What skills do you need to work at a retail store?

What Skills Do You Need to Work at a Corner Store?

• Answer:

  Though they are not all on street corners, corner stores, or general stores, are usually in convenient and prominent locations within communities. To work in a corner store, you need to be reliable and flexible. You may need to open and close the store at unsociable hours and work long shifts in between. Required skills are varied but generally include skills in merchandising and customer service. Technical A degree of technical skill is needed to operate a cash register. Some older cash registers, of the type sometimes present in corner stores, do not have automated change-giving facilities and require you to work out and dispense the change needed. This requires basic monetary and math skills. You may also be expected to operate a store computer to liaise with suppliers and order new stock. Interpersonal A corner store is often at the heart of a community, a hub where the same faces pop up day after day. Working in a corner store requires interpersonal skills, as you will most likely become at least acquaintances with your customers. A friendly corner store assistant knows how to exchange pleasantries without becoming too personal. You may need diplomatic skills too, to tactfully move a customer on who is holding up the line. Stock Maintenance If you are responsible for restocking shelves, you will need observation skills to notice when stock is running low. This is not always easily apparent if customers have taken items from the back of the shelves. You may also be called upon to use deductive reasoning and product knowledge to work out how many items are needed to replenish the shelves. You will need skills in stock rotation. This means bringing older stock to the front of the shelves so that it sells before passing its "best before" date. Other You will need management skills if you are required to run the store completely or when deputizing for the manager. This may involve making potentially costly choices, so decision-making skills are key. If you are one of a number of employees, you will need communication skills to make sure all duties are covered. Further, you will often need miscellaneous problem-solving skills as various difficulties arise and demand solutions.