Last time, we discussed the first four of the Roche Bros. Golden Principles, those ten guidelines that every employee (or “associate”) must learn and practice at this Boston-area customer-service icon of a supermarket.
Now, I could go on about all the individual Golden Principles, but instead I’d like to skip ahead to the most important Principle by far, number 8:
“Assist new associates in learning the culture of customer service we strive for.”
What does this one sentence do for your company? It turns every last employee into a customer-service trainer, that’s what!
This Principle, this rule or guideline, is nothing short of brilliant! “We’re all in this together,” it tells the staff. “We’re all responsible for our collective success. This is your company, too. And you are a useful, expert member of our family business.” I could go on, but I think you get what I’m driving at.
Culture is your company: without culture, what do you have, some walls and a roof? Some machines, some product, some signed service contracts in a filing cabinet? Culture is everything. Culture, much more than choice cuts of meat and fresh vegetables, is what sets Roche Bros. apart from mega-chains Stop & Shop or Shaw’s.
…And one of the most important aspects of a thriving culture is, Do the members of the culture pass on its customs to newcomers? In other words, is the company culture self-perpetuating?
Does your company explicitly compel your employees – all of them – to maintain and defend your culture?
And is it a culture worth defending?
Two very important questions that the Savvy Capitalist can answer with confidence.
Are you savvy?
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Great post!! I work in human resources for Roche Bros., and you couldn't have put it any better. We strive to be the very best when it comes to customer service. We have associates that go above and beyond to take care of our customers. That is our culture. When I was in the stores, a customer checked out and came up to me and said, “I lost my keys.” This customer was able to unlock her door with the keypad some cars have, but had no luck in finding her keys. She said a spare set was at her house, which was 10 minutes away, but she couldn’t wait for AAA because her kids were getting off the bus in about twenty minutes. By the way, she was carrying an infant in her arms the whole time. She was really distraught, so I gave her my car. I told her take my car, get your kids settled, call AAA, you’ll know where to find me when everything gets figured out. She gave me that “are you serious look?!?!” She took my car, made it home in time for the kids, got her spare keys, and told me I just made her a customer for life. This is our culture.
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