Supermarket Service
Simple Methods to Achieve Outstanding Service Success
By Mitch Goldstein
Supermarket Service
Simple Methods to Achieve Outstanding Service Success
By Mitch Goldstein
Published by Mitch Goldstein at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Mitch Goldstein
Smashwords
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Goldstein, Mitch 1960-
Supermarket Service - Simple Methods to Achieve Outstanding Service Success
Contents
Chapter 1 Before We Begin Our Store Tour
Chapter 8 Consumer Packaged Goods
Acknowledgements
Dad, you made it all possible. We miss you but you live within us.
Service today - we just don't expect much, do we? Many businesses give their service providers fancy names - sales associates, customer service representatives, guest specialists, etc. Unfortunately, it seems that the customer service often fails to live up to what the name tags suggest.
In today's world, we expect mediocre service and put up with poor service. Any business or person that provides slightly above mediocre service will differentiate themselves, and any business or person that provides superior service will stand out as "the" place to go - good news and bad news travel fast via word of mouth, but mediocre news typically isn't spread.
This book is about service the way it ought to be (or maybe the way it "used to be"- I'm getting old!). It contains nothing magical, just common sense service ideas from my youth, when my father and his father before, ran a successful supermarket. Their success came during times when big box supermarkets were coming in and selling items at lower perceived prices, when big discount chains began selling absolutely everything in their superstores, and when convenience stores with their self service allowed people to make quick stops to pick up their snacks instead of going to the supermarket. What made Dad's store so successful? His service!! To this day, I meet people from my hometown who remember the store and want to talk about my dad or my 5 foot tall grandmother who worked as hard as anyone!
My father was an interesting person. He always paid his bills, and I don't think he had an enemy in the world. A few people took advantage of his generosity and trusting nature, but he spread what is truly good to everyone he met. He always had a smile and a great sense of humor, and was particularly known for giving as much grief to, as well as getting it from just about everyone. In today's world, many people tend to think that their job is so important or that they are so busy that they can't take time to have a bit of fun. Dad suggests that you take time to laugh. Laugh at yourself, laugh with others, and never say anything nasty. A good sense of humor makes everyone more comfortable, makes the work at hand more fun and people more productive. Try it!
This book is not meant to be a high level educational course on service, it is meant to give you the ideas you can draw on, using your own techniques and creativity, to make your job or business a service success. We will take the fifty plus years of customer service experience that Bernie's has and roll them into a few key service points. It is up to you to take over from there.
In this book we take a trip through the supermarket. Sure, you've been to the grocery store many times, but have you taken a look at what really makes a good store work? As we tour the departments, we'll talk about how good service really works, and how you can use the practical tips to help you or your business provide the best possible service.
I hope you find this both practical and educational. The key is to look at what is said, think about how you or your business can change, and bring new ideas to work with you. If you can make some changes and improve your service, you'll be heads above your competition.
Finally, if you have some service suggestions of your own, please let me know! I'd love to take what you have learned and use it to help others. Please email me at mitch@alumni.uiowa.edu. Thanks!
Most important, make every day a great day, stay positive, and enjoy reading, "Supermarket Service"!
Before we Begin Our Store Tour
Bernie's Supermarket. It doesn't sound like much and in reality, it wasn't much. This small supermarket, located in the heart of Cedar Falls Iowa probably didn't have annual sales equal to what some of the huge chain stores sell in a week. It was located on a 1.5 acre lot on a relatively busy street, with not much other business located nearby. There were no large storefronts, chain discounts, fancy lit parking lots, multiple service center areas, or any of the other large market amenities. The store had two relatively large aisles, plus a deli/meat market and a large refreshment room. It pales in comparison to where it seems nearly everyone in today's world shops.
Bernie's was a local success story. The store didn't sell anything you couldn't buy at other supermarkets. It wasn't more modern or fancier than other places, and it was maybe the last place to get an electronic cash register! Its success was due to the quality of service given to customers and staff. In this book, we are going to take a walk around the store to visit various departments. Each department had its own set of rules or "laws".
The service laws are what this book is all about. For us, they were the laws we had to abide by (Dad was a very pleasant person, and we never challenged him on these). For you, it is your choice. Because of that, I'm going to call these the Staples of good service.
The Layout
Bernie's was a typical small independent supermarket. There was not a lot of variety of each type of product, and there were not huge quantities of each product carried. I think the cereal section of some of today's supermarkets probably would have covered one whole aisle at Bernie's!
As customers walked up to
the store, they first noticed items outside. These were
typically
seasonal products that attracted attention to the store. They may
also
have noticed that the store was always neat and clean, with
a beautiful storefront.
I remember my grandmother, who worked into her 70's, often wandering outside of the store so she could pick up any papers that had blown into the lot, push carts back into the store, or scoop up trash someone had left behind.
As customers walked through the doors, they were greeted with a sincere smile, and asked if they could be helped in any way. Our goal was to make the first impressions as good as possible.
The store consisted of wide aisles, a meat market/deli, a large refreshment room and candies and snacks up front. The layout (see figure 1) was very important to Dad, as it is to many supermarket owners. First, customers would go by the pharmaceuticals, then down a consumer packaged goods aisle with all of the canned foods, cereals, and most other foods with a longer shelf life. Towards the back of the aisle were the salty snacks and a rather large pet food section. In the very back of the store was a large meat section with fresh and frozen meats, fresh homemade salads (mostly) and a large deli section. This was followed by the produce area. Another aisle consisted of the dairy section, then frozen foods on the right, and the paper goods and cookies on the left. Finally, the refreshment room was a very large room with cold and warm soda (pop to us Iowans!) and beer. Near the checkout were the cigarettes, individual frozen snacks (ice cream bars) candy and magazines.
Store layout was important to Bernie's, as it should be to any business. A term I've called "Customer Viewpoint Analysis" or CVA in part stems from the layout of the store. Customer viewpoint analysis means not only asking your customers what is important, but just standing back and looking at your business through your customers' eyes. From a layout perspective, it is important to check the store layout as a business owner and a customer.
In Dallas, there is an electronics superstore. Customers walked in from the parking lot to the hub of a wheel shaped store. In the center is a large desk with customer service people behind it. Their purpose is to greet incoming customers and ask how they could be of assistance. The customers can then choose to shop on their own or ask for specific help. Each spoke of the "wheel" is a different retail arm. Computers are in one area, stereos in another, appliances in a third, and so on. The owners of this store truly looks at how the customers want it laid out. It was probably more costly to set up initially, but it is an amazingly customer friendly store.
The supermarket was laid out very carefully, and was periodically changed as needed. When you first walk in, the aspirin and other items are there when your mind is fresh, to get you thinking about items that are often left off a shopping list. Next you walk through the foods that are typically on a shopping list. The items are colorful and laid out in a way that may make you want to purchase a few extra items. Following packaged goods are chips, which people purchase as a larger impulse item, and which one may grab just because they're hungry.