With shoes, fashion, accessories and decorative items, the children’s shoe store in Potsdam can be hectic. Nevertheless, everything looks as if it were made from a single piece. (Photo: Children’s shoe store)
With the website relaunch, the option to book appointments to get advice in peace and quiet came back. After the pandemic, many parents had missed this option. The offer is particularly attractive for shoe beginners or children who just think buying shoes is stupid. An additional time was set up on Saturdays just for appointments. Otherwise, appointments are possible every day until 2 p.m. After that, the store is always full anyway. Heimann not only wants to accommodate parents with this service, but also optimize everyday work in the store. Because she has observed: “People are now coming later in the day. This has also been noticed in discussions with colleagues. With the appointments, we want to make the earlier times a bit more attractive so that the customer flow is better distributed. But it’s a trial and error process.” In addition to sales, Heimann also advertises services such as advice for beginners or a check to see whether it makes sense to pass on the shoes of older siblings to their younger siblings. In general, in recent years, which have been marked by many challenges, she has learned to always look for constructive solutions: “We have all been working on this for a long time. But the pandemic made me realise how much you can actually achieve and how well you can adapt. I took that as motivation to do more, to listen even more to what customers tell us and to try to respond to it.” The increased costs of purchasing are also a fact that she has had to adapt to: “Manufacturers’ prices have risen continuously in recent years and I understand that production is also becoming more expensive. But it also makes me much less willing to compromise and I sort out a brand more quickly if there are problems with quality.”
