Everyone has a bad day. Sometimes it can be a very bad day.
Recently Aurora, CO had a very, very bad day. You don’t plan for those kinds of days. As a parent and as a human being, I cannot not say this, even though it has nothing to do with retail store management, this was a tragic day. I am troubled. This makes people cry. Me included and I have no idea how someone deals with this kind of loss and tragedy. It changes people forever. As managers, my hope and wish is that you never have to feel this kind of day.
Not to belittle or diminish the magnitude of this event, I would like to approach what if something bad from outside the business affects the business. It affects you, your team and your job as manager and leader. It affects your customer and everyone in the organization. It hurts.
I picked up my shirts today at the dry cleaners and drove right back home and hugged my two daughters. I have had multiple customers either call me or email me about the event and asked about my family. There are about three things I need to get done and I find myself glued to the radio to hear the details of the arraignment of the accused. It has slowed me down today.
Do you remember where you were when September 11th happened? I do. I was preparing for a speech for a large organization and was in midtown Manhattan. A town I know quite well. I lived there. I worked there and time stood still. I spoke to my then girlfriend, now wife and she said retail shut down. What about when there have been various political events or global happenings or when a good friend is hurt. I am showing my age, what about the U.S. Marine and French barracks in Lebanon in 1983 or the USS Cole in 2000? Did it affect my day? Yes.
How do we conduct business when something is so prevalent in the news? How do we engage others when they have “that kind of thing” on their mind? This may seem cold; just engage and ring the register. I realize we all feel and as our president said ” life goes on.” Even I write this, I feel so much remorse for the victims, for the families and for those who survived and saw it all occur. And again without offense, they consumed today. They bought stuff. The ubiquitous “to do list of those things I need are still on the counter.” And we do have friends coming over and then there is that inevitable thing we need to take our child to. And we still feel, right?
As manager, do you linger on this or do you just get the job done? It depends. I always say that and today I regret saying it. And still I say it. You decide how you manage and lead today. Someone needs your widget. And the money still needs to go into the register. Breathe.
I want to say to those who do not live in Colorado and who might also say “Really, it is still Monday and we need to sell stuff”, I get it. I do. It doesn’t seem real, right? But what about something on a smaller scale or something that won’t get on CNN and you have to deal with it? What will you do? I am no psychologist-expert and do not have the right to identify any best practices, save these…
Let people deal with it. Everyone has a different “deal” button. Let it happen and let the employee have their reaction. It may be big so plan for maybe letting someone have an extra 30 minutes or 2 hours to “chill”. It could be a day.
Remember, the store needs to run and “rocks must go in the box”; you have to sell your stuff.
If they need to check their devices or get in contact with others, let them. There will be no customer who will chastise someone for checking in.
Your time with customer may take longer. Empathize and let them be customers. Is there a period of limitations? Yeah, you decide.
I am going home early today. I just want to be around my daughters. Does that make me a bad businessman, a bad entrepreneur? By some, yes. I know them and will expect nothing less. By others, they will say, take the time, dude. If you are an owner, you make the call. What is more important, the processing of events or the process of cash? I am not saying take the week off, I am saying when bad things happen, it affects people and their “affectedness” affects their ability to produce “x”.
I just want to cry today. I have. And I am done for the day. I want to hug my daughters again. Managers, you have always had the hardest job. Keep people selling, and the store staffed and keep your sanity. I am not saying walk out and close the doors. I am sorry that cannot happen. Retail doesn’t like that. And still I am writing this blog in the office.
It was a Monday on December 8th, 1980 when John Lennon was shot. I was watching the text across the screen (cable was different then) and saw that he was dead. I cried. I went to school the next day and someone came up to me, someone who I never expected to say anything to me said “He was sorry”. You see he knew John Lennon was my idol. He wasn’t one my best friends…I was sitting with them. It was in the library at Bergan High School on that following Tuesday. And he said what he said. My point. Sometimes in the worst of times, someone will reach their hand out…take it. Life goes on and everyone has a bad day. Everyone.
In the workplace, our team may need to deal with some thing. There is pain in the world. We as leaders need to understand it, support it and also process it ourselves.
And despite any anger, or emotional release, or struggling with why did this happen, we are never alone. Just reach out a hand.
Cheers