Rick Segel stood in front of us and said, “Sixty-second manager training…”

“Everyone take your finger and thumb and make the ‘okay’ sign. Now place that circle right against your chin. Put it right there on your chin.”

At the same time Rick placed his own okay sign firmly against his cheek.

We did, too.

“Your chin, folks, put it on your chin.”

One of your biggest roles is Role Model.

Role Model for the way to treat guests. You are never too busy to ignore a guest. You always have the time to at least lead a guest over to one of your staff and say, “Let me introduce you to Ruth. Ruth is the expert on this and she can help you better than I can.”

Role Model for the kind of attitude you want in your store. When you act cheerful and upbeat, no matter how tired you are, your staff will try to match you. When you put a positive spin on negative situations, they will do the same. When you cut people down, they’ll cut people down. When you talk about customers behind their backs, your staff will do the same – sometimes out on the sales floor in earshot of other customers!

Role Model for the kind of behavior you expect of your staff. If you don’t go the extra mile, neither will they. If you show them appreciation for the work they do, they’ll show appreciation to your customers.

Your staff will rarely ever do more than you do, no matter how much you ask. It’s not what you say. It’s ___________   _______   _____ (fill in the blanks).

-Phil Wrzesinski
www.PhilsForum.com

PS Of course, first they have to be the kind of person that wants to do those things. Make sure you hire for the right character traits or they might not even raise the okay sign to their face in the first place.