Schedule Your Store Based On Your Customers Needs

Writen by Jerry Robertson

Proper scheduling can make a noticeable difference in your sales and profits. Many stores schedule on employees needs instead of what is best for your customers. Yes, you need to consider your employees availability to work, but part of the hiring process should to consider the flexibility of the employee's times to work.

It is common in many large corporations to have their best employees to work days Monday- Friday. The problem is that most businesses are busiest during evenings and weekends. This means many large corporations fortunes rest on the customer service level of part-timers many of them kids in high school. This can be a huge advantage for the small business to compete with the large retailers.

There are many factors to consider in making your schedule. You must consider specific tasks to be done and the peak hours of your customers. It is common for a business to have too much help in the slower times or when the manager/ owner is present. Here are just a few issues that I have seen in scheduling:

1. Too many people right when the store opens. Many stores are slow or just have a few customers until lunch time. It is best to stagger the employee's times.

2. Some stores have too many employees after closing. There may be a last minute customer, but five employees are not needed to help this customer. If an owner saves 15 minutes here and an hour their, at the end of the year, it will add plenty to the bottom line without sacrificing customer service level.

3. Employees write their schedules. They come in and or leave whenever they feel like it. This can result in poor service levels or excessive help when not needed. The owner / manager needs to make a schedule and make any adjustments to the schedule.

4. Here is a problem especially if you have part-timers working for you. Certain employees don't work well together. They are more interested in chatting with each other instead of serving the customers.

5. Too many employees taking lunch and or dinner together. This often leads the store short to keep your customer service levels superior. Also, many stores are busier during this time because the customers are on break or off from work.

There are many issues to consider when scheduling for your store. The bottom line is to take care of your customers while controlling your payroll.

Jerry is a seasoned retail veteran with over 25 years of retail management / consulting experience. He has a fantastic record of increasing sales and profits by utilizing creative solutions. You can get free tips, articles, resources, newsletters, and small business forums at: http://www.jrobconsult.com