Some twenty years ago Bob Phibbs decided to brand himself as the Retail Doctor, complete with a registered trademark sign.  His credentials may not include any actual academic recognition (understandable, since no one offers an R.D. degree), but his knowledge of the retail business has earned him the respect of those in the field.

This year Bob Phibbs published a book entitled The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business: A Step-by Step Approach to Quickly Diagnose, Treat and Cure with John Wiley & Sons, the same publisher as my retailing book. We take very different approaches to the same subject, but I am happy to recommend Phibbs’ book particularly for its strength in the area of customer service training.

It turns out that Phibbs makes his living doing consulting and training that largely focuses on sales techniques.  He works mostly with trade associations (note to the universe — if the New Zealand Retailer’s Association needs a followup speaker, I’m available), franchises and retail chains.  His message of friendly, engaging customer service is as pertinent to small independent retailers as it is to these larger businesses.

I especially like the chapter not-so-poetically named “Sell It or You’re Dead,” which covers the problems almost all shops seem to have in getting their sales staff to interact in a meaningful way with customers.  In one of his training sessions, featured as a short video on the web site The Retail Doc, Phibbs compares greeting a customer coming into the store to welcoming a friend to your home by asking “Can I help you?” instead of “Good Morning.”

In addition to his book and consultations, Phibbs offers a free monthly e-mail newsletter, as well as various sales materials that are for sale, on his web site.  You may not have the resources to invite Bob Phibbs to your store for a consultation — but why not sign up for his newsletter, and spend $20 for a copy The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business, which contains many practical ideas that could make a real difference in your business.  After all, when was the last time you got a doctor to make a house call for that price?

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder