How many times have you found a virtual ghost town when you looked around for the nearest clerk in your favorite big box store? And how many times have you found yourself standing so far back in one of the few open checkout lanes that you felt you were in another time zone?

Relief just many be on the way for the many forlorn and forsaken shoppers.

A new Wharton School study at the University of Pennsylvania counters the prevailing business model in the retail industry of lowering operational costs — including cutting staff — to generate greater profitability.

The study, conducted by the leaders at Wharton School who regularly conduct supply-chain operational studies, found that investing in increased staff levels generated a $7.4 million increase in profits on an annual basis across 168 stores.

The study quantifies the impact of empathy on the bottom line. The more you care about the customer the more your customer will reward you with their continued business especially in a highly competitive brick and mortar and on-line marketplace.

You can find other examples of the bottom line impact of empathy in LOVING Like a Leader one of three books in The Leadership Mints Series designed to help leaders refresh their feeling for leading with short stories (called Leadership Mints) you can grab ‘n go like a candy mint.

The two other books in The Leadership Mints Series -now available on Amazon.com — include THINKING Like a Leader and SPEAKING Like a Leader.