TIL I was the one causing all those returns at the shoe store

I used to work at a shoe store in Omaha and I would always try to push the latest fashion sneakers on everyone, even if they said they needed something for walking all day. Then one guy came in three times in one week returning the same pair, and he finally told me 'look, I just need something that doesn't hurt my feet after 8 hours on concrete.' That's when it hit me that I was selling what I liked instead of what they actually needed. After that I started asking people about their daily routine first and sales went up by about 20 percent. Has anyone else had a moment where they realized their whole approach was backwards? Especially in retail or dealing with customers?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden1448d ago

Forgets listening and jumps straight to selling, which kills trust in almost every interaction I see.

jackson.matthew9d ago

Dude, that hits hard. I did the same thing at a bike shop, kept pushing lightweight racing bikes on people who just wanted a comfortable ride to work, until one guy snapped and said "I don't care if it weighs 50 pounds, I just want to not be sore.

elliot_johnson313d ago

Yeah man I feel that. I used to work at a hardware store and kept trying to sell people top of the line tools when they just needed something cheap that would work. Finally had a guy look me dead in the eye and say "I'm just hanging a picture, not building a house.