2024 Q3 Spirited VA - 15

SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICE
STEWART SHIELD, MANAGER, STORE 177, CHINCOTEAGUE
S
tewart Shield's family has been on
the Eastern Shore since 1649. " Most
of the local customers know me, " he says.
If they don't know him personally, a short
conversation will likely reveal some mutual
acquaintances-and maybe even some
common relatives. He was working at a
convenience store on the Shore when a
Virginia ABC manager noticed how he had
turned that store around. She suggested he
look into working at Virginia ABC, and he has
been there since 2019.
" I've always enjoyed retail and the
interaction with people, " he says. " Every
person you meet is different; and even
when you meet the same people, it's a
different day, it's a different time. I like
helping people. "
What do you enjoy about working with
Virginia ABC?
I like the retail environment in general,
and with ABC, you're actually paying more
attention to your inventory. You need to pay
attention to final counts and things, not just
the product itself. It's more detail-oriented,
and I enjoy dealing with the subtleties and
nuances.
I appreciate my crew, too. This work
doesn't happen in a vacuum, and we all
work together really well-Robin, Dawn,
Allie, Jim, Jolene, Tara and Angie. We always
refer to each other as our work family or
our store family.
How does your history on the Eastern Shore
affect your interactions with customers?
With the local folks, you understand the
different people and you can interact with
them: how Eastern Shore people think,
people from different towns, the watermen
here in the northern part of Accomack County
and the people who work over at NASA and
NOAA. It's such a broad range. And with
people who come here, I love finding out
stuff like where they're from. I'm a Patsy
Cline fan, so I love talking to people from
Winchester. I love talking to people from
the urban stores and finding out about their
ABC store.
How would you describe the ebbs and flows
of business at your store throughout the year?
We go from people walking up and down on
the street in the summertime, with a lot of
pedestrians and bicyclists and the increase
in the foot traffic in the store. In February it's
like the old saying, they roll the streets up
when the streetlights come on.
Do you notice differences in liquor sales
from season to season?
During the summer season, when people are
coming from more urban areas, like Northern
Virginia or Pennsylvania, they want higherend
products. One question we get asked a
lot is what Virginia products we have. We have
a large windowsill splash shelf where we set
up a little Virginia product section, and I've
got pictures of some ponies, a cardinal and
a map of the different Virginia distilleries.
How do you stay current with product
knowledge?
One of the things that's helped me the most
has been reading " Spirited Virginia. " There are
a couple of publications that we get at the
store that I like to look at. I also like going on
YouTube and researching things, like tasting
videos, that educate me and help me steer
customers.
Do you have a favorite cocktail? A favorite
spirit?
My favorite spirit would be vodka and my
favorite cocktail is a very dry vodka martini.
I'm not opposed to a pickle shot either.
Are there particular customer interactions
that make you feel good?
Being that we are on the island and it's a
small town, I have regular customers and
a lot of them are elderly or have different
levels of ability. We even know the car they
drive, so a lot of times (and it's especially
nice the first time you do it), when they come
in we've already got the product waiting for
them at the register. " Just come on over
here, it's right here waiting for you. " That's
nice. I've got a half dozen customers that
we do that for.
-Annie Tobey
SPIRITED VIRGINIA | JULY | AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2024 15
2024 Q3 Spirited VA

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