The torn bill on Diwali eve
At Vastra Point, a 900 sq ft garment shop, it is 6 p.m. on Diwali eve. Eleven customers are inside, three staff are on the floor and only one billing counter is open. Meena, a regular customer, returns a ₹1,150 printed kurta bought four days earlier. The tag is cut, the bill is lost, and she says the colour ran in the first wash and stained a dupatta. The printed policy says exchange within seven days with bill, no refunds, and washed goods are accepted only for a manufacturing defect. Meanwhile, salesman Anuj is showing a ₹2,499 gift box to a customer who asked for a ₹600 formal shirt and has twice said, 'this is too much'. A third customer has waited twelve minutes just to pay. The owner is unreachable and the stand-in supervisor must decide, with the day's target still ₹9,000 short and two staff due to leave in an hour.
1. Set out, step by step, what the supervisor should do with Meena's kurta and what the defensible outcome is.
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Step 1 - Move the conversation away from the crowd. Take Meena to the side counter where the light is good. Arguing in front of eleven customers costs more than the kurta.
Step 2 - Inspect before deciding. Look for whether the print has bled evenly (a dyeing or printing defect) or only in patches (wrong wash, hot water, direct drying in sun). Rub a damp white cloth on an unwashed part of the same design and check the wash-care label. Also check the POS record: even without her bill, a ₹1,150 sale four days ago can be traced from the day's sales summary.
Step 3 - Apply policy, not emotion. Waived goods are accepted only for a manufacturing defect, so if the label shows washing instructions she ignored, an exchange is a goodwill call, not a right.
Step 4 - Give a defensible outcome. Offer an exchange of equal value or a credit note for ₹1,150 valid for 30 days. Do not open the cash drawer for a refund. Record it in the returns register with reason, date, bill reference and the supervisor's initials.
Step 5 - Protect the store. If other kurtas of that design are bleeding, pull them from display within the day, quarantine them, and raise a supplier claim within seven days. One goodwill credit of ₹1,150 is cheaper than a public argument, but only if it stays an exception.
2. What specifically went wrong in Anuj's selling, and how should he have handled a customer asking for a ₹600 shirt?
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The mistake is product-first selling: he chose the item he wanted to sell, not the item the customer came to buy. Worse, he ignored a clear verbal signal - 'this is too much' - twice. Continuing to present a ₹2,499 gift box after that reads as pressure and usually ends in a walk-out.
'This is too much' is a price objection, and it needs a question, not a bigger product. A better sequence:
- Confirm the need. 'Is the shirt for office wear or a function? Which colour do you usually prefer?'
- Show within budget first. Bring two or three shirts in the ₹550–650 range, and let the customer touch the fabric.
- Trade up honestly, if at all. Show one shirt at ₹799 with a reason: 'This one is wrinkle-resistant cotton, so it needs less ironing.' Let the customer choose the step up.
- Add value, not pressure. Suggest a ₹120 sock or belt combination after the shirt decision is made, not before.
- Respect the no. If the customer returns to the ₹600 shirt, close there.
Coach and measure the right behaviour: items shown per bill, conversion rate, and return visits. A ₹600 sale with a ₹150 add-on and a repeat customer beats an abandoned ₹2,499 gift box. The gift box should be offered only when a customer has stated a gift budget.
3. With eleven customers, two staff leaving in an hour and the day ₹9,000 short, how should the supervisor manage the queue and the floor?
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Split the roles and buy time honestly.
- Open a second billing point. A tablet or a second POS at the side counter, with a staff member who can bill and bag, clears the payment queue without touching the floor.
- One person bills, one person sells. Do not let the same person bill and fetch sizes. The supervisor handles Meena at the side counter, not at the till.
- Acknowledge the waiting customer. 'I am sorry for the wait, it will be about three minutes' is enough. Silence is what customers punish; twelve minutes without acknowledgement is already a service failure.
- Fast-track the payer. A customer who has already chosen can be billed at the side counter and leave.
- Protect a basic courtesy: greet, offer the size, and thank - even at speed.
The ₹9,000 target is a result, not a control. Chasing it by letting Anuj push gift boxes will produce fewer bills, more returns and a reputational cost on the busiest evening of the year. Capture the day's numbers, including walk-outs due to queue length, and use them to plan a third staff member for the next festival.