Yes, I am quoting here the American comedy television series- The Office, broadcast by NBC which depicts the everyday lives of office employees. I believe the show’s fans in US must not have missed the episode – ‘Garage Sale’ of the seventh season where they decided to do the first-ever Dunder Mifflin garage sale in their warehouse.
Garage Sales & Yard Sales are very common here and is something that we do when we know that we have a lot of things that we don’t really use but could be of some value. These might be lying around in our home just for some sentimental reasons or we don’t have a reason to throw them out though they utilize space unnecessarily. Like an old fashioned night stand or a table lamp or even a really old styled phone. People enjoy having a garage sales or yard sales mostly annually to clear out some space and also make some money at the same time.
Having a ‘Garage Sale’ at work as part of your Fun Friday will be cool and employees will enjoy the pleasure of being a sales person themselves. You may surprisingly see the sales tactics of your co-workers which you might not have imagined. And more over this can be the venue for the one to exhibit and sell their own artistic creations and craft work too. When you organize this at work and especially when there are more people you can have more stuff, better sales and have a successful event.
If there is space constraint you can conduct this in your cafeteria or in a big conference hall too.
Suggestions to conduct your ‘Garage Sale’/ ‘Friday Sale’ at work
Plan the date: Schedule it on the first Friday/Saturday afternoon of a month. If you plan it in the last week employees pocket might have drained out after paying the credit card and EMI Payment and they generally may not buy anything and you will end up with less participation.
Name the event: Since these are usually held in a Garage they are called Garage Sales. But if you are planning to have it in your cafeteria or big conference hall you can name it as ‘Friday Sales’, ‘Friday Bazaar’, ‘3 Hour Sales’ or ‘Discount Mela’ or something fun.
Communicate the event: Inform employees’ at least one month prior. Try to reach out to all by sending out emails, putting up posters & having screen savers on the computer. Details not to be missed while communicating:
- Date, Timing & Venue of the event
- Signup sheet: This will help them to confirm their stall/area to place their stuff during the event. Details to be included in signup sheets are Name, Employee Dept, Contact Number, description of items to be sold.
- Deadline: Have a deadline for submitting the signup sheet which will help allocate the space & plan the event systematically.
Set up the Venue: Divide the space and arrange tables in a manner that will leave room for employees to shop around without feeling crowded.
Suggestions to inform employees: Tips on how to notify your employees
- ‘Accept Cash only’ to encourage them bring cash on that day & to increase sales.
- To put price on the items to be sold.
- Keep the Discount board/Notice to attract shoppers if they planning to do discount sale.
- To sell only those items that is worth selling & buying.
- To bring bags handy for people who want to purchase items.
- Any items not to be allowed for sale should be informed prior (Beverages/worn out clothes etc.)
