If you have a large number of customers visiting your shop on a daily basis it is essential that you keep your premises and your stock stays safe. Unfortunately, accidents do happen quite frequently in shops, most of which are due to mistakes such as bumping into a display or knocking something off a shelf. However, if you don’t deal with damages they could start to eat into your income, which is why Nova Insurance has come up with four handy tips:

Preventing Accidents

One of the best ways to ensure that damages don’t affect your business is to try and prevent them in the first place. While you want to be welcoming to customers at the same time it is natural for you to expect them to behave in a certain way while on your premises. For instance, many shops have a no food or drink policy which means that customers won’t accidently spill something and stain your products or your shop. If you specialise in selling expensive items that can break easily such as glass it may be a good idea to also have a sign informing customers that if they break something they will be expected to buy it. You will be surprised how much more cautious your customers will become!

Dealing with Customers

Unfortunately accidents do happen which means that at one point or another you will have to talk to a customer about the damage they have caused. This generally goes in one of two ways: either the customer apologises and pays for the damages or they deny fault and refuse to take responsibility. No matter what happens it is essential you remain polite and don’t lose your temper even though you may be concerned about the costs associated with fixing the problem. If a customer repeatedly refuses to pay for something they damaged then you will have to call the police and inform them of the situation. When the police arrive it always comes in handy to give them evidence, which is why installing a security system in your shop is also a good idea.

Saving Money

If you own a shop you have probably been in the situation where you find a piece of your stock broken but are unaware of how it happened. For instance, if you own a clothes store you could find an item of clothing that has been torn while being tried on and then put back without you knowing. When this happens you should try and make the best out of a bad situation and still sell the item but at a discount price. Many shoppers are happy to buy something that is faulty for a reduced price especially if they can fix it themselves and ultimately you will get some money out of the deal. Unfortunately, if there is a large amount of damage to your property or your stock you will have to call your shop insurance provider and make a claim to cover the costs.

Talk to your Staff

It’s not just customers that can cause damages to your shop as those working for your business are also likely to make mistakes from time to time. In order to prevent arguments it is a good idea to have a set of rules in place for when this does happen such as they have to cover the costs up to a certain amount. Remember, you don’t want your staff too scared to move around the shop and so some leniency is required. Even if they do make a mistake it will be covered on your shop insurance so it’s not the end of the world, but you want to make sure your staff respects your shop as much as you do.

Damages are to be expected when working in a shop, it’s just when mistakes and accidents become too frequent you will start losing money. However, by sticking to our tips you will be able to deal with shop damages and protect your business at the same time.