Grocery stores in the hall of fame
A few weeks ago, we at Zogby surveyed consumers on the quality of customer service given by a number of major companies or brands. You can read a summary of the results of the ten best companies here and the ten worst companies here. We also blogged about the fact that four of the companies on the ten worst list are in telecommunications and enjoyed reading your ideas of why this might be.
Another interesting pattern turns up on our list of the ten best companies. Four of these ten companies are grocery stores – Costco, ranked 9th, Whole Foods (7th), Publix (6th) and Trader Joe’s (2nd). Both Costco and Trader Joe’s are known for their low prices, while Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are known for their wide selection – including plenty of organic fare, particularly at Whole Foods. Meanwhile, grocery chain Publix gives all employees the opportunity to buy company stock after working a selected length of time. An MSN article on Publix quotes Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous as attributing their high ranking to being partially employee-owned, and Brous notes that because of this, “our associates have an investment in providing good customer service.”
Do you generally feel that you receive good customer service in your grocery store? Are prices and availability of organic food major factors in where you choose to shop for groceries, or are other factors, such as location or being locally owned, more important to you? If you shop at any of the stores we ranked, how would you rate their customer service?
Loading ...
It’s all about location, cost, and quality. I don’t care to buy organic because you get less for more and I’m not able to tell the difference in taste. I’ve shopped at Whole Foods a couple times, looking for specific items, and their service was no better or worse than any other chain.
I have found the workers at Whole Foods to be much more enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the produce offered than at a standard grocery store. On top of that, they clearly label which produce is organic and/or local, so the consumer can choose to put their money back into their local economy.
Having fresh and visually appealing produce is one of the factors that attracts me to a grocery store. I will drive 30 miles from my home to go to Wegmans because as you walk in, the produce is set up just like a farmer’s market, and most of the time the produce from local farms is labeled. They also have one of the largest selections of organic and “healthy foods” sections I have seen in my area. Every cashier asks if you have found everything you are looking for, and most of the time I have because there is so much to choose from. I would love to see a store like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s come to this area, but in the meantime, I will enjoy the local experience of Wegmans…a supermarket chain which started in my state.