Reviving Vegas Retail

ALERT:This episode contains explicit content. 

In this episode of The VegasStrong Revival Podcast, hosts Britt and Desiree dive deep into the customer experience in Las Vegas Local Retail. From the importance of greetings and personalized service to the pitfalls of self-checkout and how retail establishments can improve, this episode is a MUST-LISTEN for anyone in the retail industry or who cares about customer service. They also explore the psychological impact of store layouts, signage, and the value of a thoughtful farewell. If you're looking to enhance your retail business or just love a good retail rant, this episode is for you!

Key Takeaways:

1. Importance of Greeting: Whether it's a luxury brand like Lululemon or a store like Walmart, a warm greeting sets the tone for the customer's experience. The personal touch makes a significant impact.
2. Anticipating Needs: Successful retail experiences involve anticipating customers' needs before they ask—offering to take clothes to a dressing room or suggesting alternative products.
3. Self-Checkout Pitfalls: The pros and cons of self-checkout in retail stores, with an emphasis on how it can detract from the personal touch that enhances customer satisfaction.
4. Importance of Store Layout and Accessibility: The placement of restrooms, ease of navigation, and clear signage all contribute to a positive shopping experience.
5. The Power of Exits: Just as important as a greeting is the farewell—employees walking customers out, handing them their bags properly, and opening the door leaves a lasting impression.

📲 Stay Connected:

• Text the Podcast Hotline: 702-723-2343
• Social Media: @VegasStrongRevival
• Website: LaCritiqueLV.com/podcast

Let's keep the VegasStrong spirit alive! Share this episode with friends, family, and colleagues who love Las Vegas. Together, we can revive our city's passion for authentic service. 

Stay strong, Vegas! 💪

**LEGAL DISCLAIMER FOR THIS PODCAST AND THIS EPISODE CAN BE FOUND AT: LaCritiqueLV.com

Transcript

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La Critique believes in living a life full of experiences rather than possessions, which is why we designed a concierge service just for Vegas locals. We're all busy, and can any of us really keep up with all the changes around town? And yet, we still crave quality experiences when we go out and spend our valuable time and money. Now, imagine having a personal assistant whose credentials are quite literally hospitality snob and expert event planner. Seriously, leave all the details to us. Recommendations, personal Three, two, one. Welcome to the Vegas Strong Revival Podcast. Buckle up because we're taking Vegas Strong culture to a whole new level this season. I'm Britt Whelan, your host, alongside co-host Desiree Wolfe, event professional and host of the Slightly Unfiltered Podcast. This season, the gloves are off and we're ditching the scripts for raw, relatable, and even shocking conversations, tackling real issues locals face, and bringing in voices from various industries like fitness, charity, aviation, and more. Don't forget to follow us on social media and visit Locker For more about how we're helping residents and local business owners reconnect to the real meaning of hospitality. Ready or not, here we go. And we're back with Desiree Wolf today. Hello. I'm so excited that you're here and that we get to talk about this fabulous retail topic today. Yes, because I love shopping. Shopping can be so much fun and it can also be so terrible. I do have to be in the mood. I could talk about food and beverage forever, but a huge part of Vegas local culture is retail and shopping. And we have these beautiful outdoor mall at Downtown Summerlin, Green Valley Ranch. You know, we have like great shopping areas. Yeah. Yet, I don't leave feeling wowed as a consumer. I can't remember the last time. Well, maybe I can because it was a long time ago and it stood out. Now that I think about it, I'm like, honestly, it wasn't a 10 out of 10. It just happened to be an 8 out of 10. And because I'm normally used to getting a 4 or 3 or a two out of 10, I was wowed by the eight. Yeah, we've lowered our standards, haven't we? Oh my gosh. This was at Lululemon in downtown Summerlin. I have to give them some kudos because they have nailed it when it comes to having a greeter in the front area at all times. How important is that to you that a store has somebody standing there or ready and available to say hello and welcome in? I think depending on what they are selling To have one person designated as a greeter is very important. Because Lulu, being a luxury brand name, if I'm going to go drop fucking$100 on a tank top, Desiree, I deserve a fucking greeter at that point. You know, you can say that it's a high-end luxury thing, but Walmart has greeters. Kudos to Walmart for addressing the importance of a Because think about when you go to somebody's house, right? You open the door for them. You welcome them into your home. It's so important to be greeted. And it's the same in dining. Hi, welcome in. Thank you for being here. That's the host's job to greet and welcome and then check in. Retail is no exception in my mind. There should always be a greeting. Period. I don't care if I'm at Lulu or if I'm at CVS. Yes. I don't. I want to be greeted. I came into your store to spend my money. I can't get a, hi, welcome in. Like what? Yeah. At the very bare minimum, guys, if you work in retail, the greeting is extremely important. But also when I was at Lulu during this particular experience, I was asked, hey, is there anything I can help find for you? Are you looking for something specific? Yeah. And at that time, I was like, I was looking for a gift. So I had no freaking clue what I needed or wanted or what that person wanted. And so I was like, you know, she shops here quite a bit, but you know, I'm not even sure of your sizes because they have weird sizes too, right? Like it's not the small, medium, large, right? She ended up helping me with the sizing, the t-shirts versus the tank tops versus pants versus shorts. She helped, right? Like it wasn't just, hi, welcome in and have fun. You're left alone to your own devices, figuring out our sizing systems and where shit is all at. She took the time to listen. Yes. And she asked. And she was sweet and nice and had a nice smile. And I think they also have a standard for appearances. All of their staff members generally wear the product. Right. I don't know that I've ever walked in there without seeing their staff in Lululemon wear. Right. There's a standard of appearance. which says to me, I cannot for the life of me remember if they have name tags or not, but they're identified as employees. Like you can tell that it's an employee. It's not just another shopper. Consistency. That does annoy me though, not knowing if it's an employee versus another shopper, because like how embarrassing is it to go up to a shopper and be like, hi, do you know where such and such is? Yeah, which I've done. I actually recently experienced I was at the mall with my teenager and we walked into a place and the lady standing next to me had a lanyard on. And I didn't look at the details of the lanyard. I just saw that she was reaching up on the shelf and had a lanyard. And I asked her if she knew where the junior section was. And she goes, I don't work here. And I went, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. And you know what happened? I left. I was so embarrassed. I thought I'm not shopping here. because I think I just died. Yeah, so embarrassing. I think that is important. If you're in retail and you look like another shopper or your employees don't look like actual uniformed employees, that is a problem. Yeah, I agree. I would say that another point where I feel like my expectations are being met or that I'm being anticipated is when they see me holding two or three hangers worth of clothes and they come up to me and offer oh can i put those in a dressing room for you yes so you don't have to cart them around the store while you continue shopping um yes yes please because my hands are already full with my purse and my dog like i don't want to also cart all this other stuff around so yeah please take it yes like thank you thank you thank you thank you and sometimes i say oh you know what i don't need to try these on but could they go to the counter and they're absolutely right and that's that's great too it's the level of knowing your customer yes anticipating what they need knowing them understanding what they're going through in that very moment even or before they walk through the door other great experiences I've had during retail I've got to say returns are a big thing if it's an easy seamless process I I hate the return process and most of the time will not return things because it can be so stressful. So if you have an easy return process and you don't make the customer feel bad for bringing something back, then you're doing something right in your retail. Yeah. I want to say Lulu makes it pretty easy as long as you have the receipt. Yes. See, and that's my challenge. I don't keep receipts. Okay. So I'm with you. Fuck paper receipts. Yeah. I'm over it. Yeah. Email that shit to me. Yes please. Email everything to me and I don't care if that means that you're putting me on your email list to do so. Who emails receipts now? I know somewhere I go all the time they email the receipt. Home Depot. Home Depot. Home Depot will. Home Depot nails it. Yes. Office Depot also is great. Are they? Yes. I don't shop there but. I do because I have an office supply addiction. That's a real thing by the way. I I love shopping at Home Depot. It might be in my top three favorite places to shop. Home Depot is great because A, the aisles are gigantic and I never have to feel like I'm squishing between people with my cart. Right. I also like that the workers are generally speaking everywhere and you could pick out who they are because of the orange aprons. Because of the orange apron. Yes. You always know. And I walk into Home Depot like I think I know what I'm doing shortly realizing that I have no fucking clue what I'm doing inside of a Home Depot, they are genuinely nice about it. Because they can see that I have the lost look on my face. One of my favorite questions that I had, somebody asked, I was standing in the wood aisle looking for wood that I can easily build a math project for my fifth grader. And I don't do woodworking and I'm wandering up and down the aisles and he's just ready to go. He's like, can't we just use cardboard? And so somebody comes over and he says to me, he goes, what are you building today? that I can help you find the right pieces for. Wow. And I just thought, okay, wow. That's a great question to ask. Not how can, I mean, yes, I love how can I help you, but the fact, what are you building today? It takes it one step further, doesn't it? Yes. Well, and that's what he, I said, I'm building a cat tree. And he goes, oh, great. How big do you need it? We have pre-cut wood. And he goes, don't forget the twine for the scratching post. And I went, okay, I love you. I love this guy. That's Home Depot winning right there. Yes. But also technology wise, Home Depot has the registers and the self checkout, which I go straight to the self register. The screens, even like the way that they've designed it, the screens are extra large and it's all touchscreen. So it's very easy to navigate. They save my email address in the system when I use my credit card. So it's attached to my credit card. I never actually have to sit there and type in my long freaking email address to get the copy of the receipt yes it's just bing bing boom okay bye and there is always someone standing there yes because I actually try and avoid self-checkout because I'm always the person who something won't ring up but I have noticed Home Depot always has someone standing there ready to assist well and I think grocery stores finally caught on to that around town because let's be honest okay I'm a Smith's shopper me too love Smith's me too rarely go to Albertsons or a Whole Foods I love Trader Joe's. Okay, we're going to talk about Trader Joe's in a second. But Smith's does have the staff there waiting to assist people with a struggle at the register. Now, unlike Home Depot, I would say I get hung up on grocery self-checkout way, way more often than I do at like a Home Depot. Whatever the fuck is going on in grocery self-checkout, it's the program. Oh, oh, it's so frustrating because you can't find the right item. Right. You can't find the barcode on the piece of fruit you wanted. The scale thing sometimes works and doesn't. And then, oh, let me just tell you, I checked out of a Smith's and I think I put a sweet potato, like one sweet potato on the scale and it rang up for over$7. Oh, geez. And I thought to myself, what in the literal fuck? Because had I not actually looked at that, you would have paid it. I would have just paid it. Yeah. A, how often is that happening? And B, why would it ever happen? Right. Why would it ever happen? That should never happen. And it keeps being reported all over the country in the last couple of years. Yes. Of prices not matching what's actually on the barcode. Like when you're out in the store and you pick up a tray of, I don't know, chicken breasts and it's labeled as a certain price. Okay, cool. Nowadays, it's like 17 to 21 dollars. So you get it to the self-checkout thing and it rings up for like$24,$25. This is being spread all over social media. Yes. This issue. Okay. And it's not store specific. No. It's happening everywhere. Right. But specific to grocery. Yes. Blows my mind because you've removed the staff who are literally paid to check you out and ring up your items. So that person is trained. Okay. This item rang up as this amount. I see the price here. I scan it and I see it on the screen. Okay, cool. It matches. Like that's part of their job. Right. We as consumers, we are not trained to think that way. No, nor do I want to. No. That should never, ever, ever in a thousand years ever happen. Yeah. The fact that it has happened all over the country repeatedly is a problem. The fact that it happened to me here in Las Vegas is a problem. Yeah. So if you are a grocery store owner, man employee listening to this you must fix this because you will lose you will lose customers well for this and I from a business standpoint I have an opposite thing that happened I'm gonna confess right here live do it podcast I stole two avocados because they wouldn't ring up and the clerk was nowhere to be found I even tried to do manually searching for avocado and it said no description found so I put the avocados in my bag and I left. You know, I kind of went, well, no one's here to help me. What am I supposed to do? I need to walk out of the store. So from a business standpoint, not only is it bad customer service that you're overcharging, you're going to start losing money because people are going to be walking out with it. You guys are getting lots and lots of products in the door every single day. You're having to input them into the system quite regularly. I get that. But if the person who's doing that job is not doing it accurately or in enough detail, that person is costing your store money. Yes. Period. End of story. Yes. That person's job is massively more important than you may think. Like truly. Yes. Okay. Trader Joe's though. Okay. Let's go back to Trader Joe's. They have not implemented self-checkout, which is winning in my book. Winning. Oh, it's so winning. I moved to this area of town out to Centennial, but my first couple visits there, I had my dog. My dog is a service animal. I don't normally discuss having a service animal on this show. I don't think I have at all, actually. Nope. It's my first time. Bodhi. Bodhi. Bodhi, it's your big day. You're getting recognition. I love you. He's like, I know. Look at me. I'm cute. I'm cute. Okay. So I have a service animal. He goes everywhere with me. And because I look the way I do, I don't know, young and young-ish. And I... You don't fit the stereotype of what somebody who needs a service animal should look like. Yeah. I had my dog there. They stereotyped me. They didn't think I had a service animal. They thought I had a pet. It was ironic because I had been shopping all around the store and even one of the staff members wanted to love on Bodhi and he did. And I, you know, as long as they ask and Bodhi is okay with it, I allow somebody to pet my service animal. Well, then I go to check out and I'm approached by a manager. This is A common thing for me nowadays, it's, I'm not even nice about it, Desiree, I'll be honest, but I'm very, I'm just very direct. I'm like, he's a service animal. He's not an emotional support animal. He's a service animal. Would you like to see his identification? Like I just cut right to the point. Right. But what ended up ultimately happening is like, she, I don't think she believed me. And so then at that point I felt a little harassed. Yeah. And unwelcome. Yeah. Granted, I haven't seen that manager since. But I see that employee who loves On My Dog almost like six out of ten times I go there.

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Right. And

SPEAKER_01 17:08

that employee recognizes us and loves On Bodie and it's all great. And generally speaking, all the employees at Trader Joe's love dogs. Right. But Trader Joe's has implemented a very strict shopping policy where you're not allowed to bring in your pet. Whereas Smith's, Walmart, some of the other grocers, they don't give a fuck. Right. Like, you have a dog. As long as your dog isn't going to pee anywhere on our stuff or your dog isn't going to um bark at other guests or you know your dog needs to be well behaved okay yes absolutely your dog should be trained but i don't understand some of maybe this is a topic for another day we're gonna have a service dog episode yes yeah because this is this is a topic and we should have a topic too and my views have changed on it yeah on service animals so okay okay okay we're gonna have that as another episode oh that's a That's going to be fun. I do want to go back to the self-checkout in retail though, because I used to love shopping at Kohl's. Like I was a Kohl's addict. I've had a Kohl's credit card for 15 years. I definitely buy into the Kohl's cash. I have a friend just like that. Oh my gosh. Except for, I would say the last year or so, with the exception of the fact that whoever's doing their buying needs to be fired, but that could be a whole nother episode. No, I went into Kohl's. not that long like last week and I was like oh that's cute like and I was just doing an Amazon return for somebody else and I kept walking through the the ladies section I was like oh gosh that's cute oh well oh oh I like that and I wonder if their partnership with Sephora is changing some things recently yes I think so I also noticed that they have a partnership with Nike which is great because my son is a Nike snob except for when you bring in a brand like Nike to Kohl's I'm now paying Nike prices and I don't shop at Kohl's to pay Nike prices. So they have raised their prices quite a bit, but they've also implemented self-checkout, which I don't love for a clothing store. I don't either because I don't want to have to get the tags off the fucking clothes. Right. What? And the hangers? Yep. I usually take the hangers off before handing them to the checker-outer. There's my word again. Checker-outer. Yeah, I don't love the self-checkout at a clothing store. I'm not a fan. Okay, yeah, I don't like that idea. I hadn't seen that in retail yet. Yep, Kohl's implemented it the last couple times I was in there. And it's fine when I'm not buying clothes or things that need to be, you know, tags removed, that kind of stuff. But I went in there to buy a couple of shirts for my son and it was so annoying. Like, I don't have the experience of checking out. I'm super slow. I'm trying to find the stickers and the things on the clothes and it was just super annoying. I didn't love it. I can't say that if I come across this, I would not enjoy it. I hope it is not setting the norm for clothing and those kinds of retail places because I didn't like it. And in fact, it just took all of the personal feeling out of it. I don't mind having the conversation with the checker outer while I'm standing there. She's asking about my experience shopping. All that goes away when you're doing self-checkout. I'm with you. I don't love it. Customer experience in retail and anywhere really is truly human interaction action. 100%. It's that we feel welcome into your store. That we feel valued. That we feel appreciated. That we feel like we're being taken care of. And that it's not just this welcome in the beginning and we're going to leave you high and dry for the rest of your experience within our store. No, it's taking care of your guest. And it's that questioning. You know, what are you building today? What are you shopping for today? A gift or for yourself? You know, noticing a mom with kids of different ages, you know, asking that mom, hey, can I be a helping hand? Are we shopping for the whole family today? Are you here for something specific? You know, I'm so disappointed because here in Vegas, the number one gripe right now is the heat and not a single retail outlet that I have experienced in Vegas my entire life. I don't know. When's the last time you walked into a Kohl's or any other big retailer and you were offered water? Oh, I couldn't even, I couldn't even tell you. Water. Yeah. Just fucking water. Yeah. I'd be dead on the floor if it were iced water with lemon and lime or citrus of any kind. I'd be dead on the floor, mind blown. Like, what is this experience? And I'm coming back tomorrow. Right. Because I feel at that point, my needs are being anticipated. It's hot as shit outside. Well, and here's the thing. If If you did offer me water when it's 108 outside, I'm probably going to shop a little bit longer. Yes. Or, okay, here's another one. Not allowing your guests to use a restroom unless you are a purchasing customer. Oh, yeah. Or if you don't have customer restrooms. Right. Oh, no customer restrooms. It used to piss me off with little kids. I'm sorry. If I have to use the restroom when I walk through your door, which there is a psychological thing about it. I don't know what it is like I it's legit it's scientific like there's something about it that like the body goes through and it's very common when you walk into a store and you start to shop that you all all of a sudden have to go to the bathroom interesting and so to not offer a restroom to your shoppers is a massive fail agreed yeah because guess what now I have to leave your store and because I had to leave now I'm annoyed and I'm not going back right not going back oh also like some of the Walmarts originally had all their restrooms in the back of the store. Oh, yes. Right? Because they didn't want the transients to come in and use the restroom at the front and then leave. So they located their restrooms all the way in the back of the store. Yep. I would say they've been working on getting more of the newer locations. The restrooms are in the front of the store. That is so helpful. Target. Target has moved all, every Target I've gone into in the last five years, their restrooms are up front. Well, I don't want to have to search for them. I You don't want to have to go on a scavenger hunt for them. Right. Make sure your signage is large enough, visible enough, and accurate. I've followed restroom signs where it doesn't even take you to the freaking restroom. No, I actually went to the, I somehow made it behind the freezer section at a grocery store. No, you didn't. Because I got down the hallway to use the restroom and the signage just stopped. So I thought I was going the right way and I made a left instead of a right and went right behind the freezer. section and the poor stock kid back there was like can I help you? And I go I just need to go pee. Oh my gosh. So terrible. Alright so here's a little pet peeve of mine when shopping with retail specific. The stickers. Ross. Ross stands out. Oh god the stickers. The fucking stickers. Yes. They're so hard to get off. Yes. And they're on every single item. They're on everything. And it's not easy to get off. I don't mind a sticker. If you can peel the sticker off in one or two pulls cool but these stickers are printed in such a way that they have perforations in the center to make little circles and you peel one little thing and the sticker doesn't actually come off so then the top layer comes off and you're left with the bottom layer stuck and then you have little teeny tiny oh my god I yes Desiree I agree the stickers the stickers are a pain in the ass the crazy thing is that I love Ross I am a Ross shopper yes like I I have to say even, no, no, I can't say that confidently. I would shop there more. I would buy more items if they would change their stickers. I agree with that because I've had stuff ruined. I don't wanna fucking do it. From the stickers. I don't wanna have to work when I get home to peel the sticker off my damn new picture. Exactly. That's what it was. I had bought a picture. It was a framed canvas that had the sticker price on the lower part of the frame. And when I went to go- On the glass, right? No. it was on the wood piece of the frame and I peeled it off and it stripped the paint right off of the frame and I was so pissed. Now I'm like I'll only buy it if the sticker is on the back or easily peeled off. So yeah stickers are a pain in the ass. Yeah guys okay anticipate your guest needs. This goes from the time they pull up in the parking lot to the time they get home with the items that they purchased. If they have to then work for 20 more minutes just to be able to use the item that they bought hmm do you think that they're gonna want to come back and buy more right no no it's a pain in the ass Ross change your fucking stickers somebody had to say it somebody had to say it I'm saying it I don't know if anybody else's agrees with me I think I think a lot of people would I think most people are okay here's one here's one we're gonna just pick on Ross for a minute I fucking love Ross I know I really do love Ross though I just and maybe this is why I'm gonna pick on you guys for a want to go there and love it and I want to love every minute of it I don't want to just love the things I get or the clothes I find I want to love my experience and right now I don't so let's help you out the security security at Ross yes oh they are so intimidating looking yes and they're right there they're the they're actually the greeter oh yeah listen I'm not walking into Prada yeah I don't need an armed security guard greeting me at your store yeah I love that they have a green yeah but does it need to be armed security and like they're in all black with the white font that's in big big letters security yeah it's just intimidating for for that to be the first person you interact with at your store yep I always get a little nervous and I don't know why like I'm not a criminal well I am because I stole avocados I get why they're there listen don't come beat us up that they need security because they're shoplifters I get that but you're setting the tone that That's the first. For the shopping experience. Yes. Now I'm wandering around thinking, oh my gosh, is there going to be, you know, someone who steals a whole cart full of stuff while I'm shopping here? Is there going to be an altercation while I'm shopping? Yeah. So now I'm concerned for my own security while shopping. You're not wrong. It sets certain thoughts into your customers' minds when they walk in. Yep. And they're not positive thoughts. Yeah. So how could we help that? Change their uniform. Yeah. Just slightly. Just ever so slightly uh white is actually a much friendlier approachable color than black is that would be the most simple thing ever yeah you know they don't have to be right there at the front to be the very first person that a shopper sees just move their location the tiniest bit yeah okay as far as great shopping experiences here in vegas is there any shopping experience that stands out for you yes recently i was at downtown summerlin uh and my daughter's favorite store is h&m We walked in and I was a little put off at first because we walked in and not a single employee was visible. So I was like, no, there's no greeter here. Nobody said hi. I was kind of put off. It's just kind of weird feeling, right? It is. It's almost like, hi, do you know? And I'm nobody special. I am not the Kardashians walking into your store. I don't need a big pomp and circumstance. Desiree's here shopping. First of all, I'm not going to spend that much. Second of all, I don't need it, but at least acknowledge that I've walked in. So I was a little put off by that. When we're walking around and my daughter had this outfit in mind. She knew exactly what she was looking for down to the color, the style. And we're walking around and one of the clerks comes over and says, are you finding everything okay? And I actually went, no. I said, she's looking for a shirt that is, you know, and I'm describing it. And she goes, oh, I'm so sorry. We're sold out of that. But I have something else that you might be interested in. Walked us across the store to the clearance rack and she said I saw these this morning when I was restocking and I think you might like this and the fact that she took the time number one to to suggest oh I think we have something and instead of pointing pointing drives me nuts when I'm in a store when they're like oh it's over there that irritates the crap out of me this is a Forbes standard on the strip if you're in a hotel and somebody asks where the restrooms are you are required to escort them there yes not to the stall but just right right walk them to the area walk them to the area and then you know and I put your hand out I think that's where I learned it from is because I got my start here in Las Vegas at the MGM which has a very high standard of hospitality so I do the tour guide yes with my hand I never point it drives me nuts she walked us over there showed us the rack she pulled out a couple of items that she thought would be good substitutions based on the outfit that we described and then she said, there's a couple other things. You know, let me know if you want more to look at. And then thankfully she was also the person that helped us behind the counter. And she said to me, I'm going to write down your name and number. And if we get that shirt back in stock, I'll make sure somebody calls you. No. Yes. No. Yes. And she wrote down my name and she described the shirt and I, we didn't get a call. I'm assuming they never got back. But the fact that she took the extra time to say, Hey, I'm going to fall up with you yeah that was huge so H&M kudos kudos we had a very positive shopping experience there that's awesome yes I had a great shopping experience over the holidays last year December and it was at American Eagle in downtown Summerlin I think yeah I found these little shirts but the size I needed didn't come in the two colors that I wanted so I got one color that that I did want. And when I got to the counter, I was actually asked, did you find everything that you wanted today? Right. And I said, actually, I really liked this shirt in pink and white, but you guys didn't have my size. So I'm just going to get this one today. You know what he said to me? He said, well, why don't I just order it and have it shipped to your house? Oh my gosh. We do free shipping. Nice. Like what? Like, hello. Um, yeah. Take my money. Right. You just made this so easy for me. Oh, I love it. I love that. Like that was simple. Right. Uh, yes, please. Yeah. Take all of my money because you heard me and you fixed my dilemma. Yep. And made it happen. Found a solution for you. Yes. And made it easy. The solution was easy and I didn't have to pay extra, which was even better. I guess other little things that really make a customer say wow when shopping is that checkout time. That checkout time is so important. So valuable. As a manager in retail, if your employees are not spending that time getting to know the customer and building a relationship at that moment, guess what? You're losing out on creating a connection. Yes. Employees are so powerful. They have so many opportunities to build the connection directly with your customer. And I'll just say it. We're failing in Vegas right now. 100%. We are. Yes. Failing. I have not felt like I'm even seen when I'm out shopping retail. I agree with that. And for a while I was using the excuse, oh, they're short-staffed. But I'm tired of that excuse. They're not short-staffed anymore. No. They just haven't trained their employees to give a shit. They're lacking the training. And that's exactly it. And for a lot of these people, this probably is their first job. So I can't put all the fault on the young kids. I think a lot. lot of it goes back to training from management it's your responsibility as a manager shop owner to make sure that your staff is trained in excellent customer service if only they had a podcast to listen to to get all the greatest advice um okay so guys you want to wow your customers think outside the box i just mentioned one of the basics is water in Vegas. It's a desert. It's fucking hot. Offer water. It's not going to actually cost you. It will make you money. Period. Let me hear maybe one idea you might have how any shop that you go to ever could make you feel wowed. To take the time and ask why am I visiting your store today? Is there something specific I'm looking for? Those are like just super important questions that are going to enhance my experience just because it It feels like you're making an attempt to understand why I'm here. Okay. Here's mine. I think that the welcome is important, but so is the exit. Oh, yes. Right? Warren and I did an episode on holiday shopping, courtesy and etiquette and hospitality. And that was fun. You know, I've just waited all this time in line. And now I'm finally at the register. And at the very low base level, I expect that I am connected with. That's the base. Yes. standard. Now, granted, read the room. If I'm on my phone or if I have my headphones in, I'm obviously not welcoming that conversation. Right. Read your customer. But if I'm just there and paying attention to you, the expectation is that you give me your hospitality, right? What wows me is when all of my items are bagged up and the person comes from behind the counter to hand it to me. Oh, yes. That's a good one. Because it's so lazy for I shouldn't say lazy, but it's so basic for them to just hand it back over the counter. Here you go. But like if we're really to elevate that level of service, now they're serving me by bringing my bag to me. That's an excellent one. How awesome does that feel? Right. And it's let me put the handles of the bag together for you. Oh, yes. And add it to you and make sure it gets into your hand or on your arm just the way you want it. Yep. And, ooh, you know what? would really, really blow my mind is if they walked me out and opened the door. Yes. Which I think is huge, especially for the smaller boutique companies. Yes. That have that ability to set their employees up for success like that. I have a dog with me 99% of the time. So when I go out shopping, Bodhi is with me. My hands are already full. I'm like a parent. I may as well have a stroller or a child with me, right? Yep. So if I don't have to open another door and struggle to get myself and my bags, plural sometimes, and the dog out the door because an employee took the initiative to open it for me. Yep. So I had a graceful departure from the store. Oh, oh my gosh. Life is amazing. Yes. Like talk about an elevated standard. Absolutely. If you can do that, guys, do it. You will be wrecking for it even if not just in that moment later on you will guaranteed don't let the cash register be your last transaction with your customers yeah make a lasting impression yes obviously I've got hundreds of ideas I love talking about this we could talk all day about it the show has been running oh gosh oh yeah that's a long show we're gonna get going but if you guys are in retail I want to know where your pain points are even if you have ID let's talk about it let's share let's help each other here in Vegas elevate these experiences for each other because we are one big community we are each other's neighbors we deserve to have these greater customer experiences when we go out and shop if you are in retail you manage retail you own retail and you guys feel like you're crushing it I want to hear some of the things that you are doing that say we care about our customers that we go to this extra level of service for them. If we can open up this conversation and share it with other businesses, that's going to help our community. It's not about the competition. Yes, retail is competitive, but we're all unique and we all have our value. Let's elevate retail customer experience. And that's a wrap on this episode of the Vegas Strong Revival Podcast. I hope you found our discussion engaging and even thought provoking. A big shout out to all of our amazing listeners for tuning in and supporting the show because it truly means the world to us. So thank you. Let's keep the Vegas strong spirit alive. Share this podcast with your friends, family, colleagues, and just anyone who loves Vegas. If you have ideas, suggestions, or want to be a guest on the show, simply reach out online or feel free to text us on our super cool podcast hotline, 702-723-2343. And of course, don't forget to subscribe to the show So you never miss an episode. Let's keep pushing the boundaries and reviving our city's passion for authentic service together. Stay strong, Vegas.