working shoulder to shoulder at fresh & easy

We had an amazing week last week. My exec colleagues and I spent it as trainees in our mock store (the one in the non-descript warehouse, somewhere in LA), being trained by our first 23 trainee managers. They themselves had only joined us and been trained over the last 6 weeks.

At the start we were a little nervous - as you would be on your first day at work. But by the end, we felt we could work in the store (although I probably shouldn't be let loose with a pallet jack!!). And we ended up with our trainers forming an amazingly strong bond. It was an experience none of us will ever forget.

Why did we do this?

In part, because we wanted to make sure the business we've been building actually works...and we did find a number of areas that still need fixing.

But more fundamentally, because we're trying to create a modern team-based business, where managers work shoulder to shoulder with their workforce, and where everyone is treated with respect. Why shouldn't our chief exec be able to help a customer assistant fill a shelf while talking to them, rather than disrupt their work?

It's all part of what people told us would create a great place to work for them. Going right back to the beginning, in our business customers prefer to shop in stores where they sense the staff enjoy working there. They'll vote with their feet, and that's how it should be...

LA's BEST at fresh & easy

Following on from the Tree Musketeers earlier this year, we had the pleasure of learning about LA's BEST at our team meeting this week.

Why? A group of us (not unfortunately including me, finely honed athlete that I am) had participated in the Tesco triathlon two weeks ago, raising $26,000 for them.

It struck me as another interesting and worthwhile cause, this time focussed on helping children in the City of Los Angeles. Check them out...

putting our money where our mouth is at fresh & easy

There's two simple principles I've always tried to follow in marketing - "don't promise something that you can't deliver", and "goodwill can't be bought, it has to be earnt". They should be dear, in my view, to every marketeer's heart.

So in building fresh&easy, we're trying to put these principles into action.

For example, you don't have to take our word for it that we want to serve all kinds of neighborhoods. Just look at the stores we've already announced in Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, and of course LA.

And we don't just say we want to be good steward of the environment. We've invested in the largest solar roof in California (& probably the world) at the distribution center we're building in Riverside, as well as building in several other initiatives to reduce energy in our store design

We've announced the key elements of our rewards and benefits package for our stores, which show our commitment to creating a great place to work. And we've also announced that all our own brand products will have no artificial colors or flavors, and no added transfat - underpinning our intention to provide fresh, wholesome food you can trust

All these are hard facts, to show that we are setting out to deliver what we've promised. And because they're rooted in what people told us they wanted, hopefully we'll start the process of earning their goodwill.

Does that mean we're perfect? Of course not, many of these things are journeys that will last a lifetime, there's always more to do. We already have a long list to work on for next year.

But our customers and our employees will hold us accountable for living up to our promises from the day we open. So we're putting our money where our mouth is, and that's how it should be...