Tom Downes, founder and CEO of Quail Digital, recently sat down with Chain Store Age to discuss how an increasingly fragmented store environment makes it difficult to deliver consistent customer service, and how wireless headsets can be a critical tool for creating a cohesive experience for both employees and shoppers.
What issues do retailers have with maintaining consistency among the performance of different store employees and departments?
Retailers often struggle to deliver a consistent customer experience because store operations are complex and are rarely fully unified. Departments operate in silos, each with their own priorities, processes, and communication habits. The disconnect shows up on the shop floor - some teams respond quickly and confidently, while others are slower or less informed.
The issue is amplified by uneven access to training, experience and real-time information. During peak periods, gaps become more visible. Decision-making slows, responsibilities become unclear and tasks can be duplicated or missed entirely.
Without a shared, real-time communication layer across the store, consistency is difficult to maintain.
How are retailers falling short in keeping store employees informed up-to-date information needed to do their jobs?
Many retailers still rely on inflexible communications such as emails, printed notices or apps that staff lack time to check during a shift. On a busy shop floor, information needs to be immediate, current, and accessible in the moment, not discovered later in an inbox or break room.
As a result, important updates on pricing, stock availability, product information and instruction do not get through. This forces staff to rely on guesswork when helping customers or leave the floor to find answers, disrupting service.
How have the number of consumer touchpoints been proliferating in stores in recent years?
The modern store is no longer a simple point-of-sale environment. It now includes a wide range of customer touchpoints that increase operational complexity. Alongside traditional checkout lanes, retailers now operate self-checkouts, kiosks, click and collect points, mobile ordering and specialist service areas.
In addition, passive touchpoints have expanded rapidly. Parcel lockers, recycling stations, and EV charging stations all create new customer interactions that still require staff support when issues arise.
This shift has changed how stores operate. Employees are no longer tied to one fixed area. Instead they are expected to monitor and support multiple touchpoints at the same time.
What type of security and safely issues face today's store associates?
Store associates face more safety and security risks as part of their daily roles. These include dealing with difficult or aggressive customer behaviour, responding to theft or suspicious activity and representing the brand on the shop floor at all times.
Large store layouts and busy trading conditions can make these situations harder to manage. Staff are often spread across the floor and in urgent moments, immediate support is not always available. Even small delays in communication can allow situations to escalate.
Health and safety procedures also depend on fast coordination, especially during incidents that require multiple team members to respond quickly. Without instant communication tools, staff may hesitate or struggle to alert colleagues in time.
How can Quail Digital help retailers overcome these challenges and thrive in their store operations?
Quail Digital offers a fully integrated storewide wireless headset - enabling teams to communicate instantly, either one-to-one or in defined user groups. Built-in speech recognition allows for hands-free operation, giving staff the functionality of a phone without ever leaving the shop floor.
At the center of Pro12 is an AI enabled 'store brain' giving staff instant access to critical information such as stock levels, pricing, promotions, product details, and allergy information - all without leaving the customers' side. The system supports up to four user groups, allowing communication to scale in line with store size and operational complexity, ensuring the right information reaches the right people at the right time.
The result is faster decision-making, improved consistency, and greater staff confidence. Retailers, including major supermarket chains, use this approach to enhance operational efficiency and deliver a more responsive in-store expereience.
Built-in safety features, such as all-call alerts, ensure teams can respond instantly in critical situations - creating a more connected, informed, and protected workforce capable of delivering a faster, safer, and more consistent in-store expereience.
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