In order to a store was successful and profitable, the attendants must be attentive and polite. Imagine a picture. You enter a store where the sales assistant tries not to notice you, the cashier is talking to someone on the phone, and the administrator is generally rude to customers. Of course, you are unlikely to have a desire to go to the this shop despite other attractive factors.
It takes a lot of work to train staff to behave politely and correctly. First of all, it should be noted that only those employees to whom the employer has provided normal working conditions and naturally decent wages will be willing to learn professional etiquette.
In order to avoid questions about how to communicate with customers, it is worth registering this in job description. Let's try to understand the basic requirements that professional ethics require from the seller.
friendliness
Employees trading floor each buyer must be personally welcomed. This should be done first of all by the one who is closest to the exit. For the client, the phrase “Hello” or “Welcome” will be enough to set the buyer in a positive mood.
Smile on the face and kindness
Not only the seller should smile in the store, but all employees of the trading floor. At the same time, you don’t need to smile all the time, but only when a buyer appears, so that the smile does not seem abstract. It is worth noting that it is not necessary to smile with all your teeth, you just need to show that the seller is happy to provide the client with any help.
Politeness
When the seller addresses the client, he should be as polite as possible. At the same time, it does not matter whether the buyer came to return the purchases, dropped the goods, or the seller had a suspicion that the client did not pay for the purchases. The appeal must be polite and friendly, otherwise the outlet may lose the main thing - its reputation.
unobtrusiveness
Sales staff should be attentive to their customers, but they should not be intrusive. For example, a sales assistant should not impose his services on a person who does not need them. In addition, the seller must not offer goods in which the buyer is clearly not interested. The duty of the sales assistant is in the field of view of buyers, so that at the right time they can turn to him for help.
Attention to each client
All employees of the trading floor should be attentive to visitors. For example, if a salesperson notices that a decent queue has formed at the cash registers, while other cash desks are not working, he must find the remaining cashiers and warn them to take their jobs.
A situation may arise that the buyer turned to the store employee, whose duties do not include advising customers. In this case, the employee of the outlet should not say that he is not engaged in this and go on. He must help in any case, and if from a professional point of view he cannot do this, then at least find an employee who can help the visitor.
Sociability
Sociable sellers always arouse sympathy among visitors. With such sellers, you can talk on current topics, and this always adds positive emotions. The buyer may want to discuss with the seller not only the products that are in the store, but also the weather for the next week, world events, and so on. The seller must politely and with a smile answer all the questions of the client.
The professional ethics of a service worker is a set of specific requirements and norms of morality that are implemented when they perform professional duties for customer service.
● Each buyer should feel that he is sincerely welcome.
● Friendly look, kind smile facilitates service.
● Accept the customer for who they are. Do not try to remake it in a few minutes of communication. This is not your job!
● Politeness is the most reliable means of dealing with people of different ages, character and temperament.
● Carelessness - greatest evil in relationship with the buyer.
● Customer complaints and objections should never be ignored.
● Sincerely and in a timely manner to apologize is not a humiliation, but a worthy recognition of a certain guilt; it is a sign of culture.
● Nothing hurts and hardens the psyche as much as indifference and neglect.
● Know how to control yourself, show restraint and patience.
● Take care of yourself, do not allow yourself excessive irritation.
● Respond to rudeness with restraint and courtesy.
● Each act of an employee must be motivated and not cause the buyer to doubt its fairness.
● Protect the honor of the enterprise and your employees.
● You may not speak disparagingly of a buyer's choice.
● Try to evenly distribute your strength, physical and mental stress, do not forget about the hours of the main stream of buyers.
● Keep your head straight, do not lower your head when you are in sight, much less talking to the buyer.
PERSONAL QUALITIES OF THE SELLER
1. Politeness
A salesperson who is never rude to customers achieves the best results in working with them. Hot temper, rudeness will not achieve anything, just turn the buyer against yourself. Constant politeness has a positive effect on the most nervous and irritable buyer.
2. Tact
The seller must be able to restrain the manifestations of his mood, never lose his temper. An optimistic person instills peace and confidence in the success of the business, and infects others with enthusiasm.
3. Self-discipline
The quantity and quality of work of the team often depend on the organization of work of senior salespeople, their personal example. If a senior salesperson is careless, sloppy, negligent in his duties, he can be sure that all these qualities are to some extent inherent in his employees.
A good senior salesperson not only tells, but also shows (including by his own example).
4. Demanding
The manager will only be able to improve the work of employees if he systematically requires them to fulfill their tasks. Connivance in this matter leads to irresponsibility, laxity, red tape, which disorganizes the whole work as a whole.
5. Equal treatment for all
In his work, the senior seller must necessarily rely on all employees. It is wrong to surround yourself with the chosen ones and in the future rely only on them. this will retaliate against the senior salesperson for the rest of the staff.
In a small grocery store format "at home" communication between the seller and the buyer comes to the fore. The volume of sales of the store and the number of regular customers, loyal specifically to your point of sale.
It must be remembered that the questions of your employees should be aimed at the final result. And this means that at communication between seller and customer you can not focus on the product and be interested, for example, in the following:
- "How much do you expect?"
- "What do you want to buy?"
The right move would be to use in conversation questions related to the needs of the client, his life values and goals, preferences, etc. To compose a salesperson’s speech, I suggest using a set simple rules and actions that increase sales and purchase conversions.
Seller etiquette rule #1. Your sellers should treat the customer as if he had already bought the product.
I will introduce you to one of the methods to improve the efficiency of the transaction, namely the so-called assumption in your favor. Its meaning is that from the moment a potential buyer has shown interest in the product, the seller behaves as if the buyer is ready this product purchase.
In this method, the role of the client is very passive. He is not only not expected to make an independent purchase decision, but even leading questions are omitted. The seller using this technique does not ask: "Buying?", "What did you decide?" etc. He does not advise the product, but allegedly approves decision, smoothly moving the deal to the final stage. The following questions render, and he imperceptibly accepts the game started by the seller.
- "How many you want?"
- "What to pack in?"
- “How will you pay: by credit card or cash?”
- "How much to weigh?"
Note that no additional tricks are used, no special tricks and techniques of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming. - Approx. Editorial).
The rule is simple and reliable, like a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Customer service is ordinary, according to established standards and norms - with the only difference that the buyer's desire was "foreseen".
Of course, no one will give you a 100% guarantee of the effectiveness of the method. Yes, and there are no methods with absolute effectiveness. But the advantage of the assumptions in their favor is that most buyers will not notice any impact. And if suddenly someone expresses their dissatisfaction with your haste, then you can always politely apologize and refer, for example, to the following factors:
- the fabulous popularity of just this model (product);
- very attractive price.
Phrases that sellers are forbidden to say: memo
What phrases should sellers be prohibited from saying when communicating with customers and how to replace them? Find out the answer from the article electronic journal"Commercial Director".
Seller etiquette rule #2. It is important to show the benefit of the purchase
Everyone knows that the discounts offered on various groups goods, significantly stimulate purchasing activity and significantly increase sales. Let's talk about how to correctly indicate these discounts on price tags and how to operate with numbers in words.
1. You can, for example, indicate the cost of the product and the discount on it:
500 rub. - 10% discount.
2. You can specify new price next to the old one. Like this:
500 rub. 200 rub.
I will immediately make a reservation that the second method, when old price crossed out, works more effectively. And even more effective if you write below: "YOU SAVE 300 rubles." So the consumer will immediately understand how beneficial this purchase is for him.
When communicating with a buyer, the seller must operate precisely with the discount price, especially when communicating with regular customers: “You used to buy this product, but now, making the same purchase, you save 300 rubles. Take four more packs to save 100 rubles on your next purchases.
Seller etiquette rule number 3. Let the buyer know you have a new one
One of the common mistakes many stores make is that sellers do not inform their customers about the appearance of new types of products. They are mistaken, believing that an interested person will find new items and acquire them. In fact, the percentage of such stubborn buyers is very small. Most potential customers would be willing to buy certain products from you if they were offered them. It turns out that you are missing out on profits out of the blue. In order not to make such a gross mistake, it is important to include the following phrases in the speech of the seller:
- “A new assortment was brought to us this morning, look, look…”
- “I noticed that you love this wonderful sauce here - and this new market complements it well.”
- Scripts for communicating with a client: how to increase the average check by 15%
Seller etiquette rule number 4. Use customer complaints to increase customer loyalty
If a customer complains about something, the seller should never tell him that he does not understand anything or that he is wrong. In such situations, the seller should politely apologize and admit their mistakes, even if there were none.
To resolve the conflict, the seller may offer the client to make amends additional discount or other bonuses. Then the buyer will see that the seller is aware of the mistakes and is ready to correct himself.
I note that most often it is these dissatisfied customers who will eventually become your regular customers, since after a successful resolution of the conflict, they become many times more friendly to your outlet. To achieve this result, you must make a list of bonuses and rewards that the seller should use when dealing with dissatisfied customers.
In our country, there are many examples of how customers complain, spend time and nerves trying to prove the wrong of the seller, and in return they are not even listened to. Here's my advice to you: work in contrast with the usual situation, and then a respectful method of communicating with customers will work one hundred percent!
People who come to swear will leave happy - just because:
- their remarks were duly heard;
- they were respected.
Such a simple phrase as, for example, “OK, we will pass on your wishes to our management, and at the moment we can offer you a 10% discount as compensation”, can not only return the buyer, but also turn him into a regular customer.
Let's say you don't work with dissatisfied customers. Let's count the numbers. On average, according to statistics, a regular customer makes purchases for 5 years. Depending on the product and assortment, the frequency of his purchases can vary from one purchase every few months to two or three every week. Now calculate the total profit and, based on these considerations, make a list of bonuses to eliminate complaints and dissatisfaction.
How to protect sellers from extremist buyers
"Buyer-extremist" - a person who deliberately uses the rights provided for federal law"On the Protection of Consumer Rights", for unjust enrichment or obtaining other types of benefits.
Ways to fight
Method number 1. Hire a lawyer. If he already is, kick him out and hire another. A new lawyer must convince your sellers that the key to a positive reputation and increase in the number of clients is the following:
- significant good job with clients;
- strict observance of federal legislation;
- control over the fulfillment of obligations.
Method number 2. If there is no lawyer and is not expected, find on the Internet and carefully read at least the following documents (we give brief names, because all these documents are available):
- Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights";
- Letter from Roskomtorg “Exemplary rules for the operation of an enterprise retail»;
- "Rules of sale certain types goods";
- Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 924 dated November 10, 2011;
- Code Russian Federation on administrative offences.
And there is great amount offers of "mystery shoppers" services - this method helps to optimize the costs of unskilled personnel very well.
Method number 3. Do not change anything, but spend time, nerves, money fighting with buyers(Among which there are quite a lot of normal people).
And try your best to salvage a rapidly declining reputation.
Which option to choose is up to you.
Source: nepofigizm.ru
Seller etiquette rule number 5. Keep a potential customer in your store
Do not let a potential client leave empty-handed until he has become a real client, and preferably a permanent one.
I will give an example from restaurant business. You come to a restaurant, sit down at a table, look at the menu, but you don’t find anything special there, or the prices are high. Yes, everything is civilized, you argue. Of course, you can dine here, but your expectations are not justified. Will you place an order or go to another establishment?
In order not to lose customers, some restaurants use a "compliment from the establishment" - for example, a glass of a branded drink, which is served with the menu. It seems to be nothing special, but the psyche of most people is so arranged: it is difficult even just to try a drink, get up and leave without spending at least a little money in such a hospitable place.
It is the same in your store - you can arrange regular product tastings. This is a great way to encourage a guest to place an order at minimal cost.
You can enhance the effect if you hold a master class on cooking different dishes and invite customers to a tasting. To prevent them from passing by, sellers need to encourage potential buyers to take one specific action. I will give examples of correct and incorrect words.
- Right:“I see you are choosing between these products. Come with me - you will try this product absolutely free of charge and learn about the features of its preparation at the master class.
- Wrong: "We are conducting a tasting of this product." This does not work well because there is no call to action and the benefit for the buyer is not clear.
Teach salespeople to easily and unobtrusively push the client to the desired action, and then success is guaranteed.
- Communication between the seller and the client: what to do if the client is trading
Seller etiquette rule number 6. Make the customer sell to himself
People expect a catch when communicating with sellers, as most have developed a skeptical attitude towards advertising. A person may react with disbelief to the assertion that he needs this particular product (“or maybe you are deceiving me?”, “I know you all need only my money!”).
But there is an extremely effective technique for dealing with the doubts of your target audience.
- Invite the person to decide for himself whether he needs your goods, and do not convince him.
- Give him some criteria for self-assessment.
- After analyzing what has been said, the person will also understand whether he needs the recommendations of the seller.
A simple question will do for this: “What do you want to cook with these products?”.
If you do this, you will surely succeed.
Expert opinion
Alexey Plyasheshnikov,
Consultant, Retail Training Group, St. Petersburg
The main mission of the seller is to be able to find an approach to each buyer. Be one step ahead of his needs. To learn this, it is important to know some of the characteristics of those who come to your store. I will consider the main ones, that is, those that are inherent in most customers.
Feature #1. Differences between men and women
It has long been known that lovely ladies love with their ears. In our case, this rule helps a lot in communication. So, I recommend that my employees start a conversation with a neutral compliment or an abstract topic. For example, you can clarify where she managed to find such a beautiful handbag ... But the main thing here is not to go too far. The compliment should sound sincere, and if you have nothing to cling to, it is better to start with the duty phrase - you will find out which one it is a little later.
Girls love to talk. By asking a few right questions, you can easily ferret out her needs. This is where active listening comes into play. And then try to “deliciously” tell about your product, focusing on the needs of the customer. Be patient and you will be rewarded.
With men, on the contrary, - less words, more deeds. Try to ask clear, meaningful questions. As a rule, a man goes to the store when he needs something specific. Find out with open and alternative questions about his goal and go ahead - act. Appeal with numbers, compare two similar products. Your presentation should be structured and clear. A man will trust you and may agree to an additional product if he feels like an expert.
Feature #2. Having children
It is worth noting the work with children. Based on my experience, children over 4-5 years old are already ready to communicate directly. Ask what they want. They can clarify the opinion of their parents in the third person. This is perhaps the only case when the buyer should be contacted on you.
But do not try to offer your child an overly expensive product: this can cause a negative attitude among parents. The most optimal would be parallel communication with both the parent and the child.
Attracting customers through children - business card McDonalds. Remember how kids love these restaurants. Precisely because here they are waiting for toys in sets with food, as well as free lures in the form of coloring books or bright erasers. Spend weekends in the store, for example, giving away free balloons - and the children will be happy to drag their parents to you.
Service standards
If we consider buyers as a whole, then it is worth considering that not everyone is ready and open to communication. Our market is still under development in the service sector. But can we let the seller decide on his own: who should be approached, and who is certainly better to look at everything himself? Trust me, then employees will stop approaching customers altogether.
Therefore, a standard should be set by which sellers:
- greet each customer;
- suitable for every client.
It is important to follow a few rules here. Firstly, in order to greet each customer, it is better to organize a “watch” in the entrance area of the store. After the buyer has been greeted, give him time to look around the trading floor. Teach employees to recognize the signs that indicate the buyer's readiness to establish contact. Here are some of them:
- the buyer stopped and examines certain group goods or takes any goods from the shelf;
- the buyer looks around for staff, calls the seller.
If this does not happen, you should take a pause of 2-3 minutes and begin to establish contact.
Ways to establish contact
I will consider five main ways to establish contact with the buyer.
- The seller can greet the buyer and introduce himself, indicate his willingness to help.
- Start a conversation with information about the product that the buyer has picked up, for example, talk about its characteristics. It is possible to inform the buyer about promotions taking place in the store or about the updated assortment.
- Invite the buyer to get the goods from the top shelf or from a closed display case.
- Start a conversation about the weather or about the trends of the current season (remember how we started a conversation with a girl). The only caveat is this method "for advanced users".
- Ask the buyer a question.
I will dwell a little more on the last method of establishing contact.
Try to taboo two questions for your salespeople:
- "Can I help you with something?"
- "Can I give you some advice?"
In our country, these questions can only cause rejection. This is due to negligent colleagues who, due to addiction to an aggressive way of selling, have destroyed the very opportunity to ask these questions. I think, remembering your experience as a buyer, you will answer the question of which stores helped kill these phrases.
Questions to the buyer can be divided into three types: closed, open or alternative. Each of them can work great.
Closed questions(they can be answered "Yes" or "No"):
- "Is this your first time in our store?"
- "Are you looking for something specific?"
Open questions(the answer will be different from "Yes" or "No"):
- "Which brand do you prefer?"
- “Which candy factory are you interested in?”
Alternative questions:
- “Do you choose for yourself or as a gift?”
- “Are you interested in hard or soft cheeses?”
Give the sellers the opportunity to come up with questions, brainstorm on this topic. Let each of them choose the question that he will like and does not cause a feeling of obsession.
How to create comfort
Believe me, now buyers have the opportunity to choose where they spend their time. A high level of service is perhaps one of your key competitive advantage. And in this case, the comfort of the buyer plays a significant role.
Therefore, convey the following information to your sellers. Buyers may feel uncomfortable:
- if employees, for example, gather in groups and actively discuss what is now in cinemas;
- if the employees of the trading floor allow themselves evaluating ("scanning") views;
- if the seller answers the buyer's question reluctantly and as if doing a favor.
Do not also during the presentation of the goods:
- use a lot of specific terms - otherwise you will put the buyer in the position of a layman;
- immediately offer an expensive product - it's better to start with an option at an average price.
Price is usually the most common reason for buyer's doubt or objection in closing a deal. But not all buyers are ready to admit that it is expensive for them. If the buyer asks to see something else - most often this means that it is the cost that confuses him. Offer something similar, but cheaper. Check if he likes this product. What confuses him? Determine the reason for the doubt - perhaps he needs a different set of vitamins / tastes, etc. And you should not ask the buyer in the forehead how much he is willing to spend (the only exception is if he picks up a gift).
But now the buyer is already moving to the checkout. It would seem that the seller did his job and the queue for the cashier. But it was not there. Train your salespeople in post-sales work. I mean an elementary compliment when the deal is done. It is at this point that the buyer can eliminate possible bias and aim to sell anyway. Compliment his choice, his taste, but not the product. The buyer needs confirmation of the correctness of his choice - so convince him of this in the end.
Step-by-step work with the buyer is, perhaps, the most basic and most responsible task of the seller. Keep this in mind when training employees. Don't forget to sort out difficult service cases every day in the morning meeting. I am sure that you will succeed!
- Psychology of communication with a client: hidden tricks of sales letters
Expert opinion
Andrey Tolstov,
Director of the Produkty store, Yaroslavl
Before opening own shop I have worked in trade for about 7 years. I had the practice of personal communication with buyers, so I passed on the experience to my employees.
When in 2004 the first sellers were subordinated, I immediately warned them what words should not be heard in our trading floor. Now my requirements are a mini-guide for beginners. The “foremen” also check with him - this is how I jokingly call those who have been with me since the very opening.
So we don't ask buyers:
- "What you need?"
- "What are you interesting in?"
These questions sound somehow dismissive ... It's even worse when the seller, when asked to tell you which alcoholic drink to take to the celebration, clarifies: “How much do you expect?”, And when he hears the numbers, he gives a comment: “Not enough” or something similar.
The main thing I teach beginners is to be friendly, to greet customers as if they were good friends.
Here are examples of how my salespeople communicate with customers:
- “I see you are trying to choose the best coffee. Let me tell you about the flavors of these varieties.”
- “This product is not just delicious, it has such beneficial properties…”
- “Great choice of wine, let me recommend some cheese for it…”
After the service is completed, the cashier always says: “Thank you for choosing our store. We'd love to see you again."
Of course, our outlet is not located in a residential area, there are few regular customers. The area is central, there are many institutions around, educational institutions, shops. Therefore, it is not possible to create an atmosphere of friendly communication, which often occurs in sleeping areas.
But the self-service format and a large alcohol department allow you to develop a dialogue, and not be limited to a seller's monologue to nowhere. I mean expert advice on the compatibility of a drink and a dish, the year of manufacture, the country of origin, the taste of expensive wine or spirits.
So that my employees do not get lost in different situations, we conduct trainings when they recreate certain complex dialogues with buyers during weekly meetings. Speech should be free - this encourages buyers to communicate.
Company Information
RETAIL TRAINING GROUP. Year of establishment: 2009. Services: training and consulting in the field of retail trade, programs and seminars to improve the efficiency of retail enterprises. Clients: X5 Retail Group, MEXX, Sela, Tom Tailor, Levi's, White Wind Digital, Shatura, Globus, T3C, Reebok, Top Book, etc. Staff: 7 people.
IP TOLSTOV A. I. Year of creation: 2004. Number of stores: 1. Area: 90 m 2 . Staff: 9 people. Turnover and profit: not disclosed.
The sales process and sales management are inherently socio-economic in nature, with the result that sales personnel are constantly confronted with social, economic, ethical and legal issues. Let us dwell on the ethical aspects of sales management.
ethical behavior sales personnel is a behavior based on the following principles:
to be honest;
maintain confidentiality and trust;
follow the accepted rules and behave appropriately;
be fair to others;
demonstrate loyalty to the company and colleagues;
Do your part and take your share of the responsibility.
Sales personnel deal with three main areas of ethics that concern themselves sales professionals,theiremployers and clients.
As part of ethics behavior towards salespeople there The sales manager has to consider five ethical questions: To what extent can the sales person be pressured? what should be the sales territory of a particular agent; whether it is necessary to be honest with a sales agent; what to do if the agent is ill; What rights should an employee have?
The first question should be addressed by all sales managers, since they are responsible for achieving their goals, so it is only natural that they will put pressure on salespeople to achieve their goals. However, there is no clear answer to the question of what pressure should be. It depends on many circumstances. But it should be noted that the sales manager must still solve problems regarding sales rates, recognize or not recognize the overestimation of goals, etc.
Territory decisions affect the choice of territory as well as salespeople. Sales professionals spend many years to win customers in their area and achieve the sales volumes that they have. If, for example, the sales territory shrinks, sales agents lose customers, which leads to a decrease in their earnings. With an increase in the territory of sales, sales volumes also grow, however, the sales agent cannot immediately develop a new territory, which will lead to failure to achieve the goals set. Companies must treat specialists fairly and honestly, justify the changes that are taking place, and set tasks for sales representatives in accordance with them.
The practice of solving the third question shows that sales managers prefer to tell the truth to their staff both in cases of honest and efficient work of a specialist, and in cases of his unprofitable activities. Here it is necessary to be guided by common sense.
When salespeople are ill, managers need to take a personal interest in their recovery, and not leave them alone with their problems.
Sales managers must comply with ethical standards and laws that are relevant to the rights of their subordinates.
Relationship Ethics sales and employment professionals tellers concerns the following situations: misuse of company property; work on the side; fraud; causing damage to colleagues at work; technology theft, etc. In these cases, employers believe that the behavior of the staff is contrary to the norms of ethical behavior and is unacceptable.
As part of ethics of customer relations Many controversial ethical situations can arise, namely:
offering a bribe or gift to a buyer;
providing the buyer with distorted information about the product;
price discrimination of customers (for example, when price discounts are provided to some customers, but not to others);
supply of goods in the load;
implementation of mutual transactions that limit competition in the market, etc.
Particular attention should be paid to the ethics of sales management, as organizations are concerned about increasing social responsibility and ethical issues in the sales process. Management practices that help an organization be more accountable and ethical include the following: top management takes on a managerial role; careful selection of leading personnel is carried out; an ethical code is introduced to guide the organization; ethical structures are created; reporting of unethical acts is officially encouraged; sales ethics are formed and control systems are introduced.
Follow the leader. The CEO and CEO of the company, the president and vice president must, of course, fight for ethical behavior in the company. Others will follow suit. Their speeches, interviews and actions must be consistent with the ethical values of the organization at all times.
Leadership is important. Since only a few reach the third, highest level of ethical development, it is important to carefully select managers. Only the most honest people, adhering to the highest level of standards and values, should be in leadership positions.
Introduction ethical code. The Code of Ethics is the company's official statement of its values relating to ethics and social responsibility. The code of ethics specifies what values the company espouses, what behavior it expects from its employees and what it will not put up with. These values and behaviors must be reinforced by leadership behavior. The support of senior management provides the necessary assurance that employees will abide by the code of ethics.
There are two types of ethical codes: principle-based statements and policy-based statements. Principles-based statements should influence the organizational culture, define fundamental values, and include general language regarding responsibility, product quality, and the treatment of employees. General statements based on principles are often called corporate creed.
Policy-based statements usually describe the procedures to be used in certain ethical situations. These situations include matters relating to marketing activities, conflicts of interest, compliance with laws, personal information, gifts, and equal opportunity.
Creation ethical structures. Ethical structures are the various systems, positions and programs that a company can create in order to ensure ethical behavior.
Many firms organize ethics committees or designate an employee to handle complaints. The Ethics Committee is a group of executives whose duties include monitoring the ethics of the company. The committee takes on the responsibility of disciplining offenders, and this is natural if a company wants to directly influence the behavior of its employees. A business ethics attorney is an officer who embodies the corporate conscience, listens to and investigates ethics-related complaints, and informs senior management of potential ethical issues.
Encourage reporting of unethical behavior. Exposing an employee's illegal or immoral behavior and reporting it to the employer is called reporting unethical behavior. Companies can make the whistleblowing mechanism a matter of policy. All employees who, in one way or another, become aware of the illegal activities or unethical behavior of others should be encouraged to report these incidents to their supervisors.
Creation ethical climate for sales. The single most important factor in creating a climate conducive to ethical sales behavior is the actions taken by senior managers. Sales managers should help improve and maintain the organization's code of ethics, convey to their subordinates - managers and their agents - the rules of ethics and their uncompromising position regarding unethical behavior. They can achieve a higher level of ethical awareness during meetings, training sessions, and in contact with clients when they work with sales agents.
Building systems control. And finally, it is necessary to organize control systems. Should there be methods to determine if salespeople are paying bribes, falsifying reports, and inflating costs? For example, you can check sales data for low prices to determine if all procedures were followed correctly. The punishment may be dismissal, transfer to a less qualified job, suspension from office or reprimand. It is possible, for example, to deprive an agent of a commission if the deal concluded was associated with unethical actions.
Ultimately, management must focus on creating an ethical workplace environment to best serve customers and achieve company goals.
Thus, the rules of ethics have absorbed the centuries-old experience of mankind in creating a favorable sales climate. Their observance allows: to avoid conflicts arising from blunders in communication; make a good impression without spending much effort; win over the client without belittling one's own dignity.
Retail chains are developing a set of rules for communicating sellers with buyers.
The Association of Retail Companies (AKORT), which unites 37 largest retail chains in the country, will create an ethical code of communication with customers. Among others, it will include rules, recommendations and instructions for store employees who cannot resolve a conflict situation with a consumer. This was announced to Izvestia by the executive director of AKORTAndrey Karpov.
According to Karpov, this week the agenda of discussion with ACORT members will include the issue of creating a single document that will define the rules of conduct for store employees in relation to customers. This is required in order to exclude cases like the detention on February 3 of an 81-year-old pensioner Rauzy Galimova. Her employees of the Magnit store in St. Petersburg were suspected of stealing the butter that was left in the cart; Galimova tried to pay, but the store employees called the police, in the department the pensioner died of a heart attack. "Magnet", when the scandal took on proportions, publicly apologized and expressed condolences, and the owner of the company Sergei Galitsky in the microblog wrote that it would not be necessary to call the police on " such an old woman". However, the company also stated that Galimova she stole in a St. Petersburg store before, and the director of this point was sent on vacation.
- We will consider this issue in the near future - not Sergei Galitsky and the event that happened, but in general. Unfortunately, this kind of thing happens from time to time. Karpov says. According to him, today each of the networks has its own ideas about ethical standards in working with clients, and there is still no single document that would be approved and accepted by all market participants. As an example effective work such agreements, we can cite the Code of Good Practices, which in 2012 was supported by retail chains and suppliers for honest interaction with each other and providing customers with quality consumer goods.
Karpovnoted that store employees, whose tasks also include identifying and, if possible, preventing shortages, find it quite difficult to act in conflicts with the client.
- Such cases happen, and we want them to be leveled. But we must not forget the other side of the coin - there really is theft in stores, and thieves cause damage to quite large sums ( as Izvestia wrote , according to official data, this is, for example, 638 million rubles for 2013, unofficial data is orders of magnitude higher). It is possible to prevent, I am sure, only 10% of thefts. Basically, they learn about the shortages after the inventory, - speaks Karpov.
Representatives of retail chains say that they are not against the development of a common code of ethics, especially since each chain already has experience in working on its own internal instructions for the behavior of employees with customers.
- We have a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics in the company, which states that employees "are obliged to communicate with consumers with dignity and respect." We conduct psychological testing of full-time staff when hiring, spend resources on training new employees: we have our own corporate universities and training centers where they teach not only the basics of trading, but also polite communication with customers. They teach both theory and practice: trainings, role-playing games with difficult behavioral situations, - told Izvestia the head of the PR Department of X5 Retail Group Vladimir Rusanov. He noted that the company is ready to discuss AKORT initiatives aimed at the benefit of customers.
The Dixy Group of Companies told Izvestiya that they welcome any undertakings that can support the ethics of doing business and improve service. Today, the group's stores use an internal regulation to prevent offenses on the trading floor, based on the norms of the current legislation.
- Explanatory work is periodically carried out with store managers on the rules of conduct in similar situations. At the same time, the company takes a principled position in relation to offenders, whether they are customers or employees, - noted in the press service of "Dixie".
Consumer advocates are convinced that at first new code will be only a formal document that allegedly declares loyalty to consumers. But within a few years ethical rules with their revision and practical experience can help change the quality of service in the country.
It's like teaching a child to brush their teeth. At first, everything is done reluctantly, and then it becomes a habit. Consumer rights advocates have been waiting for such a document for a long time. It is needed in the same way as an agreement between suppliers and networks on fair partnership (Code of Good Practices), - says the chairman of the Union of Consumers of the Russian Federation Petr Shelishch. - The main principle in the code should be the principle “the buyer is always right, unless proven otherwise».
From the majority of conflict situations, in his opinion, it is worth looking for a way out without involving the police.
- Sergei Galitsky said that the store employees acted according to the instructions. And indeed it is. It is often stated in the internal rules of networks that in the event of any conflict, the police must be called, - notes Shelishch. - This provision should be abolished, as well as the obligation of sellers and cashiers to pay fines for damaged and unsold goods. Our organization receives complaints regarding all networks for unethical and even illegal behavior with customers. So, most of them relate to searches, searches by store security and illegal detention on suspicion of theft. There are also complaints on the facts of coercion to pay for products accidentally broken in the hall, they are forced to leave valuables in the storage rooms, while they are not responsible for safety.
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