News & Articles
News & Articles
Supporting Employees Who Cycle To Work
Cycling to work has several benefits for employees; it’s good for their health, it can be faster during busy morning and evening rush hours, and parking a bicycle can be substantially easier than parking a car in the packed streets of a city centre. For businesses, providing adequate bicycle shelters with good security can make it even easier for employees to take up cycling, while demonstrating that you are aware of the challenges they face when making it into work in the mornings, and are willing to help out where you can. Here are three of the main things to consider when encouraging cycling among your workforce – and how you as an employer can do your part to support your staff. 1. Safety first On busy city roads, safety is an important consideration, so make sure your employees know that you have done what you can to protect them and their personal safety equipment. Secure bike shelters not only protect the bicycle itself against theft, but they also make it less likely that any removable additions, such as bike lights, could be stolen too. Provide additional storage space for any specific clothing your employees wear during their commute, such as high-visibility vests, and you can ensure those items are kept safe, and are not brought into the main workplace where they may cause clutter or even represent a fire hazard. 2. Ease of access If the main advantage of commuting by bike is the ease with which employees can navigate the traffic and park once they reach their destination, then it is equally important that they should have good access to their bike when they need it. That doesn’t just mean giving them a key to the secure bicycle compound in which they park – although that is clearly something to think about – but it can also be about how that compound is situated. By giving it a levelled, concrete floor, it can be much easier for bicycles to be wheeled into the compound and parked securely in their allotted position, while also making it easier for them to be wheeled back out again, even if it is relatively dark outside. 3. Health awareness Finally, supporting employees who turn to cycling for health reasons can mean helping them with their awareness not only of the benefits of cycling, but also of the risks that might be involved. RoSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, recently termed accidents as significant a public health concern as heart disease or cancer, saying that they account for “the bulk” of all casualty admissions in England each year. However, this does not need to be off-putting for would-be cyclists, who make up just a small fraction of those annual accident statistics, often due to easily resolvable errors in judgement. By wearing high-visibility clothing and fitting bike lights, cyclists can make themselves more visible all year round – particularly in the shorter days of winter, when both the morning and evening commutes are likely to take place in darkness.
10 Non-Negotiables Customers Expect When Visiting A Retail Store
In many ways, retail is a lot of moving parts and yet in others it is very simple: Treat customers as you would want to be treated.1. It better be clean. In the old days, everyone cleaned the store. Now, many have outside cleaning services or a dedicated employee. But it is still everyone's responsibility that a store is clean for the customer. Fingerprints all over the glass doors are one of the first signs of an unclean store. And don’t let a customer walk into an unclean bathroom.2. There better be enough employees. I had a client several years ago who took pride that their stores were so busy. He actually said, “People will wait.” In 2015, no one wanting to buy something will wait. If they can’t be helped, they’ll turn to their smartphone which will get them assistance and probably the sale. You staff for the rush, not the full day; add extra staff when you know you will be busy.3. The merchandise better be priced. Having to find someone just to ask, “How much is this?” is a friction point for many consumers. Friction wears down the likelihood of a sale. Whether your tags are missing or your sale sign is misleading or vague, make the price obvious.4. There better be fitting room help. Again, trying to find someone to unlock a door to try something on is frustrating for customers. A person who tries on a garment is 70% more likely to buy it. Make sure the room is well-lit, air-conditioned, clean, and staffed.5. There better be clear cut choices. Without a good, better, best buying philosophy, merchandise can vary in minor details, which causes the customer to have to think and weigh choices between seemingly the same item. Curate your choices to make comparisons more obvious.6. There better be free wi-fi. Because of concrete walls, many retail locations have poor cell service. While some would argue this is great, it really isn’t as customers could be wanting to send pics of your items to friends for their opinion before buying. Add a sign at the front showing you offer free wi-fi.7. There better be quick checkout. Wait-time at the cash wrap is the death knell for retailers. The longer it takes, the more the customer wonders if they really need it. Your cashiers must be trained how to hustle when they are busy and tested on accuracy and speed before assuming the post. And that goes whether you have mobile POS on a tablet or a standard cashwrap.8. There better be clear signage. Drug stores are noticing customer frustrations and adding various signs that can easily be seen at the end of an aisle. Some are using the new Buy Online PickUp In Store universal sign so customers don’t have to ask. While we want customers to browse, oftentimes that comes after they solve the mission of what they came into the store to buy in the first place. Obvious directional signs and aisle markers are crucial.9. There better be something unexpected - in a good way. Whether it is a standard appliance that now comes in eggplant, a display that shows a new way of using a product, or a video that shows how a new item can make the job easier, customers want to be intrigued. Make sure you have something that gives them that taste of the unexpected.10. You better stay in touch. If something has to be ordered, or information checked on, or another person checked with, make sure you tell your customer exactly when you will get back to them. Once a customer puts down a deposit, they are going to be anxious to pick it up. Call them before they have a chance to call you and stay connected throughout the process to ensure a raving fan on social media. See also,How Bad Retail Customer Service In One Location Tanks Sales In All
