If you’ve met me, I think you’ve probably come to the realization that I try to talk to people in a way that is kind and engaging. That is something I strive for in work situations and beyond.

But, I want to be crystal clear that I am not allowing folks to “get away with” things in my trainings. I am clear on what is acceptable behavior and what isn’t. But I don’t think that in my particular role coming in with guns blazing is a helpful approach either.

Brick and mortar stores are facing a lot of competition, much of which is from the internet. What sets music retailers up for success is building up their strengths— and one major strength is in the community they can build around the store itself.

An additional, and important, benefit of creating community is that it can create opportunities to bring folks into the store who might otherwise be turned off or feel excluded or too intimidated to go inside.

So, in order to drive there in what might be the worst traffic of the day, a parent customer might be there for about 15 minutes or so, depending on the size of your city. If it’s a larger store with longer hours, a parent might have an hour after bedtime to pop over there… but let’s be real, they are probably too exhausted to do so.