EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Tesco, the UK supermarket group, will focus the operations of its new U.S. Fresh & Easy grocery/ convenience store concept around a customer assistant whose role reflects a shift away from traditional approaches to U.S. food store staffing, reported The Financial Times.
According to a recently posted job advertisement cited by the newspaper, the customer assistant will be the face of your Fresh & Easy store whose main job will be to ensure that customers are delighted.
Tesco said that its new stores, [image-nocss] with around 10,000 sq. ft. of selling space, will be focused around a Kitchen Table information desk, where staff will answer questions and make suggestions about products and possible menus.
While many U.S. supermarkets have customer information and service desks, these are used mainly to provide services such as money transfers and lottery ticket sales, rather than to seek active engagement or feedback from customers, said the report.
Tesco's plans are similar to the in-store tactics of Trader Joe's, the gourmet food market, which uses food demonstrators to introduce customers to its private-label products and to answer questions.
According to the job ads, Tesco's customer assistants will keep customers informed about El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy's products and about special offers, as well as a variety of traditional store operations tasks such as rotating and date-checking food and keeping aisles clear and tidy.
The job ads suggest each of the stores will have three full-time employees: a store manager, a team leader and the customer assistant, as well as part-time cashiers and stockers, the report said. The approach reflects an attempt to balance the retailer's needs to create a positive and distinct in-store experience for its customers against the need to keep staff costs competitive, it added.
Tesco said the customer assistants are also set to be the retailer's main conduit for customer feedback, with the job ad saying that assistants will be encouraged to make recommendations. When you talk, we will listen.
The company is expected to open its first stores in southern California, Arizona and Nevada in the fourth quarter of this year. It has secured more than 100 sites, and is also now securing sites in northern California around San Jose, Sacramento and Oakland.
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