City Style and Living - Winter 2008/2009 - (Page 15)

CULINARY | CONVERSATION rough his Aisles What strategy should consumers have when they go to the grocery store? Take a list with you. I always cringed when I saw someone reading a list. Those people were always focused and very hard to sell anything extra. They probably just ate before they came too! If you come to a store hungry, between the free samples and the smell of fresh bread just out of the oven, we’ve gotcha! However, on the other side, keep your head up and be aware of what’s being offered, sometimes you can find very good deals in the stores. Just make sure it’s what you want to buy and not what the store wants to sell you. customer. They can be like a magnet keeping you off of the sales floor, where you should be most of the time. Secondly and perhaps the biggest change for us in Calgary was the introduction of competition in the market place. In the seventies and eighties Safeway owned the market. It didn’t matter how our stores looked or how we priced our product, because if you didn’t like it, all you could do was switch which Safeway you shopped in. With the introduction of new competitor’s in the late eighties we suddenly had to change the way we did business, be more accountable to our customers. It made life more difficult, but it did make us better retailers. DaveRackham’scareerinthegrocerybusinessstartedin1974.During hiscareerheworkedin13diﬀerentSafewaystoresinCalgary.Hispositionsrangedfromgrocerymanagerandassistantmanagertodirectorof retailsupportandlabouradvisoruntilretirementin2005.Inspiredbyhis yearsinthebusinessRackhamwroteWalkanAisleinMyShoes. sider tip I can give is to build a positive relationship with the people in the store, from the manager to the wrapper on the check stand. The employees of today are not the same as they were twenty years ago. They often will wait until you say hi, before they will say hi. Treat them as you would like to be treated. It’s amazing what extra information or extra effort you may receive when there is a mutual respect between the store employees and the customer. Imagine going into a store when the attitude is not confrontational but co-operational. What is the single most important thing to look for in a grocery store? Attitude, (the good kind) is what sets a store apart from the rest. Look for a store that honestly wants your business. They will do everything possible to provide a clean, safe store that is competitively priced, with a highly motivated and empowered staff. The last one, empowered staff, is, in my mind crucial. It is so nice to bring a problem or concern to an employee and they look after it with out having to get the blessing of management. The environmental movement has led consumers to view grocery stores in a diﬀerent light. Consumers are now directed toward farmers markets, ea ng locally and organically, has this revolu onized grocery stores? The current global food crisis has focused consumers a en on on soaring food prices. What role do grocery stores play in this? What is the funniest experience you had working at the grocery store? It’s hard to choose just one. However I always laughed when the best laid plans by employees calling in sick back fired on them. One Saturday morning we received a telephone call from a woman. She informed us that her son Doug would not be in to work that day as he was very sick and would be staying in bed. We had three Dougs at the store and when we asked the mother, “which Doug is this?” We were met with a very long pause, followed by a “just a minute.” The grocery industry has always tried to reflect the trends of the markets. The trend to go from a clean almost sterile look to a farmers market atmosphere can be seen in the new design and lay out of the stores. They have always supported locally grown product. Definitely the stores have increased the number of organic products and lines that project a healthier life style. As the consumer changes their shopping priorities a smart retailer will adjust to and provide what ever is required. Grocery stores are in the same boat as the consumer. As the consumer feels they are held at gun point by the retailers, the retailers feel they are held by the same gun from the suppliers. Unfortunately the opportunity to choose different suppliers for the retailers is not as easy as the ability for the consumers to choose different retailers. The best a retailer can do is run their business as effectively as possible as not to create any unnecessary expense or cost to the consumer. CSL Q: If consumers did "Walk an Aisle in your Shoes" what would they be surprised to learn about the grocery business? I don’t think customers have any idea just how much manpower it takes to run a store. As a ma er of fact I o en wondered if our head oﬃce new how much it took. One store I was at had 330 employees. “ How has the industry changed since you began? The addition of electricity to the store was huge… couldn’t resist saying that! Actually the two major changes that occurred during my career were: The introduction of the computer to the business, it has allowed us to use and understand information at an unbelievable rate. Of course the draw back is that in the store if you’re not careful you can find yourself working for the computer and not the ” Q: What insider ps can you oﬀer readers from your experience? Every company and store is different. As a customer you want to find what store best fits your needs; convenience, price, service, or quality of product. Whatever store you choose the best in- WALK AND AISLE IN MY SHOES is available at all Alberta Safeway stores, Indigo, Chapters and The Owl’s Nest Book Store; $14.99. citystyleandliving.com | WINTER 2008/09 | 15 http://www.citystyleandliving.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of City Style and Living - Winter 2008/2009

City Style and Living - Winter 2008/2009 Contents Editor's Note Behind the Cover The District Events Wrap It Up To Market To Market Culinary Conversation Need It Want It Kitchen Restaurant Inspiration Dancing the Cocoa Covet Prêt-à-porter Inspired By... Giving Anatomy Of... Casanova Fragrance Profile Focal Pointe Passport 24 Hours In... The Staycation Ombudsperson Horoscopes Final Thought

City Style and Living - Winter 2008/2009

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