Many successful retail fashion shop assistants have one thing in common. They have a unique ability to create a connection with their clients. Customers are much more likely to buy if they are enabled by a friend who thinks those stilettos are to die for. The sales person becomes a surrogate friend. Some high-end retail luxury shops have even taken this to the extreme, by suggesting their employees increase customer loyalty by meeting with them outside of office hours.
However, a boutique manager’s salary makes it almost impossible for them to spend time after work with those who can afford their brands. Let’s face it, not many of us can hang with the top 1% of the world.
However, we do know of one boutique manager who gave it a try. Fascinated by the luxury life his customers were living and wanting his turn in the fast lane, this manager began borrowing a few banknotes from the cash register. He convinced himself that he would return the money after his next payday arrived. He knew his store wasn’t equipped with a smart safe or any other tool to monitor cash flow and this allowed him to operate undetected
Without a cash reconciliation system linked directly to each employee, the boutique manager believed he had plenty of time to return the amount he “borrowed” and so he helped himself to just a little bit more. Soon however, the boutique did discover they were short 50.000 Euro. They conducted an investigation and managed to find the thief who was promptly fired. Unfortunately their money was already gone along with any hope of their recovering the loss.
Lesson learned! The boutique has taken steps to prevent this from ever happening again. They implemented a smart safe connected to their bank account that allows the Retailer to reconcile daily and compare goods sold against cash received. The solution allows them to identify every single employee who received cash and to be sure that they deposited all the cash inside the smart safe.
The new system also allows the retailer to have more time to focus on its high profile customers and less on counting cash. And it has reduced their fears of being exposed to losses due to employee theft.
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