September 3, 2024 • 39 mins
ALERT:This episode contains explicit content.
In this episode of The VegasStrong Revival Podcast, hosts Britt and Desiree dive deep into the customer experience in Las Vegas Local Retail. From the importance of greetings and personalized service to the pitfalls of self-checkout and how retail establishments can improve, this episode is a MUST-LISTEN for anyone in the retail industry or who cares about customer service. They also explore the psychological impact of store layouts, signage, and the value of a thoughtful farewell. If you're looking to enhance your retail business or just love a good retail rant, this episode is for you!
Key Takeaways:
- Importance of Greeting: Whether it's a luxury brand like Lululemon or a store like Walmart, a warm greeting sets the tone for the customer's experience. The personal touch makes a significant impact.
- Anticipating Needs: Successful retail experiences involve anticipating customers' needs before they ask—offering to take clothes to a dressing room or suggesting alternative products.
- Self-Checkout Pitfalls: The pros and cons of self-checkout in retail stores, with an emphasis on how it can detract from the personal touch that enhances customer satisfaction.
- Importance of Store Layout and Accessibility: The placement of restrooms, ease of navigation, and clear signage all contribute to a positive shopping experience.
- The Power of Exits: Just as important as a greeting is the farewell—employees walking customers out, handing them their bags properly, and opening the door leaves a lasting impression.
📲 Stay Connected:
- Text the Podcast Hotline: 702-723-2343
- Social Media: @VegasStrongRevival
- Website: LaCritiqueLV.com/podcast
Let's keep the VegasStrong spirit alive! Share this episode with friends, family, and colleagues who love Las Vegas. Together, we can revive our city's passion for authentic service.
Stay strong, Vegas! 💪
**LEGAL DISCLAIMER FOR THIS PODCAST AND THIS EPISODE CAN BE FOUND AT: LaCritiqueLV.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
La Critique believes in living a life full of
experiences rather thanpossessions, which is why we
designed a concierge servicejust for Vegas locals.
We're all busy, and can any ofus really keep up with all the
changes around town?
And yet, we still crave qualityexperiences when we go out and
spend our valuable time andmoney.
Now, imagine having a personalassistant whose credentials are
(00:22):
quite literally hospitality snoband expert event planner.
Seriously, leave all the detailsto us.
Recommendations, personal Three,two, one.
(00:52):
Welcome to the Vegas StrongRevival Podcast.
Buckle up because we're takingVegas Strong culture to a whole
new level this season.
I'm Britt Whelan, your host,alongside co-host Desiree Wolfe,
event professional and host ofthe Slightly Unfiltered Podcast.
This season, the gloves are offand we're ditching the scripts
for raw, relatable, and evenshocking conversations, tackling
(01:12):
real issues locals face, andbringing in voices from various
industries like fitness,charity, aviation, and more.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and visit Locker
For more about how we're helpingresidents and local business
owners reconnect to the realmeaning of hospitality.
Ready or not, here we go.
(01:32):
And we're back with Desiree Wolftoday.
Hello.
I'm so excited that you're hereand that we get to talk about
this fabulous retail topictoday.
Yes, because I love shopping.
Shopping can be so much fun andit can also be so terrible.
I do have to be in the mood.
I could talk about food andbeverage forever, but a huge
(01:55):
part of Vegas local culture isretail and shopping.
And we have these beautifuloutdoor mall at Downtown
Summerlin, Green Valley Ranch.
You know, we have like greatshopping areas.
Yeah.
Yet, I don't leave feeling wowedas a consumer.
(02:15):
I can't remember the last time.
Well, maybe I can because it wasa long time ago and it stood
out.
Now that I think about it, I'mlike, honestly, it wasn't a 10
out of 10.
It just happened to be an 8 outof 10.
And because I'm normally used togetting a 4 or 3 or a two out of
10, I was wowed by the eight.
(02:36):
Yeah, we've lowered ourstandards, haven't we?
Oh my gosh.
This was at Lululemon indowntown Summerlin.
I have to give them some kudosbecause they have nailed it when
it comes to having a greeter inthe front area at all times.
How important is that to youthat a store has somebody
standing there or ready andavailable to say hello and
(02:58):
welcome in?
I think depending on what theyare selling To have one person
designated as a greeter is veryimportant.
Because Lulu, being a luxurybrand name, if I'm going to go
drop fucking$100 on a tank top,Desiree, I deserve a fucking
(03:21):
greeter at that point.
You know, you can say that it'sa high-end luxury thing, but
Walmart has greeters.
Kudos to Walmart for addressingthe importance of a Because
think about when you go tosomebody's house, right?
You open the door for them.
You welcome them into your home.
It's so important to be greeted.
(03:44):
And it's the same in dining.
Hi, welcome in.
Thank you for being here.
That's the host's job to greetand welcome and then check in.
Retail is no exception in mymind.
There should always be agreeting.
Period.
I don't care if I'm at Lulu orif I'm at CVS.
Yes.
I don't.
I want to be greeted.
(04:04):
I came into your store to spendmy money.
I can't get a, hi, welcome in.
Like what?
Yeah.
At the very bare minimum, guys,if you work in retail, the
greeting is extremely important.
But also when I was at Luluduring this particular
experience, I was asked, hey, isthere anything I can help find
(04:27):
for you?
Are you looking for somethingspecific?
Yeah.
And at that time, I was like, Iwas looking for a gift.
So I had no freaking clue what Ineeded or wanted or what that
person wanted.
And so I was like, you know, sheshops here quite a bit, but you
know, I'm not even sure of yoursizes because they have weird
sizes too, right?
Like it's not the small, medium,large, right?
(04:49):
She ended up helping me with thesizing, the t-shirts versus the
tank tops versus pants versusshorts.
She helped, right?
Like it wasn't just, hi, welcomein and have fun.
You're left alone to your owndevices, figuring out our sizing
systems and where shit is allat.
She took the time to listen.
(05:10):
Yes.
And she asked.
And she was sweet and nice andhad a nice smile.
And I think they also have astandard for appearances.
All of their staff membersgenerally wear the product.
Right.
I don't know that I've everwalked in there without seeing
their staff in Lululemon wear.
Right.
There's a standard ofappearance.
(05:32):
which says to me, I cannot forthe life of me remember if they
have name tags or not, butthey're identified as employees.
Like you can tell that it's anemployee.
It's not just another shopper.
Consistency.
That does annoy me though, notknowing if it's an employee
versus another shopper, becauselike how embarrassing is it to
(05:54):
go up to a shopper and be like,hi, do you know where such and
such is?
Yeah, which I've done.
I actually recently experiencedI was at the mall with my
teenager and we walked into aplace and the lady standing next
to me had a lanyard on.
And I didn't look at the detailsof the lanyard.
(06:14):
I just saw that she was reachingup on the shelf and had a
lanyard.
And I asked her if she knewwhere the junior section was.
And she goes, I don't work here.
And I went, oh my gosh, I'm sosorry.
And you know what happened?
I left.
I was so embarrassed.
I thought I'm not shopping here.
because I think I just died.
Yeah, so embarrassing.
(06:35):
I think that is important.
If you're in retail and you looklike another shopper or your
employees don't look like actualuniformed employees, that is a
problem.
Yeah, I agree.
I would say that another pointwhere I feel like my
expectations are being met orthat I'm being anticipated is
(07:00):
when they see me holding two orthree hangers worth of clothes
and they come up to me and offeroh can i put those in a dressing
room for you yes so you don'thave to cart them around the
store while you continueshopping um yes yes please
because my hands are alreadyfull with my purse and my dog
(07:20):
like i don't want to also cartall this other stuff around so
yeah please take it yes likethank you thank you thank you
thank you and sometimes i say ohyou know what i don't need to
try these on but could they goto the counter and they're
absolutely right and that'sthat's great too it's the level
of knowing your customer yesanticipating what they need
(07:44):
knowing them understanding whatthey're going through in that
very moment even or before theywalk through the door other
great experiences I've hadduring retail I've got to say
returns are a big thing if it'san easy seamless process I I
hate the return process and mostof the time will not return
(08:06):
things because it can be sostressful.
So if you have an easy returnprocess and you don't make the
customer feel bad for bringingsomething back, then you're
doing something right in yourretail.
Yeah.
I want to say Lulu makes itpretty easy as long as you have
the receipt.
Yes.
See, and that's my challenge.
(08:26):
I don't keep receipts.
Okay.
So I'm with you.
Fuck paper receipts.
Yeah.
I'm over it.
Yeah.
Email that shit to me.
Yes please.
Email everything to me and Idon't care if that means that
you're putting me on your emaillist to do so.
Who emails receipts now?
I know somewhere I go all thetime they email the receipt.
Home Depot.
(08:46):
Home Depot.
Home Depot will.
Home Depot nails it.
Yes.
Office Depot also is great.
Are they?
Yes.
I don't shop there but.
I do because I have an officesupply addiction.
That's a real thing by the way.
I I love shopping at Home Depot.
It might be in my top threefavorite places to shop.
(09:08):
Home Depot is great because A,the aisles are gigantic and I
never have to feel like I'msquishing between people with my
cart.
Right.
I also like that the workers aregenerally speaking everywhere
and you could pick out who theyare because of the orange
aprons.
Because of the orange apron.
Yes.
You always know.
And I walk into Home Depot likeI think I know what I'm doing
(09:29):
shortly realizing that I have nofucking clue what I'm doing
inside of a Home Depot, they aregenuinely nice about it.
Because they can see that I havethe lost look on my face.
One of my favorite questionsthat I had, somebody asked, I
was standing in the wood aislelooking for wood that I can
easily build a math project formy fifth grader.
(09:50):
And I don't do woodworking andI'm wandering up and down the
aisles and he's just ready togo.
He's like, can't we just usecardboard?
And so somebody comes over andhe says to me, he goes, what are
you building today?
that I can help you find theright pieces for.
Wow.
And I just thought, okay, wow.
That's a great question to ask.
(10:11):
Not how can, I mean, yes, I lovehow can I help you, but the
fact, what are you buildingtoday?
It takes it one step further,doesn't it?
Yes.
Well, and that's what he, Isaid, I'm building a cat tree.
And he goes, oh, great.
How big do you need it?
We have pre-cut wood.
And he goes, don't forget thetwine for the scratching post.
And I went, okay, I love you.
I love this guy.
That's Home Depot winning rightthere.
(10:32):
Yes.
But also technology wise, HomeDepot has the registers and the
self checkout, which I gostraight to the self register.
The screens, even like the waythat they've designed it, the
screens are extra large and it'sall touchscreen.
So it's very easy to navigate.
They save my email address inthe system when I use my credit
(10:55):
card.
So it's attached to my creditcard.
I never actually have to sitthere and type in my long
freaking email address to getthe copy of the receipt yes it's
just bing bing boom okay bye andthere is always someone standing
there yes because I actually tryand avoid self-checkout because
I'm always the person whosomething won't ring up but I
(11:16):
have noticed Home Depot alwayshas someone standing there ready
to assist well and I thinkgrocery stores finally caught on
to that around town becauselet's be honest okay I'm a
Smith's shopper me too loveSmith's me too rarely go to
Albertsons or a Whole Foods Ilove Trader Joe's.
Okay, we're going to talk aboutTrader Joe's in a second.
(11:37):
But Smith's does have the staffthere waiting to assist people
with a struggle at the register.
Now, unlike Home Depot, I wouldsay I get hung up on grocery
self-checkout way, way moreoften than I do at like a Home
Depot.
Whatever the fuck is going on ingrocery self-checkout, it's the
(12:01):
program.
Oh, oh, it's so frustratingbecause you can't find the right
item.
Right.
You can't find the barcode onthe piece of fruit you wanted.
The scale thing sometimes worksand doesn't.
And then, oh, let me just tellyou, I checked out of a Smith's
and I think I put a sweetpotato, like one sweet potato on
the scale and it rang up forover$7.
(12:24):
Oh, geez.
And I thought to myself, what inthe literal fuck?
Because had I not actuallylooked at that, you would have
paid it.
I would have just paid it.
Yeah.
A, how often is that happening?
And B, why would it ever happen?
Right.
Why would it ever happen?
That should never happen.
And it keeps being reported allover the country in the last
(12:46):
couple of years.
Yes.
Of prices not matching what'sactually on the barcode.
Like when you're out in thestore and you pick up a tray of,
I don't know, chicken breastsand it's labeled as a certain
price.
Okay, cool.
Nowadays, it's like 17 to 21dollars.
So you get it to theself-checkout thing and it rings
up for like$24,$25.
(13:07):
This is being spread all oversocial media.
Yes.
This issue.
Okay.
And it's not store specific.
No.
It's happening everywhere.
Right.
But specific to grocery.
Yes.
Blows my mind because you'veremoved the staff who are
literally paid to check you outand ring up your items.
So that person is trained.
(13:29):
Okay.
This item rang up as thisamount.
I see the price here.
I scan it and I see it on thescreen.
Okay, cool.
It matches.
Like that's part of their job.
Right.
We as consumers, we are nottrained to think that way.
No, nor do I want to.
No.
That should never, ever, ever ina thousand years ever happen.
(13:49):
Yeah.
The fact that it has happenedall over the country repeatedly
is a problem.
The fact that it happened to mehere in Las Vegas is a problem.
Yeah.
So if you are a grocery storeowner, man employee listening to
this you must fix this becauseyou will lose you will lose
customers well for this and Ifrom a business standpoint I
(14:12):
have an opposite thing thathappened I'm gonna confess right
here live do it podcast I stoletwo avocados because they
wouldn't ring up and the clerkwas nowhere to be found I even
tried to do manually searchingfor avocado and it said no
description found so I put theavocados in my bag and I left.
You know, I kind of went, well,no one's here to help me.
(14:34):
What am I supposed to do?
I need to walk out of the store.
So from a business standpoint,not only is it bad customer
service that you'reovercharging, you're going to
start losing money becausepeople are going to be walking
out with it.
You guys are getting lots andlots of products in the door
every single day.
You're having to input them intothe system quite regularly.
(14:54):
I get that.
But if the person who's doingthat job is not doing it
accurately or in enough detail,that person is costing your
store money.
Yes.
Period.
End of story.
Yes.
That person's job is massivelymore important than you may
think.
Like truly.
Yes.
Okay.
Trader Joe's though.
(15:14):
Okay.
Let's go back to Trader Joe's.
They have not implementedself-checkout, which is winning
in my book.
Winning.
Oh, it's so winning.
I moved to this area of town outto Centennial, but my first
couple visits there, I had mydog.
My dog is a service animal.
I don't normally discuss havinga service animal on this show.
(15:36):
I don't think I have at all,actually.
Nope.
It's my first time.
Bodhi.
Bodhi.
Bodhi, it's your big day.
You're getting recognition.
I love you.
He's like, I know.
Look at me.
I'm cute.
I'm cute.
Okay.
So I have a service animal.
He goes everywhere with me.
And because I look the way I do,I don't know, young and
young-ish.
And I...
(15:58):
You don't fit the stereotype ofwhat somebody who needs a
service animal should look like.
Yeah.
I had my dog there.
They stereotyped me.
They didn't think I had aservice animal.
They thought I had a pet.
It was ironic because I had beenshopping all around the store
and even one of the staffmembers wanted to love on Bodhi
and he did.
(16:19):
And I, you know, as long as theyask and Bodhi is okay with it, I
allow somebody to pet my serviceanimal.
Well, then I go to check out andI'm approached by a manager.
This is A common thing for menowadays, it's, I'm not even
nice about it, Desiree, I'll behonest, but I'm very, I'm just
(16:39):
very direct.
I'm like, he's a service animal.
He's not an emotional supportanimal.
He's a service animal.
Would you like to see hisidentification?
Like I just cut right to thepoint.
Right.
But what ended up ultimatelyhappening is like, she, I don't
think she believed me.
And so then at that point I felta little harassed.
Yeah.
And unwelcome.
Yeah.
(16:59):
Granted, I haven't seen thatmanager since.
But I see that employee wholoves On My Dog almost like six
out of ten times I go there.
SPEAKER_00 (17:08):
Right.
And
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
that employee recognizes us and loves On Bodie
and it's all great.
And generally speaking, all theemployees at Trader Joe's love
dogs.
Right.
But Trader Joe's has implementeda very strict shopping policy
where you're not allowed tobring in your pet.
Whereas Smith's, Walmart, someof the other grocers, they don't
give a fuck.
(17:28):
Right.
Like, you have a dog.
As long as your dog isn't goingto pee anywhere on our stuff or
your dog isn't going to um barkat other guests or you know your
dog needs to be well behavedokay yes absolutely your dog
should be trained but i don'tunderstand some of maybe this is
a topic for another day we'regonna have a service dog episode
(17:50):
yes yeah because this is this isa topic and we should have a
topic too and my views havechanged on it yeah on service
animals so okay okay okay we'regonna have that as another
episode oh that's a That's goingto be fun.
I do want to go back to theself-checkout in retail though,
because I used to love shoppingat Kohl's.
(18:10):
Like I was a Kohl's addict.
I've had a Kohl's credit cardfor 15 years.
I definitely buy into the Kohl'scash.
I have a friend just like that.
Oh my gosh.
Except for, I would say the lastyear or so, with the exception
of the fact that whoever's doingtheir buying needs to be fired,
but that could be a whole notherepisode.
No, I went into Kohl's.
(18:31):
not that long like last week andI was like oh that's cute like
and I was just doing an Amazonreturn for somebody else and I
kept walking through the theladies section I was like oh
gosh that's cute oh well oh oh Ilike that and I wonder if their
partnership with Sephora ischanging some things recently
yes I think so I also noticedthat they have a partnership
(18:53):
with Nike which is great becausemy son is a Nike snob except for
when you bring in a brand likeNike to Kohl's I'm now paying
Nike prices and I don't shop atKohl's to pay Nike prices.
So they have raised their pricesquite a bit, but they've also
implemented self-checkout, whichI don't love for a clothing
store.
I don't either because I don'twant to have to get the tags off
(19:15):
the fucking clothes.
Right.
What?
And the hangers?
Yep.
I usually take the hangers offbefore handing them to the
checker-outer.
There's my word again.
Checker-outer.
Yeah, I don't love theself-checkout at a clothing
store.
I'm not a fan.
Okay, yeah, I don't like thatidea.
I hadn't seen that in retailyet.
Yep, Kohl's implemented it thelast couple times I was in
(19:36):
there.
And it's fine when I'm notbuying clothes or things that
need to be, you know, tagsremoved, that kind of stuff.
But I went in there to buy acouple of shirts for my son and
it was so annoying.
Like, I don't have theexperience of checking out.
I'm super slow.
I'm trying to find the stickersand the things on the clothes
and it was just super annoying.
(19:58):
I didn't love it.
I can't say that if I comeacross this, I would not enjoy
it.
I hope it is not setting thenorm for clothing and those
kinds of retail places because Ididn't like it.
And in fact, it just took all ofthe personal feeling out of it.
I don't mind having theconversation with the checker
(20:18):
outer while I'm standing there.
She's asking about my experienceshopping.
All that goes away when you'redoing self-checkout.
I'm with you.
I don't love it.
Customer experience in retailand anywhere really is truly
human interaction action.
100%.
It's that we feel welcome intoyour store.
That we feel valued.
(20:39):
That we feel appreciated.
That we feel like we're beingtaken care of.
And that it's not just thiswelcome in the beginning and
we're going to leave you highand dry for the rest of your
experience within our store.
No, it's taking care of yourguest.
And it's that questioning.
You know, what are you buildingtoday?
What are you shopping for today?
A gift or for yourself?
(21:00):
You know, noticing a mom withkids of different ages, you
know, asking that mom, hey, canI be a helping hand?
Are we shopping for the wholefamily today?
Are you here for somethingspecific?
You know, I'm so disappointedbecause here in Vegas, the
number one gripe right now isthe heat and not a single retail
outlet that I have experiencedin Vegas my entire life.
(21:24):
I don't know.
When's the last time you walkedinto a Kohl's or any other big
retailer and you were offeredwater?
Oh, I couldn't even, I couldn'teven tell you.
Water.
Yeah.
Just fucking water.
Yeah.
I'd be dead on the floor if itwere iced water with lemon and
lime or citrus of any kind.
(21:44):
I'd be dead on the floor, mindblown.
Like, what is this experience?
And I'm coming back tomorrow.
Right.
Because I feel at that point, myneeds are being anticipated.
It's hot as shit outside.
Well, and here's the thing.
If If you did offer me waterwhen it's 108 outside, I'm
probably going to shop a littlebit longer.
(22:06):
Yes.
Or, okay, here's another one.
Not allowing your guests to usea restroom unless you are a
purchasing customer.
Oh, yeah.
Or if you don't have customerrestrooms.
Right.
Oh, no customer restrooms.
It used to piss me off withlittle kids.
I'm sorry.
If I have to use the restroomwhen I walk through your door,
(22:28):
which there is a psychologicalthing about it.
I don't know what it is like Iit's legit it's scientific like
there's something about it thatlike the body goes through and
it's very common when you walkinto a store and you start to
shop that you all all of asudden have to go to the
bathroom interesting and so tonot offer a restroom to your
shoppers is a massive failagreed yeah because guess what
(22:51):
now I have to leave your storeand because I had to leave now
I'm annoyed and I'm not goingback right not going back oh
also like some of the Walmartsoriginally had all their
restrooms in the back of thestore.
Oh, yes.
Right?
Because they didn't want thetransients to come in and use
the restroom at the front andthen leave.
So they located their restroomsall the way in the back of the
(23:12):
store.
Yep.
I would say they've been workingon getting more of the newer
locations.
The restrooms are in the frontof the store.
That is so helpful.
Target.
Target has moved all, everyTarget I've gone into in the
last five years, their restroomsare up front.
Well, I don't want to have tosearch for them.
I You don't want to have to goon a scavenger hunt for them.
(23:33):
Right.
Make sure your signage is largeenough, visible enough, and
accurate.
I've followed restroom signswhere it doesn't even take you
to the freaking restroom.
No, I actually went to the, Isomehow made it behind the
freezer section at a grocerystore.
No, you didn't.
Because I got down the hallwayto use the restroom and the
(23:54):
signage just stopped.
So I thought I was going theright way and I made a left
instead of a right and wentright behind the freezer.
section and the poor stock kidback there was like can I help
you?
And I go I just need to go pee.
Oh my gosh.
So terrible.
Alright so here's a little petpeeve of mine when shopping with
retail specific.
(24:15):
The stickers.
Ross.
Ross stands out.
Oh god the stickers.
The fucking stickers.
Yes.
They're so hard to get off.
Yes.
And they're on every singleitem.
They're on everything.
And it's not easy to get off.
I don't mind a sticker.
If you can peel the sticker offin one or two pulls cool but
these stickers are printed insuch a way that they have
(24:36):
perforations in the center tomake little circles and you peel
one little thing and the stickerdoesn't actually come off so
then the top layer comes off andyou're left with the bottom
layer stuck and then you havelittle teeny tiny oh my god I
yes Desiree I agree the stickersthe stickers are a pain in the
ass the crazy thing is that Ilove Ross I am a Ross shopper
(24:59):
yes like I I have to say even,no, no, I can't say that
confidently.
I would shop there more.
I would buy more items if theywould change their stickers.
I agree with that because I'vehad stuff ruined.
I don't wanna fucking do it.
From the stickers.
I don't wanna have to work whenI get home to peel the sticker
off my damn new picture.
Exactly.
(25:20):
That's what it was.
I had bought a picture.
It was a framed canvas that hadthe sticker price on the lower
part of the frame.
And when I went to go- On theglass, right?
No.
it was on the wood piece of theframe and I peeled it off and it
stripped the paint right off ofthe frame and I was so pissed.
(25:40):
Now I'm like I'll only buy it ifthe sticker is on the back or
easily peeled off.
So yeah stickers are a pain inthe ass.
Yeah guys okay anticipate yourguest needs.
This goes from the time theypull up in the parking lot to
the time they get home with theitems that they purchased.
If they have to then work for 20more minutes just to be able to
(26:00):
use the item that they boughthmm do you think that they're
gonna want to come back and buymore right no no it's a pain in
the ass Ross change your fuckingstickers somebody had to say it
somebody had to say it I'msaying it I don't know if
anybody else's agrees with me Ithink I think a lot of people
would I think most people areokay here's one here's one we're
(26:22):
gonna just pick on Ross for aminute I fucking love Ross I
know I really do love Rossthough I just and maybe this is
why I'm gonna pick on you guysfor a want to go there and love
it and I want to love everyminute of it I don't want to
just love the things I get orthe clothes I find I want to
love my experience and right nowI don't so let's help you out
(26:42):
the security security at Rossyes oh they are so intimidating
looking yes and they're rightthere they're the they're
actually the greeter oh yeahlisten I'm not walking into
Prada yeah I don't need an armedsecurity guard greeting me at
your store yeah I love that theyhave a green yeah but does it
(27:02):
need to be armed security andlike they're in all black with
the white font that's in big bigletters security yeah it's just
intimidating for for that to bethe first person you interact
with at your store yep I alwaysget a little nervous and I don't
know why like I'm not a criminalwell I am because I stole
avocados I get why they're therelisten don't come beat us up
(27:25):
that they need security becausethey're shoplifters I get that
but you're setting the tone thatThat's the first.
For the shopping experience.
Yes.
Now I'm wandering aroundthinking, oh my gosh, is there
going to be, you know, someonewho steals a whole cart full of
stuff while I'm shopping here?
Is there going to be analtercation while I'm shopping?
Yeah.
So now I'm concerned for my ownsecurity while shopping.
(27:48):
You're not wrong.
It sets certain thoughts intoyour customers' minds when they
walk in.
Yep.
And they're not positivethoughts.
Yeah.
So how could we help that?
Change their uniform.
Yeah.
Just slightly.
Just ever so slightly uh whiteis actually a much friendlier
approachable color than black isthat would be the most simple
thing ever yeah you know theydon't have to be right there at
(28:10):
the front to be the very firstperson that a shopper sees just
move their location the tiniestbit yeah okay as far as great
shopping experiences here invegas is there any shopping
experience that stands out foryou yes recently i was at
downtown summerlin uh and mydaughter's favorite store is h&m
(28:30):
We walked in and I was a littleput off at first because we
walked in and not a singleemployee was visible.
So I was like, no, there's nogreeter here.
Nobody said hi.
I was kind of put off.
It's just kind of weird feeling,right?
It is.
It's almost like, hi, do youknow?
And I'm nobody special.
I am not the Kardashians walkinginto your store.
I don't need a big pomp andcircumstance.
(28:51):
Desiree's here shopping.
First of all, I'm not going tospend that much.
Second of all, I don't need it,but at least acknowledge that
I've walked in.
So I was a little put off bythat.
When we're walking around and mydaughter had this outfit in
mind.
She knew exactly what she waslooking for down to the color,
the style.
And we're walking around and oneof the clerks comes over and
(29:13):
says, are you finding everythingokay?
And I actually went, no.
I said, she's looking for ashirt that is, you know, and I'm
describing it.
And she goes, oh, I'm so sorry.
We're sold out of that.
But I have something else thatyou might be interested in.
Walked us across the store tothe clearance rack and she said
(29:34):
I saw these this morning when Iwas restocking and I think you
might like this and the factthat she took the time number
one to to suggest oh I think wehave something and instead of
pointing pointing drives me nutswhen I'm in a store when they're
like oh it's over there thatirritates the crap out of me
this is a Forbes standard on thestrip if you're in a hotel and
(29:55):
somebody asks where therestrooms are you are required
to escort them there yes not tothe stall but just right right
walk them to the area walk themto the area and then you know
and I put your hand out I thinkthat's where I learned it from
is because I got my start herein Las Vegas at the MGM which
has a very high standard ofhospitality so I do the tour
(30:17):
guide yes with my hand I neverpoint it drives me nuts she
walked us over there showed usthe rack she pulled out a couple
of items that she thought wouldbe good substitutions based on
the outfit that we described andthen she said, there's a couple
other things.
You know, let me know if youwant more to look at.
And then thankfully she was alsothe person that helped us behind
(30:37):
the counter.
And she said to me, I'm going towrite down your name and number.
And if we get that shirt back instock, I'll make sure somebody
calls you.
No.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
And she wrote down my name andshe described the shirt and I,
we didn't get a call.
I'm assuming they never gotback.
But the fact that she took theextra time to say, Hey, I'm
(31:00):
going to fall up with you yeahthat was huge so H&M kudos kudos
we had a very positive shoppingexperience there that's awesome
yes I had a great shoppingexperience over the holidays
last year December and it was atAmerican Eagle in downtown
Summerlin I think yeah I foundthese little shirts but the size
(31:25):
I needed didn't come in the twocolors that I wanted so I got
one color that that I did want.
And when I got to the counter, Iwas actually asked, did you find
everything that you wantedtoday?
Right.
And I said, actually, I reallyliked this shirt in pink and
white, but you guys didn't havemy size.
So I'm just going to get thisone today.
You know what he said to me?
(31:45):
He said, well, why don't I justorder it and have it shipped to
your house?
Oh my gosh.
We do free shipping.
Nice.
Like what?
Like, hello.
Um, yeah.
Take my money.
Right.
You just made this so easy forme.
Oh, I love it.
I love that.
Like that was simple.
Right.
Uh, yes, please.
Yeah.
Take all of my money because youheard me and you fixed my
(32:10):
dilemma.
Yep.
And made it happen.
Found a solution for you.
Yes.
And made it easy.
The solution was easy and Ididn't have to pay extra, which
was even better.
I guess other little things thatreally make a customer say wow
when shopping is that checkouttime.
That checkout time is soimportant.
So valuable.
(32:31):
As a manager in retail, if youremployees are not spending that
time getting to know thecustomer and building a
relationship at that moment,guess what?
You're losing out on creating aconnection.
Yes.
Employees are so powerful.
They have so many opportunitiesto build the connection directly
(32:53):
with your customer.
And I'll just say it.
We're failing in Vegas rightnow.
100%.
We are.
Yes.
Failing.
I have not felt like I'm evenseen when I'm out shopping
retail.
I agree with that.
And for a while I was using theexcuse, oh, they're
short-staffed.
But I'm tired of that excuse.
(33:13):
They're not short-staffedanymore.
No.
They just haven't trained theiremployees to give a shit.
They're lacking the training.
And that's exactly it.
And for a lot of these people,this probably is their first
job.
So I can't put all the fault onthe young kids.
I think a lot.
lot of it goes back to trainingfrom management it's your
responsibility as a manager shopowner to make sure that your
(33:40):
staff is trained in excellentcustomer service if only they
had a podcast to listen to toget all the greatest advice um
okay so guys you want to wowyour customers think outside the
box i just mentioned one of thebasics is water in Vegas.
(34:01):
It's a desert.
It's fucking hot.
Offer water.
It's not going to actually costyou.
It will make you money.
Period.
Let me hear maybe one idea youmight have how any shop that you
go to ever could make you feelwowed.
To take the time and ask why amI visiting your store today?
(34:22):
Is there something specific I'mlooking for?
Those are like just superimportant questions that are
going to enhance my experiencejust because it It feels like
you're making an attempt tounderstand why I'm here.
Okay.
Here's mine.
I think that the welcome isimportant, but so is the exit.
Oh, yes.
Right?
Warren and I did an episode onholiday shopping, courtesy and
(34:44):
etiquette and hospitality.
And that was fun.
You know, I've just waited allthis time in line.
And now I'm finally at theregister.
And at the very low base level,I expect that I am connected
with.
That's the base.
Yes.
standard.
Now, granted, read the room.
If I'm on my phone or if I havemy headphones in, I'm obviously
(35:06):
not welcoming that conversation.
Right.
Read your customer.
But if I'm just there and payingattention to you, the
expectation is that you give meyour hospitality, right?
What wows me is when all of myitems are bagged up and the
person comes from behind thecounter to hand it to me.
Oh, yes.
(35:27):
That's a good one.
Because it's so lazy for Ishouldn't say lazy, but it's so
basic for them to just hand itback over the counter.
Here you go.
But like if we're really toelevate that level of service,
now they're serving me bybringing my bag to me.
That's an excellent one.
How awesome does that feel?
(35:48):
Right.
And it's let me put the handlesof the bag together for you.
Oh, yes.
And add it to you and make sureit gets into your hand or on
your arm just the way you wantit.
Yep.
And, ooh, you know what?
would really, really blow mymind is if they walked me out
and opened the door.
Yes.
Which I think is huge,especially for the smaller
(36:09):
boutique companies.
Yes.
That have that ability to settheir employees up for success
like that.
I have a dog with me 99% of thetime.
So when I go out shopping, Bodhiis with me.
My hands are already full.
I'm like a parent.
I may as well have a stroller ora child with me, right?
(36:30):
Yep.
So if I don't have to openanother door and struggle to get
myself and my bags, pluralsometimes, and the dog out the
door because an employee tookthe initiative to open it for
me.
Yep.
So I had a graceful departurefrom the store.
Oh, oh my gosh.
(36:51):
Life is amazing.
Yes.
Like talk about an elevatedstandard.
Absolutely.
If you can do that, guys, do it.
You will be wrecking for it evenif not just in that moment later
on you will guaranteed don't letthe cash register be your last
transaction with your customersyeah make a lasting impression
yes obviously I've got hundredsof ideas I love talking about
(37:16):
this we could talk all day aboutit the show has been running oh
gosh oh yeah that's a long showwe're gonna get going but if you
guys are in retail I want toknow where your pain points are
even if you have ID let's talkabout it let's share let's help
each other here in Vegas elevatethese experiences for each other
(37:37):
because we are one big communitywe are each other's neighbors we
deserve to have these greatercustomer experiences when we go
out and shop if you are inretail you manage retail you own
retail and you guys feel likeyou're crushing it I want to
hear some of the things that youare doing that say we care about
(38:01):
our customers that we go to thisextra level of service for them.
If we can open up thisconversation and share it with
other businesses, that's goingto help our community.
It's not about the competition.
Yes, retail is competitive, butwe're all unique and we all have
our value.
Let's elevate retail customerexperience.
(38:24):
And that's a wrap on thisepisode of the Vegas Strong
Revival Podcast.
I hope you found our discussionengaging and even thought
provoking.
A big shout out to all of ouramazing listeners for tuning in
and supporting the show becauseit truly means the world to us.
So thank you.
Let's keep the Vegas strongspirit alive.
Share this podcast with yourfriends, family, colleagues, and
just anyone who loves Vegas.
(38:45):
If you have ideas, suggestions,or want to be a guest on the
show, simply reach out online orfeel free to text us on our
super cool podcast hotline,702-723-2343.
And of course, don't forget tosubscribe to the show So you
never miss an episode.
Let's keep pushing theboundaries and reviving our
(39:06):
city's passion for authenticservice together.
Stay strong, Vegas.
La Critique believes in living a life full of
experiences rather thanpossessions, which is why we
designed a concierge servicejust for Vegas locals.
We're all busy, and can any ofus really keep up with all the
changes around town?
And yet, we still crave qualityexperiences when we go out and
spend our valuable time andmoney.
Now, imagine having a personalassistant whose credentials are
(00:22):
quite literally hospitality snoband expert event planner.
Seriously, leave all the detailsto us.
Recommendations, personal Three,two, one.
(00:52):
Welcome to the Vegas StrongRevival Podcast.
Buckle up because we're takingVegas Strong culture to a whole
new level this season.
I'm Britt Whelan, your host,alongside co-host Desiree Wolfe,
event professional and host ofthe Slightly Unfiltered Podcast.
This season, the gloves are offand we're ditching the scripts
for raw, relatable, and evenshocking conversations, tackling
(01:12):
real issues locals face, andbringing in voices from various
industries like fitness,charity, aviation, and more.
Don't forget to follow us onsocial media and visit Locker
For more about how we're helpingresidents and local business
owners reconnect to the realmeaning of hospitality.
Ready or not, here we go.
(01:32):
And we're back with Desiree Wolftoday.
Hello.
I'm so excited that you're hereand that we get to talk about
this fabulous retail topictoday.
Yes, because I love shopping.
Shopping can be so much fun andit can also be so terrible.
I do have to be in the mood.
I could talk about food andbeverage forever, but a huge
(01:55):
part of Vegas local culture isretail and shopping.
And we have these beautifuloutdoor mall at Downtown
Summerlin, Green Valley Ranch.
You know, we have like greatshopping areas.
Yeah.
Yet, I don't leave feeling wowedas a consumer.
(02:15):
I can't remember the last time.
Well, maybe I can because it wasa long time ago and it stood
out.
Now that I think about it, I'mlike, honestly, it wasn't a 10
out of 10.
It just happened to be an 8 outof 10.
And because I'm normally used togetting a 4 or 3 or a two out of
10, I was wowed by the eight.
(02:36):
Yeah, we've lowered ourstandards, haven't we?
Oh my gosh.
This was at Lululemon indowntown Summerlin.
I have to give them some kudosbecause they have nailed it when
it comes to having a greeter inthe front area at all times.
How important is that to youthat a store has somebody
standing there or ready andavailable to say hello and
(02:58):
welcome in?
I think depending on what theyare selling To have one person
designated as a greeter is veryimportant.
Because Lulu, being a luxurybrand name, if I'm going to go
drop fucking$100 on a tank top,Desiree, I deserve a fucking
(03:21):
greeter at that point.
You know, you can say that it'sa high-end luxury thing, but
Walmart has greeters.
Kudos to Walmart for addressingthe importance of a Because
think about when you go tosomebody's house, right?
You open the door for them.
You welcome them into your home.
It's so important to be greeted.
(03:44):
And it's the same in dining.
Hi, welcome in.
Thank you for being here.
That's the host's job to greetand welcome and then check in.
Retail is no exception in mymind.
There should always be agreeting.
Period.
I don't care if I'm at Lulu orif I'm at CVS.
Yes.
I don't.
I want to be greeted.
(04:04):
I came into your store to spendmy money.
I can't get a, hi, welcome in.
Like what?
Yeah.
At the very bare minimum, guys,if you work in retail, the
greeting is extremely important.
But also when I was at Luluduring this particular
experience, I was asked, hey, isthere anything I can help find
(04:27):
for you?
Are you looking for somethingspecific?
Yeah.
And at that time, I was like, Iwas looking for a gift.
So I had no freaking clue what Ineeded or wanted or what that
person wanted.
And so I was like, you know, sheshops here quite a bit, but you
know, I'm not even sure of yoursizes because they have weird
sizes too, right?
Like it's not the small, medium,large, right?
(04:49):
She ended up helping me with thesizing, the t-shirts versus the
tank tops versus pants versusshorts.
She helped, right?
Like it wasn't just, hi, welcomein and have fun.
You're left alone to your owndevices, figuring out our sizing
systems and where shit is allat.
She took the time to listen.
(05:10):
Yes.
And she asked.
And she was sweet and nice andhad a nice smile.
And I think they also have astandard for appearances.
All of their staff membersgenerally wear the product.
Right.
I don't know that I've everwalked in there without seeing
their staff in Lululemon wear.
Right.
There's a standard ofappearance.
(05:32):
which says to me, I cannot forthe life of me remember if they
have name tags or not, butthey're identified as employees.
Like you can tell that it's anemployee.
It's not just another shopper.
Consistency.
That does annoy me though, notknowing if it's an employee
versus another shopper, becauselike how embarrassing is it to
(05:54):
go up to a shopper and be like,hi, do you know where such and
such is?
Yeah, which I've done.
I actually recently experiencedI was at the mall with my
teenager and we walked into aplace and the lady standing next
to me had a lanyard on.
And I didn't look at the detailsof the lanyard.
(06:14):
I just saw that she was reachingup on the shelf and had a
lanyard.
And I asked her if she knewwhere the junior section was.
And she goes, I don't work here.
And I went, oh my gosh, I'm sosorry.
And you know what happened?
I left.
I was so embarrassed.
I thought I'm not shopping here.
because I think I just died.
Yeah, so embarrassing.
(06:35):
I think that is important.
If you're in retail and you looklike another shopper or your
employees don't look like actualuniformed employees, that is a
problem.
Yeah, I agree.
I would say that another pointwhere I feel like my
expectations are being met orthat I'm being anticipated is
(07:00):
when they see me holding two orthree hangers worth of clothes
and they come up to me and offeroh can i put those in a dressing
room for you yes so you don'thave to cart them around the
store while you continueshopping um yes yes please
because my hands are alreadyfull with my purse and my dog
(07:20):
like i don't want to also cartall this other stuff around so
yeah please take it yes likethank you thank you thank you
thank you and sometimes i say ohyou know what i don't need to
try these on but could they goto the counter and they're
absolutely right and that'sthat's great too it's the level
of knowing your customer yesanticipating what they need
(07:44):
knowing them understanding whatthey're going through in that
very moment even or before theywalk through the door other
great experiences I've hadduring retail I've got to say
returns are a big thing if it'san easy seamless process I I
hate the return process and mostof the time will not return
(08:06):
things because it can be sostressful.
So if you have an easy returnprocess and you don't make the
customer feel bad for bringingsomething back, then you're
doing something right in yourretail.
Yeah.
I want to say Lulu makes itpretty easy as long as you have
the receipt.
Yes.
See, and that's my challenge.
(08:26):
I don't keep receipts.
Okay.
So I'm with you.
Fuck paper receipts.
Yeah.
I'm over it.
Yeah.
Email that shit to me.
Yes please.
Email everything to me and Idon't care if that means that
you're putting me on your emaillist to do so.
Who emails receipts now?
I know somewhere I go all thetime they email the receipt.
Home Depot.
(08:46):
Home Depot.
Home Depot will.
Home Depot nails it.
Yes.
Office Depot also is great.
Are they?
Yes.
I don't shop there but.
I do because I have an officesupply addiction.
That's a real thing by the way.
I I love shopping at Home Depot.
It might be in my top threefavorite places to shop.
(09:08):
Home Depot is great because A,the aisles are gigantic and I
never have to feel like I'msquishing between people with my
cart.
Right.
I also like that the workers aregenerally speaking everywhere
and you could pick out who theyare because of the orange
aprons.
Because of the orange apron.
Yes.
You always know.
And I walk into Home Depot likeI think I know what I'm doing
(09:29):
shortly realizing that I have nofucking clue what I'm doing
inside of a Home Depot, they aregenuinely nice about it.
Because they can see that I havethe lost look on my face.
One of my favorite questionsthat I had, somebody asked, I
was standing in the wood aislelooking for wood that I can
easily build a math project formy fifth grader.
(09:50):
And I don't do woodworking andI'm wandering up and down the
aisles and he's just ready togo.
He's like, can't we just usecardboard?
And so somebody comes over andhe says to me, he goes, what are
you building today?
that I can help you find theright pieces for.
Wow.
And I just thought, okay, wow.
That's a great question to ask.
(10:11):
Not how can, I mean, yes, I lovehow can I help you, but the
fact, what are you buildingtoday?
It takes it one step further,doesn't it?
Yes.
Well, and that's what he, Isaid, I'm building a cat tree.
And he goes, oh, great.
How big do you need it?
We have pre-cut wood.
And he goes, don't forget thetwine for the scratching post.
And I went, okay, I love you.
I love this guy.
That's Home Depot winning rightthere.
(10:32):
Yes.
But also technology wise, HomeDepot has the registers and the
self checkout, which I gostraight to the self register.
The screens, even like the waythat they've designed it, the
screens are extra large and it'sall touchscreen.
So it's very easy to navigate.
They save my email address inthe system when I use my credit
(10:55):
card.
So it's attached to my creditcard.
I never actually have to sitthere and type in my long
freaking email address to getthe copy of the receipt yes it's
just bing bing boom okay bye andthere is always someone standing
there yes because I actually tryand avoid self-checkout because
I'm always the person whosomething won't ring up but I
(11:16):
have noticed Home Depot alwayshas someone standing there ready
to assist well and I thinkgrocery stores finally caught on
to that around town becauselet's be honest okay I'm a
Smith's shopper me too loveSmith's me too rarely go to
Albertsons or a Whole Foods Ilove Trader Joe's.
Okay, we're going to talk aboutTrader Joe's in a second.
(11:37):
But Smith's does have the staffthere waiting to assist people
with a struggle at the register.
Now, unlike Home Depot, I wouldsay I get hung up on grocery
self-checkout way, way moreoften than I do at like a Home
Depot.
Whatever the fuck is going on ingrocery self-checkout, it's the
(12:01):
program.
Oh, oh, it's so frustratingbecause you can't find the right
item.
Right.
You can't find the barcode onthe piece of fruit you wanted.
The scale thing sometimes worksand doesn't.
And then, oh, let me just tellyou, I checked out of a Smith's
and I think I put a sweetpotato, like one sweet potato on
the scale and it rang up forover$7.
(12:24):
Oh, geez.
And I thought to myself, what inthe literal fuck?
Because had I not actuallylooked at that, you would have
paid it.
I would have just paid it.
Yeah.
A, how often is that happening?
And B, why would it ever happen?
Right.
Why would it ever happen?
That should never happen.
And it keeps being reported allover the country in the last
(12:46):
couple of years.
Yes.
Of prices not matching what'sactually on the barcode.
Like when you're out in thestore and you pick up a tray of,
I don't know, chicken breastsand it's labeled as a certain
price.
Okay, cool.
Nowadays, it's like 17 to 21dollars.
So you get it to theself-checkout thing and it rings
up for like$24,$25.
(13:07):
This is being spread all oversocial media.
Yes.
This issue.
Okay.
And it's not store specific.
No.
It's happening everywhere.
Right.
But specific to grocery.
Yes.
Blows my mind because you'veremoved the staff who are
literally paid to check you outand ring up your items.
So that person is trained.
(13:29):
Okay.
This item rang up as thisamount.
I see the price here.
I scan it and I see it on thescreen.
Okay, cool.
It matches.
Like that's part of their job.
Right.
We as consumers, we are nottrained to think that way.
No, nor do I want to.
No.
That should never, ever, ever ina thousand years ever happen.
(13:49):
Yeah.
The fact that it has happenedall over the country repeatedly
is a problem.
The fact that it happened to mehere in Las Vegas is a problem.
Yeah.
So if you are a grocery storeowner, man employee listening to
this you must fix this becauseyou will lose you will lose
customers well for this and Ifrom a business standpoint I
(14:12):
have an opposite thing thathappened I'm gonna confess right
here live do it podcast I stoletwo avocados because they
wouldn't ring up and the clerkwas nowhere to be found I even
tried to do manually searchingfor avocado and it said no
description found so I put theavocados in my bag and I left.
You know, I kind of went, well,no one's here to help me.
(14:34):
What am I supposed to do?
I need to walk out of the store.
So from a business standpoint,not only is it bad customer
service that you'reovercharging, you're going to
start losing money becausepeople are going to be walking
out with it.
You guys are getting lots andlots of products in the door
every single day.
You're having to input them intothe system quite regularly.
(14:54):
I get that.
But if the person who's doingthat job is not doing it
accurately or in enough detail,that person is costing your
store money.
Yes.
Period.
End of story.
Yes.
That person's job is massivelymore important than you may
think.
Like truly.
Yes.
Okay.
Trader Joe's though.
(15:14):
Okay.
Let's go back to Trader Joe's.
They have not implementedself-checkout, which is winning
in my book.
Winning.
Oh, it's so winning.
I moved to this area of town outto Centennial, but my first
couple visits there, I had mydog.
My dog is a service animal.
I don't normally discuss havinga service animal on this show.
(15:36):
I don't think I have at all,actually.
Nope.
It's my first time.
Bodhi.
Bodhi.
Bodhi, it's your big day.
You're getting recognition.
I love you.
He's like, I know.
Look at me.
I'm cute.
I'm cute.
Okay.
So I have a service animal.
He goes everywhere with me.
And because I look the way I do,I don't know, young and
young-ish.
And I...
(15:58):
You don't fit the stereotype ofwhat somebody who needs a
service animal should look like.
Yeah.
I had my dog there.
They stereotyped me.
They didn't think I had aservice animal.
They thought I had a pet.
It was ironic because I had beenshopping all around the store
and even one of the staffmembers wanted to love on Bodhi
and he did.
(16:19):
And I, you know, as long as theyask and Bodhi is okay with it, I
allow somebody to pet my serviceanimal.
Well, then I go to check out andI'm approached by a manager.
This is A common thing for menowadays, it's, I'm not even
nice about it, Desiree, I'll behonest, but I'm very, I'm just
(16:39):
very direct.
I'm like, he's a service animal.
He's not an emotional supportanimal.
He's a service animal.
Would you like to see hisidentification?
Like I just cut right to thepoint.
Right.
But what ended up ultimatelyhappening is like, she, I don't
think she believed me.
And so then at that point I felta little harassed.
Yeah.
And unwelcome.
Yeah.
(16:59):
Granted, I haven't seen thatmanager since.
But I see that employee wholoves On My Dog almost like six
out of ten times I go there.
SPEAKER_00 (17:08):
Right.
And
SPEAKER_01 (17:08):
that employee recognizes us and loves On Bodie
and it's all great.
And generally speaking, all theemployees at Trader Joe's love
dogs.
Right.
But Trader Joe's has implementeda very strict shopping policy
where you're not allowed tobring in your pet.
Whereas Smith's, Walmart, someof the other grocers, they don't
give a fuck.
(17:28):
Right.
Like, you have a dog.
As long as your dog isn't goingto pee anywhere on our stuff or
your dog isn't going to um barkat other guests or you know your
dog needs to be well behavedokay yes absolutely your dog
should be trained but i don'tunderstand some of maybe this is
a topic for another day we'regonna have a service dog episode
(17:50):
yes yeah because this is this isa topic and we should have a
topic too and my views havechanged on it yeah on service
animals so okay okay okay we'regonna have that as another
episode oh that's a That's goingto be fun.
I do want to go back to theself-checkout in retail though,
because I used to love shoppingat Kohl's.
(18:10):
Like I was a Kohl's addict.
I've had a Kohl's credit cardfor 15 years.
I definitely buy into the Kohl'scash.
I have a friend just like that.
Oh my gosh.
Except for, I would say the lastyear or so, with the exception
of the fact that whoever's doingtheir buying needs to be fired,
but that could be a whole notherepisode.
No, I went into Kohl's.
(18:31):
not that long like last week andI was like oh that's cute like
and I was just doing an Amazonreturn for somebody else and I
kept walking through the theladies section I was like oh
gosh that's cute oh well oh oh Ilike that and I wonder if their
partnership with Sephora ischanging some things recently
yes I think so I also noticedthat they have a partnership
(18:53):
with Nike which is great becausemy son is a Nike snob except for
when you bring in a brand likeNike to Kohl's I'm now paying
Nike prices and I don't shop atKohl's to pay Nike prices.
So they have raised their pricesquite a bit, but they've also
implemented self-checkout, whichI don't love for a clothing
store.
I don't either because I don'twant to have to get the tags off
(19:15):
the fucking clothes.
Right.
What?
And the hangers?
Yep.
I usually take the hangers offbefore handing them to the
checker-outer.
There's my word again.
Checker-outer.
Yeah, I don't love theself-checkout at a clothing
store.
I'm not a fan.
Okay, yeah, I don't like thatidea.
I hadn't seen that in retailyet.
Yep, Kohl's implemented it thelast couple times I was in
(19:36):
there.
And it's fine when I'm notbuying clothes or things that
need to be, you know, tagsremoved, that kind of stuff.
But I went in there to buy acouple of shirts for my son and
it was so annoying.
Like, I don't have theexperience of checking out.
I'm super slow.
I'm trying to find the stickersand the things on the clothes
and it was just super annoying.
(19:58):
I didn't love it.
I can't say that if I comeacross this, I would not enjoy
it.
I hope it is not setting thenorm for clothing and those
kinds of retail places because Ididn't like it.
And in fact, it just took all ofthe personal feeling out of it.
I don't mind having theconversation with the checker
(20:18):
outer while I'm standing there.
She's asking about my experienceshopping.
All that goes away when you'redoing self-checkout.
I'm with you.
I don't love it.
Customer experience in retailand anywhere really is truly
human interaction action.
100%.
It's that we feel welcome intoyour store.
That we feel valued.
(20:39):
That we feel appreciated.
That we feel like we're beingtaken care of.
And that it's not just thiswelcome in the beginning and
we're going to leave you highand dry for the rest of your
experience within our store.
No, it's taking care of yourguest.
And it's that questioning.
You know, what are you buildingtoday?
What are you shopping for today?
A gift or for yourself?
(21:00):
You know, noticing a mom withkids of different ages, you
know, asking that mom, hey, canI be a helping hand?
Are we shopping for the wholefamily today?
Are you here for somethingspecific?
You know, I'm so disappointedbecause here in Vegas, the
number one gripe right now isthe heat and not a single retail
outlet that I have experiencedin Vegas my entire life.
(21:24):
I don't know.
When's the last time you walkedinto a Kohl's or any other big
retailer and you were offeredwater?
Oh, I couldn't even, I couldn'teven tell you.
Water.
Yeah.
Just fucking water.
Yeah.
I'd be dead on the floor if itwere iced water with lemon and
lime or citrus of any kind.
(21:44):
I'd be dead on the floor, mindblown.
Like, what is this experience?
And I'm coming back tomorrow.
Right.
Because I feel at that point, myneeds are being anticipated.
It's hot as shit outside.
Well, and here's the thing.
If If you did offer me waterwhen it's 108 outside, I'm
probably going to shop a littlebit longer.
(22:06):
Yes.
Or, okay, here's another one.
Not allowing your guests to usea restroom unless you are a
purchasing customer.
Oh, yeah.
Or if you don't have customerrestrooms.
Right.
Oh, no customer restrooms.
It used to piss me off withlittle kids.
I'm sorry.
If I have to use the restroomwhen I walk through your door,
(22:28):
which there is a psychologicalthing about it.
I don't know what it is like Iit's legit it's scientific like
there's something about it thatlike the body goes through and
it's very common when you walkinto a store and you start to
shop that you all all of asudden have to go to the
bathroom interesting and so tonot offer a restroom to your
shoppers is a massive failagreed yeah because guess what
(22:51):
now I have to leave your storeand because I had to leave now
I'm annoyed and I'm not goingback right not going back oh
also like some of the Walmartsoriginally had all their
restrooms in the back of thestore.
Oh, yes.
Right?
Because they didn't want thetransients to come in and use
the restroom at the front andthen leave.
So they located their restroomsall the way in the back of the
(23:12):
store.
Yep.
I would say they've been workingon getting more of the newer
locations.
The restrooms are in the frontof the store.
That is so helpful.
Target.
Target has moved all, everyTarget I've gone into in the
last five years, their restroomsare up front.
Well, I don't want to have tosearch for them.
I You don't want to have to goon a scavenger hunt for them.
(23:33):
Right.
Make sure your signage is largeenough, visible enough, and
accurate.
I've followed restroom signswhere it doesn't even take you
to the freaking restroom.
No, I actually went to the, Isomehow made it behind the
freezer section at a grocerystore.
No, you didn't.
Because I got down the hallwayto use the restroom and the
(23:54):
signage just stopped.
So I thought I was going theright way and I made a left
instead of a right and wentright behind the freezer.
section and the poor stock kidback there was like can I help
you?
And I go I just need to go pee.
Oh my gosh.
So terrible.
Alright so here's a little petpeeve of mine when shopping with
retail specific.
(24:15):
The stickers.
Ross.
Ross stands out.
Oh god the stickers.
The fucking stickers.
Yes.
They're so hard to get off.
Yes.
And they're on every singleitem.
They're on everything.
And it's not easy to get off.
I don't mind a sticker.
If you can peel the sticker offin one or two pulls cool but
these stickers are printed insuch a way that they have
(24:36):
perforations in the center tomake little circles and you peel
one little thing and the stickerdoesn't actually come off so
then the top layer comes off andyou're left with the bottom
layer stuck and then you havelittle teeny tiny oh my god I
yes Desiree I agree the stickersthe stickers are a pain in the
ass the crazy thing is that Ilove Ross I am a Ross shopper
(24:59):
yes like I I have to say even,no, no, I can't say that
confidently.
I would shop there more.
I would buy more items if theywould change their stickers.
I agree with that because I'vehad stuff ruined.
I don't wanna fucking do it.
From the stickers.
I don't wanna have to work whenI get home to peel the sticker
off my damn new picture.
Exactly.
(25:20):
That's what it was.
I had bought a picture.
It was a framed canvas that hadthe sticker price on the lower
part of the frame.
And when I went to go- On theglass, right?
No.
it was on the wood piece of theframe and I peeled it off and it
stripped the paint right off ofthe frame and I was so pissed.
(25:40):
Now I'm like I'll only buy it ifthe sticker is on the back or
easily peeled off.
So yeah stickers are a pain inthe ass.
Yeah guys okay anticipate yourguest needs.
This goes from the time theypull up in the parking lot to
the time they get home with theitems that they purchased.
If they have to then work for 20more minutes just to be able to
(26:00):
use the item that they boughthmm do you think that they're
gonna want to come back and buymore right no no it's a pain in
the ass Ross change your fuckingstickers somebody had to say it
somebody had to say it I'msaying it I don't know if
anybody else's agrees with me Ithink I think a lot of people
would I think most people areokay here's one here's one we're
(26:22):
gonna just pick on Ross for aminute I fucking love Ross I
know I really do love Rossthough I just and maybe this is
why I'm gonna pick on you guysfor a want to go there and love
it and I want to love everyminute of it I don't want to
just love the things I get orthe clothes I find I want to
love my experience and right nowI don't so let's help you out
(26:42):
the security security at Rossyes oh they are so intimidating
looking yes and they're rightthere they're the they're
actually the greeter oh yeahlisten I'm not walking into
Prada yeah I don't need an armedsecurity guard greeting me at
your store yeah I love that theyhave a green yeah but does it
(27:02):
need to be armed security andlike they're in all black with
the white font that's in big bigletters security yeah it's just
intimidating for for that to bethe first person you interact
with at your store yep I alwaysget a little nervous and I don't
know why like I'm not a criminalwell I am because I stole
avocados I get why they're therelisten don't come beat us up
(27:25):
that they need security becausethey're shoplifters I get that
but you're setting the tone thatThat's the first.
For the shopping experience.
Yes.
Now I'm wandering aroundthinking, oh my gosh, is there
going to be, you know, someonewho steals a whole cart full of
stuff while I'm shopping here?
Is there going to be analtercation while I'm shopping?
Yeah.
So now I'm concerned for my ownsecurity while shopping.
(27:48):
You're not wrong.
It sets certain thoughts intoyour customers' minds when they
walk in.
Yep.
And they're not positivethoughts.
Yeah.
So how could we help that?
Change their uniform.
Yeah.
Just slightly.
Just ever so slightly uh whiteis actually a much friendlier
approachable color than black isthat would be the most simple
thing ever yeah you know theydon't have to be right there at
(28:10):
the front to be the very firstperson that a shopper sees just
move their location the tiniestbit yeah okay as far as great
shopping experiences here invegas is there any shopping
experience that stands out foryou yes recently i was at
downtown summerlin uh and mydaughter's favorite store is h&m
(28:30):
We walked in and I was a littleput off at first because we
walked in and not a singleemployee was visible.
So I was like, no, there's nogreeter here.
Nobody said hi.
I was kind of put off.
It's just kind of weird feeling,right?
It is.
It's almost like, hi, do youknow?
And I'm nobody special.
I am not the Kardashians walkinginto your store.
I don't need a big pomp andcircumstance.
(28:51):
Desiree's here shopping.
First of all, I'm not going tospend that much.
Second of all, I don't need it,but at least acknowledge that
I've walked in.
So I was a little put off bythat.
When we're walking around and mydaughter had this outfit in
mind.
She knew exactly what she waslooking for down to the color,
the style.
And we're walking around and oneof the clerks comes over and
(29:13):
says, are you finding everythingokay?
And I actually went, no.
I said, she's looking for ashirt that is, you know, and I'm
describing it.
And she goes, oh, I'm so sorry.
We're sold out of that.
But I have something else thatyou might be interested in.
Walked us across the store tothe clearance rack and she said
(29:34):
I saw these this morning when Iwas restocking and I think you
might like this and the factthat she took the time number
one to to suggest oh I think wehave something and instead of
pointing pointing drives me nutswhen I'm in a store when they're
like oh it's over there thatirritates the crap out of me
this is a Forbes standard on thestrip if you're in a hotel and
(29:55):
somebody asks where therestrooms are you are required
to escort them there yes not tothe stall but just right right
walk them to the area walk themto the area and then you know
and I put your hand out I thinkthat's where I learned it from
is because I got my start herein Las Vegas at the MGM which
has a very high standard ofhospitality so I do the tour
(30:17):
guide yes with my hand I neverpoint it drives me nuts she
walked us over there showed usthe rack she pulled out a couple
of items that she thought wouldbe good substitutions based on
the outfit that we described andthen she said, there's a couple
other things.
You know, let me know if youwant more to look at.
And then thankfully she was alsothe person that helped us behind
(30:37):
the counter.
And she said to me, I'm going towrite down your name and number.
And if we get that shirt back instock, I'll make sure somebody
calls you.
No.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
And she wrote down my name andshe described the shirt and I,
we didn't get a call.
I'm assuming they never gotback.
But the fact that she took theextra time to say, Hey, I'm
(31:00):
going to fall up with you yeahthat was huge so H&M kudos kudos
we had a very positive shoppingexperience there that's awesome
yes I had a great shoppingexperience over the holidays
last year December and it was atAmerican Eagle in downtown
Summerlin I think yeah I foundthese little shirts but the size
(31:25):
I needed didn't come in the twocolors that I wanted so I got
one color that that I did want.
And when I got to the counter, Iwas actually asked, did you find
everything that you wantedtoday?
Right.
And I said, actually, I reallyliked this shirt in pink and
white, but you guys didn't havemy size.
So I'm just going to get thisone today.
You know what he said to me?
(31:45):
He said, well, why don't I justorder it and have it shipped to
your house?
Oh my gosh.
We do free shipping.
Nice.
Like what?
Like, hello.
Um, yeah.
Take my money.
Right.
You just made this so easy forme.
Oh, I love it.
I love that.
Like that was simple.
Right.
Uh, yes, please.
Yeah.
Take all of my money because youheard me and you fixed my
(32:10):
dilemma.
Yep.
And made it happen.
Found a solution for you.
Yes.
And made it easy.
The solution was easy and Ididn't have to pay extra, which
was even better.
I guess other little things thatreally make a customer say wow
when shopping is that checkouttime.
That checkout time is soimportant.
So valuable.
(32:31):
As a manager in retail, if youremployees are not spending that
time getting to know thecustomer and building a
relationship at that moment,guess what?
You're losing out on creating aconnection.
Yes.
Employees are so powerful.
They have so many opportunitiesto build the connection directly
(32:53):
with your customer.
And I'll just say it.
We're failing in Vegas rightnow.
100%.
We are.
Yes.
Failing.
I have not felt like I'm evenseen when I'm out shopping
retail.
I agree with that.
And for a while I was using theexcuse, oh, they're
short-staffed.
But I'm tired of that excuse.
(33:13):
They're not short-staffedanymore.
No.
They just haven't trained theiremployees to give a shit.
They're lacking the training.
And that's exactly it.
And for a lot of these people,this probably is their first
job.
So I can't put all the fault onthe young kids.
I think a lot.
lot of it goes back to trainingfrom management it's your
responsibility as a manager shopowner to make sure that your
(33:40):
staff is trained in excellentcustomer service if only they
had a podcast to listen to toget all the greatest advice um
okay so guys you want to wowyour customers think outside the
box i just mentioned one of thebasics is water in Vegas.
(34:01):
It's a desert.
It's fucking hot.
Offer water.
It's not going to actually costyou.
It will make you money.
Period.
Let me hear maybe one idea youmight have how any shop that you
go to ever could make you feelwowed.
To take the time and ask why amI visiting your store today?
(34:22):
Is there something specific I'mlooking for?
Those are like just superimportant questions that are
going to enhance my experiencejust because it It feels like
you're making an attempt tounderstand why I'm here.
Okay.
Here's mine.
I think that the welcome isimportant, but so is the exit.
Oh, yes.
Right?
Warren and I did an episode onholiday shopping, courtesy and
(34:44):
etiquette and hospitality.
And that was fun.
You know, I've just waited allthis time in line.
And now I'm finally at theregister.
And at the very low base level,I expect that I am connected
with.
That's the base.
Yes.
standard.
Now, granted, read the room.
If I'm on my phone or if I havemy headphones in, I'm obviously
(35:06):
not welcoming that conversation.
Right.
Read your customer.
But if I'm just there and payingattention to you, the
expectation is that you give meyour hospitality, right?
What wows me is when all of myitems are bagged up and the
person comes from behind thecounter to hand it to me.
Oh, yes.
(35:27):
That's a good one.
Because it's so lazy for Ishouldn't say lazy, but it's so
basic for them to just hand itback over the counter.
Here you go.
But like if we're really toelevate that level of service,
now they're serving me bybringing my bag to me.
That's an excellent one.
How awesome does that feel?
(35:48):
Right.
And it's let me put the handlesof the bag together for you.
Oh, yes.
And add it to you and make sureit gets into your hand or on
your arm just the way you wantit.
Yep.
And, ooh, you know what?
would really, really blow mymind is if they walked me out
and opened the door.
Yes.
Which I think is huge,especially for the smaller
(36:09):
boutique companies.
Yes.
That have that ability to settheir employees up for success
like that.
I have a dog with me 99% of thetime.
So when I go out shopping, Bodhiis with me.
My hands are already full.
I'm like a parent.
I may as well have a stroller ora child with me, right?
(36:30):
Yep.
So if I don't have to openanother door and struggle to get
myself and my bags, pluralsometimes, and the dog out the
door because an employee tookthe initiative to open it for
me.
Yep.
So I had a graceful departurefrom the store.
Oh, oh my gosh.
(36:51):
Life is amazing.
Yes.
Like talk about an elevatedstandard.
Absolutely.
If you can do that, guys, do it.
You will be wrecking for it evenif not just in that moment later
on you will guaranteed don't letthe cash register be your last
transaction with your customersyeah make a lasting impression
yes obviously I've got hundredsof ideas I love talking about
(37:16):
this we could talk all day aboutit the show has been running oh
gosh oh yeah that's a long showwe're gonna get going but if you
guys are in retail I want toknow where your pain points are
even if you have ID let's talkabout it let's share let's help
each other here in Vegas elevatethese experiences for each other
(37:37):
because we are one big communitywe are each other's neighbors we
deserve to have these greatercustomer experiences when we go
out and shop if you are inretail you manage retail you own
retail and you guys feel likeyou're crushing it I want to
hear some of the things that youare doing that say we care about
(38:01):
our customers that we go to thisextra level of service for them.
If we can open up thisconversation and share it with
other businesses, that's goingto help our community.
It's not about the competition.
Yes, retail is competitive, butwe're all unique and we all have
our value.
Let's elevate retail customerexperience.
(38:24):
And that's a wrap on thisepisode of the Vegas Strong
Revival Podcast.
I hope you found our discussionengaging and even thought
provoking.
A big shout out to all of ouramazing listeners for tuning in
and supporting the show becauseit truly means the world to us.
So thank you.
Let's keep the Vegas strongspirit alive.
Share this podcast with yourfriends, family, colleagues, and
just anyone who loves Vegas.
(38:45):
If you have ideas, suggestions,or want to be a guest on the
show, simply reach out online orfeel free to text us on our
super cool podcast hotline,702-723-2343.
And of course, don't forget tosubscribe to the show So you
never miss an episode.
Let's keep pushing theboundaries and reviving our
(39:06):
city's passion for authenticservice together.
Stay strong, Vegas.
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