This is a quick, lazy post, but I wanted to share something that seems obvious to me but would help a lot of store owners that struggle in two areas: The amount of time spent scrambling to restock supplies when they run out, and the difficulty in doing the cleaning that needs to be done less frequently than every day.
It’s lists. Sorry, that’s boring, but it’s just lists. What’s important is that the staff knows that we go through these lists EVERY WEEK, without fail.
We call ours the “Sunday Supply Checklist” and the “Wednesday Cleaning Checklist”.
The Supply Checklist tells the user where to find the items that need to be counted, and how low to let the supply dwindle before contacting the appropriate person for reorder or addition to the shopping list. The idea is that, any time we run out of something and it becomes a phone call to the owner at home during dinner, that will be the LAST time we are surprised by that particular item. Nobody is angry or scared when this happens, because they know what happens next: It goes on the list, and it’s never an emergency again.
Similarly, the Cleaning Checklist means I never have to hound my employees about occasionally checking the air freshener refills or wiping down door trim. The first time I get annoyed that nobody else has noticed the smudges on the fronts of the supply cabinets, I add that as a thing to be checked, and it’s the last time I have to worry about it. What’s fun about this list is that, as my managers have taken more control of the day-to-day operations of the store, the list has been mysteriously growing with items that I hadn’t thought of. It’s a great feeling.
The result ends up being that many issues are magically solved in our store. There are always more rolls of receipt paper. The drawer under the register is always neat and orderly. This process does what all good processes do: It accepts the fallible, imperfect nature of human attention, and makes the result perfect or near-perfect anyway.
Here’s the lists. Maybe reading them will inspire you.
Sunday Supply Checklist
Toilet paper at least 20 rolls, men’s/women’s room
Paper towels at least 15 rolls, men’s/women’s room
Toilet cleaner At least two full spare bottles, men’s room shelf
Mop cleaner At least one full bottle, under mop sink
Bleach At least one full refill bottle, located under mop sink
Windex At least one full refill bottle, located under mop sink
Clorox wipes At least two full containers, on men’s room shelf
Q-tips At least half a box, located in large front cabinet
Alcohol At least half a bottle, located in large front cabinet
Swiffer wipes At least 24 wipes, located on men’s room shelves
Gloves at least one full box, men’s room shelf (Paul)
Large black trash bags, at least one full roll, men’s room shelf
Small white trash bags, at least one full roll, men’s room shelf
CD sleeves at least 4 bundles, bottom CD cabinet drawer (Paul)
Price gun labels, at least six rolls, bottom CD cabinet drawer (Paul)
Price gun ink, at least two refills, bottom CD cabinet drawer (Paul)
Disc buffer replacement jugs (Paul)
Receipt paper, at least 15 rolls, bottom CD cabinet drawer, extras in office supplies cabinet in back (Paul)
Post it notes, at least 6 pads, bottom CD cabinet drawer
Label printer rolls, at least 6 rolls, in the bottom CD cabinet drawer (Paul)
At least two refills of GOJO hand soap, men’s room shelf
Sharpies, at least 6, front/back pen holders
Pens, at least one spare box of pens, office shelf
Gift cards, at least 15, in the point of sale drawer (Paul)
Microfiber towels
Denture brushes
Free FNM Entry cards, at least 10, in the point of sale drawer
Rubber bands, at least one full bag, in the large front cabinet or a CD cabinet drawer (Paul)
Penny Sleeves, at least 20 packs, in the large front cabinet
“Grocery bag” bags, at least one full box, in the large front cabinet and/or back closet.
Copier/Printer Paper, at least 3 full reams, office supplies cabinet
Small number labels for game cases
Wednesday Cleaning Checklist
– Wipe down everything on the cash register cabinet with a damp towel. Look for dirt in crevices. Make sure you examine it from the customer side of the counter to see what looks dirty.
– Spend 10 minutes dusting. Try to find new cobwebs and dust to destroy.
– Clean the inside front glass everywhere you can reach. Squeegie the glass outside.
– Wipe down the aluminum trim outside and inside. Clean the door handles.
– Pick up the trash in the parking lot.
– Check around the dumpster. Clean up any trash that could belong to us, (neighbor), or (neighbor). Report spilled (restaurant neighbor) trash to Paul.
– Empty the cigarette bin.
– Sweep cigarette butts out of the sidewalk cracks.
– Make sure the supply shelves in the bathrooms are orderly.
– Re-stock bathrooms with paper goods.
– Tidy up the back closet. Try to get everything into boxes and on shelves.
– Tidy the office. Use the air duster everywhere. Clean the glass desk top.
– Look through all the food in the office. Throw out anything that is expired or gross.
– Clean the inside of office fridge and microwave as needed.
– Wipe the office chair down with a wet towel. Sweep the floor. Try to get into corners.
– Replace the four air freshener bottles as needed.
– Clean out Disc buffer machine. Clean anywhere the buffer machine splatters (surrounding consoles, fan, counter, etc.)
– Wipe down all cabinet fronts with Clorox wipe.
– Wipe down all trash cans with a Clorox wipe.
– Wipe down any footprints/scuffs on inside of bathroom doors.