National Clothesline

When I walk into a business, any kind of business, and I am greeted with a smile, my respect for that company is immense. Your finished product is important, however, the person who is behind the counter, might even be more important.

Finding the right person can be time consuming and may even seem to be an impossible task.

Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks Coffee, said, “It’s ironic that retailers and restaurants

live or die on customer service, yet their employees have some of the lowest pay and worst benefits of any industry. That ’s one reason so many retail experiences are mediocre for the public.”

Before you start looking for a CSR, think about your pay and benefit structure. Read what Mr. Schultz said and remember it. In Southern California there is a hamburger chain named In and Out Burger. They advertise $9.50 per hour to start for their new employees. Are you greeted with a smile when you order? Yes, you are greeted with a smile, and by a friendly person with excellent communication skills.

As an experiment, I visited the local McDonalds franchise. I was not greeted with a smile. I was given the feeling that I was interrupting the employee ’s conversation with a co-employee. To top things off, the employee’s communication skills were so poor I could hardly understand what was being said to me.

Both of these companies are fast-food chains, but I will go to In and Out any time and have a good experience. McDonalds and their minimum-wage employees are sad representatives for their company and the restaurant industry.

Pay more and hire a better employee. It is a proven fact the higher the pay for a CSR the better your counter sales will be. If your CSR is earning less than your finishers are, change your thinking. Your CSR is the face of your company!

How do you find a CSR? Are there techniques for separating good prospects from those who are not so good? What do you do to train your new hire?

The world has changed and the methods of finding new employees have changed. Craig ’s List, an on-line service, is a good example. Have you ever advertised on the internet for a CSR? The cost is minimal, and you want a computer literate person to work for you.

Where do you advertise? Are you using the classified ads in your local newspaper? Do you advertise under “drycleaning” or are you brave enough to look for an unskilled, but trainable, new employee under the Customer Service or Retail Sales headings?

Do you use a fax number for the prospect to respond to so you can read the potential employee ’s resume? If you don’t have a resume faxed to you, do you use a special phone line with an answer machine attached?

Over the years, I have gone through hundreds of resumes and they are of great benefit because they tell me if the applicant is a job hopper. Looking at the frequency of job change as a crucial indication of stability. You don ’t want to spend months training someone and have that employee leave.

Having an applicant respond to a phone number with an answering machine also works well. I used that method for part-time and full-time applicants. If you cannot understand the person on the answering machine how will your customers understand that employee when they are being waited on?

The ability to communicate must be the number-one skill of your counter sales person. When I return a telephone call or call a prospective applicant and talk to that person, the person ’s ability to hold an intelligent conversation with me is primary. I will not set up an interview appointment if I cannot have a good conversation over the telephone and hear a smile over the telephone.

Be certain to have the employee fill out a job application. Even though you have a resume, your application should have special language in it that protects your company in the event you have to terminate the new person sometime in the future. An application can ask if a prospect has ever been convicted of a crime but a resume will never divulge that information.

The next step in the process is the job interview. You should have a prepared, written, set of questions that you use for each prospect. Take notes of the prospect ’s responses to your questioning.

A typical question might be, “What was your greatest achievement on your last job?”

Another question: “What do you like to do when you are at work?”

Get the prospect to open up. Find out what the person likes to do for fun. If you can, find out what the person does not enjoy doing.

When you get down to the final two or three applicants, a background check should be used. A background check requires the applicant to sign off to it to provide permission for a credit check, criminal courts check and driver ’s license check. Remember, this applicant will be handling your money and taking care of your customers.

Is the applicant on the verge of bankruptcy? Has the applicant had numerous D.U. I. convictions? Has the applicant served jail time?

I used a company by the name of Frasco Profiles. There are many other background check companies out there. Don ’t be penny wise and pound-foolish. The immediate cost of the background check can save you many dollars in the future.

Another step in the hiring process is testing the applicant. There are many different kinds of tests. Some will test number accuracy; others can test intelligence or learning potential. Research the tests that are available and choose what you feel will work best for you.

I used the Wonderlic Personnel Test for many years. It is a 12-minute test that will indicate learning potential. I believe the NFL uses that same test for their newly drafted players. The average score on the test is 20. A famous NFL first-round draft choice scored 7. Did he care? Heck no, he had his multi-million dollar contract.

During the interview process, explain the benefits your company has to offer. You don ’t want surprises to pop up and then have a disappointed employee. Consider telling the potential hire about the company dress code and other aspects of the job. In fact, providing a written job description might be beneficial.

Your final hiring selection has been made and your new CSR reports to work. The first day on the job can be the most important for your new employee. Your attitude or the attitude of the person, who is handling the paperwork and new employee orientation, can create the mind-set the newly hired person will carry forward into the counter sales department.

After all the government forms are filled out, what do you discuss? Your company’s mission statement should be the first topic. If you don’t have a company mission statement, consider developing one to create a commonality of action and behavior on the part of your entire staff that includes all departments.

The next topic of discussion can be the services you provide to the public. Most people who are new to the drycleaning industry have no idea what services are available. At this time, I would explain what each service is and how it is produced. I made certain that each CSR understood how drycleaning works and what the process entails.

An employee handbook is essential. It provides the rules and regulations of behavior within the scope of employment. Among the subjects will be dress code, on-time arrival, and fringe benefits. In addition, unacceptable behavior such as reporting to work intoxicated and the possible steps you will take in the event of poor behavior, such as suspension, and termination will be in your handbook.

State laws vary, so be certain that your employment attorney reviews any employment handbook you use. Your new employee will keep the handbook and sign a receipt for it. The receipt will then be placed in the personnel file.

I insisted any new hire read the handbook in its entirety the first day on the job. The new hire would take notes on any issues not understood and those issues would be discussed prior to moving on to the following steps of the orientation.

Next, a time card and name badge will be provided to the new hire. If you have an up to date time clock that does not use time cards, and uses biometrics, it will be somewhat easier. Also discussed will be clocking in and out procedures, lunch and break requirements, overtime pay, pay day, the company organizational chart, and location of work schedules.

Next month, I will discuss your CSR’s training and all that it entails.