Can you run a store?

Submitted by Dustin Hudgins, CFI
Regional Loss Prevention Manager, Rent-A-Center, Inc.

June 1, 2012

Think for a moment about all that is going on right now- the world economy, our economy, the housing market, unemployment, war, oil prices- the bottom line is that retailers are being forced to scale back and do more with less. How can you stand out in a pool of thousands? Why should a potential employer hire you? Trust me, I have been there...about a year ago I had no job, my wife and I were caring for our son, who was born 8 weeks premature, and we had no health insurance.

During my employment search I discovered that there were many Dustins’ out there; LP certified, college educated and experienced. How was I going to stand out in the pool of thousands? What was my competitive edge? How could I add value to an organization?

Ask yourself- do you know your business well enough to step in and run a store?

Think about the core functions of the Loss Prevention industry...we teach, coach, audit and investigate. How can you be effective and add value to your organization if you don’t understand the nuts and bolts of your operations? We have all had, or administrated, the 6-8 week Loss Prevention training program. If you were fortunate enough, you had the opportunity to spend 1-2 weeks in a store learning the operations; hopefully not just register training. How many of you can honestly say that you took the initiative to learn more?

I recently wrapped up an investigation where a Store Manager and Assistant Manager were terminated for theft. During the course of the investigation I had to speak to multiple customers who were taken advantage of. These were very difficult and delicate conversations; one wrong word or a negative tone could have lost the company revenue. In the end, I had the pleasure of selling a customer an additional item which brought revenue back into the store. More importantly, was the customer relationship that was mended. I am not a sales person, but because I stay in tune with my business I was able to help run the store.

Learning your business takes an extreme amount of self- motivation and patience; trust me you will make mistakes. By becoming a servant leader and putting others first, especially customers, you will gain an incredible amount of knowledge that will help you in more ways than one.

-In memory of Kevin P. Cornell- RIP