Another finalist in the Retail Employee of the Year award, Louisa Doyle, sales associate at Borough Kitchen (Borough Market branch), London shares her tips for calm in the last shopping days before Christmas, as well as revealing her priority for 2020.
What is your best advice for coping with the busy festive sales period?
“The festive season is the busiest time for all of us in retail, and continues when we get home and are organising our own celebrations. For the stressed out shopper, make life easier for yourself by having a list of suggested gifts ready to go – this is really helpful when people come in with no idea what to get, or are overwhelmed with the number of gifts they are purchasing. We just need a general idea of what the gift receiver likes, and a price range. As for our suppliers, we really appreciate realistic timelines for stock availability, and a heads-up on low stock; the last thing we want is to be out of something essential, or have customers waiting for an item that doesn’t arrive in time.”
What’s going to be important for your business in 2020?
“With 2020 just around the corner, I think continued training for staff is essential. We have a large regular clientele, and this is because we put a lot of work into really knowing what we are selling, and why. We all have our areas of expertise. I love talking about cast iron cookware because I use the products daily, but I also want to be able to talk with customers about items that I rarely use and know that I am sending them off with the right advice.”
Top: Louisa at Borough Kitchen.
