of mind and remind me why we started our business 23 years ago. Joyce Bradley Abbey Carpet of Watertown Watertown, N.Y. Kramer responds: Thank you for the nice letter. Even I need positive feedback to know what I’m doing is helping. More times than not it is hard to find good retail sales and installer help, but you know you can always count on yourself to fill in during these hard times. Like you, I also have been doing a few installs (mostly the easy laminate snap together). I’ve always said storeowners and salespeople need to do an occasional install (or at least observe installations) to educate themselves. I learn something new every time I do an install and it reminds me why these guys (installers) make seemingly so much money for a day’s work. I sure would not do it for a living. As to a part-time sales staff, I’m not a big proponent of it because I don’t think hourly pay is a great motivator for salespeople. However, it can work if you structure the job properly. They need to be trained to greet, give a good interview and take notes, then turn over the customer to you or another pro who can put her in the right product. The part-time person’s job needs to be treated more like a secretary or host. Joyce I am getting many responses from those of us that keep “Selling Clean.” Like you, they say times are tough, but their past honest efforts have kept them afloat while some of their negative competition have gone under. You are absolutely correct when you mention other industries share our same problems. I guess it’s nice to know we are not alone. Stay positive (because negative is never productive) and remember when we hear approximately 10% of the country is unemployed, that means 90% are still working. Thanks for reading and keep up the good, honest work. Sincerely, Kelly K. |