Other Sales Support Workers
This unit group covers Sales Support Workers not elsewhere classified. It includes Entertainment Venue Attendants, Merchandise Planners, Personal Shoppers, Reservations Agents and Retail Buyers.
Opening night at the community theatre
You are an entertainment venue attendant at a community theatre on opening night, working the doors, the box office and the aisles. It is 6:45pm. The show starts at 7:30 and the foyer is filling up. Someone on the box office phone wants to change a booking, and a volunteer has not turned up.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Our tickets say row C seats five and six, but there are already two people in them. They are showing us tickets for the same seats. We drove two hours to see our granddaughter perform. What are you going to do about it?
Ask the other couple to give up the seats, since the Okonkwos have come furthest
The other couple is offended, since they booked first. Two groups of unhappy customers now sit near each other, and the duty manager has to calm things down.
Check both tickets, apologise to both couples and ask the box office to sort out the double booking
Both couples are looked after, but the check takes time and the foyer is crowded. The box office finds a fix, though the show is five minutes late to start.
Check the tickets, apologise and find both couples good seats together
You find four seats near the front that were held for guests who did not turn up. Everyone sits down with a smile, and the box office fixes the error afterwards.
A man in the back row has been shouting at the performers and has refused to sit down. People are turning around. I am on the other side of the building. Can you handle it until I get there?
Walk over quietly, speak to him calmly and offer him a choice, and keep Soraya updated
He mutters, then agrees to sit down. If he had not, you would have waited for Soraya rather than force the issue. The show carries on.
Grab his arm and walk him to the exit, because the audience is being spoiled
He pulls away and shouts louder. Putting hands on someone is not part of the job, and the situation is worse than before.
Wait at the back until Soraya arrives, and do not approach him
You stay safe, but the disruption continues for ten minutes. A calm word early might have stopped it.
The fire alarm is going and the show has stopped. People are looking around and some are standing up. All attendants to your evacuation positions now, please.
Grab the box office cash tin first, since it is the venue's money, then head to your post
You reach your post a minute late and the crowd has already begun to push toward one exit. Money can be replaced, and the first minute is the one that counts.
Check where the alarm is coming from before you tell the audience anything
You spend precious minutes checking while people wait for guidance. An alarm is treated as real until someone in charge says otherwise.
Go to your position and guide people out calmly
You are at your post in seconds, and your calm voice sets the pace. People who need extra help are looked after, the building clears quickly and the alarm turns out to be a faulty detector.
How it went
Seats were sorted, a heckler was calmed, and when the faulty alarm sounded everyone followed the plan. Venue and sales support work looks light from the outside, but it relies on calm, quick thinking and good manners. Would you like working where crowds gather?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The buyer who said no to a bargain
A fictional case set in a fictional community theatre with a box office, plus the buying office of a regional department store.
The situation
Nina was the retail buyer for the homewares section of a regional department store. A supplier arrived with a new range of picnic sets at a very attractive price, and offered to hold the stock for her for one week only. The samples looked good, the buyers at other stores were interested and her manager was keen to have something for the summer. But the sample lids did not close properly, and the supplier had a history of late deliveries on an earlier order.
What they did
Nina asked for a second sample and tested the lids herself, then rang two other stores that had bought from the supplier. She told the supplier she would order a smaller amount, on the condition that the lids were fixed and the delivery date was written into the order. She explained the risk to her manager and showed what the store would lose if the summer stock arrived late.
How it turned out
The supplier agreed to fix the lids and the smaller order arrived on time. The picnic sets sold steadily through summer, and Nina placed a larger order for the next season. Her manager began asking her to explain her reasoning to the junior buyers.
What would you do?
- What did Nina check before saying yes to the supplier?
- Why might a smaller order be a good choice?
- What do you think makes a good buyer: instinct, caution or both?