Signs let your customers know what to expect in your store. Signs showing which door to enter, where things are in the store and signs letting folks know what to expect when they purchase age restricted products.
Some retailers might be surprised to know that when it comes to stores that sell tobacco and vapor products, 42 states require either a specific state-issued sign or specific words that must be posted on entry or at the retail point of sale.
Developing employees involves training and regular positive reinforcement -- we all know that what gets rewarded gets repeated.
Employees who perform well at their jobs often report that management not only stays on top of how they’re doing but also rewards their good performance.
One of the best ways to do this is to provide positive reinforcement when employees do the right things and constructive feedback when they do the wrong things. If you don’t, your employees will do what they think is right instead of what you know is right.
Training employees is vital and making sure they have the knowledge they need to do their job effectively can make all the difference.
Do they know the correct age to sell tobacco or vaping products? (Hint 21) Recent research shows that some folks weren’t aware that the law changed nationally to age 21 for tobacco and vaping products.
Reading the news headlines you might think that those underage are getting tobacco and vapor products primarily by buying them from retail outlets.
This is not the case.
Research conducted by We Card shows that employees who fail compliance checks often do so after they have asked for ID. Many employees look at the ID and then don’t do the age calculation properly and proceed with the sale. One of the reasons we hear is that: “I thought that they were old enough to buy” This may happen even when examining an ID that shows the customer is under the legal age to purchase age restricted products.
According to a 2017 survey conducted by NACS of more than a 1,000 consumers, many Americans got their start working in a convenience store. It’s a great place to gain experience, work with customers and learn the ropes.
We Card kicks off its Awareness Month September 2020, and lots of things are underway to raise awareness of responsible retailing as we head into the Fall.
In its 25-year history, We Card has gone from a startup nonprofit to the go-to organization for training materials and age-verification tools for retailers. During that time, the words ‘We Card’ transitioned to an action verb, a retail company policy and a corporate social responsibility program. Overall, We Card has played a major role in moving from a 40.1% violation rate in 1997 to a 9.6% violation rate in 2018.
Convenience retailers have unique challenges when it comes making sure every customer is satisfied with the point of sale experience. One of the best ways to prepare for the range of challenges front line employees face is to provide practice situations where the stakes are low and the opportunity for learning is high.
This leads us to our next best practice #6
Simulate Difficult Situations That Occur at the Point-of-Sale
