Here’s something to think about: success isn’t necessarily the result of one big step or life-altering event. It’s often the product of small actions (like the items outlined in this daily opening checklist for dispensaries) that you repeatedly do over time. Most of these actions can be considered small or just basic best practices—but if you do them consistently, those actions build on each other and lead to better outcomes down the road.
Okay, so—what does this have to do with running a cannabis dispensary?
Well, in the same way that good personal habits lead to a happier and more fulfilling personal life, employing good habits in your dispensary will lead to a stronger and more profitable business.
There are a number of things you should do in your dispensary each morning to keep it on track, so we’ve put together this dispensary daily checklist of tasks that you should focus on. Continue reading below to see how you can incorporate them into your operational strategy.
Setting up your dispensary for success starts with opening it properly. The following are some of the tasks that retailers and their teams should perform at the beginning of each workday.
Note: While most of these items are for dispensary managers, many can be completed by budtenders and other staff members.
Take the following steps before opening your doors to the public:
Inspect the building for signs of anything that may have gone wrong while the dispensary was closed. Go through the following steps:
Ensure your dispensary looks nice and is clean and presentable when folks start coming in.
You can opt to do this until right before you’re officially open for the day. Make sure you switch on the following before customers start rolling in:
Once you’re done with the initial inspection, you can move on to your cannabis point of sale system.
Next up, let’s look at your merchandising. The products and displays you have on the sales floor directly influence your sales, so it’s essential that you go over your merchandising daily.
Examine all the displays you have in-store and see to it that they’re up to par. Consider the following:
If there are items that are missing from your displays, be sure to restock your shelves before opening time.
Round up your team and do a daily staff huddle to motivate everyone and give them the information they need to do their jobs well for the day.
Iron out who’s in charge of what. What are everyone’s roles? Where should they station themselves in the store?
Keeping sales top of mind will help drive your team’s performance. In this aspect, you should talk about:
Your staff huddle also provides a great opportunity to discuss how you and your team can improve overall. You may want to:
Finally, if you’re running any in-store initiatives, now is the time to talk about them.
Remind employees about the rules, guidelines, and policies that need to be enforced in your store. This is particularly important if you have new employees on board or if you’re dealing with a situation that’s rapidly changing (such as COVID-19).
Retail success starts with strong habits performed by managers and budtenders alike. Hopefully, the points above inspired you to implement better daily practices in your shop. Dutchie POS can help you stay on top of your daily cannabis retail tasks.
