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The Results Only Convenience Store

Aug 17, 2010 » by Cali & Jody

We wanted some water. We didn’t even get attention. Providing customer service in retail IS focusing on results. This is why we believe every industry can benefit from ROWE.

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  • AdamV

    I moved to Pittsburgh from the Midwest about three years ago. What you witnessed has a lot more to do with the culture here at large than Rowe vs Non-Rowe.

    Unless they already know somebody, or have somebody to introduce them, people in Western PA are gruff with each other all the time.

    • KellyK

      I grew up in Western PA (*North*western PA, which admittedly has a different culture from Pittsburgh), and I don’t think it’s a regional culture thing.

      First because I haven’t noticed any difference between cashiers’ attentiveness in northwest PA, Pittsburgh (though I was only there once), the Philly suburbs, or Maryland. In all those places, I’ve encounter mostly people who are reasonably polite and helpful, a small few who are super-friendly or go out of their way to be helpful, and another small few who are surly or totally distracted.

      Secondly, it’s not that the cashiers were short or surly, but that they totally blew off customers to chat. A gruff “whaddyaneed?” might rub someone the wrong way if they were expecting a chipper “Welcome to Whatever-Mart, how can I help you?” but it’d still be actual customer service. And at this store, there just wasn’t any of that.

  • Lily

    Love it, Jody and Cali! Good example of how time and presence don’t necessarily equal results. Hope you found somewhere that was more focussed on results, so that you could buy your water. Keep on ROWEling!

  • Concerned employee

    Love your video! ROWE is not only working from home but also serving the customer and being efficient.

  • Jesse G

    Great analogy!

  • KellyK

    I think you’re right on the money when you say that people say “ROWE wouldn’t work in retail (or healthcare, or or or…)” they really mean “working from home won’t work in retail.”

    There are lots of environments where people need to be physically present to get their job done. But *just* being physically present doesn’t guarantee that they actually will do any work—they might just stand around the cash register gossipping while customers walk out.

  • http://www.facebook.com/resultsonlyworkenvironment Lacey

    So true! I have several “this wouldn’t happen in a ROWE” moments every day. Or at least things like that don’t CONTINUE to happen in a ROWE because employees can’t get by with just putting in their hours.