Award in Occupational Studies 600/2853/1

This award is made up of: A range of optional units across 14 occupational areas. This scheme focuses on the retail industry and includes the following 3 units: understanding the business of retail. developing Customer Service Skills. problem solving at work.

Understanding the business of retail

What you will cover in this unit  understand how retail outlets differ in size and type  understand the range of retail occupations  understand the retail supply chain  understand the contribution that the retail sector makes to the economy of the United Kingdom  understand how customers’ concerns influence the products and services offered by retailers.

The retail sector

Retail channels resale, but for use and consumption by the purchaser  retail is the sale of goods to end users, not for resale, but for use and consumption by the purchaser  there are 3 main ways for goods to get to customers: purchased in a store bought via a catalogue – mail order, party plan internet.

Types of retail organisations  national chains, eg Boots, Marks & Spencer  specialist shops which sell a limited range of products, eg Mothercare, Waterstones, Halford  department stores, eg Debenhams, House of Fraser  independents, eg family-owned businesses, local shops  convenience stores  discount/clearance/factory outlets, eg Poundland  internet-based organisations, eg Amazon, ebay market traders

Retail locations  high street  shopping centres  superstores/hypermarkets  retail parks  local community shops  street markets  online stores.

The importance of Retail  retail is the largest private sector employing almost 3 million people  over 50% of staff are employed part time  40% are employed full time  10% are self employed  many young people are employed in retail  source: Working Futures 2010 -2020 (Wilson & Homenidou, 2011)

Working in Retail  shop assistant  customer services  merchandiser  stock controller  HR  finance  head office.

Researching retail jobs

Retail supply chain Raw ingredients Manufacture Warehouse Retail Customer The Retail supply chain looks at the process of how products are made and get to the customer. How do apples get to the end customer?

Retail and ethics  customers have concerns over ethical issues on wellbeing and environment  retailers aim to sell products and services produced in a way that minimises social and/or environmental damage, while avoiding products and services deemed to have a negative impact on society or the environment  eg, Fairtrade suppliers, campaigns against clothing sweatshops.

Retail and the environment  making goods  transporting goods  packaging and waste management  recycling, reusing, reducing  store energy  ethical and Fairtrade  traffic to stores.

Marks & Spencer – Plan A

Developing customer service skills

What you will cover in this unit  understand the benefits to the organisation of good customer service  understand the possible consequences of poor  understand the value of first impressions  understand positive verbal and non-verbal interaction with customers  understand that respect for the individual is at the heart of good customer service  understand his/her role in dealing with complaints from customers.

Your experience of receiving customer service  in pairs, think about and discuss your experiences as a shopper  think about a time when you had a very positive shopping experience  what made it so good?  now think about a time when you had a disappointing shopping experience  what was bad about it?

What is Customer Service?  good customer service is the lifeblood of any retail business  promotions and discounted prices may bring in customers but unless you can get some of those customers to come back again, your business won’t be profitable for long  good customer service is all about bringing customers back  customer service is about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback on to their friends and family and to become repeat customers.

What is customer service?  customer service is more than serving customers - it includes trying your best to make sure that the customer is satisfied  customer service is being friendly and helpful to customers  customer service is helping customers satisfy the need that brought them into the store  customer service is offering that little something to make the customer feel that they are special and welcome  customer service means having thorough knowledge of your stock range, experience with your products, and being able to help customers make the best choices for them  good customer service maintains current customers and helps attract new ones. What else can you add to this list?

The Customer Experience  what are customers looking for when they buy products and services? a solution to meet their needs a product/service which will do the job properly a quality product which will last for as long as needed a guarantee a pleasant experience when purchasing.  what else can you think of that a shopper will be looking for?

Customers will expect  to feel welcomed into the shop  staff to listen to their requirements  staff to be helpful  staff to be knowledgeable  staff to be polite  staff to be patient  staff to be able to resolve any problems  to pay a price which meets their budget  to buy a product or service which meets their needs  a positive experience.

Poor customer service experiences of receiving  thinking about your experiences of receiving poor customer service, what did you do about it?  what would the impact be on an organisation if customers were to receive poor service?  why do retailers ensure staff are trained in customer service?

First impressions says everything second chance to make a good first  a first impression says everything  you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

Skills needed to ensure good customer service know your products and services listen to your customers have good communication skills: verbal non-verbal have empathy with your customers be able to solve problems.

Verbal communication The way we speak is made up of a number of different elements: the words we use the type of language we use in different situations (chatty, jargon) tone of voice (angry, upset, nervous, serious, happy) Pace (slow, moderate or fast) Medium (face to face, on the telephone).

What makes a good listener?  we all listen don’t we?  in pairs can you come up with 10 points on what makes a poor listener  now looking at each point, how can you change it so you can be a good listener.

How can you show you are listening actively?  stop what you are doing to listen to the speaker  make sure your mind is focused  make eye contact with the speaker  be quiet  nod your head and accept what they say  use expressions like “I see”, “Yes” , “ah ha” and “Hmmm”  check your understanding by asking questions  use open body language  try to hear what the speaker is attempting to say – don’t let your own views or emotions affect your listening  do not judge the speaker based on appearance.

Activity: listening triads  you will be allocated into groups of 3: one person will be the speaker one person will be the listener one person will be the observer  the speaker has to select a subject to talk about from the list  the listener must listen actively to the speaker  the observer should watch and listen, make notes on how they showed listening and questioning skills and feedback. Topics to talk about a favourite hobby or leisure activity the best holiday you have ever had your favourite film/TV programme the 3 things you would take to a desert island your favourite book.

Non–verbal communication: Non-verbal communication is how we send out messages and signals without talking, including:  eye contact  touch  physical gestures  body language  behaviour  facial expression  posture  closeness to other people, eg ‘invading personal space’

Body language & active listening Good body language Bad body language  nodding  leaning forward  eye contact  making notes discreetly  tilting head towards speaker  mirroring body language.  slouching  yawning  tapping your fingers  rolling your eyes  looking away from the speaker  crossing arms/legs.

Customer confidentiality  why is it important for certain information to be kept confidential?  why is this important to the customer?  why is it important to the organisation?

Treating customers with respect  Equality is ensuring customers or groups of customers are treated fairly and equally and no less favourably, specific to their needs, including areas of race, gender, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age  Diversity aims to recognise, respect and value people’s differences in culture and background.

Dealing with complaints  we cannot satisfy customers all the time  customer service involves dealing with customer complaints effectively.

Main types of complaints Complaints can generally be categorised into one of the following 3 types: product quality or faulty complaints about the service received 3. individual personnel such as a complaint against a member of staff.

Dealing with customer complaints Step 1 listen carefully to what the customer has to say, and let them finish Step 2 ask questions in a caring and concerned manner Step 3 try to see the issue from the customer’s point of view Step 4 apologise without blaming Step 5 ask the customer, “What would be an acceptable solution to you?” Step 6 solve the problem, or find someone who can solve it - quickly!

Record keeping complaints as this will help you to  keep details of the problems or complaints as this will help you to come up with solutions or improvements. date details of the problem or complaint For example: ‘Cheese mouldy before use-by date’ action taken such as: ‘Provided two replacement packs of cheese’ costs involved in resolving the problem. For example: ‘We supplied two replacement packs at a cost of £5.20.’

Complaints are opportunities “A customer with a return is a returning customer.”

Problem solving at work

What you will cover in this unit  understand the different types of problems they might encounter in a place of work  understand how problems can be solved  know how to recognise possible solutions to a specific problem.

What kind of problems might you encounter at work? Are they to do with:  people?  tasks?  resources?

What kinds of problems? on the cards provided - people? - tasks?  work with your group and read the problems on the cards provided  are the problems to do with: - people? - tasks? - resources? Produce a mind-map showing the types of problems and which group they belong to.

How do you solve the problem?  look at the problem your group has been given - why has the problem happened? - could it have been prevented?  match up a ‘possible solution’ card with your ‘problem’ card  do you think this is the best approach to solving the problem?

How do you solve the problem?  can you think of other ways to solve the problem?  agree in your group which method / solution is the best  work individually to prepare a flip chart sheet or PowerPoint slide describing your problem and the way your group agreed to solve it.

Colleague being bullied  Natalie, a work colleague was upset at work and when you asked if she was ok she said she was being bullied by another team member  how would you advise Natalie to deal with the problem?  working in groups of 5 - discuss and try to solve the problem.

Colleague being bullied  how would you solve the problem?  would you deal it: - informally? - formally? - could it be a simple mistake or a misunderstanding?  agree the best option for approaching and solving the problem  why did you choose that option?

Problems at work? with your class.  have you experienced any problems at work?  how did you/or others deal with them?  compare examples of dealing with problems with your class.