The first company that I ever worked for was Safeway in Hilo. I would bounce between there and Manoa for a couple of years early in college, averaging 30-40 hours/week while going to school.
When I pause and reflect back, that chapter of life helped to refine some of my values, and what I still strive to do in my work now:
šProviding Superior Service
The hardest things to master are often the most worthwhile and I aspire in all that I do to provide great internal and external service. This one is greatly aspirational and perhaps a bit too idealist because in general, Iād like my family, friends, colleagues, and whoever I encounter to experience consistency because thatās a gift we can give such an uncertain world.
But more practically and professionally, why would anyone want to pay for service if itās subpar?
š Systems
One of the first videos played in training was āWhereās the pickle relish?ā š¤£
Iāll never forget such a title nor how it taught the expected customer service standard when helping a customer to learning how to properly bag that jar of pickle relish so it wouldnāt be damaged. The systems put in place to operate were key in creating a flow and experience that was consistent and helped build a happy, loyal customer base.
Iāve been reflecting on systems ever sinceā¦
š Thank by name
Remembering to give thanks was taught to me early on but growing up in a place where everyone outside your family is Aunty, Uncle, Girl, Boy, Tita, Brah, or Eh, You [BLEEP], picking up names can be a real challenge.
At Safeway, Cashiers had it easy! They could read customer names on checks, ID cards, etc. If for some reason those were missed, there was always the receipt, which would populate a name if the customer had a Club Card membership.
During my tenure, I did not have the opportunity to become a Cashier so other than helping on the floor, my primary customer interactions were at checkout while bagging groceries or āService Out!ā aka helping people out to the car.
To catch a name, I had to really listen, catch a glimpse of a receipt if the Cashier shared it, and bonus: remember return customers.
Iāve always been an observer but I had to really pay attention no matter what was going on. Safeway had Secret Shoppers and the last place you wanted to get dinged was when a Shopper was closing out their experience because not only would you receive a negative mark, it could impact the overall store team.
While cleaning toilets and bodily fluids to dealing with agro people came with the role, truly, there was just so much wow and what a gift that experience turned out to be.
Might as well just enjoy the views šŗšŗšŗ
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