The past few months have been busy and exciting for us as we have implemented a variety of store improvement projects, plus we’ve been planning still more. All of these projects are geared towards meeting member needs as expressed in our member surveys; towards making our stores more accessible and efficient for our members and shoppers; and to promote sales growth in order to insure financial viability over the long run.
We started by getting an assessment and design work on the Eureka store. As a result we have a master plan that we can implement piece by piece as seems prudent. The first several phases of that plan included opening up the area inside the main doors by relocating our customer service desk, also providing more seating near to the Deli. This allowed bigger and better displays of seasonal produce and special purchase sale items, making our “best deals” easier to find. In as far as sales are a barometer of member satisfaction, the changes have been a great success. Featured products in that area are generating thousands of dollars per month in additional sales and overall activity at the store has taken off. As expenses were kept to a minimum, payback on the investment will be a matter of about six months. And, better still, people seem to like it!
Next up for Eureka is a variation on the design plan, moving some refrigeration equipment around to make more room in front of the Deli counter. This will be a relatively small project in terms of labor and expense but will open up the most serious traffic bottleneck in the store. The high volume of shoppers at our Eureka deli, coupled with the tight quarters, makes it an uncomfortable part of the store, and we expect that it will be much more pleasant with the change. I’d expect to see that work being done in January.
We are also planning some significant changes at the Arcata store, some of which will be completed by the time this issue of Co-op News hits the stands. We have already removed the old juice bar that has been out of operation for seven or eight years, freeing up valuable floor space that can be used for extra value pallet buys just like those at the Eureka store. We’re still working on finishing up the space, but already it has improved the look and feel of the entrance.
Another change has been the addition of several windbreaks by the front doors. Wet and windy days regularly forced us to close the main doors of the Arcata store; with the new windbreaks that appears to be less of a problem. A canvas windbreak by the exit doors can also be put in place on those cold and windy days and helps keep the cashiers from getting frostbite. Neither system is perfect, but they seem to make for a significant improvement
A new end-aisle freezer unit will be added, increasing Arcata’s frozen foods capacity. This will specifically allow us to add a wider selection of gluten free products that we have not been able to bring in. We expect the new freezer unit to be installed in early December.
The end of December will bring big changes to the Arcata Deli, the department that is subject of more member comment than any other part of our Co-op. We will be moving around the layout, adding a service deli case, improved olive bar and soup selection. The past few months have seen a noticeable improvement in the quality of the food being prepared; now we’ll provide an improved presentation as well. At this time we expect that the Arcata Deli will be closed from the afternoon of Monday December 28th through Wednesday December 30. We’ll be bringing in the New Year with a whole new look and feel for the Arcata Co-op Deli on Thursday December 31st… so come celebrate with us!
With all of these changes, we still expect to spend far less on capital improvements than originally budgeted. We are addressing the areas of greatest need in the stores, doing much of the work with in-house staff to keep costs down and, so far, getting great response for member dollars invested. Please let us know what you think.
David Lippman
Co-op General Manager
Member #686
I have a friend who was purchasing a sandwich at the Co-op Deli and asked for tomatoes on his sandwich. He was told they were out of tomatoes. He then pointed to the abundance of tomatoes in the produce section and was told that they could not use those tomatoes, that the food sold at the Deli came from SYSCO and that local food was not used at the Deli. I have been a member for a little over a year, enjoy shopping at the Co-op for the local foods and the idea of selling locally produced foods. I understand that everything cannot be local, but fresh Deli foods? I was very disappointed and wanted to find out more information about this. Can you help?
By: Linda Byrne on July 26, 2010
at 10:30 am
Linda
Thanks for your note. Comments like yours help us to identify problems and take action to improve.
There are so many problems with the service your friend received that I don’t know where to start. The employee that spoke to him was clearly not well trained, as much of the response was inaccurate, and they clearly had little sense of empowerment to serve the customer. For all of that I sincerely apologize.
So, let’s discuss the issues at hand. Prepared foods departments in stores like ours are always struggling to balance cost factors vs. quality considerations (like local, organic, etc.). Various ingredients used in our delis are certified organic and when regularly available are clearly labeled as such. When available, they may also be sourced locally. For example, the Arcata salad bar features local lettuce and sprouts on a year-round basis. On the other hand, some products carry such a large price differential that we generally use conventional product (though on occassion when price is right we will substitute local and/or organic with no special notice). For what it is worth, none of our product comes from Sysco Foods; also, there are not yet any local tomatoes available at our stores (though they’ll be here soon).
In the instance that you refer to, where the deli is out of an item that we have in stock, there is no good reason not to transfer that merchandise from the produce department to the deli. Clearly the employees working at that time did not feel so empowered, that is a training issue and we will address it!
Again, I apologize for the problems that your friend encounteed and I thank you for helping us address these problems and improve our service. If you get a chance, please let us know which store your friend was shopping at.
David Lippman
NC Co-op General Manager
By: David Lippman on July 27, 2010
at 7:54 am
Thank you so much for the quick response. I feel much better about the situation. The store was the Arcata store. I really enjoy shopping at the Co-op and want to continue. Thanks again for getting back to me.
Linda
By: Linda Byrne on July 27, 2010
at 8:22 am
Thanks again for letting us know your experience; we’ll work to make it better next time!
By: David Lippman on July 27, 2010
at 8:24 am