The income gap: The growing chasm between server and served

by Doug Stephens — President, Retail Prophet Consulting

Review any retail sales training program written in the past 50 years and you'll likely encounter multiple references to the word "rapport." Rapport, or the…

Retail Customer Service 101: Phone etiquette

by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

Considered common sense and unnecessary by many, telephone etiquette training is back in vogue. As many companies struggle to ride the fierce waves of…

Walgreens lawsuit highlights the need for common sense in managing employees

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

Expect some serious backlash against Walgreens when this story goes viral: Josefina Hernandez was an 18-year employee of the retailer, at the company's South…

Why adding on may be costing you sales

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Most specialty retailers whose staff is sales-focused emphasize add-ons. When done well, this approach can slightly increase a store's average sale, but I…

Summit: How to track your employees' customer service

Kristi Behr, head of operations for AT&T retail locations, discusses the chain's process for monitoring the customer experience.

Summit: The power of positive thought

Bob Phibbs, aka the Retail Doctor, believes retailers should think more positively. He spoke at the Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit 2011.

Retail Customer Experience Executive Summit: It's up to you to create good employees

Panelists discuss how to attract and develop valuable employees.

Zappo's Tony Hsieh on The Colbert Report

by James Bickers — Editor, Networld Alliance

In case you missed it: Zappo's CEO Tony Hsieh appeared as the interview guest on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" the other night, discussing his…

Three ways to make your training more effective

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Whether you're a trainer for a company, or an executive, owner, or manager who is responsible for getting their employees trained, here are three ways to make…

Traditions build customer loyalty

by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

Over the weekend, I went on a trip to my favorite vacation spot: Family Camp. This is a little spot nestled in the forest of the Sierras right outside…

Three ways you are frustrating your customers

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

A buddy of mine named Matt heard about a big electronics store that was closing. He wanted to finally get a flat screen TV, but he and his wife were nervous…

Customer experience: Southern hospitality at its finest

by Peggy Carlaw — VP, Impact Learning Systems

I live in the happiest place in America. No, it's not Disneyland, it's San Luis Obispo, California. At times, it feels like I'm in a small southern town where…

You have got to hit the customer

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

No, not literally! Although while hitting customers would obviously be bad for business, it would give you a chance to build a relationship with Bubba the Bail…

You can't sell a Rolex like a Ram Truck

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

More and more brands are opening their own retail outlets in an effort to make their brand stand out. But more importantly to control their image.

Thumping the sales slump

by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

Just about any store or person hits a sales slump sometime in the year. Some slumps last a day, some last a couple days, and some last an excruciating amount…

FurstPerson launches Web-based retail-hiring solution

June 12, 2011

FurstPerson Inc., a provider of on-demand, pre-employment assessments and talent management solutions for customer contact organizations, today introduced an…

Are your store operations preventing sales?

by Harry Friedman

Have you ever had someone ask you the reason behind one of your policies or procedures, such as not accepting any deliveries on Tuesdays? Or, maybe you've had…

The Retail Defense Team: Protecting stores from customers in a mall near you

by Harry Friedman

Lease Line Deputies. Perhaps you've seen them. Perhaps you've had one working in your store. They're found in most retail malls, standing in front of their…

Wowing Customers Doesn’t Come With A Groupon

by Bob Phibbs — CEO, The Retail Doctor

I was reading a blog about using Groupon for a restaurant and a posted comment stood out, "... the key is adding value, so that when they use their Groupon at…

Ideas to retain service quality in a growing company

by Mike Wittenstein — Customer Experience and Service Designer, Storyminers

Small companies often deliver a higher-quality customer experience than larger companies. But as small companies grow, it becomes more difficult to stay close…