Tru Valu invests in staff training, customer satisfaction

“All supermarkets essentially offer the same ‘product’ if you think about it – milk, rice, sugar, flour etc. Competing strictly on price is therefore not an option, so you have to find ways to set yourself apart,” she details as we get to chatting.

“We all want a nice environment to shop in and to have great stores but those things take major investments. To make it there we have to ensure that we have one thing: loyal and repeat customers,” she explains, detailing why Tru Valu offers more than their rival chains.

“Supermarkets operate on small margins, so we need volume to generate adequate revenue. And that can only be achieved by having our customers come back again and again.” To achieve this, the CEO has squarely placed her faith in her people offering above-industry-average training programmes. “We are a labour-intensive organisation, so we set out to make Tru Valu, first and foremost a ‘great place to work’ which would then also make it a ‘great place to shop’ for customers,” she says confidently.

Most of the programmes are ongoing and range from leadership summits for managers and supervisors which help to foster a culture of mentorship as well as continuous training in-store and through UWI-affiliated programmes for middle supervisory staff. It also included as one example, fun and interactive activities whereby customers were given a symbolic cupcake image and asked to award floor staff with these hidden tokens if they thought they received great service. “It was fun to get actual customers involved,” Mustapha- Scott notes, “apart from also having mystery shopping programmes in place.

It helped to break the ice with the staff feeling more motivated to give great service all round, so that they could receive a measurable reward. The idea is to make it feel more natural for staff and customers too.” The overall programme, driven by key deliverables and data, is monitored so that staff can be commended or called upon to do better as needed, but is being administered in a fun way as much as possible. “We even have intra-store competitions such as ‘wrappers’ versus cashiers or have stores compete to outperform each other in fun, friendly rivalry,” she adds. The real test therefore is for the programme to sustain momentum so that it crosses the tipping point into becoming part of the company culture, which is the exact area that many local organisations will falter in – persistence; a character trait that seems forged in Mustapha-Scott.

The jewel of the programme however, is the Tru Valu HelpDesk to be found in every store, being executed in part with Dawn Richards of DRA Consulting. These frontline desks are commandeered by Helpdesk officers clad in smart, navy uniforms with a bright green and yellow rosettes who are there to welcome shoppers, assist with finding items, resolve complaints or even advise on how they can save via the coupon offers or special offers that day or week. The chain will even assist shoppers in budgeting if they ask, given the economic climate.

“The economy is slowing,” she notes, “We are seeing a drop in volumes and see customers being more careful, comparing more, trading down in purchase options. And it’s not that we have increased our prices via increasing margins, it’s also that the end consumer now has a return of that 12.5% VAT to their bills, FOREX fluctuations affecting prices and other economic factors.

And the chain also is facing a number of other challenges too including the proliferation of… groceries in communities.

“We always welcome free and fair competition,” Mustapha-Scott responds, “but we face a regulatory environment that differs to what many of these… groceries operate in. We have to meet requirements guided by OSH, field visits by the Bureau of Standards and ensure that our staff receive their annual medicals to have food badges, along with operating under the collective agreements made by unions on behalf of our staff. It all adds a cost, which we are happy to bear as long as everyone else does too.” Despite the challenges, Mustapha- Scott continues to push for the development of her staff above all. But is it working? Why invest in staff that rotate between franchises and chains once incentivized to do so? She is quick to answer, “I believe we have seen a shift in our culture and within our staff, and our complaint levels have definitely fallen, which can only be good for the bottom line.

But it goes beyond that, if we aren’t willing to invest in our people, even if they walk out the door, then we can’t continue to complain about customer service nationally. Sure, the person may leave after you train them, but you are putting out a more confident skilled person, and you likely received a return on that investment while they worked with you anyway,” she points out. And other chains are moving to match the programmes that she has created, which can only be good news for us all.

When not leading the way at the supermarket giant, Mustapha-Scott makes time to balance her schedule, “My life is based on balance – I try to have a good social life, a good family life as well as a good work life. I have always believed that if you are going to do something, anything, then do it with commitment and passion, setting your priorities and pursuing it, being key to it all. And recognise that a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, no matter where you work is a source of pride.”