Shanu Singh Guliani

Who Gets the Commission?
December 8, 2006

The Scenario…A steady buyer of high-ticket items; this reoccurring customer is not choosy when it comes to who helps her sparkle. Delighted to see their commission hit the roof each salesperson tries to be the “one” to help her. Because the customer doesn’t have a preference to which staff member helps her out and your senior salesperson is always there when she comes in; the senior salesperson likes to come over and say hi or hello even though the customer is working with another staff member.

The real facts:

• Saying hi or hello to a customer while they’re working with another diverts their attention from the sale.
• While saying hello the customer has now involved your senior salesperson by asking their opinion of the item.
• Together, the senior salesperson and current staff member make the sale.

Facts to be considered:

• You’ve talked to your senior salesperson about butting in during a sale, yet he/she answers with, “The customer involved me by asking my opinion and then I had to stay to help close the sale.”
• Your senior salesperson genuinely feels obligated to say hello because the customer has acknowledged him/her with a smile or nod of some sort.
• Your other staff members are upset because they were in the midst of the sale and now might have to split their commission.

The problem…Who receives the commission? How do you keep peace in the store because the other staff members have also had this happen to them?

The solutions… (1) If the customer acknowledges the salesperson then I agree you must come over and say hi or hello. I do think the conversation can be cut short and that this does not give the senior free rein to butt in the sale. I would tell the salesperson to try to say something like this, “Hi! It’s nice to see you again.You’re in great hands with XYZ. While you’re shopping, would you like me to put your jewelry in the cleaner? I’ll have XYZ check your items for loose stones and prongs when you’re finished and he/she will clean and bring them out to you when you’re ready.” This way you’ve said hello, reassured the customer that she is in good hands, and took her items to be cleaned, thereby exiting the sale. (2) If the customer indisputably involves the other salesperson then the sale should be split because both staff members added different areas of expertise to the closing of the sale. (3) If a salesperson joins the sale on his/her own accord (even though I think this is a distraction and would tell my salespeople that this should not happen) then the original salesperson should get the entire commission. (4) Have your employees on salary and not any sort of commission. My father dislikes having to deal with these kinds of disputes and tells me that they give him more headaches than anything. He offers a certain amount of money to the entire staff based on monthly goals. He believes this helps to form comrade amongst the staff by working towards one common goal.

What Would You Do?

Last Friday’s Case:
The Jewelry Store That Hands Their Customers Rap!

Please add your knowledge of how you would handle the situation or email me (shanu@gulianis.com) with your own situation whether it’s about your staff, boss, another store, or a co-worker.

Posted by Shanu Singh Guliani on December 8, 2006 | Comments (0)