LWV takes inside look at local supermarkets

Written by Mimi Koren

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:40

Seeks to influence store policies through power of the purse

A dozen members of the League of Women Voters of Larchmont/Mamaroneck (LWV) walked up Boston Post Road one Saturday morning in mid-July – under a blazing sun, in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave – to score some points at local supermarkets. Ranging in age from 17 to 92, the women and men aimed to “initiate positive discussion” with the markets, said Elisabeth Radow, the local league’s new president, to “translate our preferences into store policies, such as supporting the environment and healthy food choices.”

“Many people feel [they] don’t have much power,” Radow explained, but she emphasized that by using their buying power and working together, they could create change. People vote every day through their purchases, “not just at the voting booth.”

The group stopped first at the Stop & Shop supermarket on Boston Post Road, where Debbie Tedesco, cash office manager, gave them an inside look at how the store works. This branch receives nearly 3,000 customers a week, including many seniors. Its biggest sellers are produce, meat and dairy. The best time to shop is midday, Tuesday-Thursday; in the summer, mornings and evenings are very busy.

Tedesco emphasized the store’s “no-hassle policy. We’re here to try to help you.” It offers a double discount on coupons up to 99 cents and readily provides rain checks, which never expire. If you forget your coupon, the store will honor it another day as long as you have your receipt; ask at the Customer Service Desk. The store accepts any item for return, no questions asked.
Discounts are offered on day-old bakery goods and on meat three days prior to the expiration date.

Stop & Shop is proud of its environmental practices, which earned it an Energy Star from the Environmental Protection Agency for improvements to its buildings, including energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration. The store recycles its own glass, plastics and “every bit of paper we use,” Tedesco said. It both sells and uses “green” cleaning products and paper goods – even recycled aluminum foil – and teaches fuel efficiency to its truck drivers. Customers receive a five-cent discount for each shopping bag they bring with them; cloth bags for sale are displayed all over the store, but even so, Tedesco said, some customers do not use them.

Further up Boston Post Road at Trader Joe’s, store merchant Rich Yanni repeated the customer-service mantra: “We focus on our customers first, and then we sell food.” Each branch of the chain has its own demographics, Yanni said: “In this store we sell a lot of fresh produce”; in Hartsdale, it’s frozen foods; in New York City, prepared foods.

The Trader Joe’s company buys everything in bulk; that, and the absence of middlemen, helps keep prices low. The Larchmont store receives deliveries every day. Any time is a good time to shop, he said, but “earlier is better.” The store receives about 1,500 customers a day.

Among its environmental practices, Trader Joe’s offers a raffle to customers who bring their own shopping bags; the prize is a $25 coupon once a month. It also sells its own bags, which are made from recycled plastic. It uses and sells “green” cleaning products and paper goods, but does not have a policy regarding energy use. Its meats and milk are free of extra hormones. Baked goods come from both the east and west coasts.

Summing up the impact of the trip, Radow said, “We got a wealth of information…about the way the stores work.” She discovered that “the customer has a lot more clout than I think we realized.” It’s too early to tell what, if anything, the stores will do as a result, but she hopes shoppers now recognize “that customer service is there to serve the customer. It’s up to us to test what that means.”

Please register or login to add your comments to this article.

HomeTown Blogs

Get the latest news from your community at HomeTown Happenings, the new blog from the HomeTown Media Group. Check here for breaking news and exclusive online content from HomeTown's editorial team.

Subscribe to HomeTown Happenings

HomeTown Blogs

From the field