One of our employees is starting to show signs of his age. He’s losing his hearing and seems to be getting more forgetful. He wants to work until age 70 — three more years. What do we do?
This is a tough one. You want to be loyal, and don’t want to be perceived as cold-hearted, but you and your business can’t afford sales-floor errors or to allow other employees see you tolerate costly mistakes. The best strategy is to stay focused on performance, not the person. Treat your older associates the same as you would your younger ones. “Deal with issues for what they are — not for the reasons behind them,” says Kate Peterson, president of Performance Concepts. For example, if your older associate hears something incorrectly and his actions lead to a customer problem, address the immediate issue — the customer problem — regardless of the underlying cause. A person can easily deny that his hearing or memory is failing, but he cannot deny the obvious outcome. If you decide your store can’t continue to support a failing employee, consider investing in a retirement package. Perhaps you could employ the associate as a “goodwill ambassador” for your store. If you decide it’s time to part ways, ensure every detail is handled correctly. “Clearly defined performance standards, daily coaching and fair rewards and consequences must be applied consistently for all associates. You can’t terminate an employee for failing hearing or memory — but if necessary, you can for continued failure to deliver to the job requirements,” Peterson says.
I carry two competing brands in a fairly narrow, small-dollar jewelry category. Now one of them is implying I should drop the other slightly-less-popular brand or it will cut off supply. Is this legal?
There are some instances when you could take such a case to court and expect to win — such as when an unreasonable restraint of trade or similar antitrust violation can be established, or when a store’s ability to conduct business is damaged, say, supply is cut off after you’ve invested heavily in marketing and training, and the brand accounts for a big portion of sales. But for the most part, these are exceptions; the law allows a miffed vendor to cut you off cold. “In general, companies in the U.S. are free to decide when to do business and when to stop doing business with another company,” says attorney Barbara Mandell, a member of Dykema Gossett PLLC, which focuses on antitrust law.
I have a no-return guarantee on all my products. But somebody told me that if a minor buys jewelry from me, it is possible for them to return it for a full refund and I can’t do anything about it. Is this true?
Yes, says Elly Rosen, director and founder of the Appraisers Information Network. “The bottom line is that selling to a minor may leave us at the whim of the minor,” says Rosen. He notes that numerous court decisions have supported the long-standing “common law” understanding that minors do not have the capacity to contract. This means that while a sale may have been made, it might not be an enforceable contract if challenged. If you sell to a minor they, their parent, or other legal guardian can demand return of monies paid. And that’s not all. Says Rosen: “In many jurisdictions the minor will only have to return ‘whatever they can.’” Whatever is left! So, even if an item is damaged, they might only have to return what’s left and may still be entitled to get all their money back.
As I start my financial planning for 2019, do you recommend a bottom-up or top-down approach?
It’s a new year, a new beginning … start at the bottom. “Top down is quicker but invariably leads to existing costs being left in rather than being properly evaluated,” says David Brown, CEO of the Edge Retail Academy. Brown explains that when he works with clients, he asks his clients to set the financial goals they want to achieve and then work “backwards” to determine the sales and earnings they are going to need to achieve those targets. “This results in a complete budgeting process,” he says. “If an owner has planned a retirement nest egg in 10 years and they know they need $50,000 into a retirement plan each year to reach the goal, it provides them with the incentive to hit the sales target each year.”
What kind of discount should I give my bookkeeper on my merchandise, given that she knows exactly how much I paid for it?
We’d say very little. Your bookkeeper should be a pro who understands how discounts impact your bottom line. If she asks for a “good price,” offer her the employee discount or trade merchandise for her services. And to keep it fair for both parties, trade full retail for full retail. Unless your bookkeeper is willing to discount her services, you should not feel obliged to cut the price of her purchases.