Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter
(May 9, 2010 - May 15, 2010)
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for the
As I See It...... 
 
POS
                      
MY BEST FRIEND

     I know many of you who know me would right away think I would be talking about Dan Bahr and you would be right "but" this is about my other best friend, "My Computer".

      When I first started managing in Brandon, I did everything by hand using paper & pencil w/eraser. All the liquor and wine each had their own page in the inventory book and every time we made a sale or made a purchase, we would make an entry into the book on that particular date. Back in those days this was a perfect way of tracking sales & inventory. The good thing was, at the end of the year, we knew exactly how much of any particular item we sold and then we could just turn the page over and start a new year. But - every 2 years we would have to make new pages for all the different items and as the inventory grew, that turned into quite a project.

     Then along came modern technology and a thing called "computer". The more I heard about them, the more I wanted one - but I was scared and nervous. I suffered from a thing called "computer illiteracy". I talked the city council into purchasing a computer in December of whatever year it was and August of the next year the council asked me how the "Age of Computer" was going. I informed them that I had not started using the system -- yet. It was at this time they informed me that I had until Sept. 1 to put the computer to use "or else".

     I was scared. How was I going to get this done? I was COMPLETLY COMPUTER ILLITERATE!! I was lucky enough to have an employee who knew computers and was patient enough to get me started. Little did I realize that this was just the beginning of a whole new experience.

     In 2002, I moved from Brandon (a smaller town combination on/off sale store) to Pelican Rapids where it is just off-sale. Pelican Rapids at this time had no computer, just the paper and pencil w/erasers. I think part of the reason Pelican Rapids hired me was because of my ability to start the computer system in Brandon. Little did they realize how little I really knew about computers and just how nervous I was around them. I always knew I had the ability to make mistakes and freeze them up or "whatever".

    Now to fast forward to the year 2010. I must confess, after about 20 year of using computers, I am finally comfortable around them, in fact, they make my job a whole lot easier AND a whole lot better.  I now enter invoices and other information as I get them and can make "ALL" the necessary adjustments immediately. We all know that prices are constantly changing, and with the use of the computer we can adjust those prices.

     I realize many of you are what we might call "computer experts" but I also know there are others out there who are going through the same thing I went through and might be looking for some help. For those people who are looking for help, you are in luck. With  the MMBA annual conference starting this Sunday in Alexandria, you can get help. I know there will be people from at least a couple different computer companies "PLUS" all the other managers & employees who can help.  All you have to do is ask.

     Now for my other "Best Friend" I really would like to thank Dan Bahr for all the help & tutoring he did with me. It must be working - by the time you read this, hopefully the City of Pelican Rapids will have had their bid opening and awarded the bid to a contractor to begin construction of a new liquor store. 

Bob Leslie
Pelican Rapids Liquor Manager
MMBA Director
Customer Service Overhaul 
 
Customer Service 
By DMS Retail 

We all think we know how important customer service is to being successful in retail. Then why do we, as consumers, keep getting lousy service wherever we go?

Assuming most customers are reasonable people, the answer to the above question is 1. Store staff doesn't know or don't understand what the expected behavior in terms of customer care is or 2. Management has not established firm criteria to maintain high customer service levels.

It always boils down to quality of management doesn't it? In both of the above cases, it's management that is squarely responsible. So, before things get worse, here are the commandments you need to put in place and make sure they are well understood:

1.   A Vision of Customer Service  Excellence That is Clearly Developed and Communicated: If you do not set the expectations right from the beginning, you can't blame anyone but yourself.

2. Recruit, Hire, Train and Promote People with People Skills: When you are interviewing for new people, look for indications of a friendly, helpful nature and ask questions probing for the level of people skills . When evaluating staff performance, make sure there is considerable emphasis on their performance in the area of customer service.

3. Measure Individual Service Performance, Report Results and Celebrate Victories: What is not measured cannot be managed. End of story. Develop a performance chart for each staff member and rate them from 1 to 10 for their Customer Service performance. You'll see a marked improvement almost immediately.

4. Solve Problems When and Where They Occur - that means immediately: Customer studies show that as long as a problem is resolved fast and to the customer's benefit, most become very loyal customers for life. Study your policies and procedures and eliminate the fluff and unnecessary steps that take up time. To speed up the problem resolution process, empower your staff to make certain decisions without having to look for management.

5.  Stay Close to Your Customer: When was the last time you took one of your customers to lunch or even a coffee? I know a lot of you are laughing at me at this point; but unless you know their honest opinion, how are you going to improve your operation? Think about it.

Review the above points in your retail environment and make sure you are 100% on top of all of it. That, in itself, would be a major accomplishment.

 
Columbia Heights Promotes Community
Value of Liquor Stores 
 
Columbia Heights
 
Future Dates to Remember!!
 
 
May 15-18, 2010 Arrowwood 
Ask A Director
 
Gary Buysse
Rogers
763-428-0163
 
Bob Leslie
 Pelican Rapids
218-863-6670
 
Brian Hachey
Stacy
651-462-2727
 
Nancy Drumsta
Delano
763-972-0578
 
Lara Smetana
Pine City
320-629-2020
 
Joyce Swanson
Spring Lake Park
763-780-8247
 
Virgene Shellenbarger
Hutchinson
 320-587-2762
 
Tom Agnes
Brooklyn Center
763-381-2349
 
Steve Grausam
Edina
952-903-5732
 
Toni Buchite
50 Lakes
218-763-2035
 
Michelle Olson
Sebeka
218-837-9745
E-Mail Me
 
Bridgitte Konrad
North Branch
651-674-8113
 
Paul Kaspszak
MMBA
763-572-0222
1-866-938-3925

 
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Vending
No Vending Machine Selling!!!!!
 
Tip of the Week
Marketing
Purposefully crafting your MESSAGE (what you want people to remember about your establishment) is the key to marketing success or failure.
 
It is understanding WHAT you want to say, WHO you want to say it to, HOW you reach this group or groups and WHY you are choosing this particular strategy.
 
Create a MARKETING PLAN to get you message to the group you want to reach.
 

Leadership is one of the things you cannot delegate.

You either exercise it or you abdicate it.