Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Lambrecht’s Jewelers, 130-years-old and counting
    Celebrate with Gold®
    Tracing Diamond’s Origin
    Pickens, Inc.: Steady pace wins the race
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Darling Imports celebrating 30th anniversary
    Registration opens for JIS Fall 2022 in Miami Beach
    GJEPC announces hosted Lifetime Opportunity events for jewelers
    ASA develops new virtual appraisal course to protect jewelers against fraud
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective
    The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan
    10 Cybersecurity Questions small and medium businesses should ask in 2022
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III
    Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part II
    Retailing in a post-PC world
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Communication
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Lambrecht’s Jewelers, 130-years-old and counting
    Celebrate with Gold®
    Tracing Diamond’s Origin
    Pickens, Inc.: Steady pace wins the race
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Darling Imports celebrating 30th anniversary
    Registration opens for JIS Fall 2022 in Miami Beach
    GJEPC announces hosted Lifetime Opportunity events for jewelers
    ASA develops new virtual appraisal course to protect jewelers against fraud
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective
    The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan
    10 Cybersecurity Questions small and medium businesses should ask in 2022
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III
    Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part II
    Retailing in a post-PC world
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Communication
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columnists

24 Karat Corner: Are you irreplaceable

Howard Kelrick by Howard Kelrick
December 1, 2016
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

I don’t often eat fast food, but when I do, I prefer McDonald’s.  So, after a couple of hours on I-95, when I saw a sign for a MickieD’s at the next exit, I figured, why not?  It must have been a long time since I’ve eaten under the golden arches, because I barely recognized the place.  Yes, the usual signs were there for the order-by-number selections, but behind the counter, there were no order-takers/cashiers!  Just a row of computer terminals for you to enter your order and pay!

So, I keyed in my order on the touch screen, swiped my card, picked up my food at the end of the counter, and sat down to enjoy my #1. As I was “dining”, the manager walked by and I asked if he could join me for a moment. After explaining my surprise at the customer-order-entry system, he gave me a quick education in labor economics.

“My labor costs run about 40% of sales,” he began.  “And, if a $15 minimum wage becomes effective, it will go up even higher! We don’t have much room to raise prices or reduce other expenses, so to remain profitable, we need to reduce labor costs by eliminating positions. The counter staff was the first to go. And, once we automate more of the kitchen, we’ll be able to eliminate even more staff.”

I thanked the manager for his insight, finished my not so happy anymore meal, and headed back to the car.  Across the lot I saw a DSW, the discount shoe store. I needed a new pair of shoes for an up-coming event, and headed over.

DSW has an interesting business model: They don’t have sales help. Basically, a sample of the shoe is on the top of the shelf, and if you like it, you rummage through the shelves to see if they have it in your size. I was looking for a dressy brown loafer, and not finding it, or anyone to help me, I went over to the cashier to see if someone could assist me.

“Yeah, we don’t do that here,” was her reply. Not finding what I wanted, I was at least hopeful to find a manager to get some explanation of this unique sales technique. I couldn’t find one, I guess they are saving money on managers, too.

Jewelry stores, thankfully, are different. Because of the unique nature of jewelry, the high price, the need to differentiate between similar looking pieces, you would think jewelry retailers will always need sales professionals behind the counter. But don’t get too comfortable just yet.

Jewelry retailers have been good about accepting new technology like CounterSketch and CAD/CAM. And, while it’s not likely that technology will be replacing jewelry salespeople any time soon, it may lead you to wonder if perhaps someday you too could be dispensable.

So, how do you make yourself irreplaceable? The best way may be to have an ever increasing set of skills that are valuable to your employer and customers. Already a pro at CounterSketch and CAD/CAM? Then how about your merchandising skills, employee management skills, or graphic arts ability? Add some of these talents to your resume every year and you’ll be harder and harder to replace as time goes by.

To help defray the costs of acquiring the skills that will truly make you irreplaceable, The 24 Karat Club offers a variety of scholarships for just this purpose. If you or someone you know would benefit from a 24 Karat Club scholarship, ask your favorite 24 Karat Club member to consider nominating you for the appropriate scholarship. You can find a list of 24 Karat Club members at www.the24KaratClub.org. Funds are limited, and the process is very competitive, but if you qualify and are awarded a scholarship, it just might make you irreplaceable.

If the jewelry business is to become the last great bastion of customer service, then its going to take well-trained, multi-talented professional sales people to do it. I hope you take this opportunity to become irreplaceable, as I never want to see the day when a jewelry customer has to key in on a terminal, “I’ll have the number two!”

Howard Kelrick is President of Finger Mate and a  board member of The 24 Karat Club, SEUS.  Finger Mate manufactures and installs expandable ring shanks and sells to retail jewelers throughout North America. Contact Howard at 954-458-2700 or e-mail Howard@FingerMate.com.

 

Howard Kelrick

Howard Kelrick

Howard Kelrick is President of Finger Mate and a  board member of The 24 Karat Club, SEUS.  Finger Mate manufactures and installs expandable ring shanks and sells to retail jewelers throughout North America. Contact Howard at 954-458-2700 or e-mail Howard@FingerMate.com.

Related Posts

The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails

The Retailer’s Perspective

June 30, 2022

The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan

June 30, 2022

10 Cybersecurity Questions small and medium businesses should ask in 2022

June 27, 2022
Motivating your sales staff

IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III

June 22, 2022

Latest News

Featured

Lambrecht’s Jewelers, 130-years-old and counting

June 30, 2022
Featured

Celebrate with Gold®

June 30, 2022
Featured

Tracing Diamond’s Origin

June 30, 2022

Other News

Pickens, Inc.: Steady pace wins the race

The Retailer’s Perspective

The Story Behind the Stone: Yearning for Kazakhstan

Darling Imports celebrating 30th anniversary

Registration opens for JIS Fall 2022 in Miami Beach

GJEPC announces hosted Lifetime Opportunity events for jewelers

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2022 Trade Shows
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.