No empty sales spots
Even with seasonal changes in retail, empty shelves and displays should be kept to an absolute minimum. Avoid removing products from shelves or displays unless you have something ready to replace them. A store should always look active, organized, and well-stocked, even during seasonal transitions.
It doesn’t take much to create the wrong impression. A few empty shelves near the front of a store or a partially empty pie case can be enough to make customers start asking an uncomfortable question: “Is this location closing?”
That may seem like a small concern, but customer perception matters. Empty displays can suggest declining business, limited selection, or a lack of attention to the operation. Even if none of those things are true, the impression can still affect customer confidence and purchasing decisions.
A well-stocked store communicates that business is thriving, products are available, and customers are welcome. Make sure your shelves and displays reflect the kind of business you want customers to see.
Keep the food hidden unless you’re selling it
Customers should rarely, if ever, see an employee eating while working. Unless they happen to walk past the break room, eating should remain out of the customer’s sight and hearing. Employees should never be eating at a cash register, on the sales floor, or behind a front desk.
Beyond the obvious concern that food crumbs can attract insects and create sanitation issues, eating while working can interfere with customer service in several ways. There is no way to predict when the phone will ring, and an employee with a mouthful of food cannot properly or promptly answer a call. Likewise, there is no way to know when a customer will enter an employee’s immediate area and require assistance. An employee who is still chewing or swallowing is not in the best position to provide an immediate, professional response.
Employees should always be prepared to acknowledge customers, answer incoming calls, and respond to requests for assistance. Eating can wait until an appropriate break or designated area.
The expectation is simple: When employees are in customer-facing areas, they should be ready to serve. Maintaining a professional appearance means being aware of what customers see, hear, and experience—even during the quieter moments of the day.
Staying on Your Feet: The Importance of Being Engaged
Employees may view the ability to sit while working as a benefit, or even believe it makes them more efficient. However, in a sales-driven environment, sitting can create the wrong impression. Customers may perceive an employee who is sitting behind a counter or sales desk as disengaged, uninterested, or simply unwilling to help.
Consider a retail environment: Every store has slower periods, and team members assigned to registers or cash wraps will inevitably experience times when there are no customers to assist. This is precisely why backup tasks should always be assigned. Employees should have a clear understanding of what needs to be done when customer traffic slows down.
Even when business is busier than expected, those tasks don’t disappear. A team member who is sitting may need to take extra time to stand, reposition themselves, or turn around to complete a task. These small interruptions can become unnecessary obstacles to maintaining productivity and staying engaged.
A Vice President of Operations for a large national hotel management company once made a rather memorable statement about this very subject:
“A stool breeds laziness, and laziness needs to be broken. If I see a stool behind the front desk at one of my hotels, that stool gets taken out into the parking lot and broken along with the laziness.”
Now, please don’t start breaking furniture in front of your employees! That comment was made in the late 1990s, and management approaches have certainly evolved since then.
The message, however, remains relevant: Staying on your feet encourages awareness, readiness, and engagement. Employees should be prepared to assist customers, take initiative, and move seamlessly between their primary responsibilities and backup tasks. The goal isn’t simply to keep people standing; it’s to keep them involved, productive, and ready to serve.
Who are the employees?
“Do you work here?” is a question customers will sometimes ask even when an employee is wearing a complete company uniform and name tag. This is a clear indication that appearance alone isn’t enough to communicate that someone is available to help.
It’s important to establish and maintain a standardized dress code so customers can easily identify employees. However, just as important is making sure employees actively engage with customers rather than waiting to be approached.
Employees should make eye contact, offer a friendly greeting, and ask customers if they need assistance before those customers feel the need to ask, “Do you work here?”
Don’t make customers search for someone who can help them. Make sure your team is visible, approachable, and ready to assist. A uniform identifies someone as an employee, but actions demonstrate that they are there for the customer.
