TAKING PRIDE

Store manager praises her team for exemplary effort during holiday period

Recently, Rachel Roos, Manager of the Roots store in Newmarket, Ontario, contacted us, saying she was so impressed by the way her team performed during the holiday period that she wanted to share her appreciation with readers of The Source. Here’s an excerpt from her letter to her staff:

 

 

 

(L to R): Shannon, Cassandra, Taylor, Julia, Jennifer, Jenna C.,Rachel, Dana and Debra. Missing in photo: Sherry, Shanika, Laura, Katie, Jessica and Jenna W.
 

Dear Newmarket Team (Cassandra, Dana, Debra, Jenna C., Jenna W., Jennifer, Jessica, Julia, Katie, Laura, Shanika, Shannon, Sherry and Taylor)

 

I’ve had the opportunity to work with fantastic staff over the past five years at various Roots stores (Pearson Airport; Hillcrest; Pickering; and Newmarket). Although there are many employees at every store that do a great job, I’ve never seen an entire team come together like I saw this holiday season in Newmarket.

 

As this is our busiest time of the year, there’s a fair bit of stress, in part due to the season’s challenging goals. There were moments we didn’t know how we’d get through the day and accomplish everything, from visual flips to something as simple as completing the stock, but we did it. We stayed positive and we supported each other when we needed to. (We also threw in a great sense of humour to keep us laughing!) 

 

I saw the hard work everyone put in – coming in on short notice; staying much longer than I originally scheduled for window changes (five windows can be quite challenging); keeping up with visual standards daily; focusing on conversion hourly; and two-minute meetings that turned into 10-minute meetings with the zone charts.

 

I know it often seemed like there was a number for everything. We had a Right to Play goal, a Gift With Purchase goal, a customer goal, a KPI (key performance indicators) goal, leather goals, and – let’s not forget – our budget goal. I know I raised my expectations by asking staff to know these numbers at any given time.

 

When we began, many of you looked almost overwhelmed. But you all came through, showing the willingness and confidence to learn new concepts and, in the process, vastly exceeding our financial targets for the holiday period. You all deserve recognition for this major achievement. I know it didn’t come easy.

 

Thank you for taking the time to find out what our customers were shopping for and showing excitement about it when you showed them our collection. I heard the enthusiasm you shared with customers when you would talk about a new leather colour by its Roots colour name; how much they are going to love the Mantra Pant; what Right to Play supports; or what new great colours we had the Grassroots Hoody in. 

 

You all truly ‘A.C.E.d’ it this holiday. Each of you has traits and ideas that make us such a well-rounded team. I appreciate all the roles that each of you play. Without one of you, it just wouldn’t be the same. Thank you for being so exceptionally dedicated this holiday season.

 

You’re an incredible team.

Sincerely,

Rachel