Chuck,
I agree with you whole heartedly about the quality of
salespeople in many jewelry stores and I personally don’t
understand how stores with un-educated sales staffs manage to
stay in business, but on the flip side, I have tried hiring sales
people, and there are just not enough trained personel to go
around. I was an exception in that I had paid for GIA training
on my own before getting into the retail end of this business.
When I went looking for temporary, part-time holiday employment a
few years ago, I was being offered store management positions,
and oh, by the way, can you start on Monday?
I don’t know what the answer is other than to get the industry
to start pushing for Gemology as a career choice at the high
school level. I suspect that most guidance counselors have never
even given the subject a thought. Perhaps GIA could start a
campaign to educate the educators. I figured that in order to
get my GG I would have to invest betwee $7500 and $10000 in
courses and equipment. That sounds steep if you’re looking at
it as a hobby, but try getting a college degree to start a career
for that. And many store managers bring home salaries comparable
to college graduates.
But enough time on the soap box. Anyone with any suggestions on
how to find staff when you’re still too young of a store to hire
full timers please speak up!
Sharon Z.
Overworked and understaffed in NH.