Retail Employees Should Be Experts at Whatever they're Selling.

  f:id:retailemployees:20171005122323j:plain

I admit to not being the smartest person in the world - or usually in the room, whatever room it is I happen to be in. One thing i do, that I like to think is pretty smart, is to be fearless about asking questions. I don't mind looking stupid; pretty much I am. But, I'd still rather be told something by someone who's supposed to know and therefore have a chance of knowing it too, than not know.

It's a relief whenever I or my fiancée and I walk into some store looking for help finding something that does something, and since neither of us (least of all myself) can usually articulate very well what those somethings are (else we wouldn't need the help, I suppose), we rely on the kindness of strangers being paid to assist us.

Sometimes, allegedly so. My fiancée went looking for a certain specific type of concealer or something - not any particular brand, just something that performs a particularly function, gives a particular look for her particular face - at a certain makeup place inside a certain department store and got an indeterminate answer on-line and virtually no answer in real life (ironically).

We went searching on-line for other stores to maybe find something at, and saw this piece in San Fran Chronicle sfchronicle.com/style/windowshopping/article/Bluemercury-a-luxe-beauty-boutique-11196856.php w/ Barry Beck, about a makeup store on Chestnut Street with "human Google sales associates" which is either some sort of retail-commando cyborg to come out of the Googleplex, or a "beauty junkie" who gives "recommendations on everything from makeup and skin care to hair care and spa services" and "are good problem solvers." Place called Bluemercury. Apparently springing up everywhere.

We went. We asked questions. We got their best answers. It was kinda like Google - give them something to search for, they'll come back with the top options. We got four or five free samples of things. She tried them, went back and bought one, now she's exceedingly happy. And we feel pretty smart.