A TOP retail boss has gone back to basics at a Chester department store.
Angela Brown, associate director of London-based Savills, which manages the Grosvenor Shopping Centre, spent a day on the shop floor in Debenhams, Browns of Chester, as part of its “Getting Back into Retail” scheme.
Angela joined staff, along with her colleague Stephen Toal, and assisted customers in the menswear department with customer service and stock control.
Fifty members of staff at Savills, including surveyors and centre managers, have taken part in the scheme, which is reminiscent of the BBC’s Back to the Floor series, to help top bosses to get some hands on experience.
Angela, a 12-year veteran of Savills, said: “I’ve learned how important the customers’ experience is but also understand that pressures on staffing levels can affect the capacity to provide continuous excellent customer service.”
She added: “I really enjoyed assisting customers choose items and offering alternatives. It was very different from my usual working day and has been an eye opener to help me understand the pressures facing retailers in the current market. The hog roast in the staff canteen was an added bonus too.”
Grosvenor Shopping Centre’s general manager, Julie Webb, said she was delighted that Angela chose to spend her day on floor at the centre and hoped that she had found the experience helpful.
She said: “It’s reassuring to know that Savills take such an interest in their retailers and hope that Angela’s feedback is beneficial.”