Saturday, February 4, 2012

Service with a smile or you are Fried.

The price, value, service equilibrium is resetting in Grocery stores, restaurants and Convenience stores.  Each is reconfiguring ready-2-eat Grocerant niche fresh prepared food product lineup.  Each sector is looking for new products, packaging and consumer price points that will drive traffic.  All have noticed a discontinuity in consumer food shopping behavior and all are fighting for share of stomach.   Contributing to this displacement is a focus by restaurant chain leaders on short term market metrics and away from the consumer.

The consumer then turned to the grocery store Deli and hot food section filled ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food.   The problem is the grocery stores were not ready for it the influx of new consumers. 

Customer service in the prepared food section of the grocery stores was subpar at best.  In many cases a sales increase created larger problems with customers service.  Many Grocers  have simply dropped the ball on customer service.  Food quality is slipping and they do not understand customer service in the fresh prepared ready2-eat heat-N-eat grocerant niche!  The consumers will not stay long if service is not improved rapidly. 

The battle for the consumer dollar continues.  I would like to suggest and recommend Robert Fitzgerald’s  book: Smile or You’re Fried Seven Lessons for Managers of Service.  Seven lessons that can and should be utilized daily by managers in any sector.   

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a grocerant program assessment, brand, product placement or positioning assistance.  Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant.

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