Case Study:
WEGMANS SERVICES ITS EMPLOYEES – AND ITS CUSTOMERS TOO
For many grocery stores, meeting customers’ needs is what they do. For Wegmans, exceeding customers’ needs and expectations is who it is and how it operates. In an industry in which 84 percent of consumers don’t believe that traditional supermarkets can provide anything different from nontraditional grocers such as Wal-Mart, Wegmans has developed a strong and loyal customer base. From its start in Rochester, New York, privately owned Wegmans has expanded in the past 90 years to reach customers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and, most recently, Maryland. By any count, Wegmans is successful. Its sales per square foot are $9.29, fifty percent higher than the industry average. Considering that its new stores are 130,000 square feet each—three times the size of a typical supermarket—Wegmans must be doing something right. In 2004, Wegmans received 7,000 letters, half of which were requests for a store to be built in a new community. When the Dulles store in Virginia opened, more than 15,500 customers, typical traffic for a week in a typical supermarket, came through on opening day.
Wegmans respects and services both its customers and its employees. When it earned Fortune’s coveted “Best Company to Work for” Award, Wegmans noted that part of its success as a retailer stems from its success as an employer. In the past 20 years, Wegmans has paid more than $54 million in college scholarships to both full-time and part-time employees. On a different educational front, employees who work in the meat and fish departments must graduate from a “university” program that takes between 30 and 55 hours and gives employees knowledge that assists them in furthering their careers. Furthermore, because Wegmans prides itself on its customer service and satisfaction, it gives its employees power to assist customers in any way they see fit, without the approval of a supervisor. For example, one customer purchased the largest turkey Wegmans had for Thanksgiving and then discovered it was too large to cook at home. A Wegmans’ employee cooked the turkey for the customer without charge. In another case, a woman was looking for a particular item in the store. When the employee couldn’t find the location of the item immediately, the customer said, “Go on back to whatever you were doing.” A few minutes later, the employee found the customer in another section of the store and exclaimed, “There you are! I finally found it!” The employee took the time away from her current task to help a customer, even after she was no longer expected to be of assistance. By the same token, Wegmans works hard to maintain certain standards. A customer survey told Wegmans that customers found its checkout experience superior to that of competing retailers. However, through its own investigations, Wegmans determined that its current alcohol and tobacco policy left too much to the discretion of underage cashiers. For the benefit of customers and the safety of the community’s youth, Wegmans implemented a 100 percent proof policy in New York. This policy means that everyone, regardless of their apparent age, must present identification to purchase alcohol or tobacco. In addition, cashiers no longer have to worry about peer pressure or making an incorrect judgment call and insulting the customer. Wegmans offers far more than you would find in a traditional supermarket—a real service bonanza. Drop off your child at the in-store daycare center. Saunter through the bookstore for Oprah’s newest book club recommendation. Drop off your dry cleaning and overdue video rental. Pick up your dry cleaning. When you tire of browsing the flower and international newspaper sections, you can finally start on your grocery list, but before you run through the checkout, don’t forget to pick up that bottle of champagne the cheese shop attendant told you would complement the white Castello cheese he handpicked for you. Wegmans may sell many of the same products as other grocery retailers, but it’s not the same. Employees at every level work to service the customer and exceed their needs and expectations. As a result, Wegmans’ store count is growing at a steady pace, and so is its loyal customer base.
Q1. Using the building blocks of service quality and, as discussed in this chapter, evaluate Wegmans.
Q2. Compare Wegmans’ service quality performance with that of another grocery store in your town.
Q3. Using the Gap Model, identify the service gaps you noticed in your local grocery store. How might the store close those gaps?
Your answer must be, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format and also include references.