Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Ms. Minto goes to Wegmans

The grocery store is an American institution. Only in America will you find such massive food venues that yield everything from fresh and organic vegetables to birdseed to Scotch tape. Most other cultures shop for groceries by visiting specialty shops such as butchers, cheese makers and wine shoppes, but not Americans! We shop for groceries just we shop for, well, everything else – one stop, multi-level, eye popping, mega malls. Growing up in small town America, I certainly wasn’t privy to high-class, mega supermarkets. I grew up grocery shopping with my grandmother, at our local ACME that honestly smelled like sour milk.


In 2005, Hunt Valley became the first Maryland home to the newest mega mall grocery store – Wegmans. This grocery store chain puts new meaning to the term supermarket. In 1930, just fourteen short years after John Wegman opened a fruit and vegetable company in upstate New York, he opened his first supermarket; 20,000 square-foot shopping floor plus an in-house cafeteria that sat 300. Wegmans’ belief that valued and cared for employees do their jobs better earned them the #2 spot on Fortune’s list of best 100 companies to work for in 2006; it’s ninth consecutive year listed. This is not your average grocery store or your average business model for that matter. Everything about a Wegmans shop is bigger, brighter and better than the shop around the corner. I suppose that is why American’s are willing to drive miles to their nearest not so neighborhood Wegmans.

Maybe it’s the allure of it’s 60-foot olive bar, the smell of fresh baking pizza in the café, or the ability to pick up a ready-to-serve Wegmans meal on your way home from work, pop it in the oven and consider dinner served that has millions of American consumers hooked on the Wegmans drug. For me, it’s the smaller two-tiered carts, the in-store flower shop, the do-it-yourself produce labeling and the hot chocolate complete with attachable cart cup holder that pulls at my grocery shopping heartstrings. I’m not, by any means, someone who gets a thrill out of grocery shopping; in fact, I would fathom this is my least favorite activity. Yet there is something about Wegmans, even with the crowds, the hoards of consumers looking for a bargain, screaming children and miles of walking, that makes grocery shopping a little bit better for me. They have a huge international foods section; not that international foods really appeal to my western taste buds, but they do sell Brazilin soda in 2-liter bottles.

If you’re a cheese buff, you must travel to your nearest Wegmans just to experience such a cheese masterpiece. If you can think of a type, style or country of origin for a cheese, chances are they have it. Maybe organics is more your thing; you’ll be wandering down the aisles like a mouse trapped in a maze picking up items such as organic chips, juice, powerbars. Still not convinced? How about your neighborhood butcher shop, fishmonger, Chinese buffet, bakery, sub shop, and café all without having to get caught in the rain?

At Wegmans, people rule, but not the ones your thinking of; the employees. A throw back to 1900’s America, where taking care of your workers builds loyalty, hard work and commitment, a belief and tradition since lost. If only more American companies valued their employees, the contribution they make just by showing up on time. Wegmans is doing something right where great customer service starts with how an employee feels about their job; how they are treated at works translates to the level of service received by the customer. Companies well known for horrible customer service should take a lesson from Wegmans. During my visit today, I discovered Wegmans going against their grain and introducing self-checkouts. This concept is certain not new to the grocery store industry, but innovative to a company who prides it’s brand on outstanding customer service.
With two-tier carts, self produce labeling and now self-checkouts, I’ll go grocery shopping all the time with no complaints, but only if we make the drive to Wegmans.

1 comment:

bobbi said...

I'll keep this in mind next time I ask you to to grocery shopping. I am glad you found somewhere you like to do it. I hate it... even at Wegmans. Nothing agains Wegnmans, of course.