Name: Travis Hearn.
Occupation: Sales Assistant at a very well known traditional retailer.
1. Can you tell me a little bit about your retail experience? the shops you've worked at, when you started & how long you've been doing it, your responsibilities in the roles that you've been in, etc.
I have been working part-time in retail since I was about nineteen years of age, which is some eight years. My roles have varied from cashiering, office duties but have mostly consisted of sales and customer service.
I have been working part-time in retail since I was about nineteen years of age, which is some eight years. My roles have varied from cashiering, office duties but have mostly consisted of sales and customer service.
2. What do you like and don't like about working in retail?
I no longer enjoy dealing with the general public, most people lack basic manners. There are still a few decent people, but most people are rude, obnoxious and have a terrible sense of entitlement.
3. Have you notice a change in customers interest in products as online shopping becomes more popular?
Most definitely. Even the stupidest of people now have access to Google in their pocket twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Most people want the price they see on a website, but want the instant gratification, they don't seem to be prepared to pay even a little more for being able to take the product there & then rather than waiting however long it takes to receive the item via post.
4. What do you think about online shopping?
I think it has advantages and some disadvantages. It makes purchasing books, games, etc., much easier. In Australia the retail price of many video games is more than double that of the UK, so it is much cheaper to source them from the internet.
5. Do you feel threatened in anyway by the increasing popularity of online shopping?
In terms of my job security, I would say definitely.
6. What does traditional brick and mortar stores have to offer that online shops cannot?
From the sales assistant mouth, we actually get the fact that traditional retailers really feel the threaten from online retailers. But, compared to online retailers, brick and mortar stores still have their strengths.
ReplyDeleteHey Shu, yes, a lot of the things that he described might be a bit grim. But I do agree that it is like that. I work in retail as well, and even though there are plenty of great customers out there, there's enough of the bad ones to make the job quite stressful.
ReplyDeleteBut as you said, service is one of the remaining strengths that brick and mortar stores have, therefore its workers have to put up with whatever consumers throw at them. On the other side of the coin, I think consumers need to appreciate the amount of effort needed to actually give them the best service, and practically all sales assistant are there to help them out, not to sell them bad products.