Hiring Budtenders: How to Weed Out the Good From the Bad
There’s an old saying that says, a company is only as good as its people, and that seems to ring true whether you’re serving fast food or selling cars. Established industries know that they can’t afford to have staff members that can’t perform well, so how important must it be in a budding industry like marijuana?
After you have your dispensary point of sale system and marketing plan all ready to go, how do you go about finding amazing people to staff your shop? Since they’re an integral part of your success, let’s take some time to uncover what makes a good budtender great and who you should shy away from.
Are Regulations On Their Mind?
As the owner of a marijuana dispensary, you know how crucial it is to stay in compliance each day. Not only do you have to complete accurate reporting, but you have to follow strict state guidelines regarding customer information, purchasing limits, and package labeling.
You can’t work every single day, so at some point, you need to be able to trust your staff to manage the shop – will they uphold the same integrity and accuracy that you do when it comes to marijuana regulations? You can easily shape budtender interview questions around this topic when first meeting someone to see if they might be a budtender you can count on.
How Do They See The Job?
Some budtenders just want to clock in and clock out, simply thinking it’s “cool” that they sell weed for a living. Just like in many other industries, you can tell when someone is there to collect a paycheck versus sincerely attempting to be an ambassador for your brand.
As you go through your hiring process, think about how this individual might see themselves as a larger part of the team. Do they embody your dispensary’s mission and vibe, or are they a lone wolf who won’t bring passion to the job?
Can Your Budtender Really Sell?
It’s probably a safe guess that most of the people who walk into your dispensary are there to purchase a product. It’s not the kind of atmosphere where you are just window shopping, right? So while some budtenders might see each customer as an easy sale, it’s the truly exceptional ones who will go above and beyond.
Just a few simple questions can set a good budtender apart from a poor one. If they inquire about each customer’s needs in a genuine way, they’re a keeper. Instead of just waiting for their customer to say “Ok, I’m ready” after looking in silence for a few minutes, a valuable employee will engage them in friendly conversation and ask probing questions.
Are You Impressed By Their Knowledge?
It might be near impossible to memorize all of the strains on the market right now, but a good budtender should know a lot about the more popular selections and be able to relay this information to you during an interview. If they stay up on the latest news and trends in the industry and can educate your customers while providing excellent service, you’ve found an awesome budtender, and you shouldn’t let them go!
If you’re looking for a sure-fire method for weeding out the good budtenders from the bad, check out these 10 interview questions to ask budtenders to help expedite the hiring process.
Faai Steuer is VP of marketing at Cova Software, the fastest growing cannabis retail POS in North America. An entrepreneur at heart, she has a passion for growing startups and building brands. With 20 years of marketing experience in CPG and retail tech, she lends her knowledge and best practices to help cannabis entrepreneurs in the US and Canada open their first store and grow their business through vital thought leader content. Faai oversees the strategies and executions of Cova public relations, content marketing, social media, events, and campaigns.