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Tips for Running Your Jewellery Startup 3/7/2016 10:12:40 PM
A full service jewellery store is more than just a store that offers glittering diamonds and gemstones. If you have one, use these tips to manage it.
A full service jewellery store is more than just a store that offers glittering diamonds and gemstones. They also offer all the services that go along with the purchases. For instances, a jeweller may appraise fine jewellery or help the customers create rare designs that can be used as family heirlooms.
Working with such luxury pearl jewellery such as diamonds, gold and gems can be risky business and hence the jewellery store should establish store procedures that will protect employees working at the store against these risks.
Opening and closing the store
Employees at a physical jewellery store are most vulnerable at opening and closing times. It is therefore not uncommon to find the store taking extra security measures at these times. For example, the store’s key carrier who is often the manager will minimize the risk that someone would learn his/her patterns by travelling a different route every day. They may also immediately lock the doors once they are inside and avoid letting non-employees into the store at opening and closing times.
It is also not uncommon to find that the employees do take various security measures during closing times. The most common of these safety procedures is to ensure that there are no customers remaining in the store after closing time. A specified number of employees, usually two may remain after closing to place the valuables in a secure vault.
Controlled inventory
Considering that these jewellery stores often handle valuable pieces, it is important to have a inventory system that can be able to keep track of everything easily and quickly. Most stores use an inventory software program that interfaces with the accounting software to keep track of all the items sold and those that are available at any given time.
Some programs like the quickbooks inventory management program offer additional benefits such as enabling the jeweller to profile his customer’s spending habits and therefore be able to make decisions based on preferences and discontinue aging stock.
Preventing theft
Theft is a major threat to the jewellery business and for this reason many stores have developed procedures that can help eliminate this threat. Employees of many stores are equipped with skills that can help prevent theft. They are trained to greet the customers in the store and noting features on the customers who enter the store. On top of that customers are also required to only assist one customer at a time. As a rule, no more than one customer should approach the jewellery box at a time.
Despite all of these measures, robberies do happen and the employees need to be well prepared for this eventuality. If the robbers are armed (in most cases they are), it is important for the employees to comply with the robbers’ demands even if they ask that the employees move to the back room.
Once the robbers leave the store, employees can then call the police. It is also very important to refrain from touching any surfaces that the robbers may have touched. This is to avoid contaminating any evidence that the robbers may have left behind.
Online stores
If you operate an online jewellery store, you obviously don’t have some of these challenges as it is not very easy for a robber to know where the valuable items are stored. Therefore, online jewellery stores offer ideal services to their customers since they don’t have to worry too much about the other dynamics of running a physical store.
Most people are yet to embrace online stores despite the great service mainly because they want to see what they are buying before it is delivered to them. Therefore, physical stores have to continue put these procedures in place to ensure the safety of their employees, customers and valuable items.