Why are Retail Consultants Discrediting Store Leaders?
Why ignore the expertise of store-level staff?
That’s it; I’ve had it with the disrespect. Retail leaders get no respect, not even from the people who claim to be helping the retail industry. Many retail consultants are not in business to improve people’s lives in stores; they’re there to push the corporate agenda and make money. Period. That’s the game.
There’s a trend on social media where these retail consultants walk around taking photos of messy stores. Then they post them online, clutch their pearls, and go, “Ohmygod! Who would let a store look like this?”
They blame the associates in stores. They do this so they can sell their services.
I call nonsense on this. It’s garbage because a messy store means there are messy leaders at the top of the organization. This means the people in charge have pulled back payroll and prioritized tasks.
I ran retail stores for twenty-four years, so I know how this works.
Best of Luck
In a recent edition of this newsletter, I call out this idiotic practice and ask these consultants to do better. I ask them to visit stores and take photos of neat, organized stores that look awesome.
You can promote your services and do good at the same time.
When promoting this idea on LinkedIn, a retail consultant decided to add to the comments. They said that a messy store is ultimately the responsibility of the store leader.
Oh, really?
Ahem, not so fast.
I pushed back and told them that my store ate $40K in returns in one week during one of my holiday seasons. That demolished our payroll allocation, and my bosses were fine with me running a messy store with no one on the floor, returns up to our eyeballs, and lines of customers.
The consultant told me to find another company to work for and wished me the “best of luck.” Mmmmm hmmmmm. Right. By the way, when people get presented with facts they cannot dispute and get all up in their feelings, they often try to get out of any further conversation by saying, “Best of luck.” I see it often.
So, I let them know that I was no longer a retail leader. I am a writer and author who gets DMs weekly from struggling retail leaders. These people are burnt out and barely treading water because their employers (many, many retail companies) have restricted their resources.
Guess what they did? They deleted all their comments, which, in turn, deleted my responses.
Sigh.
It must be my fault.
I know what you’re thinking. I should forget it. I should get on with my life. It was one person’s opinion. You’re right, and I will. However, this is what infuriates me.
This person is a “retail expert” who makes a living as a retail consultant. They have not worked in a store in almost two decades. But when I told them what it’s really like working in a store these days, they discredited me and told me to find another company.
They told me, “Best of luck.”
It’s only when I point out that I am no longer a retail leader but a writer and author that they felt like my words had weight. Only then did they feel like they’d been out-debated, got embarrassed, and deleted their comments.
Some of these retail consultants cannot even get themselves to believe the first-hand accounts of retail leaders in stores. It must be my fault. I must work for the wrong company. There are better companies out there.
It’s only when I tell them I’m a writer (*credible job) and I get these accounts all the time they see that I’m right and that their argument has no weight. Then, they cannot even stand to learn the truth, so they delete their dog water comments.
I Will Never Stop
Some people who make a cushy living upholding the corporate caste system refuse to learn. I call out their hypocrisy almost daily. I motivate, uplift, and educate leaders in the field because we all know they’re not going to do it.
They claim they care about customer service and clean stores, but they prioritize tasks, speed, and online orders. They push bonuses out of reach and then make the store leader the scapegoat of every bad corporate decision.
Sometimes, corporate shenanigans weigh heavily, and today is one of those days.
I will never stop writing, advocating for, and educating leaders in stores. They need the support now more than ever. All these dinosaur retail consultants need to enter the world of 2024 with the rest of us.
They need to listen to the store leaders instead of telling them it’s their fault.
Go find another company. Best of luck.
No. Not anymore. If this is your angle, you need to retire. You’re not making it better; you’re lining your pockets and lying to yourself. You’re also misrepresenting your business because you just proved to me you have no clue.
Kit Campoy is an author and retail expert with two decades of experience leading retail teams. She thrived on building relationships with customers and motivating sales teams. Now, as a ghostwriter, she leverages this people-centric approach to craft compelling content that resonates and ignites brand loyalty.
Corporate caste is the perfect term! That's what these so-called consultants are promoting. And they are assuming always that the workers are the problem. How hard is it to understand that supporting workers is supporting the company? THEY have your answers!