For guest clerk, a little familiarity goes a long way

Since 1998, the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Gregory J. Gilligan has worked as a retail clerk during the holidays to give readers a look at what the job entails. He was not paid by the stores. Employers knew of his identity; customers did not.

Call it those first-day jitters.

That's how I felt before working a five-hour-plus shift at the hhgregg store near Chesterfield Towne Center on Sunday afternoon.

I feared frantic shoppers would bombard me with questions about flat-screen televisions, surround-sound systems, GPS navigational systems or digital cameras, and I wouldn't have the correct answers.

Electronics are something I am a little familiar with -- just enough to be dangerous.

But there's a lot to know -- from LCD, plasma, DLP and LED television types and resolution quality of 720p or 1080p to 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rates. And that doesn't even include all of the various features each has.

So when it came time to actually start selling, I hung back a bit and watched Jack Bailey teach me the tricks of the trade. Bailey is one of the top salesmen at that hhgregg store.

Bailey asks good questions. He listens to the customers. He reads their body language. And he knows his stuff -- he can rattle off details and features of different televisions quickly.

. . .

About an hour into my shift, I finally gained my confidence when a customer asked about cameras. That is something I know a lot about -- I am an amateur photographer, travel and take lots of photos.

The husband-and-wife team came in looking for a camera for their college-age daughter. Based on what they said she liked -- and what she uses -- I suggested two Canon digital cameras.

I explained the features of the cameras and demonstrated how each works.

They also said they were looking for a 20-inch TV to go into their bedroom. As we walked to the TV section, I remembered from my brief training to learn more about their needs.

One of my questions: How far away will the TV be from where you will be watching? His response: about 15 feet.

I showed them an array of 20-inch LCD TVs, then marked off 15 feet and had them stand there.

Then I suggested they turn around and look at the 32-inch TVs that were also about 15 feet from where we were standing.

Wow, the husband said, what a big difference.

And for $200 more -- or $514.97 -- I told them they could buy a Sony 32-inch and get a Blu-ray disc high-definition player for free.

He was intrigued. She worried whether the TV would fit on the dresser.

They said they would think about the TV and the camera and likely would be back. He asked if hhgregg employees work on commission -- they do -- and I gave them Bailey's information.

While I didn't make the sale, the dialogue provided me with much-needed confidence.

. . .

Bailey, my mentor, applauded my efforts, saying I handled the situation well. Customers get home and sometimes realize they have bought the wrong size, he said. They often stand right in front of the TV while at the store, which, of course, makes everything looks big. That's not reality. Stepping back gives a better idea of what a screen may look like in the home.

Bailey, 25, has the experience.

He worked for Circuit City for four years, starting at one of the chain's Tampa, Fla., stores in 2004 and relocating to the Richmond area. He eventually became assistant manager at the Circuit City store near Short Pump Town Center.

He left in summer 2008, just months before Henrico County-based Circuit City declared bankruptcy and ultimately folded. He took a job at Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer.

But when hhgregg entered the Richmond market last month by taking over two former Circuit City locations, Bailey changed jobs. The appliance and consumer electronics retailer, he said, is much more to his liking because of its training and selling philosophies.

Bailey, like other hhgregg employees, received 80 hours of training before the store opened.

And all of the sales associates at hhgregg are paid a commission on what they sell. If they don't sell, they don't get paid. Best Buy doesn't pay commissions; Circuit City did until 2003.

During my stint, Bailey and I sold about $2,400 in merchandise, including a flat-panel TV, two cameras and a camcorder.

Had I been paid, I would have received about $120 -- or about 1 percent on the sale revenue and a share of the profits of the merchandise I sold.

. . .

The hhgregg chain also will match competitors' prices and might even allow customers to haggle a little over the price.

"Circuit City or Best Buy would never do that, but hhgregg's philosophy is, 'Why not sell it and make a little bit of money rather than make nothing at all?'" Bailey said.

And Bailey and I did just that for a customer who wanted a Canon single-lens reflex camera.

The customer was ready to buy the camera but mentioned that he saw the same one on Amazon.com for $408 with free shipping versus the hhgregg price of $449. He asked if he could get it for a lower price.

Bailey double-checked Amazon's site, went to a manager and got the price lowered to $420.

We closed the deal. And the customer said he was happy.

. . .

It was not the first time I had been in that store. I had worked for a day there nine years ago when it was a Circuit City.

The moment I stepped through the front door Sunday, it was clear this was a brand-new store.

About a third of the hhgregg employees there had worked for Circuit City in some capacity.

One of the managers, Lane Blaylock, was a district-level operations manager for Circuit City. He said hhgregg reminds him of what Circuit City used to be in its heyday.

Hiring those former Circuit City workers gives hhgregg a leg up because the employees know the merchandise and they know how to sell, said Andrew Eaton, hhgregg's regional manager for the Richmond area and another former Circuit City employee.

. . .

My shift on Sunday was not as frenzied as I had expected.

Toward the end of my shift, I finally developed a knack for selling.

Fred Agyeman and his girlfriend, Asha Payne, came in to buy her a camera. He stood to the side as I helped her look at Sony, Nikon and Samsung cameras.

She couldn't test the Samsung that interested her the most. It wasn't connected to a power cord.

Not a problem. Bailey got a manager, who pulled out a new one and put a battery into it.

Bailey then programmed the date and time, just in case Payne wanted the camera.

And she did.

As Bailey rang it up, I asked Agyeman if he'd like me to wrap it. (I had noticed earlier that the store had some wrapping paper in the employee break room.)

He had a big smile and shook his head yes. Payne said it wasn't necessary since she already knew what she got. He said she wouldn't have anything to unwrap on Christmas Day. He gave me the look -- and I grabbed the camera box and wrapped it.

When I returned, he shook my hand several times, thanking me.

I had done a good deed.

"You went above and beyond the customer expectations," Bailey said. "That's what it's all about."

Contact Gregory J. Gilligan at (804) 649-6379 or ggilligan@timesdispatch.com.