Company Blog

Cake or death?

by Adam Zack — August 23, 2023

“They just don’t shop in the business model that we have maintained.”

When told that French citizens were dying of hunger in 1789 because of a great famine, Marie Antionette, wife of King Louis XVI, reportedly said “Let them eat cake!” Now that would be fine if she was actually giving them cake, but it was a comment that was so out of touch (there wasn’t even any bread to be had, much less cake) that it led to her being despised and eventually losing her head to the guillotine. Comedian Eddie Izzard did a very funny riff on the subject in one of his stand-up specials, where the tyrant King of England offered subjects the choice of “cake or death!?” which of course everyone chose cake – until there was no more cake and “my choice is … ‘or death?’”. Which leads me to the point of this story, where a grocer near my home was trying to sell his neighborhood grocery store that has been in business since 1959. His business has eroded so much over the recent years that even though he owns the property, he is losing a lot of money every month. He was quoted:“I can’t even sell through a case of cake mix before it goes out of code. Besides, if people need cake now, they will go out and buy one.”He complains abou...

by Adam Zack — August 16, 2023

The people not making mistakes are the ones not doing anything at all.

I make a lot of mistakes. Every single day. Every day there are things I would have done differently, or not at all. Things I would have said differently, or things unsaid that I should have. The people not making mistakes are the ones not doing anything at all. Just letting it ride and leaving no wake as they putt through life, trying their best not to rock the boat of the universe. A great teacher once told me that his acceptable level of failure is 30%. You make a lot of decisions, try a lot of things, do vast amounts of work and if 70% are successful, you’re doing pretty damn good. It’s the people who have a track record of really being great employees, or just great humans in general, who, when they make a notable mistake, really pay the toll. Expectations are high for the do-ers in your company. They make things happen. They are leaders. They are the example. And sometimes they make a big mistake. It could result in a big financial loss. Or it could affect customer confidence in your store. Sometimes orders are not sent before a big holiday, costing you money in lost sales. Mistakes happen, and nearly always unintentional and are learned from. Those people of yours who make mistak...

by Adam Zack — August 9, 2023

I think it’s their single obsession over their customers that has led them to be a trillion-dollar company.

“Obsess over your customer, never your competitor.” – Jeff BezosNo one can dispute that Jeff Bezos and Amazon have changed the world of shopping. What was initially just an online bookstore, dismissed by many as something that wouldn’t even be around for a few years, has become the largest seller of, well, about everything. (And made Jeff Bezos the wealthiest man in the world). It’s changed everything from ordering office supplies to how and what we read. Although I have very fond memories of taking each new Stephen King hardback book to the beach to read, I can’t imagine not having my Kindle. Maybe that’s why my arms used to be so much stronger. So what? Everyone’s amazed what Amazon does – and will do. I think it’s their single obsession over their customers that has led them to be a trillion-dollar company. It’s the old school way for the founders of the modern grocery store business to obsess over our competitors. We pull out the ads from all the competition and curse when they beat us on chicken breast by 50 cents and beam when we feature strawberries that are 60 cents lower than them. But you know who’s not pulling out the ...

by Adam Zack — August 2, 2023

My heroes are people that make me laugh, people who care deeply, and naturally make the room they are in a better place simply because they are there.

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He’s ordinary– Foo FightersWhen I was a kid my first hero was Batman. I was a Halloween batman a few times. I made models of the Batmobile and watched the show religiously. It was especially cool that the actor who played him was Adam West. Not too many other Adams were around in the 60’s and early 70’s. As I got a little older my heroes became sports icons. Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw from the Steelers. Roman Gabriel of the Rams. Steve Garvey of the Dodgers. Those were guys I aspired to be like. I didn’t know much about them personally, but I loved watching them play. When I got into my 20’s I got some more practical heroes. Michel Richard was a French chef with a restaurant in L.A. that was incredible. I went to one of his cooking classes at Bristol Farms and was awed by the simplicity of techniques he used to create deliciousness. Hero. Paul Westerberg was a wild rock and roll game changer for me. A mess most of the time with the excesses of rock and roll, he wrote songs that changed my whole musical outlook on lif...

by Adam Zack — July 26, 2023

The experience of knowing what to do, and what not to do is easily taken for granted.

Seems like the millennials get all the attention.Everyone cares what they think, what they eat, what they buy, how much money they make, if they’re happy. The surveys focus on them – “90% of millennials had organic avocado toast with Maldon sea salt on it for breakfast in the last 30 days…” Don’t get me wrong, I love the millennials. I work with them, joke with them, am friends with them – heck, I even have a couple of my own. With all that millennial focus, what I think has got lost is how the old dudes and babes get overlooked and taken for granted. No one really cares if we get our feelings hurt or what we think of the latest fashion trend. They know we will take care of ourselves. Where I think the old folks – and yes I put myself in that category just by using the word folks – need some appreciation shown is the workplace. People who have been with one company for 20 years or more are often the soul of the business. They have seen good times and bad. They’ve grown up with the company and seen the customers grow up with them too. You see government workers with extreme longevity, but they don’t count in my book. The ones that count are the private sector. ...

by Adam Zack — July 19, 2023

“Before we can influence others, we must first listen and understand.”

I’m never going to stop writing about listening. It’s not because I’m enamored with it, but because it’s consistently the most challenging skill that I am trying to master. Both listening to others and listening to myself. Here’s a bonehead example of “If I listened to myself, I would have apologized.” I’m currently in a cast on my left arm with my thumb completely immobilized. It makes cutting food and tying shoes impossible. So Sunday morning, my daughter was kind enough to make a breakfast of toast, bacon, tomatoes and an egg on top. It looked and smelled delicious. Since I could not cut it, I asked my wife to please cut it for me. It proved very difficult to cut and keep it all together, and the result was cut pieces all over the plate. Instead of simply saying “Thank you for doing your best”, I said “I might as well have put it in a blender.” Stupid AND ungrateful. If I’d have listened to myself, I would have apologized on the spot.I’m reading the book “Stalling for Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator” by Gary Noesner. His work negotiating peaceful surrenders is fascinating. If the FBI bosses had listened to him at Waco, the ending most likely ...

by Adam Zack — July 12, 2023

Do you hear the phrase “hit and miss” when someone describes your perishable departments?

The word consistent usually brings to mind good thoughts. You naturally think being consistent is a positive trait. Our goal is to be consistent. A consistently good boss, partner, parent, friend. Consistency brings comfort and eliminates doubt. I think of Cal Ripken and his 2,632 consecutive Major League Baseball games played or Steve Nash with his over 90% NBA free throw accuracy. Consistency is a shoe-in. It’s associated with a winner. But what about consistently bad? This weekend my baby brother and his family were in town visiting and he did something – I’m not exactly sure what – maybe pouring me a shot of whiskey at 10:00 a.m. – something like that – and I told him “You’re a bad man!” (We consistently bust each others chops like that) and he said “Hey, at least I’m consistent!” Not that he’s a bad or evil person, not at all. It just made me think about how there are a lot of bad behaviors and performances that are consistently awful. The customer service experience at Walmart and Spirit Airlines comes to mind. Have you ever heard any good comment about either? Consistently you hear “I hate [insert consistently bad company name here]!...

by Adam Zack — July 5, 2023

Next time you’re in your grocery store, take a sniff around.

This morning I was listening to the radio and they were talking about the world’s stinkiest plant, the Rafflesia Arnoldi, or Corpse. It produces the largest flower on earth (about 3.3 feet in diameter) and smells like rotting flesh. As a kid we used to go to a big store called Fedco that was next to a meat slaughtering plant, and let me tell you from experience, rotting flesh smells terrible. So it got me thinking how smell is such an important part of our life experiences. Nothing makes you want to buy fish less than a grocery store whose seafood department smells strongly like fish. Fresh fish should smell like the sea, not a fishy smell. If it smells fishy, it will most likely taste fishy, which is why many people do not like fish. Smells can bring forth feelings of nostalgia and comfort. To this day I can recall the smell of my grandparents’ house every time I visited them. Brewed coffee, baked goods, Old Spice and dogs combined with a slight scent of my grandpa’s cigarettes (Camel unfiltered or Pall Mall reds). They don’t sound great by themselves, but combined together they still bring me comfort. Next time you’re in your grocery store, take a sniff around. Does it smell like flowers in your flora...

by Adam Zack — June 28, 2023

What’s in a name?

So what’s your nickname? I’ve know Reds over the years that obviously get their name from being a ginger. We’ve talked about Lazy Susan. My dad gave himself the nickname Ace because he was good at most things (but tennis wasn’t one of them). There’s been endless supplies of Shortys, Shiftys, Leftys, Stinkys and Smokys. They got their nicknames from a physical trait or behavior. There’s the obvious ones – Fred is Fredrick, Sam is Samuel, Matt is Matthew. Junior was anyone named after his father. It’s like saying the whole name became just too much work. And there are some that are a real stretch. How did Henry become Hank, John become Jack or Richard become Dick? And seriously, how did Dick become either a part of the male anatomy or a really mean and unpleasant person? No wonder there are no little kids nicknamed Dick anymore and the ones named Richard strictly stick to Rich or Rick. No one wants their kid to be a Dick. Foods you sell and love can differentiate themselves from their generic name by cementing a nickname that no competitor can copy. Seaside Market in Cardiff, CA has sold a million pounds of their marinated tri tip called Cardiff Crack, a nickname made up by a customer because they thought it was so addicting. Rombauer Chardonna...

by Adam Zack — June 21, 2023

“You know why I work so hard? It’s because I love you so much.”

“I love you”, I said to my dad just before ending the phone call on Father’s Day. “I love you, too,” he said. He’s in his 80’s and has more Father’s Days behind him than ahead, and I realized how important it is to say the words. “I love you.” I don’t think there are three more meaningful words in the English language. Eight letters, three words, one meaning. It made me think back to childhood, adolescence and even early adulthood. As a kid, I don’t remember, even once, my dad ever telling me he loved me. And I don’t remember telling him I loved him, either. I never told my brothers I loved them and vice versa. Friends didn’t say it to each other. Maybe way back then words were meant for lovers and would-be lovers. Husbands and wives. People on their deathbeds. Today, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t say “I love you” to at least one person and truly mean it. My nephew Travis called me last night. Travis truly loves family, and every time I talk to him, he always ends the conversation with “I love you”. Not “love ya” or “love you”, but with all three words, which makes it personal. Nothing makes you feel valued more than someone telling you that they...