Unit Tools!

As I have stated time and time again, Unit tools are the best and easiest add on in the store. So I put my money where my mouth is and I set each store up with a big display box full of tools. Don't think this is going to do the work for you but it sure will help. Offer one with every sale!

Are you reading this?

From here on out it is mandatory that every blog that be initialed after it is read. Once you have read the blog click on the comments page and enter your first name and your last initial, you may also enter any other comments you feel nessacary. Also, if for any reason you do not understand the blog completely please message me.

Ramp Riders

The owner of Ramp Riders told me all of the Plan Nine staff can now ride the park for half off. Anytime you go up their just tell them you work for Plan Nine and give them your name. I'm sure this is good timing with the cold weather upon us. Be sure to make it out their to use your discount and bring a friend!!!!

Customer Service

I would like to remind you once again that customer service is king this holiday.  Take a moment to go over the following tips for Sales and Customer Service.

• Treat me with respect, I am a customer, not an account number.
• Follow through with your commitments.
• Communicate with me about both the good and the bad.
• Talk to me without interruption.
• Answer the phone quickly.
• Provide alternatives if faced with a problem.
• Allow me to talk to someone in authority if there is a problem.
• Clearly state what I should expect from you.
• Know everything about your services and your products.
• Be a customer advocate.

Coupon (St. Clair Square Only)

We were included in a coupon mailer that St. Clair Square sent out to 30,000 Metro-East residents for Black Friday.  The coupon is for $10 off any purchase of $20 or more.  There is a limit to one coupon per customer so please have them fill out a Hook Up form and attach their name to the sale.  You will not discount the actual sale but scan the coupon label that will be in the label book.  Take there coupon from them with their payment and ask them if they are a first time customer or if they have bought from us before, if they are a first time customer write the number "1" on the back of the coupon, if they are a return customer write the number "2" on the back and place it under the coin tray.  The coupons will go into the envelope at the end of the day.  Coupon fine print:  Limit one per customer, not to be used with gift card purchases, expires March 1st.

Gift Cards

As Christmas draws near you will be selling more and more gift cards.  There are a few very important things to remember to make sure the cards are processed properly.

• If the sale will not complete for any reason, DO NOT SEND THEM OFF WITH THE GIFT CARD WITHOUT COMPLETING THE SALE AND GETTING A RECEIPT.  Many times if the steps of the sale are not processed properly it will create an error and not let the sale be completed, if this occurs there will be no value on the gift card.  You need to cancel the whole sale and star over.
• If you are not sure if all of the steps were taken properly then START OVER.  Our customers will be more than happy to wait an extra minute to get out of the store rather than get a gift card with no value. (remember: if you cancel the sale and you have already put the credit card payment on it you must take the credit card charge off by entering a payment amount as the negative value of the already applied charge)
• If you are not sure the gift card loaded properly you can always check the balance on the home screen of the system.
• The main reason the gift card would not be processed properly is because you did not click in the "Swipe/Key Gift Card" box before swiping the card.

If you have any questions or comments about this please let me know, this is very important.  Gift Cards were 10% of our holiday sales last year and we hope to grow that this year.

Plan Nine Newsletter

Latest newsletter with all our Black Friday doorbusters, check it out.

Friday Doorbusters at Plan Nine

Plan Nine Newsletter

We sent out our first newsletter to the HOOK UP members today.  Click the link to see it:

Stuff Your Stocking With Plan Nine Decks

Stuffed Stocking

We will be starting the Plan Nine Stuffed Stocking promotion this weekend.  I will be emailing the attached image as well as posting it in the store.  The promotion only applies to Plan Nine decks that retail for $36 (the Corey Hendricks decks are the only Plan Nine decks excluded) with Plan Nine griptape.  They may upgrade griptape if they would like and pay the difference.  To ring this in you must enter each deck and its griptape, DO NOT ENTER ANY GRIPTAPE DISCOUNTS.  Once all the decks are entered you will need to enter the discount, it will be applied the same way a "shop complete" or "logo complete" discount is applied.  Just scan the barcode for the discount (or search for "stuffed stocking" to bring up the item) and apply it to the sale.  Please let me know if you have any questions. 

Hook UP!

All of you should be getting used to the HOOK UP by now. We have gotten about 250 signed up so far and with one more weekend before the holidays I think we can get up to 1000. Just remember to tell everyone that comes in the store about it and encourage them to sign up. It takes as little as an email address but the more info the better!

Employee Meeting

We will have employee meetings for each store on Wednesday and Thursday.  Everyone is required to bering at least one idea/topic/concern to discuss.  Each of you will have the opportunity to discuss your topic with the group during the meeting.  It can be anything you want but be sure to put some thought into it.

Andy's First Blog

Whats Up?



This is my first of many blogs i will be posting. This blog will be about the Smoothie deck . We are selling them super fast, we sold all of them in five days and i was wondering how they are selling in the other stores?

Don't Forget to Vote!

No, not for President, but for Thrasher's Skateboarder of the Year...equally as important to many. You can email your vote to SOTY2008@thrashermagazine.com.

Holiday Coupon Book

Plan Nine has a coupon (see photo) in the Holiday Coupon Books that will be distributed at CBL Malls this holiday season.  The coupon is for free lifetime maintenance and free grip on any deck.  It is something we ordinarily offer so nothing different is needed at the time of the sale.  The only thing you need to do is put them under the coin tray if a customer uses one at the time of purchase and make sure they go in the envelopes at the end of the day.

Joe's First Post

Hey guys...what's going on?

This is my first post. I'm going to be posting at least once a week, but probably a lot more than that. I'll try my best to keep you all updated on what's going on here. With the holidays around the corner, this should be helpful. Walker and I have a new, awesome blog as well called The Rad One. You can access it by going to theradone.wordpress.com if you ever want to know what other St. Louis skateboarders are up to. Before I go, I want to tell you guys from the CHESTERFIELD store that we're going to do a CHESTERFIELD store meeting on November 13th at 4:00 p.m. It's basically mandatory, but it will hopefully be one of those sweet mixtures of business and fun. We're going to do staff evaluations and all that as well. Ok guys, that's all I have for now. I feel cheesy always saying "hey guys, ok guys" so we'll have to figure out something better for me to call you "guys". Haha. Later.

Joe

I Voted!

Post a comment and let everyone know you voted.

VOTE!

Tomorrow is the day.  Make sure you have all the info you need to get to your polling place with sufficient time to vote.  Go here for all the info you'll need.

Smoothie Decks

The Smoothie decks are in.  I will be distributing a handful to the Chesterfield and Fairview Heights stores but we will keep most of the stock in St. Peters.  The decks are $36 with a portion of the proceeds going to a memorial fund.  Our first shipment of 100 may go fast but we will keep the board in the line until we see the demand completely taper off.

Happy Halloween

Trick or Treating will be tonight from 5-7pm.  Make sure you get the free bag of candy the mall is supplying from concierge before 5pm.  There are two bags we supplied as well, hopefully this will be enough.  Also, GIVE THEM A WISH LIST, especially in Chesterfield, this may be the first time these kids see the store, lets build our customer base for the holidays!

The Blog is Back!

The Plan Nine Staff Blog is back! We started this last year during the holidays to help keep everyone informed of all the changes, events, and new product that we see over the holidays. READ THIS EVERYDAY! This is now set as the default home page so it should be the first thing you see everyday. Feel free to look through old posts or check the latest industry news from the blogs listed on the sidebar. All the links you'll need to get to the point of sale system, the time clock, and the contact form are on the sidebar as well. MAKE THIS A PRIORITY! The more you know the better you can do your job!