Retail Management: Whose Fault Is It?

I recently started going back to school at the University of Phoenix to get two bachelors degrees to add to my growing collection of certified knowledge: Marketing, because for some reason my clients expect me to know how to market the websites I build for them (that is a whole other story); and Management, because I only needed to pick up five more classes to get the second degree, and it gives me something to fall back on if the whole web dev thing falls through in the next few years. Plus, it's not bad to have the "official" knowledge of how to be a manager.. wow I almost got way off my topic there. I may have to post something else on that. ANYWHO... retail management.

I worked for way too long at a local department store. Well, not local, it's a national chain with 1100 stores. Not counting the nine months I up and moved to Texas, I worked at that store for nine years: five in Greenwood IN, and four in the Castleton store on the northside of Indy. I worked in a variety of different positions, starting as a float covering breaks and call-ins in nearly every department of the store, moving to the window coverings department, then to the visual department who manages the displays and marketing in the store, and back to the home department when I started working full time for my dad. Among all these various positions and the amount of time there, I got to know the basic hierarchy of the store fairly well.

So how does this relate to the anecdote about UoP and going back to school? Well, I'm in this management theory class right now. We're talking about the different functions of management, and whether or not we've had good managers now or in the past. Obviously, there are a lot of things that go into making a good manager. It helps to be born with it, but there really are a lot of things a person needs to learn to be an effective manager. And you have to define, does effective mean good? Does good mean effective? What really is a good manager?

So, with my extensive experience in the retail industry, and my generally friendly nature, I said I've had nothing but wonderful managers in my lifetime. :) The thing of it is, in retail, you really have to be a good manager or you just won't last. You have to be able to delegate tasks in order to make sure customers are being helped, merchandise is being stocked or rearranged or whatever the day dictates, and employees are being trained. You have to ensure your employees are knowledgeable about the product or the product probably won't sell. The list goes on and on.

So my question is, whose fault is it if a department is seen as being managed poorly? What makes it seem so? That the employees aren't trained? That merchandise isn't being put away or straightened? Is there enough staff on hand to make sure all these needs are being met? The problem with the store that I worked in is that there was a rule of thumb that said three associates should be on the floor in each department at all times. However, in order to budget hours for times when every associate had to work, such as the holly day [yes, holly day...another potential topic.. I'm on a roll tonight] season, the managers have to trim back the hours somewhere else; which means, not enough hours to put three people out in the department at all times.

Ok, so we ask for more hours. If we do that, then the price of the merchandise has to go up in order to cover the cost of the additional staff. Or, we start paying the staff less, which more than likely means people who won't be motivated to actually learn the product and be nice to customers. It's pretty rare to find someone who is willing to work for minimum wage AND put effort into their jobs.

Because we are demanding better customer service, paying high school kids who don't give a damn really isn't going to work in the long run. People will stop going to that store because they can't get the help they need. But the other option is just as unappealing. Raise prices? Customer Service.. Low Cost. Americans today are way too demanding. If you want low cost merchandise, go to your local bargain store like Wal-Mart or Target where the cash registers are up front as you enter and exit the building, and maybe if you're lucky, you'll find someone in the department you're wandering in to help you out.

So whose fault is it that retail employees are undertrained, underpaid, and just don't give a damn about their jobs? Is it lack of concern and poor managerial skills? Or is it that shoppers expect too much from their department stores? Low Prices.. Great Service.. Great Merchandise. Is it really possible to achieve all three?