Food Town Observations and Opinions (both of which I have many)

In general, I am pleased with the progress we made, the signage looks good, many things are more sensibly laid out, placed, etc., the Deli flows much better, and though it still needs constant attention, (they always do!), it is now something to be proud of. The cheese is one of my biggest surprises, I never thought that there was such a demand for this, it's a testimony to the clientel. Much as we bitch about Larry, he has been an invaluable asset to us, compliant in doing our bidding, and producing great results. I hope that he can complete the tasks that we have laid out for him.

I am disappointed that some things are being left undone, but am always available for input, even if the new gig makes my active participation unpractical.

A few areas:

The aisle signs

The Front lobby stairstep setup.

The coffee bar setup

The magazine/gift wrap rack setup

Signage in the Produce and Meat Depts.

A bread table

Front end cap merchandising

A better wine program

Following are my feelings based on my personal philosophy of store operations. No attempt is being made to be excessively critical, just honest.

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Store personnel tend to act somewhat less than professional in their demeanor. The bulk of the staff are good people, but could benefit from a bit more direction and sternness.

The front end checkers spend a great deal of time standing around staring out the window. This time could be used to price product so that labels don't have to be stuck on the front of display pieces like the front end caps.

Cell phone usage is out of control and text messaging is done across the board. It is overlooked and accepted. A policy should be implemented and enforced.

Music is played in both the Meat and Deli Depts., there is no place for this.

In general, the staff should all be asked to conform to a standard dress code, the Meat Dept. has the most egregious look.

Some departmental notes:

Grocery – Some areas seem to be off the radar such as the stale sponge cakes that still hang in the Produce area. The approach of “touching everything” would make sure that all things are noticed.

Sunridge Farms and Coffee Magic are two displays in great need of an update. There at times seems to be a willingness to accept a vendor's faults rather than confront them and demand action. This applies to bread vendors as well. Both the Grocery and Deli seem willing to let Tony's, Mike Hudson, and Area Distributing abandon and ignore the store without a fight.

Deli – Much has been put on this fledgling department, but simple acts like writing down and referring to notes would go a long way towards avoiding repeated outages and mistakes. Ordering pars need to be established and adhered to, this will allow familiarity to develop, and printed menus to be made.

Simple acts like keeping the Cafe clean, filling the sugars, replacing dead flowers, stocking the soup station and olive bar, labeling all packed goods, keeping on top of signage, and removing carts of day old bread, etc., are not being performed. They need to become part of the daily regimen.

A dating system in the Pastry case is not being adhered to, old pastries stay in the case, scaring off customers.

Produce – The shelf paint has gone a long way to update the appearance of the dept. Compliance with signage and an update of the salsa program will complete the picture. Fleshing out the selection with more goods will satisfy customer's needs. Jicama and Belgium Endive are hardly exotic, but absent nonetheless. Old spinach, turnips, Bushel baskets with dust covered, decrepit product, etc., are deterrents. Personnel need to be as free thinking as other departments have had to be.

Meat – The most work has to take place here, for obvious reasons. The staff needs to understand that a new page has been turned and new standards will have to be adhered to.

A focus on customer service and a professional attitude will work wonders. The habit of the Meat/Deli back rooms being a loud party zone needs to stop immediately.

In summation, The store is ready to take off, there needs to be an infusion of enthusiasm by the Managerial staff, and a collective mentality that the store is a single unit.

Richard Williams

2007-12-29T18:03:42

Richard Williams