Today’s Lack of STANDARDS–Why?

“Back in the day”, I was so fortunate to have “cut my baby teeth” as I embarked on my supermarket career with a company like Giant Food. As a member of the Career Development Program (CDP) at Giant, I was provided with the most comprehensive and thorough training available at the time. Seldom, if ever, were you provided with an opportunity which you didn’t deserve as you had to earn it based off of your job performance. Hey, I’m not saying corporate politics didn’t exist and being a gentile in a Jewish organization may have limited your rising past a certain level on the “corporate ladder”, but it wasn’t rampant.

Seldom was anyone at Giant ever initially hired full-time. You were hired part-time and over a period of time based off of your performance you may earn a full-time opportunity. The workforce at Giant was Union based as members of the UFCW. If you worked in either MD or DC you had to become a member of the Union as it was a “closed shop”. VA, being a “right to work” state, meant you didn’t need to join the Union although most folks did. Everyone working in the stores was considered Union other than the General Manager (GM) who was an administrative employee. Overall “back in the day” Giant and the Union were mostly on very good terms.

Getting a part-time job at Giant was extremely difficult as stores remained fully staffed. You had to basically know someone to even get an interview. Giant went through a growth spurt in the late 1970’s and early 80’s as opportunities to become an associate grew. Giant was extremely loyal to its staffers as its staff members were loyal to the company. In 1986, Giant celebrated its Golden Anniversary and it wasn’t rare to find three generations of family members working at Giant although never at the same store. Giant never brought in people from the outside as it only promoted from within.

The first and foremost goal of being on the CDP was to become a General Manager. This was no easy task as the majority of folks never achieved this goal. The CDP was a 5-level process which normally took 5-8 years to accomplish. Level I was becoming a Retail Trainee concentrating on customer service and front-end management with an introduction to overall store standards. Normally, you would experience a low, medium, and high-volume store experience proving to be successful at each level and lasting 1-2 years. Your District Manager (DM) would then nominate you to become a Department Manager and if selected for an interview you would have to go before a panel and hopefully be asked to go on to the Department Manager Training Program or Level II.

Training to become a Department Manager normally lasted 4 months at both a large volume store and a smaller volume store. You could train as a Department Manager in either the Grocery, Delly, or Produce Departments. I trained as a Produce Manager having had prior experience in that department. My first assignment as a Produce Manager was at a very low volume Store #96 (Heritage Mall) in Annandale where my staff consisted of a 2nd person and a very part-time evening associate. It was normal to work the department by yourself having not only to set-up in the morning, but unload and properly stack your deliveries, as well as trim and tray pack as needed along with following the proper cleanliness and sanitation procedures. Believe you me, you learned a whole lot about your department and in a very short period of time. Managing your shrink was critical as a large chunk of your success depended on the positive results of your monthly inventory.

Giant was experiencing a growth spurt which created a shortage of Department Managers, especially, Produce Managers and after only a few months I was promoted to one of the largest volume departments in the chain at Store #61 (Camp Washington) in the City of Fairfax. My staff grew from 2 associates to almost 30 associates both full- and part-time (please SEE previous post entitled “Remembering Mr. N.M. Cohen of Giant Food”). I believe I just survived this experience due to a “one-of-a-kind” 2nd person and a dedicated staff of outstanding associates who I recognized and appreciated every day. After six or so months, my DM nominated me to go before the panel for Assistant Manager Trainee to which I was selected, but first was asked to manage the Produce Department at Giant #63 (Vienna), another large volume department, for 4 weeks.

“I began my 3-month Level III training for Assistant Manager at what I considered my home store over the years, Giant #131 (Bailey’s Crossroads) in Falls Church. This was one of the 2-3 highest volume stores in the chain and it was always flush with customers. Again, to the company growing, I was somewhat “fast-tracked” and assigned my first store as an Assistant Manager, Giant #133 (Kettering) in Largo, MD. This store provided me with extensive exposure as it was close to the General Offices and a “test” store for new programs. For me though, I felt a bit stymied as I stayed there for almost 18 months working with three different GM’s. In order to get back across the Potomac into VA, I accepted a lateral move to my first home store when I was a part-time produce clerk, Giant #27 (Virginia Square) in Arlington. I was only there for 4 weeks when I was asked to move to a large volume store, Giant #48 (Shirley Park) also in Arlington and having the opportunity to work with my first GM I had at Giant #131. This was a great store always being busy and presenting a different daily challenge which was always FUN!

After a few months, my DM nominated me for the General Manager position which required me to go through a number of tests and another panel interview. I was fortunately selected to go onto the GM Training Program (Level IV) which lasted almost 6 months. I was assigned to stores with highly successful career department managers for 4-6 weeks going through an intensive training in each of the departments excluding Produce–the other departments included Grocery, Delly, Bakery, and Meat and Store Maintenance.

Once completed I was assigned to work under a number of successful GM’s gaining valuable knowledge and experience. Level V was having graduated from the CDP and working as a Co-Manager filling in for GM’s either on vacation or sick leave until I was assigned my first store as GM which was the oldest and smallest store in the chain, Giant #24 (Old Town Alexandria) generating small volume. It was the same for everyone as you had to “earn your stripes” through your successful performance. There didn’t exist the notion of instant gratification.

At Giant Food, becoming a GM earned you automatic and total respect from your associates as they knew how comprehensive and complete the process was for finally attaining the role of GM, but let’s be clear it was up to you and your performance to maintain that earned respect.

Giant Food was also noted for its operationally being heavily supervised which was an extremely expensive way to ensure performance and consistent standards, but they felt it necessary as they received a tremendous ROI. Each store had a GM, an Assistant Manager, Department Managers, 2nd persons in each department, Retail Trainees, and part-time 3rd persons. Each district had approximately a dozen stores, a District Manager (DM), and a Supervisor assigned to the DM for each department.

Giant’s practices and a simple Mission Statement of “Quality, Value, Service” ensured “standards” were extremely high and almost always met. Loyalty was a huge deal “back in the day” and it was a two-way street as Giant realized and stated “their people made the difference” as the hands-on development of the human resource was priority one.

So, then what happened to “standards” in America. Well, the institution of family has gone by the wayside, folks don’t go to church like they once did, millions of jobs have been outsourced, there’s no more loyalty as companies continually get gobbled up and employees now change jobs often, technology has made companies numbers driven vs people driven, companies have also grown too quickly not being able to sustain themselves due to the growth, society has become very selfish and greedy, people in general just don’t care anymore, there’s a tremendous lack of leadership, and no one is held accountable.

The Baby Boomer could go on and on, but you get the picture. Truly, it’s all about relationship building, training and development, expectations, communication, and accountability.

My Giant experience and all that I learned from that experience proved extremely advantageous to me as I sought out other opportunities and transferred my learnings using them to enhance my personal successes.

A case in point is when I finally left the supermarket world, I entered the transportation industry which was considered to be my fun job and, for the most part, it was fun! The company I joined was very small with only a few drivers, four stretch limousines, a few Lincoln Town Cars, a 6-passenger van, and one SUV. Sales volume annually wasn’t $300K, but the company had just been granted the contract for Philip Morris which would nearly double the existing volume.

Let’s fast forward many years where JL had survived ownership changes, the 9/11 attack, and the recession of 2008, but almost folded in 2015 due to poor ownership even while experiencing record volume. Ownership finally acquiesced to begin running the business like a corporate entity vs a family run hobby. The time had come to add structure, open the lines of communication, and address head-on the major opportunities facing the company. The owner had chosen to keep everything “close to the chest” and failed miserably in attempting to wear all the necessary “hats” to run a successful enterprise.

This Baby Boomer is of the belief skills learned at Giant Food and implemented at JL dramatically played an instrumental role in the company’s recovery and ultimate success which still holds true today in spite of what occurred in 2020.

In 2019, JL was now a multi-million dollar entity who had spread its wings throughout VA and beyond, enjoying the service of 50 professional chauffeurs charged with passionately exceeding their customer’s service expectations by always providing an “Academy Award” performance looking professional, acting professional, and being professional “wowing” their customers and creating long-lasting “memories”. Additionally, JL developed into a full-service transportation company with sedans, SUV’s, vans, Sprinter vans, stretch limousines, mini-coaches, and coaches totaling nearly 40 vehicles.

Using the services at JL is not inexpensive–in fact, quite the contrary. I remember Giant Food being the highest priced grocer in the Baltimore-Washington Metro Area “back in the day” and proud of it due merely by the fulfilling of its simple Mission Statement of “Quality, Value, Service”. JL, like Giant, provided a “quality” experience based on providing outstanding “service” which was true, real, dedicated, and heart-felt–never “orchestrated”. The “value” came into play due to the relationships the chauffeurs developed over time with the customers who learned we were dependable, professional, courteous, safe, and discreet knowing they could count on JL, thus, creating “value” as they were consistently being satisfied no matter which chauffeur may be driving them.

We could go on and on discussing all the similarities between Giant Food and what was implemented at JL–the tools and resources, policies and procedures, and checks and balances. I suppose you’re now understanding my point that “standards” can still exist today, although they don’t, but you need to provide the necessary leadership and devotion to performing the necessary due diligence in setting those “standards”, being loyal, providing the necessary training and development, keeping the lines of communication open, and holding your folks accountable.