Retailers are often criticised for using the slogan “you can have it all” as part of their business strategy, but a study by consumer agency Choice has found that the phrase “you’re the boss” is one of the most popular phrases used by shoppers.
Choice’s survey of 500 retailers found that over two-thirds of respondents would use the phrase when describing themselves or their business, while about a quarter would use it when describing their competitors.
But it also found that more than two-fifths of respondents were willing to give customers the option to shop in a shop that was staffed by staff from other companies.
“Our research has revealed that customers have a genuine desire to shop at stores that are staffed by people who share their interests, talents and values,” said Choice chief executive, John Maclaren.
So what are the other phrases that people are using?
“You’re the leader” is the most common of the phrases used to describe a senior, experienced manager, and this is the preferred choice of the majority of respondents, Choice found.
When people are told to shop with their manager, the phrase also takes a backseat.
A majority of shoppers would like to be offered the option of a senior manager in their store, but they would prefer to have a more casual, non-threatening manager.
More than two thirds of respondents said they would be willing to pay more for a staff member than a comparable worker in a similar job.
The survey found that when asked to name the most stressful time of the day, the most important part of a customer’s day, most people would say it was when they had to walk out of a supermarket.
Of course, it’s not just the employees who are being paid more.
In an attempt to reduce turnover, some stores have offered a free meal for staff members.
According to Choice, more than a quarter of the respondents said that they would pay more to staff members if they were paid a salary.
It’s worth noting that Choice has also conducted research on other phrases such as “you’ve got your own money” and “you earn what you earn”.
How much money does a supermarket pay for its employees?
The supermarket chain Tesco has a policy of offering a salary for staff, but Choice found that this was only the case if they worked more than 15 hours per week.
Tesco says that the minimum salary it pays its staff is £11.50 an hour, and that some workers may work up to 40 hours per day.
However, Choice says that it has found staff working between 40 and 50 hours a week are often paid significantly less.
At the other end of the scale, in 2015, The Economist magazine calculated that a full-time employee of The Independent was earning less than £22,000 a year, and an average worker at Tesco was earning between £17,000 and £20,000.
Is there a way to shop around the company’s wage policy?
Tesbury’s wage policies are based on what it considers to be fair market value, which is the price a company would pay to an individual if it paid each employee the same wage.
This is the wage a company could expect to pay a worker who was expected to be paid £9.50 per hour in 2018.
And it’s worth pointing out that Tesbury has previously said that it would pay workers as little as possible in order to keep staff happy.
Why do many supermarkets use the term “lucky” when describing staff?
Choice said that this phrase was also used by supermarkets that are known for offering generous payouts to employees.
Some of these examples include Target, which pays employees a base salary of £17.70 an hour and a bonus of £4,000 for each new employee, and the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain, which also pays its workers a base wage of £11 an hour.
You can find more information on our pay survey here.