Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

There’s a LOT of work involved in running a consignment, resale, or thrift shop. A lot more than in a “regular” retail store, and it’s harder too, what with the variety of items you receive

(what is it? what’s it worth? where in blue blazes am I going to put it and what do I have to rearrange in order to get it on the selling floor at all?)

THat’s why I was fascinated by this sign-in area at Barnabas’ New to You, a NFP thrift store in Amelia Island FL on my visit there.

There’s a permanent list (on the right in this photo, just above the time cards) of which employee is responsible for what areas of the shop. The white board lists always-need-doing tasks for those with spare time, and for volunteers. (You can click the photo to see it larger, if you want to read it all.)

But what really intrigued me were the staffers’ names followed by a daily-changing number, up on the upper left of the whiteboard.

Turns out these numbers refer to a group of tasks NO ONE likes doing.

That way, the yukky areas of resaling (pick up the cigarette butts in the parking lot, clean the bathrooms, get the gum off the linoleum) are shared in a fair manner.

I guess there’s only 3 groups of nasty jobs, so Kristen got an easy day that day.

If you would like your staffers to work with you as a team…or if you want to build a team…

our newest Product for the Professional Resaler, Teamwork,  is now available.