" An airline ticket agent who consistently processed tickets for the wrong destination " A waitress who didn't give customers menus or go to tables unless they asked " A flight attendant who told passengers they could only get drinks for another fifteen minutes because the plane took off late and she was supposed to be off work now? " A mailman who only delivered your mail if you had three or more pieces at a time Certainly you've never heard of these people or situations before. But what about the following list?

" A salesperson who constantly made errors ringing up sales " A salesperson who waited for customers to ask for help before approaching them " A salesperson who told customers to leave because the store was closing " A salesperson who only thanked customers who made large purchases

You have probably heard of or witnessed the situations in the second list. Why have you heard of these situations with retail salespeople, but not of the situations in the first list? The occupations in the first list require that certain standards are never violated, with the exception of an occasional mistake. In retail, however, managers have a tendency to be less stringent when insisting that their staff follow certain standards.

How Do They Do It? McDonald's has thousands of stores. Yet, 99% of the time when you go to any McDonald's, in any state or country, the clerk will ask you if you would like french fries, an apple pie or anything to drink with your order. That's their standard, and their employees follow it. They don't ask questions; they don't argue; they just do it. At Nordstrom, a chain of department stores, employees are expected to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer-and judging from the reputation they have earned for exceptional customer service, their employees adhere to this standard.

Look around and you'll find that certain professions or certain companies just get things done in a standard manner by employees day in and day out. Why should it be different in your stores? Why should your employees be allowed to choose which standards they will or won't follow? Insisting upon Things Being Done Your Way

When a person seeks employment with your company, he or she is basically saying, "I want to work for your company." We could say the same applies to current employees. They promise that they will give up doing whatever they please, show up at your store, and behave the way you want them to behave, so long as you pay them in exchange.

The Federal Government actually says that employers have this right. Certainly you can't ask employees to do something that isn't ethical or a reasonable requirement, but you do have the right to insist that almost everything they do is done the way you or the company wants it done. These rules of the road are standards. There are certain behaviors, or standards, that are non-negotiable. Standards and behaviors are considered non-negotiable when there is no room for compromise in the manner in which you want something done. Basically, standards are no more than rules or policies that you want each person on your staff to abide by. Although people may not always agree with those rules, you can still insist that they comply. A salesperson may be resistant to the idea of a standard that mandates they always suggest an add-on item. Whether they like the standard or not, they work for you and are thus required to play the game by your rules. If they don't want to play the game by your rules, they have the option of finding a job elsewhere.

Let's take a look at the examples listed earlier to really put this into perspective. How long do you think an airline agent who processed tickets for the wrong destination consistently would last as an employee for any airline? Not long. Yet, a salesperson in a retail store is often allowed to make numerous paperwork errors before (if ever) being terminated. How long would a waitress last in a restaurant that cared even remotely about providing great service if she never gave menus to customers or offered to take their order without being asked? Not long. Yet salespeople are often allowed to let customers roam throughout the store without ever being approached. A flight attendant would never stop serving drinks because it was past the time when she was originally scheduled to work. So why would a salesperson be allowed to rush customers out of the store so the store can close on time? The list goes on and on. Why are situations such as these so prevalent in retail? Because store managers rarely have standards to begin with, and when they do, they don't insist on salespeople meeting them.

Setting Standards on the Sales Floor There are specific actions on the selling floor that, if executed with every single customer, will help increase sales as well as enhance customers' perception of your store. Typically, non-negotiable standards only address the operations side of the business such as following proper closing procedures or register operation. However, the sales side of the business must have standards as well. How else will you be able to ensure that your salespeople will do what is best for the customer and the company every time? Here are a few of the basic standards that you can establish in your store. They will serve to increase productivity and enhance your image as a customer-service driven store.

1) Acknowledge every customer, even when the store is busy. Acknowledging customers conveys a professional and friendly atmosphere, making it more likely that customers will wait to be served or seek someone out to ask questions if needed. In addition, acknowledging customers is the number one deterrent to theft.

2) Ask for every sale. It's not a salesperson's responsibility to make a decision for the customer. Simply ask customers to buy, and let them say yes or no.

3) Always try to add on. Do your salespeople feel their being pushy when suggesting additional merchandise to a customer? Selling add-ons or accessory items should be viewed as a service to the customer. For the most part, customers appreciate the suggestion of a coordinating item. Of course, you may not get every customer to buy an additional item, but if every salesperson asks every customer, every time, your add-on sales are bound to increase.

4) Thank all customers and invite them back. It's a nice touch to express your personal appreciation to your customers. After all, they chose to buy from you. Inviting them to come back again will make the customer more likely to think of you and your excellent service the next time they have a need for the type of merchandise you sell.

You can establish as many standards as you want. After all, it's your store. But use caution against labeling any action as a non-negotiable standard unless you are willing to follow up with appropriate disciplinary action if the standard is violated. Otherwise, you will end up enforcing some standards and letting others be violated, with no consequence. If you allow this to happen, you will end up with an environment in which salespeople choose to play by some of the rules, but not all of them. And that can easily degenerate into an environment where all rules are violated.

There's usually an exception to every rule and there may be times when enforcing a standard may not be in the customer's, or the store's, best interest.

Getting Your Staff to Follow Your Rules

Every manager has at least one obsession or pet peeve when it comes to running a store. For one manager it might be punctuality. He goes crazy whenever anyone comes in late. For another it might be keeping the area around the register uncluttered and neat. And for yet another, it might be approaching customers quickly.

Whatever the obsession, managers always get it handled. Their salespeople know they mean business on that issue, and they comply. They know they have to comply. What's your obsession? What if you were to feel as strongly about adherence to standards as you do about your own obsession? Would you be successful in enforcing standards?

Store managers sometimes have difficulty getting relatively simple tasks done, such as getting the trash taken out every night. It's all because they negotiate their standards. If you choose not to negotiate on standards, your staff will be more effective.

For more information about setting standards of performance in your stores, attend The Friedman Group's internationally acclaimed Retail Management Training Camp. Call 800-351-8040 for more information.