your happiness is our happiness

I work in retail, and at my job, I see a lot of people. Some days more than others.

Some of these people come in, avoid eye contact, get what they need, then get the hell out of the place.
Some people come in, walk a few circles, look see look see, then get the hell out of there.
Others ask for your help, receive it, pay for what they want (or don't), and then get the hell out of there.

But there are also those who come in and talk to you about what they're looking for. You listen to them, then they listen to you. You try to help them as best you can - tell them about the product, give them advice, a better price (if possible), and above all, you make them feel as if their needs are important; and then you meet those needs.

And you can bet the next time they need something electrical, they'll come back - at least to check it out and speak to someone about it.

Myer is (apparently) Australia's leading departmental store - and we want to keep it that way. We do this by offering a wide range of the latest in fashion, apparel, gifts and homewares. On top of that - and probably most importantly - we offer the best customer service that we can in order to give you the best shopping experience possible.

No, I was not paid to say that. I was told that during training.

But I think after working a very, very busy Saturday yesterday, I finally understand what that means. I think I'm really beginning to see why people will shop at Myer, even though we might not necessarily be the cheapest place to shop.

It's because shopping at Myer becomes addictive.

It's nice, you know. It really is. I'm speaking from experience. We shopped at Myer before I started working there. And no, not everything there is more expensive than other places. If you know how to shop, things become really cheap.
Especially now, with staff discount.

But that's besides the point. Customers have said to me that they prefer to buy from us because of our customer service - even though we might be a little bit more costly (like by $15 or something, which is small when you're dealing with big electrical items).
And when I look at how hard everyone else in my department is working, I can totally see why.

We were expecting yesterday to be a quiet day.
Rick Hart had a new store opening in Belmont, and was selling everything there dirt cheap. So cheap that our manager was joking about how she would send our whole department home now to save herself some money. Joking.

It turned out to be the busiest - and best, $$wise - Saturday we've had in a while. It was crazy. We were actually understaffed for a day like that. It's a massive headache trying to juggle so many people who are all waiting for help. But we tried.

And people just kept coming.

I thought I worked pretty hard yesterday, but I'm sure that all the other staff worked even harder. And when customers see how important they are to us, it makes them feel happier, which in turn makes us feel happier (although this is usually because we've just sold them a $3000 TV).


How important are you to us?

The staff can complain about work, and dream of going home throughout the entire shift, but when they see you coming, they still smile at you (in totally non-creepy ways) and try to help you in any way they can.

Many times, they are missing their lunch and/or tea breaks to help you find what you need.

They tell it to you straight. If it's crap, it's crap. They don't want to cheat you into buying something that's third rate, even if it means losing the sale.

After losing that sale, they usually gain a new one by recommending the best option for your needs.

They don't earn commission on almost all of the stuff they sell, so the fact that they bother at all says something.

You have no idea how often they operate at a loss to keep you happy. No, seriously.

At the end of the day, your happiness is our happiness. -Ish.


I saw that yesterday, in all the people I work with. Finny and Ken will understand this. They really work so hard, and the company is not lying when they say that they have fantastic customer service.

People will shop at Myer because of this customer service. It's nice to know that you can walk into a store, and will receive useful help when they need it. It's nice to know that people who work there have a sense of humour, remember you from last time, and are just short of being your friends. It's nice to feel important.

It also makes us happy to know that we've done our good deed for the day.



And this is Jason, on finishing work yesterday...

let's make like an egg and roll.
let's make like a fire and exit.
let's make like a tree and leave.
let's make like a rock 'n roll.
let's make like a hockey player and get the puck out of here.