ARE YOU A SANTA OR A SCROOGE??

It's the most wonderful time of the year!?  

As retailers, things get very hectic around the holidays.  

We have staff wanting time off, vendors making their final push, delivery days screwed up, final invoices for year end, audits, wine clubs, and oh yes, customers!  

Oh those customers!  

When you can finally leave, it's not to go home, it's off to Christmas parties, scouts, shopping, church obligations, baking, hanging Christmas lights, and to all your children's' concerts.  

When you finally get to sit down, you find your Griswold family Christmas tree dried up and finally the straw that breaks the camel's back...you find your wife," the Christmas Queen", crying again as she watches another Christmas show on the Hallmark channel.  

You now know there is no way she is going to let you watch the game!

Ba Humbug!

However, the Santa in us knows we have to find the magic of the season to keep our sanity.  

Those customers don't care that we have a million things going because they are as stressed as we are.  

The Santa in us knows we can help their stress by offering great customer service at a competitive price.  

They stopped in their local liquor store because they know you can help with the perfect gift or wine for that special occasion.  

By us having a positive attitude and great smile, we can help make a person's day and gain a valuable customer.

So if you feel like a scrooge, stop and take a break.  

Grab a cup of coffee, take cookies to your elderly neighbor, drive around and look at Christmas lights, buy a gift to donate, or sit and think about all the good things our stores do for our cities.

Now if you are at our house and feeling a little overwhelmed, we just watched the Griswold's Christmas Vacation for laughs.  

Hey at least it's not the Hallmark channel.

Merry Christmas!

Bill Ludwig
Paynesville 

4 year-old new condition walk-in Carroll Cooler  

14' X 43' X 8'6"

18 Gemtron glass doors - 26" wide by 75" tall

Bi-part metal clad swing doors

Gravity adjustable conveyor shelving - slides and rollers - 6' deep/6 levels

Refrigeration system - twin 3.5HP outdoor condensing units w/4 cooling coils  

$57K new - available for best offer as is - buyer responsible for disassembly and moving

Contact - Jay Nelson - 612-791-9696  

Here is our creative idea for the day.

Gift bag bought at dollar store cost us $.33

One 12 oz. bottle of Angry Orchard Cost is .90

One 50 ml of Jameson cost is $1.31

One 50 ml of Fireball cost is $.66

Total cost is $2.90

Retail if bought as singles $5.97

We are retailing them as impulse at the registers for $5.00, but within the bag is also a $5.00 coupon free on a $50.00 purchase in December.

We are calling them our Gift to Go Bag, but in explaining it to the customers, as long as they come back and use their $5.00 coupon in December, the bag and contents are really free!

You mix angry orchard with fireball and the cocktail is called = Angry Balls

Mix Irish Whiskey and angry orchard and you have = Johnny Jump Up

Making extra money while making the customer commit to coming back.

1.    Maintain a positive attitude towards yourself and your work.  When something goes wrong, don't waste time complaining but work towards its correction.

2.    Understand a clean and organized store directly correlates to high sales.

3.    Approach more customers.

4.    Realize that customers are on the defensive.  Make a personal remark that demands a positive answer, putting the customer at ease.  Never say, "Can I help you?"

5.    Carry a prop when approaching a customer and get away quickly to let the customer browse.  Return within a few minutes and continue to build rapport.

6.    Ask questions that open windows; rarely ask anything that can be answered with a no.

7.Know the store's stock and don't oversell limited items.  

8.    Never come out of the stockroom empty-handed.  If something is sold out, present something similar.

9.    Present additional products and accessories at the close of the sale.

10. Locate out-of-stock items or suggest special ordering other alternatives.  

11. Understand the merchandise: price points, construction, wear and how it compares to other brands and competitors. Ask about new products before a customer does.

12. Thank customers by name, if possible, at the time of sale.