'I Think I Can Manage' is a weekly column by retailer Steven Bates, manager of Bookery Fantasy, a million dollar retail operation in Fairborn, Ohio.
Staffing a business, especially a small retail store, can be a lot like dating. Sometimes, you're the one hunting for that special someone to make your life . . . er, shop . . . complete. Other times you're the prey, bombarded with smooth talking come-ons and outright lies by people telling you that they're 'The One.' If you're lucky, you'll actually connect a few times, hooking-up with folks who think enough like you to avoid major conflicts yet still challenge you in all the right ways. Hiring the right person can be like finding your soul mate.
But people change ...
At Bookery Fantasy, we recently confronted one of the most difficult situations a business can face, the 'breakaway employee.' A manager who had been with us for nearly three years left to start a competing shop; ironically, it was his ambition to open his own place that had inspired us to originally hire him (though we took him at his word that he wouldn't open near us nor compete with us). For most of his employ, he had been a reasonably good manager: he was organized, knew what product to order, and worked long hours without much complaint. What deficits he had in people skills and budgeting were outweighed by the profits he generated. Soon after his hire, we opened a branch store and put him in charge. He was comfortable with the autonomy, and the store he managed initially showed an astounding increase in revenues from month to month.
Earlier this year, the branch store's profits began to diminish at the same time orders were increasing. We had numerous meetings with the manager, who assured us he had it all under control. Knowing that the hobbies we support -- comics, games, toys, cards -- can fluctuate wildly, we gave him the benefit of the doubt, but monitored the purchases and sales more closely. Profits continued to slide, dropping to a ten year low, and we considered terminating the guy's employment. Then a customer came to us applying for the branch store manager's position, having heard the position was opening up soon. We asked the branch manager about the rumor, and he told us he had indeed put out applications, trying to get back into computers, which paid better. A few weeks later, he turned in his two weeks notice, but now the story was that he going to manage a retail store, a Hobby Lobby-like 'chain' coming in from California. The name he gave didn't show up on any Google searches, wasn't listed in any Internet yellow pages, and didn't have a business profile at Hoovers. Simply put, it didn't exist. So I turned to a more reliable source of information: the local hobby 'underground,' a network of enthusiasts plugged in to everything going on in and around the area.
A few calls revealed what we had suspected: our manager was breaking away to open up a competing shop, and possibly taking other employees with him. A silent partner was bankrolling the place, but our soon-to-be ex-employee was in charge of the details: location, fixtures, stocking the shelves, building a customer base. Stories were circulating that we were closing (that branch, at least), and customers had been told to transfer their business to the manager's new shop. Suddenly, everything made sense. Sales and profits were dropping because there was a new game in town (or would be soon).
Our 'marriage made in Heaven' had gone to Hell in a hand-basket. When we confronted our branch manager, he finally came clean, and told us much of the same information we had uncovered from other sources, including the names of other staff members 'begging him to take them with him,' attempting to poison the well for a few. At this point we let the manager go, and fired another employee who we were convinced was part of the affair. Now all that remained was damage control.