Insider's Guide to Working in Retail

If you are planning to get a job at a retail store you should become familiar with the tasks. These tasks include, but are not limited to zoning, re-shopping, and stocking products.

When you zone an area, you will make sure that the entire aisle of product is in its proper place. You do this by checking the products name with that on the shelf. Now you will need to check the facing of the product. First, take the box, locate the front and place it evenly onto the shelf. Sounds simple right? Except many products are not in boxes they are folded or hung or put in dispensers. This keeps the store in order so that the consumer knows where to find what they want to buy. When a store is disorganized, it loses money because items that are sold for more are misplaced under the wrong label. Every item that does not belong in that department is taken to the front of the store to be re-shopped

Now that you have zoned your department, you will take the times that do not belong in your area to the front of the store. At the front of the store you will find a bin full of items that do belong in your department, grab a shopping cart and head back. Now you will start the process of Re-shopping the items you go through the cart and take care of each item. Repackaging items that were opened by a costumer are re-wrapped and discounted. These are placed on clearance shelves to help keep a uniformed look to the other parts of the store.

Every store is continuously restocked with product. Stores will use some sort of Plan-o-gram or chart to show how the product is meant to be stocked and displayed. Just think of it as a map on how they want the store to be set up.

Selling the credit cards for your store may seem a little daunting at first, but as time goes on you will learn the stores managers do have quotas to fill. Before you are hired you should ask if the responsibility of getting new card applications is set by a quota and if it would be your responsibility. A number of chains have not lifted the quota on their staff, trust me, you do not want to be the one who is fired for low customer credit card applications.

Be prepared to be trained to fulfill the needs at your store in other departments. Flexibility is what these chain stores are looking for today. They want you to have an open availability so they can have you work for them when ever and where ever they need.