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For a store as large as this, I was surprised maneuvering was difficult in many of the produce aisles. This was due in large measure to a plethora of shoppers hoping to score perfectly ripe produce items but also the size of the shopping baskets versus aisle size.
I approached a female produce employee who was stocking shelves in the rear of the department, and as soon as I engaged her it was like the director yelled, “action.”
She quickly emerged from behind a large cart and became very animated as she responded to all my questions about fruit items for a healthy salad. “All of our produce is coming in pretty good this month,” she said beaming. “We’ve got excellent fruits coming in from Florida, Arizona and Cali- fornia. There haven’t been any freezes.”
She pointed to the starfruit as the perfect topper for my fruit salad, which I planned as the healthy dessert choice for tonight’s dinner. She suggested the most colorful and flavorful offerings at the moment were strawberries, raspberries, pears, pineapples, red grapes and bananas.
“The cantaloupes are pretty spectacular as well,” she said as she ushered me toward the large display at the front of the department. “My family can’t eat enough of them.”
When I finished placing all my choices in the basket, it did make a colorful display, and she came over to take a final peek. “I think your fruit salad will be delicious, and you can always top it off with some of our honey-glazed walnuts. They pair beautifully with our fruit.”
ALL THE RIGHT STUFF
There’s often a decidedly different expe- rience when visiting a store outside of your home turf for the first time. On a recent business trip to Chicago, I chose an upscale retailer in a western suburb of the Windy City looking to ‘mystery shop,’ in a different neck of the woods.
Upon entering the market, which previ- ously housed a Dominick’s, I was greeted by fresh produce, a juice bar and a seafood counter that features take-home sushi and sustainably sourced fish.
To my utter amazement — with temperatures hovering at about 20 degrees or maybe because of it on this particular Sunday in January — the 55,000 square foot supermarket was hopping.
The store and its customers were ener-
gized, engaged and seemingly all in a good mood. For a minute, I had the same kind of visceral reaction that comes with the curtain going up on a Broadway play.
Throughout the department, different cheese varieties were sampled in an effort to cross-merchandise with various produce items. I noticed the vast majority of customers were young — probably under 40 — and many had their children in tow.
With music in the background playing the theme from the film Out of Africa, I approached a produce clerk for suggestions on healthy, brightly colored and flavorful veggies for a winter soup.
Only too happy to help, the employee suggested celery, carrots, leeks, Brussels sprouts, red potatoes, spaghetti squash, Swiss chard, mushrooms, kale, bok choy, collard greens and peppers. “We know we have the highest quality veggies around, so you can’t go wrong here,” said the young clerk. He then proceeded to highlight the health properties of the individual vegetables, with a special emphasis on the benefits of eating kale. “Kale offers more iron per ounce than beef,” he asserted. “Wow,” I shot back, “You should do a kale commercial.”
With so many fellow customers swarming the department, it wasn’t always easy finding passage from one vegetable to the next, especially if I wanted my cart to accompany me.
Prices seemed high but not outrageously so. Organic lemons sold for 99 cents while conventional lemons sold for 79 cents apiece. I was able to fill my basket with some
great-looking fresh veggies that would make two large pots of soup for just under $25.
As I walked away from the produce department to check out the rest of the beautifully designed and pristine store, I thanked the employee for being so helpful and knowledgeable.
“That’s what we’re here for, and the pleasure was all mine.”
By Jodean Robbins
ENTHUSIASTIC BUT UNPREPARED
On a tranquil weekday morning, I entered the 2,000-square-foot produce department of a large chain. The open, attractive area had a few shoppers milling about and two sets of employees talking and joking with each other while they restocked.
After browsing the wet veg rack, I moved to the tomato display, where the four young male employees had congregated. Catching their attention, I said, “I’m having a dinner party Friday and want to impress my guests, but I need some help because many of them are vegetarians.”
Comically, the word “vegetarian” was met with an audible groan from all four employees. I pursued, “Do you have any suggestions for a great vegetarian dish I could make, maybe a fancy soup that’s health-conscious?”
After a bit of muddled discussion, one employee came up with cabbage soup. “And you can add beans to it,” he added. “And probably some carrots, too. That would be different. You could even put mushrooms in it. And cabbage is very healthy.”
“Great idea,” I feigned. “But what about side dishes? I’d like to do an interesting salad, not just iceberg lettuce.”
He pointed to the avocados, suggesting, “Avocados and cucumbers make a great salad together.”
And, without any prompting from me, he proceeded to recommend a great ranch-av- ocado dressing from the refrigerated section. Walking me over to it, he pointed, saying, “I love this dressing. It’s one of my favorites.”
I thanked him, asked for help in putting together a unique fruit platter for dessert. He motioned to one of the other employees, now at the citrus display, saying, “He’s the one to help with that.”
I re-explained my quest to the second employee, and he walked me to a small end-cap display of about four boxes of exotic products including passion fruit,
32nd ANNUAL
MYSTERY SHOPPER REPORT
“We know we have the highest quality veggies around, so you can’t go wrong here. ... That’s what we’re here for, and the pleasure was all mine.”
PRODUCE BUSINESS / MARCH 2019 / 29