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Okay, so you know how most stores have those employees only doors?

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Yeah.

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I feel like we never really stopped to think about what's going on back there.

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Right.

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But this article from Multimedia Plus about backroom management

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really got me thinking about it in a whole new way.

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Yeah, it's a whole other world back there, isn't it?

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Like most of us, we just see the sales floor.

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Exactly.

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The shelves, the checkout lines.

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Right.

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We don't think about the fact that the backroom is kind of like the

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heartbeat of the whole operation.

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This is such a great way to put it.

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So for those of us who've never stepped foot back there,

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what's actually happening that's so crucial to a store's success?

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Well, I think it really comes down to efficiency.

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You know, we're talking about everything from receiving shipments to processing all that inventory,

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organizing the stock room, all that stuff that has to happen before a product even makes it to the

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shelves.

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Yeah.

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You know, this article actually called it the operational backbone of a store.

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And I think that's a really good way to think about it.

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So if there are delays back there that translates to empty shelves out here.

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Oh, absolutely.

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Yeah.

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I mean, think about it.

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Empty shelves equal frustrated choppers.

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Made sense.

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And frustrated choppers, they're not buying anything, are they?

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Right.

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If I go to buy something and it's not there because of some, you know,

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backroom snafu, I'm probably just going to buy it online.

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Exactly.

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Exactly.

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You hit the nail on the head.

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Yeah.

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I never really connected those dots before.

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It's all connected.

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Yeah.

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And it's not even just about speed, you know.

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Oh.

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It's about accuracy too.

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Oh.

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Inventory management is a huge part of what makes a backroom run smoothly.

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Making sure the right products are in stock, the right quantities,

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everything's in the right place at the right time.

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And this article mentioned something I thought was interesting.

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It's a technology called RFID that's becoming more and more important in all this.

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RFID.

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I'm not familiar with that.

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It sounds very futuristic.

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Yeah.

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Fill me in.

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Yeah. So RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification.

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Okay.

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And basically what it is, it's these tiny little computer chips that they attach to products.

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Oh, interesting.

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And it allows stores to track their inventory in real time using scanners and software.

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Wow.

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Okay. So instead of like someone manually counting boxes, they can just like scan and see immediately.

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Precisely.

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Wow.

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Yeah.

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It's pretty amazing.

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Yeah.

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And that real time data, that's what makes all the difference.

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That's how you keep those shelves stocked.

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Right.

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And it really cuts down on theft and loss too.

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Yeah.

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Oh, that makes sense because they can track it so closely.

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Exactly.

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Yeah.

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That's really interesting.

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I never would have thought about all that that goes into it.

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Yeah.

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But it sounds like a lot for, you know, just the people working back there to manage.

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Sure.

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What does this article say about the human element of all this?

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That's a really good point because it's not all about the tech, right?

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Yeah.

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You got to have good people back there.

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Yeah.

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Yeah. The article really stresses that having a well-trained backroom staff is absolutely essential.

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Makes sense.

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People who are organized, detail-oriented.

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Right.

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And able to adapt, you know, because things change all the time.

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Yeah, for sure.

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New systems, new processes.

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Right.

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It's not just like moving boxes around back there.

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No, it's not.

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You got to be on top of things.

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You got to have some skills.

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Yeah.

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And think about it, they're dealing with valuable inventory.

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Right.

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Right.

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They're probably driving forklifts, potentially dangerous equipment.

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Right.

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And on top of that, they have to be comfortable with all this technology, you know, from basic

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scanners to complicated inventory software.

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Yeah.

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It's a lot to ask.

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Yeah.

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So it makes sense that training is so important.

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For sure.

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And actually, speaking of training, the article mentioned something called insight.

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Oh, yeah.

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What is that?

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So insight, that's actually a really cool solution they highlighted.

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Okay.

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It's a mobile training platform, and it's designed specifically for retail workers.

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Interesting.

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And it seems like it's making a big difference when it comes to keeping

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backroom associates, you know, up to date on everything.

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So instead of pulling everyone off the floor for hours of, you know,

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classroom style training, exactly, they don't have to do that anymore.

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With insight, employees can just access these bite-sized training modules.

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Oh, wow.

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And videos right on their phone or their tablet.

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I love that.

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Whenever they have a few minutes.

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Yeah, that's awesome.

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Yeah.

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It's like you're learning in the flow of work.

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Exactly.

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It's so much more engaging that way.

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Makes it relevant.

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Yeah.

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And probably sticks with you more too.

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I would think so.

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Yeah.

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I bet that makes a huge difference.

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Yeah.

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But does it actually like translate into better performance?

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Yeah, that's a good question.

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And the article actually gives this really interesting example.

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Okay.

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Talks about this major retailer.

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And they are having all these problems with long checkout lines.

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Oh.

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Especially during like their busy times.

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You know.

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Right.

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And it turned out that a lot of it like really came down to back room stuff.

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Interesting.

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Things weren't getting to the shelves fast enough.

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Right.

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Cashiers were having to like call around for price checks.

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I've been there.

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Yeah.

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Total mess.

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Yes.

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Stuck in that line.

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Exactly.

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So what did they do?

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Well, they actually brought an insight.

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Okay.

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As part of their training program.

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Okay.

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And they really focused on inventory management and product knowledge.

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Smart.

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And you know what?

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It worked.

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Really?

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Yeah. They saw way shorter checkout times after that.

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That's impressive.

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The customer satisfaction went way up.

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Wow.

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So it's true then.

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Yeah.

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What happens in the back room really affects the entire store.

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100%.

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It's all connected.

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It's wild.

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And it's not even just efficiency.

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You know, like we were saying.

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All right.

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The article also talked about how insight can help with loss prevention.

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Oh wow.

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Even employee safety training.

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Really?

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Yeah.

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It's pretty comprehensive.

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It's like you're giving those back room workers all the tools.

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Right.

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All the knowledge they need to succeed.

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Empower them.

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Yeah. Exactly.

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And then when they succeed, the whole store succeeds.

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Precisely.

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I love that.

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Okay. So we've covered a lot of ground here.

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Yeah, we have.

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About the back room.

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What's the like key takeaway that you want listeners to walk away with?

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You know, I think the biggest thing is just awareness.

201
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Okay.

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Like we were saying before, most people don't even think about what's going on

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the back of the store.

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Right.

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But there's this whole hidden world back there.

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Yeah.

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And has a huge impact on what our experience is like at Shoppers.

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It's true.

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I'm definitely going to be thinking about those employees only doors a little differently now.

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Like next time I'm at Target, I'm going to be like, hmm, what's going on back there?

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Exactly.

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And maybe we should all like give a little nod to the people back there.

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Yeah.

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The unsung heroes.

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Is for working hard.

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Making sure we can find what we need.

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Exactly.

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Who knows?

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Maybe they just ace their latest Insight T quiz.

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Yeah, maybe.

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It really is a whole ecosystem, isn't it?

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It is.

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Back there that we don't even think about.

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Totally.

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And it all has to run smoothly for, you know,

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Right.

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For us to get what we want.

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Exactly.

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And when it does, everybody wins.

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Well, this has been fascinating.

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I feel like I learned so much today.

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I do.

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About like a part of shopping that I, you know,

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Rare.

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Literally never think about.

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Yeah.

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It's easy to forget about.

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Yeah.

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So thank you for taking us on this deep dive.

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Of course.

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Thanks for having me.

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And for our listeners out there,

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next time you see those employees only doors.

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Yeah.

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Maybe give them a little nod.

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A little salute to the back room.

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Exactly.

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Appreciate those folks because they're working hard back there.

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Absolutely.

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They are the unsung heroes of retail.

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They really are.

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Making it all happen.

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That's right.

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All right, everyone.

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Until next time.

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Happy shopping.

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See you.