Well, it does not get any better than this from a retailers point of view right? We just had the biggest month in gross sales in the history of the business. The weather has been perfect to drive sales and fun on the slopes. I am employing more people in a rough economy. I lucked into having a huge staff ready when the rush hit this fall. I am also lucky to have such a talented and fun staff in general. Everything came together to have record sales.
Yet it has not been a very satisfying month for me. I make a living doing retail the way I think it should be done. Outstanding customer service and product knowledge. A staff that has a very high level of competency in all ways. A reputation earned from years of doing it right.
And I am proud of my staff for being all of what I describe above. Yet we failed some customers this last month. Screw ups happened that normally don't. We had paperwork that disappeared. We screwed up two binding mounts. We had a handful of customers come to pick up skis that weren't ready. We had two Yelp reviews that were from dissatisfied customers.
This is typically a years worth of foul-ups. We are human, so a screw up here and there is expected. To have all this happen in one month is distressing. I could explain it by stating the facts. We had less room to work in the back with all the work coming in. Our ski tech Martin worked every day that he did not race, plus had full time assistance just to get it done, so he was always having to hurry. To process twice as many tunes, waxes and the like in the same space is tough. Where do you put all the skis? And finding them to deliver upon the pick up day is harder too. Now, it is one of the hundred skis in the bursting at the seams racks, instead of one of the fifty. Mounts were done by John, myself, and others after hours just to keep up. An employee working at midnight on their twenty fifth day of work straight means less attention to detail. It is hard to manage boot fitting customers when we have five fitters working and have to try to fairly fit in five people waiting to ensure they get helped in a fair and orderly way. It is hard to really assist a customer buying a helmet well when each sales staffer has 6-8 customers to deal with at a given time. I could go on and on...
So it was an awesome sales month, and we should be happy about that. And yet it is the two yelp reviews, the messed up labor, and the customers complaining that sticks in my mind. I know each one of them by heart. I have agonized about them at night in bed. I have vowed to get better at this business.
Some compromises must be made in business. If I hire and train earlier, I have a massive payroll to maintain waiting for snow that may not happen until after Christmas. This could mean a year with no profits. If I wait too long to hire and train, the snow starts before training is complete. This is a decision that when made is certainly a guess. Without a crystal ball, I have a slim chance of hitting it perfect. Space to handle the volume of December is tough too. To have the set up needed for December to be smooth and uncrowded means 1000+ more square feet of sales floor, and that means paying even more rent in the summer when we are closed. These are tough choices, and I would maintain that we are basically doing the right things as best we can. But we can improve. Organizational systems can be improved. Before and after hours shifts to clean and restock can be added. I see many possible improvements.
Meanwhile, I don't want to dwell on the past too much. I need to try to make January as successful as December from a business standpoint. I need to try to give the staff some relief as they are fried. I need to try to ski a bit! And I better get moving right now as I need to get in early to close the books on December and 2010.
In 2011 we will be even better! Happy New Year!
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