Use Staff Name Tags for Accountability

About 25% of back-to-school shoppers are already purchasing supplies. Another 45% will start any day now. That’s according to National Retail Federation surveys. The percentage of online purchasing has grown: A family with K-12 students will spend $688 on average, while those shopping online will spend an average of $874.
     What might the bricks-and-mortar retail store do to win the BTS shopping dollar? Two words: Name tags.
     But I’m getting ahead of myself. Allow me to move back a few years to when my granddaughter Molly was anxious to start kindergarten. So anxious that she dictated to her mom what she called her “Learning at School” list.
     Rule 9, “Do your hardest work,” was nicely augmented by Rule 12, “Don’t scribble scrabble on people’s work.” Sometimes a four-year-old’s silliness came through. Rule 14, the eminently sensible “Don’t pull people’s hair,” morphed into Rules 17 and 18, “Don’t bounce balls on people’s heads” and “Don’t pull people’s noses.”
     As a retailing consultant, I was glad to see Rule 1 was “Say hi to your teacher.” A friendly, outgoing approach will take you far, whether it’s with teachers, customers, or coworkers. According to research at University of British Columbia and INSEAD-Singapore, going beyond “Hi” to reveal information about yourself to others also helps. Maybe not Rule 15, “If someone says, ‘How old are you?,’ you have to say how old you are,” but Rule 11, “If someone says, ‘What’s your name?,’ you have to answer.” In fact, I think customers should not even have to ask. I suggest you require your staff members to wear name tags.
     An employee with a name tag is more likely than one without to form the sort of relationship with a shopper that leads to store loyalty. One reason for this is that the shopper feels they’re dealing with a real person who has, indeed, revealed information about themself. But research identifies another aspect as well: The employee who is aware they’re wearing a name tag tends to be more conscientious in their behavior with shoppers.
     There are two important points for you making use of this finding in your store. First, the employee needs to be aware that their name is on display. Regularly comment to your staff about their name tags. Second, the conscientiousness is useful only if the employee knows what constitutes excellent customer service. Coach them well so they do know.

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