The Black Tux’s Post

The Retail Chronicles: More Than Just a Job Ever wonder what it's like to work in retail? Imagine "The Office," but with price tags and pushy customers. My stint at Steinmart was a rollercoaster of experiences that shaped me in ways I never expected. 🎭 Cast of Characters: - The drama queen GM - My best friend and "coach," Keith (think Jeremy Piven, but more chill) - A crew of coworkers, each with their own quirks and charms 🌟 Star-Studded Moment: Picture this: The lead singer of The Monkees (yes, my childhood idol!) walks in needing new underwear. Guess who became his personal shopper? This guy! 🛍️ Retail 101: - Master the art of "look busy" - Engage customers like a pro - Memorize neck sizes, arm lengths, and jacket sizes (trust me, it comes in handy) Looking back, Steinmart wasn't just a job. It was a crash course in human interaction, a stage for unexpected encounters, and the backdrop for some of the most memorable moments of my young adult life. What's the most unexpected lesson you've learned from a "regular" job? Share your story below! #RetailLife #CareerLessons #UnexpectedMentors

Lessons I learned from working 10+ years in retail: ➡️ How to align your team—daily In ten years, I worked at four different retail brands and each one had their own version of a daily kick-off that all employees would read / participate in at the start of their shift (no matter what time their shift started). The more well-known the brand, the more focused these daily kick-offs were. At the largest retailer I worked for, a manager would actually host the kick-off for each team starting their shift. It was a great way to remind the team of the brand's ethos, daily goals (sales or other) and updates to products or promotions while also connecting us as teammates. These daily huddles were how I got to know my retail peers. TL;DR: Start your day with people. Align on the goals and reset your expectations. #Retail

Have you ever walked away from a purchase due to a frustrating experience with a salesperson? I went to a clothing store to buy a dress and after finding a good one, I tried to negotiate a price with the salesperson. But she couldn't offer discounts and needed to call the manager for approval. "I can't negotiate," she explained. "Only the manager does that, and I'll have to call her." It sounded odd. While trying to reach the manager, her number was unreachable. After a while, I got tired of waiting and left the store unhappy. This experience reminded me of how founders need to empower their team and establish effective structures. Empowering your team can lead to: 📌 Increased customer service 📌 Increased efficiency 📌 Founders freedom The clothing store missed a sale because their salesperson lacked the authority to make simple decisions. An empowered team is a productive and successful team. What are some ways businesses can empower their team to improve customer service? P. S: If you were in my shoes, would you wait for the manager’s call or walk away? Let’s discuss

The nature of working in retail is changing at pace as the purpose of stores continues to evolve. BoF Careers examines how in-store employees can hone and develop their skill sets for success in retail or its adjacent industries, sharing expertise from retail leaders and fashion executives who began their careers on the shop floor. Read more below.

As human beings we tend to look at everything through our own lenses. Companies have different values and business models. For every Walmart there is a Costco, for every Luxottica there is a Warby Parker. Working for companies is the same. I like to say that jobs are like jeans- what fits me may not fit you. Don’t just look at a company's performance; ask about their values. How do they treat employees, customers, and vendor partners?? Do your research and find the right👖for you.

All Founders, CEO and Managers needs to learn this. I said something in the comments section that managers needs to understand, but before I go there, let's settle this. 1. It is true that there is need for hierarchy, and there are some decisions that needs to be taken by particular set of people. But, as a Founder, CEO, Manager, it is quite important that you let your employees be aware of what they can do. There are some minor decisions that your employees can take, but because they are not aware of the authority they possess, they fail to take the responsibility, which affect the performance of your business. And, this is sometimes caused by what I said in the comments section which will lead us to- 2. Fear of mistake. At place of work, it is important that we avoid mistakes, but we need to understand that there is no way we can totally eradicate mistakes. When your employees make mistake, you do not have to crucify them for it. There is a way you can handle it constructively. 💜 To ensure that they really understand what you correct them for 💜 To not discourage them next time they have something to contribute that will improve the company's productive. If this two things are in place, the saleswoman would have given room for negotiation which would have caused the buyer to visit the store again. Did you learn something? Let me hear your opinion.

Recently in November I completed my first year at Best Buy and I want to share some of my reflections on my first year and a few months. 1. I've never stopped learning. From my first day to over a year in I have continuously learned new skills, roles, product knowledge, and sales approaches. This has made work exciting and rewarding because I love learning new things. 2. Being flexible has been super important over the last year. To date I have worked in most areas of the store. Warehouse, Customer Service and the Sales floor. Knowing how to work in all three departments makes my weekly schedule pretty diverse. I am primarily at the customer service desk but am frequently scheduled sales floor and can fill in the warehouse as need. This not only keeps work interesting for me but it also allows me to be moved anywhere in the store as needed, sometimes contributing to all three in one shift. 3. Retail is hard but having supportive leadership helps especially when things get stressful or customers need assistance that non-management are unequipped to handle. 4. Train how you want to be trained. When I first was trained there were some ways that I knew if I had the opportunity to train myself I would change the approach. That usually means walking through how to do something then watching from the side and having the person learn through doing. Also I make myself available through questions as much as I can. 5. Customers interactions can be super rewarding. Whether a nice comment left on a survey or emailed to our leadership team or being mistaken for a manager comments from customers are a good way to know that you're doing well and providing good service, which I pride myself on as much as my sales numbers. 6. I have been able to get leadership opportunities which include training new staff members, being one of two main customer service employees, being trusted to take on projects including preparing front end/customer service for Black Friday as well as rearrange displays on the sales floor and lastly leading the tear down of truck and all that is included with that process (validating manifest, putting product away, receiving truck). I've learned and accomplished a lot in little over a year at Best Buy including for several months being one of the top performers in selling memberships or card applications as well as being top three in a quarter for home theater and computing baskets (amount of additional product sold with a TV or Computer). I look forward to learning more and developing my skills further however long I remain at Best Buy. #BestBuy #sales #leadership #customerservice #warehouse #learning #retail #technology #training

The nature of working in retail is changing at pace as the purpose of stores continues to evolve. BoF Careers examines how in-store employees can hone and develop their skill sets for success in retail or its adjacent industries, sharing expertise from retail leaders and fashion executives who began their careers on the shop floor. Read the full story below to learn more.

#hiring District Manager - Omaha, Omaha, United States, fulltime #jobs #jobseekers #careers #Omahajobs #Nebraskajobs #RetailConsumerProducts Apply: https://lnkd.in/gKndTiY7 about old navyForget what you know about old-school industry rules. When you work at Old Navy, you're choosing a different path. From day one, we've been on a mission to democratize fashion and make shopping fun again. Our teams make style accessible to everyone, creating high-quality, must-have fashion essentials for the whole family, with love, season after season. We opened our first store in 1994 in San Francisco and have been on a roll ever since. We cultivate a community of playful personalities that thrive in a fast-paced environment where our employees can be their most authentic selves. Here, we're family.about the roleIn this role, you will leverage your knowledge of the business to effectively execute and quickly adapt strategies to ensure operational excellence, merchandising execution, maximum productivity and profitable sales and earnings growth. You will drive high performance across all initiatives, and ensure consistency within your portfolio as measured by company goals and KPIs that drive a profitable portfolio. You will lead, develop, coach and inspire a portfolio of stores to deliver an optimal customer and employee experience. Your goal is to lead execution and support the brand and enterprise vision, ensuring your teams are delivering results and holding their teams accountable.what you'll doAll leaders are expected to become experts of the brand's selling behaviors, leading and leveraging these behaviors with every customer who walks through our doors and allowing us to provide a exceptional customer experience.Drive profitable sales through effective business analysis; identifying financial opportunities and action plans to address current business challenges and deliver desired resultsAttract, develop and fuel a talent pipeline in support of the district, region and brand talent strategyDistinguish between customer segments, with differences in needs and approaches, and understand variances in profitability and value creation potentialMaintain strong relationships and collaboration with peers, cross functional partners and Headquarter partners to leverage expertise in developing and executing strategiesResponsible for quality of services and advice in meeting business partner needsResponsible for end results of team and shares responsibility over resources, budget and adherence to policieswho you areLeadership experience overseeing district, multi-unit or high volume businessStrong business acumen and proven track record of leading, adjusting and developing business strategy to achieve profit & loss resultsKeen awareness of the marketplace inclusive of Gap Inc brands, external competitors and overall retail trendsAbility to embrace challenges, take risks, learn fast and influence change to

In 2008 I first became a “boss”. I was horrible. I lead by fear and created an anxiety filled culture that was disgusting. Let’s learn from it. Story time. I graduated A&M December of 2006 and quickly got a job for $9 an hour in Colorado Springs working at a 40,000 sq ft retail store my best friends from childhood ran. Their uncle owned. I had terrible work ethic and within 3 months of working they sat me down and told me to get it together or I’d be fired. As we all need a reset from time to time, I did too. I quickly changed course and became a workaholic. Grinding out 60 hour weeks, drinking crap tons of coffee and popping an adderol when I could find one. This behavior was rewarded and as the company opened a new location in Arlington, Tx. I was promoted to a game room manager making $30k a year. We sold DVDs, Cds, video games, cell phones, all pre-owned. I ran a 7,000 sq foot game room. It drove tons of profits and because if that was rewarded. I got asked to run my own store. Smack dab in the middle of Dallas in an old circuit city location - we would open a 45,000 square foot location. Here’s where it got bad. Given the autonomy to make all the decisions and run the store as I saw fit, I quickly discovered the impact of fear. And how using it - threatening employees with their jobs, was extremely effective at generating results. So that’s what I did. When an employee made a mistake, instead of explaining and talking them through the situation, I told them if they did it again they’d be fired. See, our employees were young kids. And ownership / leadership inside this company had a very direct opinion on people in the workplace; they are all easily replaceable. This theme stayed with me and was how I ran my store. I would throw sh*t, fire people on the spot, yell and cuss kids out, and when I was feeling nice - dock their shifts on the next schedule…intentionally hurting their wallet. I was an army drill seargant and was rewarded for being so! And because of this I created a culture that was so horrific it makes me want to barf, cry, or both. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Let’s Learn; 1️⃣ Without Values / Purpose…you will create your own. The company I worked for didn’t exist for any purpose other than profits. There were no leaders explaining the importance of values or anything other than money. You need a bigger, better, guiding star than just profits or else who knows how far you will go the wrong direction. Without purpose you are lost. Just like I was. 2️⃣ You Become Your Surroundings I wasn’t a bad kid but I was acting in accordance to what was rewarded and applauded. Watch very closely the values of the people closest to you. Seek out people with values you aspire. It’s so easy to go in the wrong direction. 3️⃣ Leading is a Privilege We need great leaders. Don’t take for granted your situation. I did & have much regret. This world needs you. Be the light. 😘