November 28, 2016
By Paul Griffiths
Those of you who were at the MSA 2015 conference in Hartford, CT, and were lovely enough to attend my session, entitled, “A Museum Shop Fit for a King,” may remember me discussing various issues we had with our new shop at the Mary Rose Museum in England. Well, I am delighted to say, in 2016, we have managed to redo, remodel and resolve many of these issues.
For those of you who weren’t there, let’s recap.
November 21, 2016
By Jason Harbonic
Outside the MSA Headquarters in Philadelphia, the leaves are changing colors, rakes are at the ready and jackets are pulled a little tighter on everyone’s midday walks. But it’s not just another fall here in Philadelphia, it’s the holiday season.
With Thanksgiving only days away, it’s time to pause and reflect on what I’m thankful for. And I have much to be thankful for. It’s been an eventful year, one that culminated with my position as MSA’s new Executive Director, which began November 1.
November 14, 2016
By Phil Zuckerman
One of MSA’s newest members is Alai Sayawed, the Store Manager at Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center (TAEC) in Luang Prabang, Laos. Last week, while I was in Laos, I had the privilege of visiting the museum, and spending some time with Alai and the museum staff to learn about the operational challenges and successes of having a museum and museum store in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Laos is in Southeast Asia. It is landlocked by Myanmar and China to the north, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. This has isolated Laos and made importing and exporting very expensive.
November 7, 2016
By Bill Gessert
In 1984, the International Customer Service Association (ICSA) spearheaded the first National Customer Service Week (NCSW). Since then, during the first full week in October, businesses and organizations nationally and internationally use this week as an opportunity to do something special for their customer service staffs. (Think celebrations with fun and games, food and beverages, and employee recognition.)
But is fun and games what the founders of NCSW had in mind back in 1984? No, not really. The true spirit of the week goes beyond fun activities. Its real meaning is a much deeper, more important philosophy that can change the level of service in your museum store.
October 31, 2016
By Kate Neumiller Schureman
It doesn’t take much time on TripAdvisor to find the following review, “Great museum, horrible customer service!” I would guess that many of you might be thinking to yourself, “I am sure that is not part of a review for my museum,” or maybe, “That’s not about our museum store.” Well, you are not alone. More than 80 percent of American businesses, including museum stores, think they provide “superior customer service.”
If that is truly the case, then how do we explain the $41 billion per year that American businesses lose due to poor customer service?
October 24, 2016
By Blue Anderson
An operations manager once asked me if I always got what I wanted. The perception was that the “front end” always got what we wanted in regards to exhibits, special events and floor space. She didn’t sound angry or confrontational, but rather matter-of-fact.
I paused before I answered, thinking of a true response, and said, “I want what I get”.
Sometimes, we are given circumstances that are less than appealing or down-right unpalatable to a museum store manager. The art of wanting what you get is more than just adding sugar and ice to lemons and opening a lemonade stand. It’s embracing your challenge and asking yourself, “How can I make this the very best experience for our visitors?”
October 17, 2016
By Stuart Hata
Why do books belong in Museum Stores? In an environment where every single sliver of profit margin and sales is vitally important to our businesses and museums, should books be given their fair space and representation in our stores? The answer is a resounding “yes!”
First, full disclosure – I owe my career to bookstores. Prior to my museum career, my first jobs were in the book selling industry. After a simple start as a sales clerk in a local bookstore chain during high school, I “graduated” to a book buyer for a national chain and mail-order business, and eventually became responsible for a multi-million dollar book business. And then, I stumbled onto the museum store profession.
October 3, 2016
Do you have volunteers in your Museum Store? Recently, our Chief Operating Officer asked us to review our intern and volunteer program museum wide to ascertain if we were in alignment with the Department of Labor. Many of us were surprised to learn that we needed to update our programs. Volunteers and interns have long been the background of the museum world and it’s very important for all of us to be aware of the latest standards. According to the Department of Labor (DOL), interns and volunteers are not employees by definition of an employee/employer relationship.
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September 26, 2016
Many museum stores offer a selection of Fair Trade products and proudly display the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) logo to communicate that the products are fairly traded. There is a ‘feel good’ factor associated with these items resulting in increased sales due to ‘emotional’ purchases – a direct response to the connection made between Fair Trade and quality merchandise. However, do you or your customers really know what it means for a company to be committed to Fair Trade practices? Knowledge of this commitment can do a world of good and at the same time, further increase your store sales.
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September 19, 2016
Shoppers are visual human beings. Their first impression in your stores is driven by sight. Familiarizing yourself and your staff with a few basic design principles is all you need in order to start making a better first impression. You do not need an art background or visual merchandising experience to improve your store visually. This last thought is what I wanted to explore. My intern, Annelyse Juin, was my willing visual display student. Annelyse had no previous display experience and is currently an advertising major at the University of Florida. With just the following tips, she was able to create the sample displays used to illustrate this blog.
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