Art and gifts buyer and co-ordinator
This job description must be read in conjunction with:
(a) Guidelines for staff in charge of a section
(b) Guidelines for buyers
(c) Garden Art and Gift Shop Co-ordination
(d) Theme and style of BAAG
The product range you select and monitor of gallery pieces, ornaments and gift lines, and the way you display these ranges is critical to creating the individual identify that we have put a huge amount of time into developing.
Your professionalism and your ability to get the detail right can determine whether BAAG gives a professional/quirky/arty message or whether we look crass and junky, both of which we have been in the past depending how your section has been run. It will impact on what we sell in all other areas of BAAG.
The profitability of the section can easily, (and has frequently been in the past) been completely eroded by poor attention to pricing, stock control, stock damage, labour costs and poor product ranging. The section has to provide an adequate return on a significant investment in stock, fittings and buildings.
You must also achieve an adequate stock turn. (We should aim for 5??? stock-turns per year given a gross margin of approximately 35%???????)
It is your objective to make BAAG a destination for pots, ornaments and artwork, the gardener who is sitting at home thinking they want something for their patio or a gift for their friend, must remember BAAG as great for a range of pots and ornaments which they just have to check out.
BUYING
Product range and levels
Product ranging with art and ornaments is an area in which the conventional disciplines of retail store product ranging can and must be applied. You are trying to develop a range of product, which is easily managed by yourself, (or other staff while you are away), which can be understood by our customers and other staff and is relevant to the customer’s objectives and solves their perceived problem.
Stock turns/ objectives. To achieve an adequate return on investment, BAAG’s objective has to be to achieve 5 stock turns per annum of this range.
Objective for product range and product positioning. We want to give a message to our customers that we have an interesting product range.
You need to keep in contact with a range of suppliers but we necessarily need to give a lot of our business to a large and professionally organised distributor.
If you get your buying quantities right, you will sell your product before it needs maintaining. This will reduce your running costs, (ie. your wages) allocated to your section, and thus help the profitability of the section.
Try and anticipate what the customer is looking for before working out how you arrange your stock and then arrange it according to what the customer is looking for.
It has always been the case that what sells slowest is what takes control of the bench, and we do not restock what is selling best (particularly with ornaments/gifts). Use invoices to monitor what our product range is for re-orders, store these photo copies of product range in hard cover folder which can be carried around to check stock.
When ordering product, always leave your name as the order number so as we can trace deliveries of product which we may not want to stock in our range and as a guard against pushy inventive sales reps.
You must have a system of when to check what stock and reorder (Monitor your restockers very carefully).
Deciding your product range
The framework you develop for your product range is going to incorporate broad decisions, Buying a product, which cannot be readily restocked, is a major problem, we lose margin because we need to special the leftovers for a new stack and customers have not the opportunity to buy multiples of the same pot.
The first step is to work the product range you have at the moment and monitor sales.
The reasons a product may be included in our range are:
· It is a product which will be demanded by our customers in sufficient numbers
· It is bought to enhance displays or it is a product which gives a message as to the sort of place we are trying to be (We will accept lower stock turns on these products but we still expect at least one stock turn a year)
· Remember what BAAG is focussing on outdoor and indoor gardens. With pots, ornaments and artwork displayed outside do not buy anything that does not focus on the garden without authority of your manager.
· Never buy product unless have an appropriate location to put it.
· Generally avoid gimmicks. By the time we get the product in, then promote it in a big way as the customer does not understand it, then we wear losses when it is not in fashion any more, we lose money. It has also distracted our attention from our core product range that will contribute to the ongoing profitability of the section.
· Attending at least one gift fair a year (August especially) is necessary as to ensure that you are getting knowledge of all the products available. Helps to keep you in tune with what is in but always keep an eye out because there is a lot of inferior products on display.
Managing your product range
· You have to be disciplined with the mapping out of your product and disciplined in working the products into particular spots. Systematic positioning and ordering of stock is the key to achieving adequate stock turns and gross margin.
· Position stock according to shapes, sizes, colours, finishes and styles, which are easily understood by customers and staff.
– Careful not to overstock on wall plagues and fountains, they sell slowly
· Quantities and seasonal adjustments to stock.
Stock levels, particularly of bulk products, should vary according to time of year and sales, eg peak stock late spring to xmas, reduce stock going into winter, still maintain your product range.
– Objectives with ranging of art/fountains etc.
Fountains, need system of selling, specify what pump they can take. All fountains are sold with appropriate pump and tube.
Setting up area for fountain pumps. INCLUDING MIN SIZE Pond for base
Gifts is an area where we have high stock levels of expensive items and turned the stock over fairly slowly so you have to be very careful with your stock levels.
Remember we have peak selling periods in spring and Christmas and build stock up accordingly. Eg. We traditionally have sold a lot of birdbaths at Christmas.
Keep your product range up but keep your quantities down.
There should be no need to keep anything in storage at all. Check with the manager if you are buying anything that you cannot put into stock straight away.
Make sure you have very good supporting specials for general sales, eg plant sales with 20% to 50 % off everything (April and August).
General points
· Has to be written permission (or notification) of new product ranges to manager, including new ranges from existing suppliers.
· Be very careful of one off buys, they are appropriate for stacked specials but they will muck up our product range definition if incorporated specified stock area’s.
· Do not change suppliers as soon as you take over the section. Wait until you are completely familiar with the section. In the past we have had new people making the same mistakes as the previous buyer did when they took over the section and we have had to unload at considerable cost similar slow moving stock. When errors are made repetitively it does cost the business a lot of money.
· If you get your buying quantities right, you will sell your product before it needs maintaining. This will reduce your running costs and help the profitability of the section.
Impulse
You need to work several of your end caps and high traffic areas with lines that customers are likely to pick on impulse and these lines need to be varied regularly, every 3 weeks.
Choose known value lines only and give a good deal to the customer.
Poor buying of impulse can result in considerable reduction in margin as they are products which are generally bought in quantity and can be difficult to move at any price if you get it wrong.
Ornaments
Ornaments are a particularly difficult area to determine a product range as there is less of an emphasis on developing a range of colours and/or shapes. However it is still important to consider how ornaments will be used and think of developing a range of products for that will satisfy the most common locations, eg upright narrow, etc and then apply style and taste.
This product range can determine whether customers see us as a location where it is a bit of fun to shop with a fascinating range or just out of touch with style and taste.
Have a bit of fun with ornaments but be careful not to overspend.
You need to work with the nursery staff and the gallery manager to ensure that the there are adequate appropriate pieces for displays throughout the nursery.
Monitor what sells and restock what sells, do not leave on the bench stock which is not selling.
Fashion
As general rule we expect you do always get the basics right first, ie do the hard work with a disciplined product range and then work on fashion down the track.
When fashion and our image and style clash, revert to stocking a product range which is consistent with our image and style.
A fashion statement can be made with a very small part of your product range, eg if black is in, maybe work it a bit harder in a high profile area.
Fashion is relevant to our pot range but many of our customers are not really in touch with what is in.
For staff training, with Merri, organise a couple of art craft mags to be available in the lunchroom
Target market
You make a statement about our style and theme to our customers by your product range, how you group your product range, the standard of your displays and you also help to reinforce our marketing identity.
Make sure you are familiar with our image and style document.
Quality
We will wear the costs of poor quality even if supplier agrees to replace it. Consider both durability and workability of product. Small manufacturers and artist/craftsmen are not going to be as consistent with quality. Unless 100% sure of quality, do not buy.
Poor quality can be very expensive in terms of time dealing with the customer and complaints.
Systematic ordering systems is the only way to manage a reasonably complex product range. Locate slow sellers and identify key products which continually sell well.
It is imperative that there is a very efficient system to monitor how long products are in stock, so as we are disciplined in offloading slow movers. At stock take, and if stock turns are low, or every six months, every product in stock is marked clearly to allow us (both yourself and managers) to identify products which are not turning over quickly for review in our product range. All ornaments must be colour coded with texta on the pricing label.
If you do not get rid of your slow moving stock it will build up and start taking up space that could be allocated to faster moving stock. As a guideline, if a product does not sell within 4 months an alternative product should be considered for that shelf space.
We should not regularly sell out of a particular line. If it is selling out before there is an opportunity to restock, increase your stock levels and make sure that the product is in a location where it is seen by the customer.
Customer Orders
Customer orders are an important service but if not handled efficiently we will lose money out of them and when the customer is not dealt with professionally, we will lose customers. The thing the customer is most concerned about is that they are informed ASAP as to whether we can get their product in and as to what the process is. This is more important than actually getting the product in.
Highest priority Monday morning to action all customer orders before you order product. Keep very clear records for staff, the customer are probably going to ring when you are not in, and if you are in it may save you being interrupted unnecessarily.
When get deposit,
Prepay in full is required when the product cannot be readily absorbed into stock, if the customer changes their mind. Get 25% deposit, if the item costs more than $200. n.
Write an invoice for prepayment, get payment EFPOS over phone and do not get payment until confident can order.
Write into order book what deal is, ie may need to prepay or make a deposit before order placed.
Often customers will want more of an item that is on display. Often they are impossible to match or out of stock etc. so it is often it is easier on yourself and the customer to simply tell the customer that a product is unavailable and leave it at that.
If product is not part of normal product range we need either payment in full if less ???? or 20%deposit, if product is over $100.
6.1 Contacting the customer
Contact the customer before they contact us. Let them know what we are doing and clearly record the contact and what action is being taken.
When you notify the customer always tell the customer where they are to pick the product up from, far too much time has been wasted by other staff searching for products which have been put aside.
Handling the customer order product
Need system for picking out customer orders when stock put away, when to do customer order. Put customer orders on clip near pot invoice tray.
Stock takes
The objectives of our stock takes are twofold. The obvious is to accurately assess our stock levels but the most important is the very thorough reviewing of our product range by checking product quality, product pricing and the turnover of all product lines. Take advantage of the stock take process to have a major review of each product you have in stock.
Organize enough experienced pot staff (and your own time) and keep going at it until it is done properly.
All commission work is recorded on separate sheet taken by MP and great care not to duplicate in stock take
Stock take for accounting purposes
Our objective for accounting purposes is to get an accurate assessment of the current total wholesale (BAAG’s buying) value of all gallery/pot/gifts.
The cost price should reflect the lower of:
the buying price including discounts and
any reduced price, if stock is not selling, selling very slowly or is damaged.
Any stock that was in stock as indicated by mark at the last stock take should be reduced in price and this reflected in the cost price.
Mark on stock sheets
· If product was delivered via of container (need to identify because there is different markups to normal)
· if it was in stock at previous stock take
· break stock down into manufactured pots, manufactured ornaments and imported craft, individually crafted in Aus., books and Jams.
· Mark who the supplier is for each product and what markup and supplier discounts are relevant to that product
Stock take – price review
In some cases the supplier price of product will have gone up or down significantly since purchase. If so, adjust the retail price accordingly. When new products are released they will frequently hit the market with unsustainable prices. If we do not alter them, we will significantly reduce our sales per metre and give a poor impression to of our customers of being expensive.
Meticulously reprice and check that at the marked price the pot will sell.
Check the state of the price label and the clarity of pencilled prices inside the pot. There must be a clear price facing the customer. Do whatever it takes to ensure every item is clearly priced.
Remove tacky price stickers.
Check product quality
Check every piece of stock meticulously:
Is it in as new condition?
Is it clean and presentable?
Any damaged stock at all out
Monitor turnover of individual lines
Mark absolutely everything on current price sticker so we know it was in stock on 1/7/??? (If marked from previous stock take mark with diff code)
You should make decisions about standard lines which have been in stock for six months. Think about replacing with another line/colour.
Decisions about non standard lines should also be made. We still need to change over the products/sculpture which we have bought primarily to decorate.
Special off any slow moving or damaged stock and adjust their stock value accordingly.
Display and maintenance
BAAG’s objective with our displays is to give a clear message as to what sort of place BAAG is and to ensure the complete product range is visible and easily understandable to customers and staff (eg this must be their rustic pot section, or this is where their stone section is.)
Keep it simple, over complex displays are going to cost excessive amounts to maintain.
BAAG has decided to stock an extensive product range including some quite unusual product that we are not going to turnover quickly, if we have to multiple handle all product before it is sold the labor costs will make the section unprofitable.
Our space is limited and you will have a lot better impact if you work to a limited number of themes and make sure those themes relate to the customers that shop at Bulleen Art & Garden.
BAAG cannot take on very professional competitors (eg Bunnings/Greenery) head-on. We need an alternative with what we offer which gives the gardener a reason to check us out.
It is very important to achieve consistency with styles / themes in different locations within the nursery when using pots or artworks. Keep in mind both the overall theme of the Centre and the theme of the area you are working in. (formal section would not contain zany creatures)
As a general rule never go further with displays until you get the basics right. The basics are going to deliver steady sales with low risks of losses.
Product positioning
Product range groupings
Where and how you display your products is as important as the product you stock.
An initial step in deciding where product goes is to clearly define your product categories, eg Indonesian, Moroccan, original outdoor Aus sculpture etc.
Given this basic category information you can build a structure for your displays where you decide what product categories go where in the nursery.
These product ranges must be clearly defined.
When putting stock away it is preferable not to put a product into stock at all, than to put it into the wrong category. (eg putting a Chinese artefact amongst Australian craft means we haven’t got a Australian craft section any more).
Poor discipline results in product groupings losing all their impact and they become confusing to staff and customers.
Once main product groups are determined, work out subgroups. This will improve the ease with which customers and staff can locate and view product, (eg break natural stone into volcanic, granite, sandstone etc)
Customer questions and staff service time can be greatly reduced if this is done meticulously. Sales will increase significantly when your product range is clear and the customer is being led into making a decision.
Product position and displays
See merchandising and sales job description. Monitor sales and allocate bench space according to sales and target market.
Set-up considerations of displays
Photos of how you want displays done from above and from different perspectives will help you explain to your staff how things are to be done.
Ask these questions before doing a display and adjust input into display accordingly.
What return we are going to get?
How much money to set up and to maintain????
What risk of damage to products in display??
How important is display??
How safe is the display to the customer and staff?
How much and how quickly will display sell??
Is it in a high traffic area and providing visual entertainment for the customer?
To make money out of a display it has to sell very quickly or it has to stay in there for long enough to generate customer traffic, or contribute to the overall atmosphere of BAAG
Sell clearly explained kits with options whenever possible so
Birdbaths – need to set up defined section with defined product range
Xmas decoration/mothers day/main shop displays, your responsibility, make sure get theme right not to tizzy or conventional but message
End cap displays
The main message that you are giving with end caps is what sort of product the customer is likely to find in the aisle behind it. Eg, “Ah ha!!! Here are some windchimes, maybe if I walk along this aisle there might be some more”
End caps are about style as much as creating sales right now.
When an end cap does not have impulse sales at the end, it generally should have cheaper, smaller and lower product on the aisle.
When we bulk stack on an end cap with point of sale, use a product that has high customer demand and give the customer very good value
You have to work up our impulse stacks in high traffic areas continually.
Your displays have to periodically change, particularly where impulse sales are generated.
Always minimise maintenance when doing displays,, eg no elaborate displays if not on end cap and even then keep them simple.
Display of artwork / sculpture
Sculptural pieces, ornaments and artwork generally are the key display tools in developing the identity of BAAG as a destination for art and funky gardening.
Guidelines for display:
Tell a story with a product range or an artists work, eg, Justin, work has to be consistently displayed in a particular area, has to be professional info about the artist with each product and a bigger promo about the artist with bigger displays.
Have to develop very good info on artists and present it consistently and professionally. We have to develop ways so it is easily associated with and read on display and also available for the customer to take home to read about the creator of their artwork.
Key areas with art focus
There are certain key areas at BAAG which we are developing as focal points for Australian art and craft. These are areas which are giving a message about BAAG and an opportunity to artists and craftspeople.
We are trying to develop the area near the seedlings as an outdoor gallery which is promoting artwork, it has to be maintained to the highest standard.
Remember to check the display in the shop area. Our aim is to improve merchandising, a key area in ensuring a professional impression.
Displaying of artwork/sculpture/ornaments
· It has to seen. Make sure the piece is clearly visible to the customer, nursery staff will frequently hide product. Frequently pieces need to elevated.
· It has to entertain
· Do not confuse other displays in the area. It has to be consistent with other pieces in area.
· It has to have a secure base. It has to be generally secure as it is not broken, be safe for the custnmer. When displaying breakable sculpture on plant benches, develop ways of doing it so expensive sculptures are not damaged.
· It has to be safe. No protruding parts which might damage eyes or heavy weight that might fall on little kids.
· The more frequently delicate pieces are moved, the more likely it is that they will be broken. Ensure that the artwork is secure and that staff understand that it cannot be moved at whim.
· Investigate fittings for displaying artwork in the nursery so they are not easily damaged and a bit flexible with height and width. Maybe flexible height legs through the benches to ground so there is a solid base.
– Place a couple of chairs around place for old people etc in hot weather
Some artwork we are buying effectively as props. They still have to be maintained to a high standard.
Returns & storage
Must have areas allocated for product returns to suppliers, customer pickup and miscellaneous pieces to be worked into stock and to be priced. Need fittings storage area which is well maintained, it is very clear what fittings are available, and where everything is kept in a defined space.
Maintenance of fittings etc.
A significant investment has been made in fittings both inside and outside of the covered areas. If these fittings start to look tacky, the product on them is going to look tacky. Good handling procedures should be implemented if these are either stored or moved, a lot of fittings are damaged when being moved or through careless storage.
There are specific areas to store your fittings, put them in these spots in an ordered and accessible manner.
Check with manager before painting fittings, as they need to fit into themes around BAAG.
Margins, markups, specialling and sales
Objectives with gross margin and labor costs. Artwork/pots/gifts has to one of the areas that we generate reasonable profit from. There are other areas which are very high service and low unit sale.
The poor margin in this area has been the major reason it has not been profitable in the past. The section has to achieve an adequate return on investment. (stock, fittings, labor etc)
You should understand margins and markup and relate to this to your work.
Causes of loss of profit margin.
· Changing of standard product range too often will severely impact on margin as we have to reduce prices to clear stock and are taking a bit of a gamble on a new line. Given this, we have to be continually reviewing and changing the product range. The important thing is that a decision is made to have a color/shape and you stick with it long enough to find out whether it will work or not. Get a logical and disciplined product range.
· Do not buy product for standard benches which cannot be reliably restocked, we end up with a mish-mash of the remnants of different sets in stock.
· Minimising the number of times that produce is handled by staff and by customers, will have a major effect on labor costs and margin with reduced damage.
· Breakages at different times have been excessive and generally been due to poor display. Do the obvious, if product overhangs base, it will break etc.
· Inaccurate pricing of product. See pricing section.
· No price on products. Have thorough and regular checks of prices on all products. No excuses will be accepted in this area, adequate time must be allocated weekly to ensure that everything is clearly priced.
· Theft of product, eg small bronze, need to have small expensive pieces in area where staff can monitor them.
· Excessive specialling (See specials)
· Poor maintenance of stock, dirty, damaged stock will reduce margin.
· Lack of effective price pointing.
· Applying blanket mark-ups to product ranges, need to look at the product, sometimes more than and sometimes less than standard markups.
· Poor handling of returns and identification of damaged stock on delivery. A lot of stock is damaged on delivery or not what we ordered. It is imperative that we do not pay for this, and it is noted on the invoice and the supplier is notified.
· Short supply of product from supplier.
Pricing and markups.
PRICING PRICING PRICING OF ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING THAT GOES OUT ALL THE TIME, MAKE ALL ASPECTS OF THE DEAL VERY CLEAR.
Suppliers pricing
Must occasionally check we are getting agreed margins/mark-ups. This is a worthwhile exercise and saves time and confusion.
Price pointing
Basic guidelines for price pointing – see merchandising and sales job des
Recording markup decisions.
General mark-up guidelines
The normal mark-up on all products is 75% on the undiscounted price, but make a decision on each product range.
Monitor retail price of products, when new product hits the market, the cost price is going to be high, down the track the same product can block sales because it is overpriced as a lot of cheaper alternatives come onto the market. The same product can drop a lot in price.
Price from invoices whenever possible, pricing from catalogues can result in under pricing.
Indicate on invoice that the product has been priced.
Clear the pot invoice tray regularly for accounts payable clerk to do filing.
Procedure for pricing product – See materials handling in merchandising and sales.
Specialling
Do not continue stocking products after they have stopped selling or damaged, dump them and put something that sells into your displays.
There are two types of special:
– clearance lines and end cap impulse lines.
– Clearance of damaged, slow moving stock and overstocks.
One of the keys to achieving adequate stock turns is the clearing of slower moving lines and damaged stock so that fresh stock can be moved in.
This stock can be cleared on the normal benches or through the pot special section.
Clearing stock on the normal display benches.
When there is a significant quantity of stock which BAAG needs to clear, it can be cleared at its normal retail location, make it very clear with the point of sale exactly what is reduced and the price of all stock to be cleared with a special sticker.
First try reducing by 20% if product may sell, but if very slow selling, then further reduce the price.
Do not procrastinate in this area, slow sellers cost us sales of other products (obviously to not slash price and clear product until you are confident that you have a product which will turnover quicker or generate more sales per square metre.
A clearly labelled bottom shelf in the gift section has always worked well. You need a strong ticket, eg. Everything on this shelf 30% off.
Do not leave this type of stock on the bench for more than say 8 weeks. If at this stage it is not clearing fairly quickly, it should be fed through the 20% to 50% of section.
Impulse specials
The objective with these specials is to give the customer a product that they want, ie there is a high level of demand for, and excellent value.
You must support the general promoted sales (Autumn and August etc) with good impulse specials.
Sale – you should beef up sales with pot sales particularly if got container coming in.
If containers still being organised, deliveries should be organised so good stacks of specials are available for the 20 to 50% of plant sales, customers are in the mode to look for bargains, and good prices on the container stock will create sales if they are merchandised professionally.
For a customer product return with a retail price under $5, it is cheaper to throw the product away than get a return.
Labour costs
General efficiency and materials handling.
You will have to train yourself and your staff to work quickly and efficiently so you can achieve the detail necessary with a minimum of effort.
Use work experience effectively when it is available. There are always lots of small, time consuming jobs that need to be done, eg. cleaning of pots.
Record keeping and paper work
To operate your section effectively, it is imperative that your handling of paperwork and computer files is meticulous and easily understood by other members of staff.
Consignment
Process for consignment, very careful can cause hassles and easy to pay for product because it has been shifted or picked up by artist.
Customer orders
Customer orders, how to process, every week, meticulous with records of messages and contacts
Supplier catalogues
Keep your current catalogues in strict alphabetical order and toss out all non-current paper as you work in the files. A very few of the key suppliers will have a dedicated suspenda file.
The computer outlook contacts must be kept up to date. A complete review should be done every 6 months. Mark-ups should be recorded for each supplier/product. Prices should be based on what a customer would expect to pay.
Developing relevant records on your suppliers, your processes, your other contacts. NOT EXCESSIVE NOTES, BRIEF AND RELEVANT FOR YOUR USE AND FOR THE USE OF ANYONE ELSE WHO MIGHT BE IN YOUR POSITION.
What details have to be set up as template for each supplier, who allocated orders to, markup, what deals have done, how often are they thoroughly reviewed, must be dated on template when reviewed or whenever any updates done.
Update suppliers list for ornaments, artists gifts, and jams,
Get all customer orders completely up to date and check book every Monday first thing, follow up.
Supplier invoices
Look after supplier invoices. How are they processed by accounts payable, what happens if your restockers lose one, how do you make sure they are processed. Keep a tray where prepriced invoices are kept.
When there is a new supplier or new product range from an existing supplier, take a photocopy of the invoice, and write details to pots contacts.
General points
Critical considerations in time in running section:
Restockers
First priority is always is to be ready for our restockers on arrival. Give them a quick briefing of what is planned for the restock, always have something planned. When they arrive create a sense of purpose and urgency, make sure there is work for them to do straight away and there is continuity of work throughout their shift. Restockers are going to go of the boil if you do not work with them, set objectives, monitor what they are doing and recognise good work, normal management stuff. Getting stock away is always a priority but make sure they are doing basic maintenance of stock as they work, ie if putting small glazed pots away and see stock in wrong spot, displays should be worked, damaged stock off bench, checking pricing etc.
Job lists for weekend staff.
There is frequently a lot of maintenance to do in your sections and you can frequently win labor if the weekend manager knows what work needs to be done, particularly in the shop area.
Materials handling.
Nothing ever down back, everything directly into stock whenever poss, when stored, stored safely, never buy excess quantities of product, will result in excessive handling, unless a special and very significant saving, in excess of 25%. Got to continually improve handling so reduce times handle, distance carry and breakages.
Think of how long you are carrying product. Can you use equipment to reduce carrying and to increase the amount of product that you take in one load?
Organise delivery points for product.
Efficiency of selling (customer processing)
Huge amount of time saved if clear what price of product and how it is used, eg how big a pond is necessary and how much the pond is, etc.
Dealing with supplier reps
When dealing with supplier reps, be polite but efficient with your time. Reps will waste your time showing you the same products every two weeks if you do not keep control. Tell them how often you want to see them and do not hesitate to hurry them up so you can get back to your work.
Adjust all timers for daylight saving. Manage lights in gallery so come on when darkish.
Calender / Diary. Need a list of jobs to do at particular times of each week, or at particular times of the year.
Eg Reviewing product range in November to ensure ready for Christmas
Cleanup. Must cleanup stock at end of each night or restock session. Staff must not go until all stock is cleaned up. You must clean up all odds and sods every week.
Safety at BAAG is more important than customer service!
Lifting. Make sure that anyone that is required to lift in your section is adequately trained.
Any staff member who continues to show poor lifting techniques should be referred to our physio Greg Roberts, and if those bad lifting techniques continue they should be given a written warning that their lifting techniques must improve.
No matter how attractive a sculpture is, we do not stock it unless it is completely safe in display and when it is taken home by the customer.
Nothing should be put on display unless it is totally secure.
Environmental Policy and Buyers
Under Bulleen Art & Garden’s environmental policy, buyers in all departments must consider the environmental impacts and implications of the products they purchase. They must aim to minimize the purchase of goods that are environmentally unfriendly (eg. Toxic, from unrenewable resources, at the expense of other communities, environmentally unsustainable) and where possible provide environmentally friendly alternatives. Buyers are encouraged where possible to provide a range of environmentally friendly products and to have these merchandised in such a way as to encourage their purchase.
It would be useful if buyers could keep a record of environmentally influenced decisions made in their sections.