Before joining Clas Ohlson, Jon Rissanen had no experience of working in a store. His interest in customer service tempted Jon to apply for the job.
In 2013, Jon found an interesting advert that offered a possibility to get a job and a degree. In the advert, Clas Ohlson was looking for young people interested in customer service and studies in Business Administration. Jon got the job, and a year later he graduated with Vocational Qualification in Business Administration. Now he is working at Finland’s busiest store Kamppi in Helsinki city centre and was recently put in charge of the hardware department.
-I didn’t have any experience of working as a sales assistant, but I’ve always been interested in working with sales and customers. I feel that I have come far from the beginning and grown a lot during my studies and career. In the future, I want to study even more. I think that everything depends on your own will, drive and commitment. I grow when I learn new things or get new challenges in the store. Every time I succeed in something, it gives me an extra boost. For example, I used to be quite poor in add-on sales, but after I started to think of it as a positive challenge, I’ve often been the winner of our internal add-on sales competition.
I have noticed that hobbies can be an advantage at work.
-I’m so happy that I was put in charge of the hardware department. I’m learning new things about sales, department maintenance and cooperation with store merchandiser, sales and logistics. In addition, I get a better understandning of the hardware products that I’m selling. I have noticed that hobbies can be an advantage at work. I, for example, like to go fishing, and that has given me a lot of knowledge that has come in handy while helping customers. Sometimes even my colleagues ask me to help their customers with fishing questions. I feel it’s important to share your knowledge and also to learn from others.
-I’ve learnt from the beginning that there aren’t any stupid questions and that you’ll always get help from someone. It’s important to be able to solve the customer’s problems and to make the customer interaction as good as possible. The most important thing is to give a good first impression and to be able to help the customer with any problem they might have.
-I like it that we’re not afraid to solve problems, whether it’s customers or colleagues who need help. Sometimes it’s even moving when customers are surprised to get help from us. That kind of feedback always makes me motivated and gives me more drive to do better in my work. I believe you’ll succeed in your work when you take action open-mindedly, don’t give up easily and finish what you’ve started. I believe that a good atmosphere at work is crucial to enjoying your work. Because of our great atmosphere, I can recommend Clas Ohlson as a workplace also to my friends.
/Jon Rissanen, Helsinki, Finland