2nd Interview-Shop Walkthrough?

laura243

Hi,

Hopefully somebody can give me some advice, I have a second interview for a shop management post in a couple of weeks and just wondered if anyone has had one before and what exactly a "shop walkthrough" entails?

columbiana

Hi Laura,

I havent had this, but having spent a number of years in retail, i would imagine you will spend a little bit of time on the shop floor with the team, and have a look around at the way the shop is laid out.

You will probably then be asked for your feed back, both about behaviours from the staff on the shop floor- what you saw that was really good and what was not so good, and how you might change the layout if you were in charge.

Be prepared to have good explanations for anything negative you say, as they will probably have spent a fortune on 'experts' to tell them how the store should be laid out!

Good luck

Forwandert

I would recommend visiting a different branch of the same company and a feel for how things should be laid out as most stores will have pretty much the same customer flows, planagrams, modulars for all their stores. It's also probably worth a quick scouting mission to the actual store. Pay particular attention to cleanliness of the store, anything you would consider damaged ie broken shelf edges. Also the main one is missing POS anything from standard shelf edge labels to shelf barkers, some that maybe incorrect for the products on the shelf. If you can spot something OOC in the chillers it always tends to show a good eye for detail.

As for moving things around etc if its one of the main supermarkets there isn't much need for that, pretty much everything is planned out to exactly how many tins of food with each facing and moving things will just mess things up with deliveries.

Ask plenty of questions on the daily processes everything from ordering to receiving deliveries and what your daily duties would be.

Summerstage

Firstly Laura, well done on getting to this stage.

Agree with what's been said already.

To add to that, look at it from a customer's point of view.

Availability - why are items out of stock?

Customer Service - queues at checkouts? Friendly and knowledgeable staff?

Cleanliness - everything must be spotless?

Any obstructions? - must be a free path to shop.

Health and Safety - any issues here?

Warehouse Area - Efficiency in dealing with deliveries. Stock levels appear too high?

I would not only do a store visit I would also visit competitors, see what is different, anything that you could adopt that is working?

Do research on not only the Company but also the Sector..waht are the big things or changes happening in this sector?

How does online shopping effect the Sector etc etc?

Good luck x

laura243

Thank you, thank you, thank you It is for a large retail chain which is why I am finding it difficult thinking of ideas as like columbiana said it is all standardised throughout all of their stores, I will keep my eye on other things suggested, I had a few ideas of what to look for but with these added suggestions I feel a lot more confident, I will be back with an update after the big day!!

gadjah543

I would also look at window standards (ripped posters or old sellotape) and in store visuals.If clothing, do the displays show logical outfit building for the stock and is the stock available

Does the chain promote store cards? Check for how it is promoted at till points and fitting rooms.

It might be worth asking if they have any stock reports to help you analyse the strengths and weaknesses.

laura243

Thank you for some more good pointers, it's for a very well known chain store in the food industry.I don't want to give to much away until I know how it has gone.The thing is the shop is tiny which is making me nervous that there may not be that many things I can point out but I'm sure it will be fine.Has anybody actually done a shop walkthrough before?How long do you think the interview should last?I'm guessing about an hour?

DCFC79

Im sure you could find things to point out irrespective of the store size.

laura243

Yes, I'm sure you're right, I'm just nervous.

Evilm

One thing that annoys me (sorry if this is considered off topic) is when a worker 'faces' a shelf and just pulls forward the front row of a product leaving the customer to fend for themselves in reaching the few that are left at the back! Pull forward all of the stock on the shelf (and restock if possible/suitable)!

zcrat41

How big a national chain is it? I used to work for a national chain that let their shop and area managers come up with ideas to change products/prices/layouts etc so don't be scared to comment on those things.

Good luck!