By now I am sure you have seen at least one ad or read one informational article or seen one video invitation about The Gathering 2010 to be held in Louisville, Ky., April 21-23. I am hoping that you have registered for that event and are finalizing your plans to come.

Most likely the first thing that crossed your mind after you registered was either where to stay or how to get there. Both need to be planned early—to get the least-expensive travel and be sure you get a room.

The next most important item would be planning how to buy. Many of us just show up at events, walk the aisles and hope for the best—and then find ourselves leaving without having seen all of the vendors or placed all of the orders we intended to.

With that in mind, let me pass on a tip with the help of The Groucho Marx Show, an early TV game show. At the beginning of each show, a silly stuffed chicken would drop out of the ceiling revealing the "secret word" for the show and a player would win extra money if they used the secret word during the show.

Well, our secret word for The Gathering 2010 is "PLAN."

More than 20 workshops—including some specifically geared to church stores—are to be presented during the program at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., April 21-23.

Other topics will include working with volunteers, building bridges with church ministries and successful inventory control. There will also be presentations on how store partnerships with church libraries can benefit both ministries and effective management and merchandising of inspirational gifts.

The training track is to be complemented by opportunities for inspiration, worship and fellowship and business. Some 70 suppliers are expected to take part in the exhibition of key products and new releases. Stores placing qualifying orders will receive between $50 and $100 cash.

Registration for The Gathering 2010—including meals—is $150 through April 15 or free to stores placing qualifying orders at Christian Retailing's online Virtual Christian Restock Connection.

For more information, go to www.christianretailing.com/index.php/the-gathering.

Staff and volunteers at Charis Christian Bookstore at First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks in Indian Rocks, Fla., are marking a quarter-century of ministry with a special offer.

The store is offering a 25%-off coupon on any one regularly priced item in an ad in the church's monthly newsletter that is mailed to approximately 2,700 homes. The celebratory offer is also being promoted in the church's weekly bulletin, on the store Web site and on all of the TV screens in the church.

One of the pioneers in the church bookstore movement, Charis was founded to help provide church members with Bibles and greeting cards to send in response to prayer needs. Initially located in a small room measuring just 8 feet by 10 feet, it expanded the following year by adding video rentals to its resources.

Today, Charis occupies 2,400 square feet and is open seven days a week, offering a full range of Bibles, books and gifts under the leadership of Manager Martha Brangenberg.

Guarding against loss in Illinois

An additional benefit of frequent buyer programs has been spotlighted at Harvest Bookstore at Eastview Christian Church in Normal, Ill., by Manager Lorena Allen.

She reported how as well as encouraging repeat business, the program can help protect stores from loss when visitors seek to return items without a receipt.

Allen reminded her team of the value of signing customers up for Harvest's frequent buyer program in the wake of local media reports of the manager of another bookstore in Normal being charged with stealing more than $24,000 in cash and books from his store by taking items home and then returning them.

"It brings to forefront the subject of returns without receipt," Allen said. "This is a great reason to make sure the customer is in the frequent buyer program. We are able to go into the individual account and find the receipt, when it was purchased, all without the receipt present."

Harvest's returns policy is to offer a store gift card credit or refund to the customer's credit/debit card account rather than cash. The item must be in new condition. "We are also able to look up the sales by the item being returned and tell when purchases were made so that we can indeed attempt to prove it was purchased from our store," Allen said.

"Once we find the date it was sold, it is a matter of looking at the sales record for that day and finding out who made the purchase. This can be a bit time-consuming if it was a Sunday purchase.

"We usually try to err on the side of grace—it is something between the customer and God—however, we do not want to be naive in that theft and deceit are prevalent in retail business, even in the church. We may tend to think because it is a church we should not have those issues, but we cannot be a doormat. Accountability to those entering the building has to be a boundary we set.″

Church bookstore managers should look for specific skills and abilities in their potential volunteers and paid staff. Here are some criteria for your search:

Teachable spirit: These individuals tend to have a very positive attitude and are eager to learn. Some of the best staff members in our bookstore began with little or no experience; they simply had the right attitude and became very proficient once they were given the opportunity to apply their training.

Even if an individual has a Ph.D. in retail, he or she will be a detriment to your store if they are not willing to learn or be trained.

Customer-conscious: This person is consistently willing to help customers, and even willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to meet customer needs. This employee has an outgoing personality, a smile on his or her face, and is friendly and courteous.

When customers enter the store, they typically will not have to look for a clerk to assist them, as this worker is alert and makes contact with them within their first few minutes in the store. However, a little too much enthusiasm can be a turnoff to your customers. Some people like to be acknowledged when they walk into a store, but prefer to be left alone until they request further assistance.

Trained in ministry: There is a strong possibility that your employees may need to minister to an unbeliever, answer customer questions regarding reference materials and, of course, sell a Bible or two each week.

Although you cannot require a new hire to have a biblical studies degree or to take certain seminary classes to be considered for the position, you can make their past spiritual training an important consideration when hiring them. Our store's past experiences have shown that seminarians and laypersons with some spiritual training serve only to enhance customer service.

Committed: One of the most critical attributes to look for in potential employees is their commitment to the mission and goals of your ministry and store. Whether sales are slow or thriving, committed individuals can be counted on to offer support and perform at their best.

-Terri Williams has been the manager of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship's bookstore in Dallas for more than 10 years.

-Read the complete article at http://www.thechurchbookstore.com/a.php?ArticleID=13237.

As long as there are customers, there will be issues with service. However, incidents like this can and should be diffused quickly so that the customer and your clerk are not involved in a verbal disagreement.

To begin, tell the customer that you are the manager, and assure him that you will make sure he is satisfied with his purchase. If the customer is at the counter and other people are waiting in line, ask him to move with you off to the side where your conversation cannot be overheard by others.

Examine the receipt in question, and go over the transaction with the customer quietly and calmly. If the price is printed on the book or gift product, let the customer see the price, and verify that the price is the same on the receipt.

Ask the customer if he intended to purchase the item knowing the price. Be sure to give the customer a way out of the situation. Perhaps he didn't see that the price was printed on the product, or maybe he thought the item was on sale. Whatever his reason, listen to why he was under the assumption that the price was different.

If, after examining the receipt and looking at the product, the customer still feels that he is paying too much, offer a refund. It may be necessary to ask the customer to leave. As unfortunate as situations like this are, your church store is not exempt from people being people.

After the situation is over, discuss with your employees how to handle customers like this in the future.

Got a question for Betty Bookstore? Write to her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Help choose the winners of the 2010 Christian Retailing Retailers Choice Awards and you can win some of the 270-plus nominated products, absolutely free.

Christian store personnel—owners, managers, frontline staff and volunteers—are being asked to judge the nominations on the impact they have had on staff and customers, including their ability to:

-speak to people's hearts and evoke emotion
-open people's minds to new ways of thinking
-encourage and affirm Christ-like living.

With 277 nominations for the 2010 prizes, awards are to be presented in 32 categories, from accessories and apparel to Bible study and all types of fiction. Voting ends March 24, with all retailers who complete a ballot form entered into a drawing to receive a free selection of products nominated in this year's competition.

Previously announced during the International Christian Retail Show, the winners will be named for the first time, this year, at Christian Retailing's own event, The Gathering 2010, to be held at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., April 21-23.

To vote, go to www.retailerschoiceawards.com.

Among the companies presenting specials and offers are Bridge-Logos Foundation, Judson Press, Lighthouse Christian Products, Standard Publishing, Strang Book Group and Thomas Nelson.

In addition, extra editorial content features Christian Retailing editors talking with industry experts and leaders on issues such as inventory control and managing backlist.

Retailers who place an order of $500 retail with a Virtual Christian Restock Connection exhibitor also qualify for a free registration, a $150 value, for Christian Retailing's The Gathering 2010.

Click here https://www.christianretailing.com/online/vcrc2010/ to find out more about the Virtual

I recently posed the question of the week to some of my team leaders—volunteer and part-time staff—at the bookstore at Granger Community Church in Granger, Ind. Here is what they had to say:

Abby: "Take advantage of any time the team is able to get together—keep lists of things to go over, successes you've noticed. If getting together is just not an option, I would first ask why—are the meetings too long? Is there a time or day that would be better for more people? Could meetings be just as effective if you had two a year versus one a month?"

"Finally, if a meeting in person is just impossible, it's time to embrace technology. Maybe create a Facebook group or Yahoo group or have an online chat. Create a monthly newsletter. The most important thing is to always communicate, and use whatever avenue is going to be best for your audience.

"And don't forget to ask your team what's the best way to communicate with them. Sometimes we assume things to be true that really aren't. If you're afraid the team won't be honest, maybe have them complete an anonymous survey to get the answers you need."

Dian: "You have to be creative. Keep e-mails interesting to hold interest. Hold necessary meetings at a couple different times, so as many folks as possible can participate. Use training DVDs, if available. Post things in bookstore/cafe for product info and direction. Treat everyone well and respectfully. Encourage a caring attitude toward volunteers. Have game nights just for fun."

Amanda: "(One thing) I strive really hard to do is send out weekly e-mails to the teams that I lead. This includes the weekend updates or any other interesting information. I try to keep in constant communication with the team. I've been toying with trying to get the teams to come in a little earlier before we set up the bookstore so we can have a mini powwow before we serve."

Susan Chipman
Director of Retail Services
Granger Community Church
Granger, Ind.

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