I was pleased to interview Beth Urban, from Rich’s Tacoma store. Although Beth has been with Rich’s for over ten years, and is currently the Store Manager in Tacoma, she has also worked at the Lynnwood and Bellevue stores. She enjoys working for Rich’s because they are very family-oriented and take care of their employees.
Julie-How do you motivate your team members?
Beth- Contests are key for us although encouragement and coaching are important aspects as well. I enjoy helping them with their sales presentations.
Julie- Any sales going on right now?
Beth- We have a lot of barstools on sale and are moving many to clearance right now. And, if you buy barstools in the next couple of weeks, we pay the sales tax.
Julie-Excellent! Do you have spas?
Beth-Yes and we let people soak in them before they choose the style they want. There are privacy screens available so it’s comfortable.
Julie-What’s more important? A spa or patio furniture?
Beth- Customers usually see patio furniture as more essential. And it’s easy with Rich’s because all the styles that we sell are made for our Northwest weather. They are made from Sunbrela, which is acrylic, and it doesn’t mold or rust. So we point customers towards looking at comfort first, and maintenance second.
Julie-What’s the harder sell?
Beth- Spas. They are more luxury-less essential-but something more customers are moving towards. It takes longer to choose a spa because it is a larger purchase and there are so many options available.
Julie-Where are you located?
Beth- We are on Tacoma Mall Blvd, south of the mall in-between Lazy Boy and Seattle Lighting. You can call us at 253-284-3740. Come see us soon and don’t forget that we pay sales tax on barstool sales for the next couple of weeks!
I'm going to check out the Tacoma store. Good input.
Posted by: EvanT | Thursday, March 06, 2008 at 03:13 PM