Toys |quot|R|quot| Us stores to boost service

Springfield's Toys "R" Us is one of 170 Toys "R" Us stores in the nation undergoing major improvements to its building, store layout and work force this year, according to Mark Kavanaugh, director of the 1425 E. Battlefield store.

The company, at the direction of new President and Chief Executive Officer John Eyler, is making an effort to increase sales after Toys "R" Us stock fell several points last year. Toysrus.com, the company's Web site, is also undergoing improvements this year after it failed to deliver all of its online orders by Christmas Day last year.

"We're just raising the bar all the way around," Kavanaugh said. He said the company-wide improvement project is known as "C3," a three-pronged approach to increasing Toys "R" Us service, and in turn, sales.

"The first aspect of C3 is presentation physical changes to the building, both inside and out," Kavanaugh said.

He said improvements to the Springfield store will include a new sign on the outside of the building, better organization and designation of departments and demonstration tables for kids to play with assembled toys.

"The second part of the C3 concept is new merchandise. We're working out deals with other companies such as Home Depot and the Discovery Channel," Kavanaugh said.

He said Animal Alley, a section with classic stuffed animals and merchandise from cable channel Animal Planet, will hold part of the store's influx of new merchandise. Kids "R" Us, the company's children's clothing line, is already in place at the store. Imaginarium, a section with learning-oriented games and toys in cooperation with the Discovery Channel, will be another new feature at the store.

He said the third and most important aspect of the Toys "R" Us C3 concept is better customer service through better quality employees.

"We've concentrated 25 percent more labor in the building to focus solely on taking care of our guests. It's not about getting more bodies in here, either. We're creating leaders for the specific departments of the store, which we call worlds,'" Kavanaugh said.

He said the creation of department, or "world" leaders in the stores provides each store with seven to nine individuals on the supervisory level. Before the C3 effort, each store had only three supervisors who would monitor the entire store during their individual shifts, Kavanaugh said.

"Criteria for hiring supervisors has now gone up, as far as the company expecting them to improve sales and service for their individual department. They are expected to know their merchandise and be able to talk to customers about it," he said.

Better customer service at Toys "R" Us also include providing a more accessible and helpful sales staff, Kavanaugh said.

"We're processing and moving in new merchandise before and after store hours. We come in at 7 a.m. to process any trucks before the guests get here at 9:30 a.m., and we run an overnight crew to do additional merchandising and projects," Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh said C3 is already paying off for many Toys "R" Us stores, including the Springfield location, which has been here since 1989.

"There are a lot of expectations for the stores undergoing improvements, because of the investment the company is making in them," he said.