Urgh, promotion looms

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Nedlamar, Jan 18, 2012.

  1. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    So I have a dilema.

    My boss is fed up with the manager trying to manage and be department head, which is something 1 person cannot do properly in that store.
    For those who don't know , I work in a shoe store.

    So, I'm currently the Basement Department head with control of mens/ladies steel toe, mens winter/hiking/dress boots/sandals/western/biker/slippers etc
    Also mens, ladies, kids sports cleats (which is fun with me being English and calling 2 different sports... Football :-D

    So anyway, I like being in the basement, I have my own freedom of what I want and what sales to put out etc.

    So this morning my boss says "I have to decided where I want you"
    I know he is talking about giving me the Mens department which deals with everything else in mens shoes and includes ladies technical runners/Ortho shoes and special fit and larger kids shoes.

    Now this will probably mean bit more money and more sales therefore more bonus.
    It also means dealing with more companies and more responsibility.
    I already work on that side a fair bit , whenever the manager is off and am apparently extremely knowledgeable of supportive and orthopaedic fits.

    It also means myself and the manager will go head to head about how and what to do, which we already do in the basement sometimes.
    I like my manager but at the same time if I'm head, I want to try what I believe works and so far in the basement I have executed many ideas that have worked well.
    So I don't want to be a puppet because that basically means a psychological demotion.

    Urgh, why can't things just stay the same.

    Rant ends.
     
  2. FED UP

    FED UP MajorGeek

    Have you/can you tell your boss exactly what your concerns are or would that be counter productive in your situation ?
     
  3. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Probably counter since he would tell the manager and she would be hurt by it.
    Besides his outlook on things differs from most peoples, he likes to model himself on Donald Trump but is not as intelligent and has a very wrong grasp on what DT does lol

    Example, this man does not believe that anyone comes in to browse and get very agitated if someone leaves empty handed.
    Which some of the staff are so afraid of not selling something they will try and sell whatever they can whether it's right or wrong. Which annoys me, I don't care who leaves with what or if anything at all as long as they leave happy.
    But we are there to make money and I do that for him very well lol

    Man I just reread my complaint and I feel like a princess who's diamond shoes are too tight and her purse isn't big enough for her 100's :-D
     
  4. FED UP

    FED UP MajorGeek

    Well I do suppose things could be worse . Best of luck to you !
     
  5. jimi

    jimi Private E-2

    does feeling this way have anything to do with your post or is it a feeling you get from time to timerolleyes:-D
     
  6. LauraR

    LauraR MajorGeeks Super-Duper Administrator Staff Member

    An interesting dilemma, Ned.

    While on the surface, it sounds like you are as you said "...a princess who's diamond shoes are too tight and her purse isn't big enough for her 100's :-D", I actually get what you are saying. You're happy where you are and with what you are doing. Sometimes promotions aren't all they are cracked up to be. It can be the difference between being happy with your work to being miserable.

    Sadly, a lot of times, it really does hurt someone's career to turn down a promotion.

    Good luck with it all.
     
  7. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    I have to say I hate shoes and more so slippers with a passion, but we need them to survive, now I gained some fur lines moccasins this Xmas and I have not had them off, so slippers rock!

    But to your issues, a promotion is always a fcked up position as you end up alienating those you worked with your years as they hate you with a passion, for what reason... they do not know, its juts jealously and well you get more $$ than me so I hate you, not that I would like to do your job!

    I have to say take the job Ned as you have to look after numero 0, and that is you and family, so if colleges are ansy then sobeit, they need to glow up and stop being children as they could have had the same.


    I'm going through the same Ned as I'm about to be senior of the dept, so it will pissoff some folk, I dont care as they have not engaged with the docs in work and gone the extra mile, as I have, not that anyone knows unless they read MGs and well my Monday will be interesting!? ;)

    I would say you deserve it and look after yourself if folk cannot appreciate your promotion then they are not friends or loyal work colleagues at all.
     
  8. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    lol, it's feeling I've never actually had before.
    Just to clarify for my own peace of mind, this promotion isn't exactly the bee's knee's. The pay rise will be pretty small and bare in mind I work in a single privately owned retail store.
    Although it's possibly one of the busiest in the country and turns over around 200 pairs of footwear per day...EVERYDAY. Best day was last year on back to school with 546 pairs of shoes sold by 10 people.
    Anyway, so yeah as Laura and David both said, it's not really something I want and pretty much most others don't want either.

    I do enjoy working up there because it has more to do with special fits and helping/fixing ailments.
    But... I dunno if I want the department, I do... but I don't :-D

    @David... It will rub a few noses but I really don't think it will show much since most of us get on very well, we really do have a family type situation going on.
    We don't work on commission like most shoe stores but there is a small bonus structure which isn't it either.... however, the inherent competition of "Who sells more" and who is "Better at selling" does rear it's ugly head every so often.
    I did for a little while when I was new but I frequently don't even enter my numbers, often don't even know what they are lol.
    Lets just say I often get accused of doing nothing but talk to customers, which is true... but like I said to the boss... "Would you like me to make you money or tidy up?"
    I also pay a lot of attention to customers unless they wish to be left alone.
    The thing that gets me is when someone from a different department refuses to pass the customer to the correct dept. staff so they get an extra sale.
    It's not the sale but the lack of knowledge about what advise they are giving.
    I never try to sell womens fashion, I know nothing about it.
    Advising on work boots requires knowledge of laws and codes and what different boots work for different jobs.
    If someone wants a metal free boot for the chemical or Nuclear plant and you just go by what the box says it isn't always 100% acurate. MEtal free can mean composite protective toe and balistic nylon plate.... but it can still have metal eyelets.
    If someone wants a hunting boot to go way up north and sit in a tree at -45C then you need to understand insulation and how the body and skin react to different materials and insulations.
    So for me it's misinformation since I pride myself on having done a LOT of research because I care about what the customer "Needs" instead of just selling something even though they are under the impression it will work for what they want.

    The problem wont be co-workers, it will be the Manager, who is without a doubt the single nicest person I think I've ever met. But she thinks differently to me about how to do things, sometimes she's right and sometimes I am.
    But she has final say and the Mens side is her baby so she wont fully let me run it like I currently do downstairs.
    And as most of you know... I'm pretty argumentative :-D
    Lets just say the numbers speak for themselves as do the customer requests for me given I've been in this business for approx 20 months and had absolute zero knowledge of foot ware before I started. But helping 20-60 individuals every day kind of makes you learn quickly if you really want to. Hell the manager has a lot of respect for me as have I for her, ... which is my problem.... I don't want to fall out with her and I can see it happening :(

    Anyway, rambling again :-D Made much more of a point there than I needed to lol
     
  9. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi Ned

    wow great post above and I can see the negativity in your workplace stand out and even from the bosses, TBH this is something that annoys the hell out of me where I work, but back to you in that this is a telling quote

    1st rule of retail and I have worked in retail in the past is that you talk to customers and get to know their likes and dislikes this is crucial as if you make a good sale to one customer they then spread the work to at least 5 other friends who in turn spread the word to 5 others, this also works in the opposite too, so bad service breeds virally.

    Maybe the thing is to take this other manager out for coffee and have a chat over how best to work together and build the business as it will benefit you both as working like opposite magnets is not good.

    Ned good luck to you and great stuff on the promotion.

    David
     
  10. Mimsy

    Mimsy Superior Imperial Queen of the MG Games Forum

    At my current job, they tell us that a happy customer tells maybe their best friend, if that. An unhappy customer tells the whole internet about you.

    Before this job, I worked as a receptionist in a hair salon that also, of course, sold hair care products and devices. One of the things that I used to tell new hires when I trained them for working in the store part of the salon was that you shouldn't even bother trying to sell a customer what she wants. Find out what she needs and sell her that, that's what will make her come back and spend more money in the future.

    See, that woman who just walked in and wants to buy a hair dryer, she doesn't actually want or need to buy a hair dryer. What she wants is for her hair to be dry when she leaves for work in the morning, and what she needs is something that can make that happen. If she believes that a curling iron is the best tool for that job, she will set out to buy a curling iron. That won't give her what she wants, and she'll probably come back and return it (bye-bye revenue), and not return to our store. If on the other hand, you take a few moments to answer her questions, and to ask her the right questions back, that will lead you to, "I think one of these hair dryers is more of what you need then... it will dry your hair faster, it comes with these styling attachments if you want to add some curl, and this model is actually on sale right now."

    First rule of sales: Find out what they need. Talking to your customer is how you make the sale.
     
  11. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    That is exactly right Mimsy.

    Sales is bordering on Psychology.
    There are 2 types of sales people, there are those "Used Car Salesmen" who WANT to sell you what they WANT you to buy.
    These guys are arses and should not be allowed to deal with the public, they will also harm your business.
    Think of the classic stereotype car salesman "You think you hate it now, but wait til you drive it" :-D These guys are out to make money and don't care if it's what you want or need, they think about how much money they can get you to spend.

    Then there is the other type of sales person, like myself and Mimsy who want you to buy what it is that you need and want you to come back and ask for your assistance because you were so helpful and right last time.

    Actually had a good example today,a chap and his sister came in, asked for the tall guy with the English accent.
    This guy is a postal worker who walks a LOT obviously, last time he came in and the reason he asked for me specifically is because his wife was trying to talk him into buying a $40 boot made by wilson. Nothing wrong with the boot, but was not what he needed.
    I got him to try on a Merrell hiker at $140, his wife argues with him about it being unnecessary to spend that and her work shoes cost her $30.
    I noticed her wince when she sat down and the conversation went thus...

    Me: Your hips hurt don't they?
    Her: Yes, I spend a lot of time on my feet and have had a pain inmy hips for a while now"
    Me: Not being rude but I could probably attest that in whole or partly to your shoes.
    Her: Why do you say that?
    Me: Because when you walk the structure of your Wilsons and causing you to walk on the outside of your feet which is known as Under Pronation, meaning your body has no natural shock absorption and is also forcing you to walk what used to be known "Bow Legged"
    Her: I don't think it's my shoes, I walk like that because my heels hurt.
    I get her a $60 Saucony and hand it to her.
    Me: Just try this on for, not to make you buy it but so you understand what I'm talking about.
    So she did, she walked around the store while I conversed with the guy who really liked the Merrells.
    A few minutes later she comes back with this guilty looking smirk on her face.

    Me: Your heel pain has gone and your hip pain has lifted hasn't it?
    Her (quizzically): Yes, these feel awesome.
    Her mother who had been on my and the guys side said "Can I try those?

    From this point onwe had some laughs and I explained some things to them.

    The guy took the Merrells, and both her and her mother each took a Saucony.

    My intention was never to make them spend more money, my intention was to make them comfortable and educated them that you don't need to spend $200 on shoes to be comfortable.

    So the guy comes in today and pointed at me with the statement "That's the guy, this guy knows everything about this stuff ,These merrells are awesome, best $140 I have ever spent, my feet and back never hurt and I'm warm and dry, oh and my g/f's hip and heel pain has completely gone, now I need some running shoes.
    He then explained what he wanted and I suggested the Saucony Triumph.
    He walked around and just beaming smile said "These are the ones, they feel incredible"
    At which point his sister says "Do they come in ladies".... they took a pair each and next week he is sending his brother in and has told him to ask specifically for me.
    Now the cool part... this guy drove specially from 2 hours away to come and buy shoes from me.

    Bottom line, he told me what he wanted and I supplied the best thing that suited not only his purpose... but his price range.

    Rules of sales...

    Never use the word "Help"
    "Can I help you?" will instantly send up flags in the customers head that you want to sell them something.
    "How are you today? nasty old day out there, is there anything specific I can point you in the direction of?"

    This will instil a thought of someone who actually wants to help.

    Never lie "Are these waterproof?"
    "They are weather proof, if you want proper waterproof then you will need...."

    As opposed to "Oh yeah, give them a spray and they'll be fine" this will result in them getting wet feet and being angry at you and your business.

    Be careful when "Tricking customers" because you KNOW they will love what you offer.
    "I'm a really wide foot, is that an extra wide?"
    Answer "Lets put it on your foot and find out"

    A good example of this is size, just because your Nike's are a size 9, it doesn't mean every size 9 is the correct size.
    I wear Nike 10.5, I wear a Merrell 11 and in many Clarks I can fit nicely into an 8.5-9.
    Roll them heel to toe and they are all the same size.

    But as Mimsy says, simply watching what the person does and looks at for 20 seconds will tell you a huge amount about what they are looking for. Jumping on someone as soon as they walk in the store will force them to put up defences.

    If you want to be a good sales person.... care about the persons needs and not what you can sell them.

    Education is key. Honesty is paramount.

    And yes, a happy customer will tell a room full of people how they got great products and services.
    A disgruntled customer will go straight home and post all over Facebook how crappy your store is.
     
  12. dyamond

    dyamond Imelda Marcos of Majorgeeks

    Can I get a pair of these? :-D
     
  13. Mimsy

    Mimsy Superior Imperial Queen of the MG Games Forum

    I have a shoe store nearby where the sales people seem to take the same approach you do, and who carry a fantastic selection of running shoes and workout shoes. I'll have to stop by there again some time soon. :)

    My New Balance shoes want me to tell you they are now pre-emptively jealous of anything Saucony. :p
     
  14. augiedoggie

    augiedoggie The Canadian Loon - LocoAugie (R.I.P. 2012)

    Damn Ned, you almost make me want to study podiatry now.:-D So these folks had minor(though painful) posture defects due to crappy footwear then? Good for you. Sorry for the hijack all.:-o:-D
     
  15. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    @Dyamond... I would think it's possible... unfortunately we don't carry them :-D

    @Mimsy... lol Saucony's don't work for everybody, many people find the Sketcher Shape Up style shoes help, which is true since instead of helping you lose weight, they help correct your posture.
    New Balance have some great stuff, they are just lagging behind in technology in anything other than the highest end models.
    I personally wear Nike's although I do like the Triumph lol
    Your shoes tread wear pattern and your feet will tell you everything you need to know.... your eyes may lie to you for aesthetics ;)

    @Auggie.. Unfortunately it is becoming more and more apparent that a healthy mixture of cheap, no-name rubber based shoes and skate shoes are largely responsible for many ailments that now require custom inserts that cost anything from $200 up with the average being around $400 per pair. Then you need decent shoes to put them in anyway lol
    Although the custom orthotics Dr./financial deal is getting a little trigger happy.
    Many people don't need them, they need proper foot ware.
    If your Dr. finds a problem that is to do with your alignment based on the support of your feet, in many cases the first step would be to see a shoe specialist and find a shoe that suites. Unfortunately the first thing they will do is prescribe customs.
    Not all, basically if your Dr. tells you that you have "Fallen Arches", the first thing he should suggest (even according to good Podiatrists) is supportive foot ware and should then recommend a place you will get honest , educated advice.
    If he straight up prescribes customs then get a 2nd opinion. Might save you a lot of hassle and a lot of money.
     
  16. augiedoggie

    augiedoggie The Canadian Loon - LocoAugie (R.I.P. 2012)

    I could tell I had fallen arches by just walking on a dry 2x6 plank with wet feet.;):-D It was too late for me at some 14 years old as the bones and muscles were grown into place already and putting an 'arch support' in that it was so damn hurtful that I think I only wore them twice(I'm a special case:p:-D) in a custom made pair of shoes with a lift of 1/2" on the left which my parents couldn't afford. It was so bad that it changed my gait and dad had to help me to even walk. What a fiasco! After that it was whatever was comfortable, surprisingly a pair of Kodiak work boots were fine when I started working
     
  17. dyamond

    dyamond Imelda Marcos of Majorgeeks

    Honestly, I really hate that. I'm not trying to be snarky but if I want your help I will ask you for it. Sometimes I just want to look around and with you constantly hawking me it will make feel like 1)you think I might steal something or 2) you want to pressure me into buying something. It makes me want to leave ASAP.


    Oh, yea, this is me totally. :-D

    Shucks :p However much I'd want them, I'd probably not be able to wear them. I've got a weak right ankle, really high arches, walk heavily on the outside of my feet and have tendonitis in my left foot.. so if I want remain on my feet and not on my face LOL heels are out, which makes me sad :( but my face thanks me :-D
     
  18. CatT

    CatT I can't follow the rules

    I feel your pain. I was head of a branch which HQs totally ignored. I could come in late, leave early, take 6 hour lunches, wear shorts, and chase around the secretaries.

    Then I got "promoted" back to HQs. Now I wear a suit, sit in a cubicle, and have 12 minute lunches.

    I wanna go home!
     
  19. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Yeah a lot of people don't wear theirs because it hurts their arches.
    Best advise we can give at that point is a gradual structural increase, something that lifts the arch with cushion and then onto something a little higher and then into higher density and maybe into something like a Birkenstock insert, until their alignment is true , or as close as you can get.
    Like I said obviously it's each individual needs, some can be helped relatively easily, others need much more help.

    As for the footprint, that's actually a well known home test that many online shoe stores advise you to perform.
    Often known as the "Wet test" where you stand in water and then place your foot on a brown paper bag. The shape is pretty self explanatory as you found.

    Edit: @Dyamond.. Yeah my boss wants us to do that but most of us don't, like I said, I'll start a conversation with you but I can quickly tell if someone wishes to be left alone , usually before I say anything more than "How are you", the response to that question tells you a lot.
    Besides, I hate getting jumped on so I sure as hell don't want people to think that way about me.
    Like I said, unfortunately most shoe stores work on pure commission so that "Need to sell" really takes effect.

    @CAT... lol yeah that's the other side of it, I have freedom downstairs, although I rarely take a lunch but by my own decision usually.
     
  20. Nedlamar

    Nedlamar MajorGeek

    Missed this lol, you migh want to look into Birkenstock inserts, they are around $30-80. Just ask your local store if you can stand on one or try one in your shoes. They WILL support your arches and may help bring your alignment in some to stop you walking on the outside. Also SuperFeet insoles are great but more sports orientated. Don't order them online, go and stand on one :)
     

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