Can I help you?

I'm a little over a month into my new job/career as a manager (trainee) at Menards, and I continue to learn something new, not just every day, but with every guest interaction I have, as I walk the hard concrete aisles of the # 3 U.S. home improvement retailer.

At first, it felt a little odd approaching store guests, and asking if I could help them, while my inside voice was pointing out that I most likely would not have the answers they sought. But I have fearlessly walked into these interactions, confident that I could either find the answer, or find someone else who did know, and could actually help.

Retail is a funny dance for the customer, and the customer service associate. I know from my own personal shopping experience, that I'm uncomfortable being "pounced on" too soon in a retail environment. But as soon as I have questions, I get really frustrated if I can't find help.

As a perfect example, I've been shopping for a particular shoe to buy, and wear at work, and I was in the Mounds Mall yesterday, where The Finish Line shoe store might have carried the shoe. As I approached the store, I could see that the only person in the store was in uniform. I really just wanted to stroll in, take a quick look at the selection, consider my options, and walk out when I was done. I almost didn't go into the store, because I didn't want to deal with the salesperson.
It's nothing personal. I'm weird, and I have this unfounded sense of guilt when I leave a store without a purchase, as if the bottom line financial fate of that business depends on me contributing a sale. Earlier this summer, I browsed a new used book store that seemed starved for business, and I bought two paperback books I didn't need, because I felt bad if I didn't support them. I had envisioned the owners' slumped shouldered, frustrated look of desperation, if I walked in and out of their business without a purchase, especially after I had engaged them in conversation about how a small business was surviving in a tough economy.

I guess I got too emotionally invested. I never have this feeling when the store is busy, and I avoid customer service interaction. There have been times that I've actually waited until another customer went into a store, before I entered. Is this a case of extreme, but misplaced empathy for the business owner, or just the fellow worker? But I'd rather have this attitude, than the rude, dismissive, "It's their job" attitude toward sales people that my ex-wife used to unleash on hard working associates, left standing outside the dressing room with an armload of unpurchased garments, and a look of deflated exasperation.

But I digress.....

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the retail dance.....I noticed early on at Menards that I would often initiate and offer assistance to customers, who were very quick to give me the "no thanks, just looking" gesture, but then, within minutes, they would seek me out with questions, and we would ultimately work together for a resolution to their search. Maybe it's a control thing. Customers hate to get sold to, so they would rather have a sense of controlling the conversation, especially at the outset.

These interactions have been especially interesting as I continue to learn and navigate a new world of information and wisdom. Some wise customers know exactly what they want, and I just have to translate their request, and find their item in the store. Others have an idea of what they need, but do not have the language or wisdom to paint the picture, and that is a different translation altogether, especially as I am just learning the language myself.

But in all instances, I am quick to let my guest know that I may be new in this department, but I will not leave them until I have either found their answer, or I have handed them off to someone who can better serve them. I am constantly amazed at how understanding and patient people are, when you are vulnerable about your wisdom, yet willing to help. More often than I can count, a guest I have helped has commented that, "Now we both learned something new today."

Wisdom comes from experience, and it grows with every interaction.

Maybe I am more wise than I realize....