Jewelry Business Article

By: Suzanne Courvisier-Mathis President/CEO of Diamond Staffing Solutions Inc.

As most all of you know, we will frequently shop in your stores around the country. As economic times changed, so has what we identify as areas of opportunity for improvement, and although some of these opportunities remain the same we have in the last few months seen some items that need particular attention. Listed below are some areas of improvement that we believe will be helpful to you owners, managers, and regional managers.

 1. Texting: Although we’ve seen much improvement in this, there is still far too much going on in some stores today. We often find people are so involved in texting, they are not aware of clients in the store. This will cost you sales, and poses a tremendous security risk.

 2. Lack of Product knowledge: This remains a constant in our shopping; it always amazes me what people think you do not know, and how they “guess” or give miss-information. When a consumer is educated this can ruin your store’s credibility immediately. Clients would rather be told they don’t know and will find out, than having them guess or give false information. We find this consistent in many mall jewelers. This reflects directly on your store’s management and district managers. 

 3. Not being greeted within 10 seconds: There is an un-written rule for jewelers that clients (no matter who they are) should be greeted within 10 seconds of entering a store, even if everyone is busy. Yet we are amazed at how many stores we walk into only to find the staff chatting among one another, which they feel is more important than saying hello, or if everyone is tied up, not looking up and saying someone will be right with you. 

 4. People gathered in the back or in a corner: We find this is particularly abused when we shop jewelers during off hours. First, it’s a security risk to not have someone up front; second, it is extremely offensive to not have a sales “professional” to not care if you are there to look at a nice piece of jewelry. As someone who spent 30 years in retail jewelry, some of the largest sales were made in off hours, yet time after time sales people and managers are so busy talking among themselves they sometimes forget they are there to “sell jewelry.” 

5. Inappropriate attire: We work in fine jewelry, so we should look like we are there to sell it. Yet sometimes associates look like they are working in a convenience store. We are in the image business and no matter what your shape or size; there is an un-written standard that clients expect if they are purchasing a nice piece of expensive jewelry. We find his especially prevalent among younger associates, who perhaps have not been trained in appropriate professional attire. If you do not have a dress code, you may want to consider creating one. The standards are set by the leaders in the store. If managers do not dress for success nor will their staff.

6. Security Risk. We are AMAZED at what little attention is paid to securing jewelry. Cases left open, keys left in doors, whole trays of jewelry taken out, turning away from us with jewelry in our hands, showing very expensive pieces of jewelry with little to no attention of their surroundings, too few people in the store. This comes back training. You are a sitting duck for a robbery, as we all know in most cases your store is cased well ahead of time. You are begging for a switch, grab and run, or smash and grab. Although you are insured, no one wants to go through that, so make this part of your weekly meetings and associate training, and make part of your training on what to do if you get robbed, who to call with numbers readily available to all associates. Robberies frequently occur because of neglect, when the intruder knows you are at their mercy, and untrained sales associates make their job a piece of cake.

 7. Our manager or owners are not here and they make those decisions: Empower your people to make important decisions, or have someone in your store at all times who can. Clients are at your store to purchase today, not wait while you reach someone’s approval, or company policy. 

 8. Too busy to look up: Time after time, we have walked into stores only to be un-noticed by managers and associates doing paperwork, counts, or on the phone with their supervisors. We have even startled associates who were so enthralled in what they were doing they did not know we were there. Your doors are open to sell jewelry. Paperwork and supervisors can wait. The most important thing you do all day is help clients, which help ring the registers and keep your doors open. Mall store are particular offenders of this. There is not a piece of paperwork or person on the phone who is more important than the client who is there to buy jewelry