Every day at 9:30 a.m., staff at the Uniqlo store on New York's Fifth Avenue gather on the first floor for a morning pep talk. Employees take their places in a choir formation on the stairs, beneath towering shelves of rainbow coloured cashmere and denim, each with a notepad and pen in hand. They are here to recite "The Behaviours," a series of phrases that define customer service at the Japanese clothing giant.
As commuters and tourists trudge past on the bitterly cold pavements outside, store manager Winnie Liang starts by quizzing the group on facts and figures. "What's our super special promo today? Heattech leggings for women and long johns for men!" She questions staff on new sales targets - "What's our goal today? Are we going to hit it? Yes!" - and encourages them to restock as often as possible in order to maximise turnover. "We are going to double our sales today so we need to replenish all day long!"
Workers write down key promotions and goals in the notepads they are required to carry at all times, along with a card that reminds them of the core values of the "Fast Retailing Way." Next is a round robin of individual customer service goals for the day, including "a better sense of urgency at the cash point," "replenishing faster," and "being able to control all aspects of the floor at once," for which the young staffer is praised: "I like that ambition, you're a renaissance man!"
But while many companies encourage employees to find creative ways to improve customer service, Uniqlo's management style is more about turning them into robots. Take, for example, the Six Standard phrases that comprise "The Behaviours."
Every day Uniqlo staff must chant them in cult-like unison before customers begin streaming into the company's stores around the world. Today it's sales assistant Mercedes Oliver's turn to lead the group. She makes her way to the front of the group and turns around to face it like a conductor.
"Hello, my name is Uniqlo, how are you today?" she shouts at the choir.
"Hello, my name is Uniqlo, how are you today?" the group roars back in unison.
And so it continues:
"Thank you for waiting."
"Did you find everything you were looking for?"
"Let me know if you need anything. My name is Uniqlo."
"Did you find everything you were looking for?"
"Thank you, have a good morning, good day, good evening, etcetera."
Why Japanese fashion label Uniqlo is such a success