Cincigal Grocery Store Clerk - 12 YEARS WORKING IN A GROCERY STORE, and what have I learned?

September marks a milestone for me; 12 years working in a grocery store.  Who would have guessed?  Not me, that is for sure.  When I applied to work at the store, I was the  least likely candidate.  I had no previous experience in this field of employment, no skills, no knowledge of grocery stores (except for the groceries I purchased), knew nothing about operating a register and had absolutely no previous experience when it came to customer service.  But hire me, they did.  I remember my first impression - damn, these people work too hard.  And my second impression?  I could not believe how some people acted when they became customers.  But once in the door I began to evolve and have been evolving ever since.  During this twelve year period I have learned much.  I have learned to multi-task, teamwork, how to be better organized, how to create sales, work in different departments (usually all at one time) and, last but not least, the art of customer service.  And everything which I have learned can be attributed to the customers.

With as many grocery stores as there are in existence, it may be difficult to distinguish which one is the best.  However, there has been much debate, and many opinions, as to which are the best, and why, as compared to which ones are the worst.  By listing services, cleanliness, freshness, selection, prices and - oh, yeah - customer services it appears that these are the assets that can make or break a grocery store.  But, I am not so sure.

In past years, customers were loyal to their grocery store of choice and, wherever else they did business.  This approach made life simple.  But as younger generations came into their own, things began to change.  They do not have the same outlook, shopping habits nor the financial standards of generations past.  And you have to take into account that there are so many grocery stores, not to mention all of the retail businesses that have added groceries as part of their inventory.  Hey, the consumer dollar can stretch just so far.

So by using high-tech, customer appreciation programs, self-checkout, card rewards, along with the promise of great customer service, each grocery company is out there vying for the top positions.

But the customers have taught me that when it comes to grocery shopping there are other considerations, not formally listed on consumer polls, that are just as important as any customer appreciation program.

So, I made a list of what customers complain about the most:

1) CHANGE:  One of the first things that I learned, is that customers hate change.  Customers generally want their shopping experience to be simple and hassle free.  Let's admit it, grocery shopping is one of the least favorite chores of many consumers.  So when grocery stores make changes, drop services or even reset the aisles it will cause havoc on the floor.  And I don't need to explain what that does to the grocery clerks working the floors.  Should there be continuous change, look for the customers hitting the door.

2) CONSISTENCY:  When grocery stores lack consistency with selection and services rendered, it causes frustration for the customers.  They consider the fact that they shop at this establishment and trust that they can get what they are looking for.  After all, the product was probably there the last time they shopped.  Naturally, it is the clerks that respond to the requests.  And even though clerks follow up on the matter, it is not uncommon to hear that the product will no longer be handled and that 'it is not economically feasible since not much of the product is sold.'  Customers, in all due respect, are not interested in the business aspect of their grocery shopping.  And when this continues to happen, in various departments, it can send a message to the customer that they cannot count on their grocery store and they, too, go elsewhere.

3) DOWNSIZING:  This is another issue that bothers customers.  When customers witness departments, or staff, downsized this acts as a red flag to customers causing them to distance themselves and go elsewhere.  When downsizing staff, customers have to wait longer to get waited on and sometimes find it difficult to get assistance.  And when departments are downsized then that means so is the selection.  I personally found this to be true with the Floral Department.  When the company changed suppliers, it was done with the idea of making the department more of a 'drop and sell' instead of a department that offered floral cut arrangements.  By removing the cooler, used for arrangements, they also removed the customers that patronized the department.  And three years later, the customers have not returned.

I have learned more then just what bothers customers.  Through time I have come to realize that it is the employees that are the most important benefit in this business.  These are the very people that not only maintain a grocery store but, give it a face.  They are the eyes and the ears for a company when it comes to the wants and needs of the customers.  But this is becoming more difficult to achieve.  As some grocery stores have downsized many of their full-time positions to part-time and employ more part-time minimum wage, a lot of talented and loyal employees have fallen to the side.  When a company takes care of it's employees then the employees, in turn, take care of the company.

And customer service?  Well, I have often thought that customer service is one of the hardest jobs in a grocery store.  It is something that not everyone can do and basically, it is something that comes from within.  It is the wanting to help and the desire to fulfill.  Although I am a strong supporter of customer service, I find that it is a two way street.  It is just as much the responsibility of the grocery companies to provide for the customer as it is for the employees to follow through on the floor.  And as important as customer service seems to be, I am not one to support the idea that a grocery store can 'hang it's hat' on this service to maintain customers.

So, when you get down to the 'nitty-gritty', so to speak, I find that customers are not fools.  They realize that changes and downsizing are made in order to enhance that bottom line.  And this thought does not serve the customer.

All in all, these lessons are just common sense.  And when you stop and think about it, we have an inside track to better serve customers and keep them coming back.  Because when all is said and done, we too are customers - somewhere.

Published on LinkedIn September 18, 2014