Company Blog

You’re the owner now

by Adam Zack — September 20, 2023

What would you do if a customer had a particularly bad experience at your store and how would you make it right.

I decided to look back at some of my old blogs to see how my writing style and content has changed since I started writing them in 2015. The old blogs were much longer (maybe too long) and the topics have evolved from more grocery practical to more philosophical. I came across this one written in early 2016 and was reminded just how fantastic this idea was and still is today.

BLOG #4 – JANUARY 2016

I’ve talked and talked (and written and written) on the importance of treating employees like they really are family, being involved and aware of their lives outside of the store and how doing so will pay huge dividends in terms of employee loyalty, retention and the service they provide to your customers. While finding these great people to spread your message of food love and happiness to your customers is not an easy task, it is done by the best grocers consistently and thoughtfully. So how can I help you pick the best applicant among the dozens who may be applying for anything from a courtesy clerk to a store manager? Bob LaBonne Jr, President and CEO of the employee focused LaBonne’s Markets in Connecticut shared a question that is asked during every applicant interview at LaBonne’s. It puts the future employee (or maybe rejected, depending on the answer…) in a position to really consider what great customer service is and gives Bob and his team insight on what this applicant considers to be outstanding service. The question asks what would you do if a customer had a particularly bad experience at your store and how would you make it right. Bob couldn’t have written it better, so I am going to share his exact words.

“The one question we ask every potential candidate is the following, and it’s a role play question:

I ask them to pretend our store is their store, meaning, the sign says it’s “Mary’s Market” not LaBonne’s Market or Stop & Shop. You are the owner and here’s a situation that just happened in your store.How would you deal with it?

A customer calls the store and the courtesy booth answers. “It’s Mrs. Jones and she is really upset. She just got home from your store (Mary’s Market) with the chicken legs she bought. She opened the package and it smelled kind of funny, but she rinsed them off and put them in the oven. Now her whole house stinks and she has to leave to drop her daughter off at the high school for play practice, her husband is on his way home and is not going to be happy dinner isn’t ready and she wants to talk to the owner.” So I then pretend to give her the phone and I play the part of Mrs. Jones on the phone and say, how would you handle this situation? [**As a prop you could have an actual phone receiver to hand them – A.Z.]

I want to see if they will act like an owner and what their first thoughts are. 90% of the people will say “Just bring back your receipt and we’ll give you a credit or replace the chicken.” (That’s what the chain stores do), but it’s not good enough for us. I typically give them one more chance and say, how would you feel if you were Mrs. Jones, would a credit make you happy? Would that solve your problem? Remember it’s your store and you have all the resources available to you. They may ask if we have a delivery van, and I say yes we do and then I sit back and let them figure out what to do to fix the problem and make Mrs. Jones happy.

The goal is that they come up with a quick solution to turn this negative situation into a positive one. Hopefully she would let them know what cooked chicken options we have along with other entrees, next they would deliver it to her house or as I would have done, meet Mrs. Jones at the high school with her daughter’s favorite sandwich and drink, along with whatever dinner Mrs. Jones and her husband would like, so all they had to do was microwave it. I’ve had students even do one better by offering a coupon off of a future purchase, or throwing in an apple pie or ice cream to sweeten the deal for the inconvenience and Brian M said he would give her a can of air freshener, since the chicken stunk up her house. The bottom line is do they think like an owner? We ask this question for every interview from part time to senior management.“

This is such a great idea that we all should be doing it. Not only do you get to hear what they would do, they get to hear first hand what you would do which cements your values of exceptional customer service under any circumstances. Remember that story of how a Nordstrom employee refunded a car tire, even though Nordstrom didn’t even sell tires? Bob’s question and subsequent dialog is on the same level as something that will not be forgotten. Thanks for sharing, Bob.