Thrift Store Staff Training

This is a draft of a new or in-progress document, and is likely to have a few people specifically working on it. You may wish to check in on the discussion page to see what the purpose of the document is and who's working on it; then feel free to give this article love and attention if have extra of those things.

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Currently the procedures for training staff in the Thrift Store is the same as for training Interns. We use a Merit Badge System to mark off the steps as the Trainee progresses. Progress is tracked with a sash that is kept in the store and "badges" are affixed to it as training happens. There are several tiers of badges:

I. Rubber Band Ball

1. Orientation

• Get added to the thriftstore, sales, & paidworkers email lists.
• Receive basic orientation in the store and around Free Geek.
• Meet with Store Coordinator(s) to discuss the merit Badges and training process.
• Get added to the Merit Badge Program and review basic worksheets/steps.
• Arrange a schedule with the Store Coordinator(s) (who will arrange things with Schedulers as needed).

2. Gathering

• Returning stuff to Receiving
• Shopping from Basic testing
• Shopping from Advanced Testing
• Shopping from Receiving
• Shopping from the Warehouse
• Location of Paper, Tape, Credit Card paper, and Staples reloads
• Print out Ubuntu FAQs, Spanish FAQs and Advanced.

3. Processing

• Determining what goes in which bin
• Cable wrapping
• Shrink wrapping
• Cleaning monitors
• System Badges/Price tags
• Which items get price tags/which don't

4. Neatening

• printing labels
• Location of tape, tags, paper, pens, rubber bands, other basic supplies.
• Taking out trash and recycling
• Cleaning floor, glass, and counters

5. Stocking

• Bargain Bin
• Network devices
• What goes in the case
• Cables of all kinds
• The free box

II. Pricing Gun

1. Basic Customer Service

• Engagement (greet, help, thank)
• Managing expectations (know when to fold 'em/LWIA)
• Basic Scripts for FAQs
• Managing and answering the phone
• Learning Store Policies.
• Explaining Policies without conflict
• Deferring all exceptions/questions to 2600s and Whistles.

2. Basic Pricing

• All items that can be priced using basic price guide.
• Bargain Bin items.
• Tested by pricing a set basket of items.

3. Basic Till Operation

• Entering transactions.
• Entering CC transactions.
• Learning proper gizmo types.
• Comments and Description fields
• Recent Purchases (how to spot abusers and uphold policy).
• Determining which items are "as-is" and which are exchangable
• Processing exchanges issuing and applying store credits.
• Tested by ringing up set baskets of items.

4. Advanced Gathering

• TARDIS (RAM, HDDs, systems), optical drives, the Treehouse, other items from recycling (pc fans, heat sinks, etc.)

5. Two Electives

• Suggestions:

Production (Packaging Mouse Balls, Making Distros, Laminating 2032 Cards [no longer in production])

Documentation

Ethernet Cable making

File System Development

III. Atari 2600 Game Controller

1. Advanced Customer Service (Pong)

• Selling systems
• Enforcing policies (saying "no").
• When to fetch (special trips to get items from "the back").
• System returns/tech support intake.

2. Advanced Till Operation (Tetris)

• Searching for sales
• Credit Card snafus
• Closing and Counting the till
• Processing Store Returns over $10

3. Advanced Pricing (PacMan)

• Researching high-end and oddballs (not on the list)
• Pricing Systems and Laptops
• Maintaining price list (spotting what's out of date)

4. Advanced Stocking (Super Mario Bros.)

• Displaying wares/creating signage
• Printing labels and store documents. Filing them/putting them away.
• Improving existing displays.

5. Plus Two elective Badges

• Suggestions:

Production (Packaging Mouse Balls, Making Distros, Laminating 2032 Cards [no longer in production])

Documentation

Ethernet Cable making

File System Development

IV. Acme Thunderer

1. Kirk (Brinkmanship)

2. Spock (Analysis)

3. Scott (Resourcefulness)

4. Sulu (Perfect Attendance)

In Progress

Pages for

• Atari 2600 Game Controller
• Acme Thunderer.

There is some documentation about all of this, but no pages dedicated to those badges.