In the Trenches: Produce managers going back to the old drawing board

In 1941, a cartoon caption by Peter Arno appeared in The New Yorker magazine about a man watching a crashed plane explode. He was holding a roll of the blueprint plans under his arm. After seeing the plane’s destruction, he slowly walked back mumbling, “Well, back to the old drawing board.”

As soon as a customer steps into a store and gets a glimpse of the overall view, they immediately feel good or bad about shopping there. So, suppose you walked into a supermarket to buy some fresh produce and upon entering the department you instantly recognized it to be messy and disorganized with wilted vegetables sloppily displayed. What would that reveal about the product you are about to purchase? Could it be like a crashed plane?

Managing a produce department today can either be fun or frustrating. Take this scenario, a customer enters a store and requests to see the produce manager:

Produce manager: “Can I help you?”

Customer: “Do you have any wilted broccoli, moldy strawberries, shriveled peppers or spoiled tomatoes?”

Produce manager: “No, we do not.”

Customer: “Well, you have them now. Just look at the mess in this department.”

In this scenario, the produce manager walked into a hornet’s nest. How embarrassing would that situation be if you were told that from a customer? Was that customer’s message clear cut? Did that produce manager fully comprehend it?

How do consumers react after trying to shop in a disheveled produce department like that customer described? They tell others — their friends, neighbors, relatives, mailman… everybody. You can be sure of the fact that the negativity of the slipshod produce department would be a hot topic.

Most consumers know how to shop and know what they want. They certainly do not want to shop in an unkempt produce department with hodgepodge displays and spoiled product.

Dan Avakian, better known as Dan the Produce Man, a professional industry consultant shared this experience: “From my visits to stores in several areas of my travel, I’ve noticed a nonchalant attitude and lack of department care among staff, leading to inferior produce and out-of-stock displays. Responses like “we’ll get to it” or “two workers didn’t show up today” are common. But this results in insufficient and inexperienced personnel highlighting a decline in job quality. In contrast, many independent chains excel with alert clerks, clean displays and knowledgeable staff that truly care about their produce department conditions. Many other grocery chains should take notice and follow suit.”

How do people see your company? What impression do you send to the consumer community? How do you impact those individuals? One thing is for sure, you must capture customer perception in a positive way. Otherwise, your company reputation could be at stake resulting in decreased business.