Photo Journal: Retail Hell (Photos from the war inside the store!)

This is nothing. The following is barely a slice of the stuff that retail, customer service, and others deal with in the real world. This doesn’t cover the hundreds of thieves, assholes, horrible managers and customers, or the stress of dealing with covid, rioters, protestors, and bad teammates.

Here are just a few photos to demonstrate some of the madness that occurs in the stores that you shop in every day. When you open your doors to the masses you see what society has to offer.

Read More

Re-Post: Sacrifice Self for Service

I spent the last six years working for a large electronics retailer and most of that time was as a Store Manager. In the last year I worked there they changed the title to Store Leader to try to infuse some ownership or enthusiasm into the role. The company was constantly changing terms, role definitions and performance evaluation standards in an effort to create impactful "cultural" changes but it mostly led to inconsistency and confusion. Frequently redefining evaluative tools, job descriptions and philosophies indicates a lack of central vision and understanding of psychology. Ambiguity and inconsistency muddy the waters of an organization's central goals and frustrates managers.

Read More