This is obviously a good idea. I don’t want to complain or discourage it, but those 8 hours should include at least some customer-facing work. No fair hiding in the manager’s office or stockroom all day - which is not to suggest that working in the stockroom is easier. In many ways, it’s harder, but it does lack one crucial element of retail.

If they really want to “bridge the gap”, they need a firsthand understanding of the hell that is customer service.