On Thu, 01 Jan 2009 10:00:17 +0000 Bruce wrote :
Why are british retail staff so bad? Because you cant fire
them for being bad. Simple as that.

On the contrary, their employers *can* fire them.

But they don't get fired, because no-one who is available to
replace them would be any better.

There's a very good book by Julian Richer, of Richer Sounds fame,
in which IIRC he says that retail staff stay an average of 10
months in any one job. So they have barely got up to speed before
they move on. So, he points out, most shops have a less than well
trained staff and spend a load of money on hiring and training.
His philosophy (has anyone worked there to confirm) is to pay
well, treat staff well, and make work a fun place to be: by doing
this you get enthusiastic people and keep them, whilst your rivals
are fixated on what the minimum wage is and can you get away with
paying less.

--
Tony Bryer, 'Software to build on' from Greentram
www.superbeam.co.uk www.superbeam.com www.greentram.com