Whether it’s restaurants, hotels, retail, or any other service industry establishment, companies are struggling to find employees. This isn’t new, we have been struggling to find staff for over a year.
I was shopping in Downtown Charleston on King Street recently, and I went into one local store absolutely slammed with customers. Yet, the store only had two people working. One was trying to attend to customers and the other was working the register. Both looked as busy as could be.
I spoke with the store owner, who was working just as hard herself, who told me she had been trying to find people to work for her for months.
Before COVID she was fully staffed, she could easily serve every customer who walked in the door, and attend to other tasks. Everything ran smoothly. Now, she can barely find people to apply for any type of job in the store.
However, business has never been stronger. People are buying things from her store left and right. People are in and out all the time. Tourism is booming, and so, her business is booming.
But, for the store owner to serve people in the same way she has pre-pandemic, other things have taken the back burner. Things like taking inventory, putting products online, putting boxes away, and keeping the stockroom organized have all become secondary priorities. These important tasks have taken a backseat so that she can provide great customer service.
Even though not putting products online could serve as a detriment to her bottom line, this is not as important to her as serving the customer right in front of her. She would rather make sure the person in her store is having a fruitful experience than to do tasks that may prove to be more financially beneficial.
This is true hospitality.
The store prides itself on being a personalized, local store, and it will continue to do that regardless of how big or how small the staff is.
There is a lesson to be learned from this store. While we may be struggling to fill positions, we need to make sure that our customers are still our priority. Even if other things have to take the back burner, as long as our customers are having a wonderful experience, our business is still going to be a success.
