lessons learned from retail: prologue2004.04.04

Long before the world of small business, ages and ages before the time of geekery in my life, I worked in retail for ten full years. I held jobs from lowly part-timer to store manager. Amusingly, I received during that time more formal paid training from my employers than I was to ever experience in the tech industry. But I digress.

I was lucky enough to get a very old-school foundation concerning sales, customer management and professional conduct. I learned that it was important to conduct myself in a professional manner at all times. I learned that business is business and not a reflection on me personally. I learned that the best way to be useful to my customers is to know everything I possibly could about the business in which I was working, even if it didn't have to do with my job directly. I learned that the customer (a.k.a. the people who make my paycheque possible) is King. I learned how to give great customer service even if the person you're dealing with is an idiot. :)

I've taken these lessons with me out into the world, applying them to my own business. But as I find myself dealing with hundreds of other businesses, I've found that not everyone has this foundation. And oh, how it frustrates me.

So, in an effort to get these basic skills out there, I'm going to start blogging what will likely be many Lessons Learned From Retail.

Coming soon to an RSS reader near you. :)

0 comments