Tuna with credit cards.
Today’s sales 2484, best day so far.
I pretty much kicked ass today from beginning to end, and for the last couple of days as well. Even though I only did 1100+ Saturday for example, I was also only there for 6 hours. I would have tried to pick up Sunday, but I had worked 46 hours this week and I needed the break. When you work on commission, with the same people, in a room with no windows, artificial lighting and pumped in music all day, every day, you need to get away from it after a while. Heck, even used car salesmen get to at least see the outside.
Our goals are set low this week, I don’t really know why. I had mine beat before noon so after that I was good to go. Of course “goal” is pretty meaningless, 2 weeks ago they were completely over the top, I think I was at 10,000 for the week. It’s nice that the store manager has a dream
Of course, “goal” means nothing in terms of money. To us on the floor, the equation is
(Total sales times % percent commission) minus (# hours times draw rate)
While your annual review does take into consideration % goal, number of credit apps opened and some other stuff, honestly, on the floor, all we really care about is the commission. It’s not like your review is going to increase your base pay, since there isn’t any, or increase your commission rate, so what’s in it for me, aside from getting to keep my job?
Plus, the store staffing levels are completely out of control, to the point where not only are we snapping at each other like dogs, but we smile when someone calls in sick and absolutely rejoice when someone gets fired. It’s ugly but the store management systems are so broken and irrelevant that we have to basically ignore most of the edicts just to make enough money so we can even afford to work there.
The floor is so overstaffed now that its nearly impossible to make a buck without having to crush someone else to do it. I hate that, but this isn’t a popularity contest. I’d like this to be easier (I know it can be done) but when you have 13 people on a selling floor, someone is going to get their feelings hurt. Today we were two down, and I made some money, but I was maybe the only one.
Some subscribe to the concept that the store doesn’t want to pay commission. They want us to at least earn our draw ( what the store pays you, till you make more than that amount in commission) but not much more. When the draw rate is only $8.00 an hour, nobody is getting rich. Plus, if you fall below the draw, you actually end up OWING the store money. So, in our business you get two types of people. The sharks, feeding machines who consume everything in their path, and dolphins, benign beings who might make it, but many of which end up quitting/getting fired.
The customers are just tuna to us. Tuna with credit cards.
Managers say ‘well more staff means more sales” but that is patently untrue. If they were to look at total dollars done on the floor, by salesperson, by hour, they would see that even with a 10-20% reduction in staffing, the same dollars would get done. Customers would get BETTER service since we would not be trying to steal sales from each other, we would make MORE money, and therefore be a much happier (IE: inclined to go the extra more for the customer and store) as sales staff and we would attain a reputation of a service oriented store (a la Nordstrom’s for example which is base + commission) rather than a high end J C Penny’s. Chicagoans already HATE Macy’s, we don’t need to give them another reason.
I have yet to see customers walking around on the floor with merchandise in their hands looking for someone to ring them up. What I do see is salespeople circling them like sharks, spreading themselves thin to “claim” as many customers as their own as possible, (meaning that even if I have no customers, I can’t wait on you) giving quality service to few, if any, and having to fight other staff off to do it.
I am very lucky, lately I have had several high dollar customers who demanded and got the kind of quality service I am good at. I’m VERY good at what I do since it’s not “sales” so much as “service.” You come in and tell me you have a new job where the dress code is “business causal” and I ask things like “are you trying to build a wardrobe or just filling in a few missing pieces?” for example. I don’t try to sell you anything, I aim to help you find what you want, or figure out what you want and get it for you. I ask questions like “ what shoes were you planning to wear with those slacks?” so they can either ask for advice on it, or conform the fact that they know this is a good purchase for them.
In the end, its all about making it easy for them to say yes to the sale.
Yes they fit
Yes I like them
Yes it will work with the rest of my wardrobe
Yes I think this is a good value for the money.
I’m lucky, because I seem to attract customers who benefit from my kind of help. The rest of the staff kind of just makes stuff up as they go along. If they see someone walking around with a $200 pair of jeans, they zone in on them and head for the kill. It’s not sales so much as its an ambush. And this is because of the staffing levels.
The only was the staffing levels are going to change is if Macy’s takes us hourly. Then you can bet that not only will the hours come down, but there will be a tidal wave of people running for the exits. After years of having the store send mixed messages, this will be one that nobody will misunderstand.
In the end, I try not to get too worked up about it all. It’s only retail
I pretty much kicked ass today from beginning to end, and for the last couple of days as well. Even though I only did 1100+ Saturday for example, I was also only there for 6 hours. I would have tried to pick up Sunday, but I had worked 46 hours this week and I needed the break. When you work on commission, with the same people, in a room with no windows, artificial lighting and pumped in music all day, every day, you need to get away from it after a while. Heck, even used car salesmen get to at least see the outside.
Our goals are set low this week, I don’t really know why. I had mine beat before noon so after that I was good to go. Of course “goal” is pretty meaningless, 2 weeks ago they were completely over the top, I think I was at 10,000 for the week. It’s nice that the store manager has a dream
Of course, “goal” means nothing in terms of money. To us on the floor, the equation is
(Total sales times % percent commission) minus (# hours times draw rate)
While your annual review does take into consideration % goal, number of credit apps opened and some other stuff, honestly, on the floor, all we really care about is the commission. It’s not like your review is going to increase your base pay, since there isn’t any, or increase your commission rate, so what’s in it for me, aside from getting to keep my job?
Plus, the store staffing levels are completely out of control, to the point where not only are we snapping at each other like dogs, but we smile when someone calls in sick and absolutely rejoice when someone gets fired. It’s ugly but the store management systems are so broken and irrelevant that we have to basically ignore most of the edicts just to make enough money so we can even afford to work there.
The floor is so overstaffed now that its nearly impossible to make a buck without having to crush someone else to do it. I hate that, but this isn’t a popularity contest. I’d like this to be easier (I know it can be done) but when you have 13 people on a selling floor, someone is going to get their feelings hurt. Today we were two down, and I made some money, but I was maybe the only one.
Some subscribe to the concept that the store doesn’t want to pay commission. They want us to at least earn our draw ( what the store pays you, till you make more than that amount in commission) but not much more. When the draw rate is only $8.00 an hour, nobody is getting rich. Plus, if you fall below the draw, you actually end up OWING the store money. So, in our business you get two types of people. The sharks, feeding machines who consume everything in their path, and dolphins, benign beings who might make it, but many of which end up quitting/getting fired.
The customers are just tuna to us. Tuna with credit cards.
Managers say ‘well more staff means more sales” but that is patently untrue. If they were to look at total dollars done on the floor, by salesperson, by hour, they would see that even with a 10-20% reduction in staffing, the same dollars would get done. Customers would get BETTER service since we would not be trying to steal sales from each other, we would make MORE money, and therefore be a much happier (IE: inclined to go the extra more for the customer and store) as sales staff and we would attain a reputation of a service oriented store (a la Nordstrom’s for example which is base + commission) rather than a high end J C Penny’s. Chicagoans already HATE Macy’s, we don’t need to give them another reason.
I have yet to see customers walking around on the floor with merchandise in their hands looking for someone to ring them up. What I do see is salespeople circling them like sharks, spreading themselves thin to “claim” as many customers as their own as possible, (meaning that even if I have no customers, I can’t wait on you) giving quality service to few, if any, and having to fight other staff off to do it.
I am very lucky, lately I have had several high dollar customers who demanded and got the kind of quality service I am good at. I’m VERY good at what I do since it’s not “sales” so much as “service.” You come in and tell me you have a new job where the dress code is “business causal” and I ask things like “are you trying to build a wardrobe or just filling in a few missing pieces?” for example. I don’t try to sell you anything, I aim to help you find what you want, or figure out what you want and get it for you. I ask questions like “ what shoes were you planning to wear with those slacks?” so they can either ask for advice on it, or conform the fact that they know this is a good purchase for them.
In the end, its all about making it easy for them to say yes to the sale.
Yes they fit
Yes I like them
Yes it will work with the rest of my wardrobe
Yes I think this is a good value for the money.
I’m lucky, because I seem to attract customers who benefit from my kind of help. The rest of the staff kind of just makes stuff up as they go along. If they see someone walking around with a $200 pair of jeans, they zone in on them and head for the kill. It’s not sales so much as its an ambush. And this is because of the staffing levels.
The only was the staffing levels are going to change is if Macy’s takes us hourly. Then you can bet that not only will the hours come down, but there will be a tidal wave of people running for the exits. After years of having the store send mixed messages, this will be one that nobody will misunderstand.
In the end, I try not to get too worked up about it all. It’s only retail
posted by Anonmous at 12:14 AM
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