Some Loose Ends

JDM asked me to follow-up a bit more on loyalties and familial relationships from Econ Recap.

Some stories from Martin's supermarket...

In our class, we actually had a Coke vendor who supplies many stores including Martin's. He poignantly (this might seem like an odd word choice but it really fits) described what it feels like to him as vendor entering Martin's. The employees say hi and ask about his family. They even have vendor appreciation day when they provide donuts and coffee or even a lunch. Get this. Some other stores only allow one vendor in at a time - so any other vendors need to wait before they can stock their shelves!

Another person shared that his kids actually make a point of visiting Martin's when they are in town. Why? Because they want their kids to experience real customer service. The person shared that one time one of the kids was in town and in a hurry. He was met at the door by the hostess and inquired about the item. The hostess actually took him to the shelf, picked up the item, and handed it to him! Now that is service.

Contrast that with a story from a competitor. A couple went to a competing store and couldn't find an item. They asked an employee. The employee curtly replied that the item was in a different department and the stocker for that area would not be in for an hour. She then proceeded to inform them that they could come back in an hour for help.

At first, this whole things really perplexed me because I am so used to having one, local grocery store. However, after hearing these stories, I began to understand the importance of customer service and why Martin's has succeeded despite fierce competition from much larger stores. Good old customer service and relationships really do matter. (Did you know that Martin's has never marketed the phrase "My Martin's?" This developed from public sentiment.)

My group studied the hospitals in St. Joe County. Based on our research, Memorial clearly has more economic impact in the county. Actually, it seemed pretty apparent to me that they have quite a bit more positives going for them then their competitor, SJRMC, does - on paper. I'm not going to go into the details other than to share a story from a group member. She had taken one of her children to SJRMC for a scheduled procedure. She had difficulty find a parking lot. The registration was delayed. The procedure was delayed. She ended up leaving about 6:00 PM - hours later than expected. She also had many experiences at Memorial so knew both hospitals and actually had a positive story to share about getting in and out of Memorial right on time. Yet, the bottom-line for her was that she felt that the employees at SJRMC really cared about her and her child. This sense of family prevailed over any other deficiencies at the organization. That is pretty crazy to think about. In her mind, the family environment won - not the more convenient experience, not the hospital with better financial data.

Well, I had another loose end to write about but had a wonderful walk with Aunt Lois partially through this. So some other thoughts will come at another time.

Later!