A sales associate in retail is responsible for tending to the customer's needs. Answer any questions a customer may have, straighten up the store ie: tidy up stacks of clothing, put things away to their proper place, replenish merchandise, ring people up on the register, take care of exchanges and returns, process opening store credit card, deter shop lifters, store policies on shoplifting varies, but usually you don't have the power to stop them unless you're an LP (Loss Prevention) agent. As a sales associate you represent the company, so don't be surprised if you're yelled at by customers, you'll get plenty of that during Christmas season, which starts in October, but officially the day after Christmas when stores open at 6am (no joke).
Ensure that each customer receives outstanding service by providing a friendly environment, which includes greeting and acknowledging every customer, maintaining solid product knowledge and all other aspects of customer service.
Maintain an awareness of all promotions and advertisements.
Assist in floor moves, merchandising, display maintenance, and housekeeping
Assist in processing and replenishing merchandise and monitoring floor stock.
Aid customers in locating merchandise.
Communicate customer requests to management.
Assist in completing price changes within the department.
Participate in year-end inventory and cycle counts.
Assist in ringing up sales at registers and/or bagging merchandise.
Any other tasks as assigned from time to time by any manager.
The above is a great description of a Retail Sales Clerk, often referred to as a Sales Associate. However, I've been a Sales Associate for most of my life, over the past 30 years of so, and I would offer a different description; a second definition if you will. My experience of being a Sales Associate, sometimes with a wage, most times with a % commission, has been a pleasant one. Selling Products I believe in and representing a company I can be proud of, goes a long way toward making this an enjoyable experience. Yes, occasionally I've encountered a rude, and sometimes crude, person; however, they are few and far between. So, if your considering a career as a Sales Associate I suggest you find a company that is well established, well respected, and has endured the test of time and is one which you'd feel comfortable representing. This type of Sales Associate may work from home, a business, or door to door and store to store, and increasingly more online, and often has flexible hours and their income is only limited by their activity level.
