I was talking a friend of mine that use to work with Kroger. She was at one of the stores on the other side of town and said they had someone just walking around the store and engaging customers and seeing if they needed any help. She said at one point they paged a Hospitality Officer to the service desk. I thought we were all supposed to engage and help the customers, but now someone just loafs around all day and does this? Why? And has anyone else heard of this?
I've never heard them called that, but we do have people who do nothing but go around greeting customers and asking them if they need help. One woman actually gets on the intercom and tells people she's there to help them.
We had someone do this after our grand reopening, since there was a major reset and people didn't know where anything was. But it was only for a couple weeks, and it was a regular employee (usually either a front end person or a grocery clerk), not a special title.
I'd think it would be someone that was there that had been put on light duty and the store was unable to find a reason to fire them. Sort of like the door greeters at walmart.
__________________
Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
I'd think it would be someone that was there that had been put on light duty and the store was unable to find a reason to fire them. Sort of like the door greeters at walmart.
An added advantage is that it reduces theft by having an employee's presence in the actual aisles while the rest of everyone is on a register.
-- Edited by Lord_Uboat on Monday 10th of August 2015 10:47:53 AM
Honestly, I think a hospitality clerk is a good idea. Obviously, the people that do this job would have to carefully be selected, so that they wouldn't just "waste time" but rather actively engage with and assist customers. How many times do we all see customers in the stores standing around looking for someone for help/looking around when we're moving about the store? A good hospitality clerk would be an asset, and on weekends, if it were up to me, I'd have two or three and divide them up and assign sections of the store to them.
I think this would be one way that Kroger could improve the shopping experience within its stores and raise OSAT.
They started that up at my store too. What we have on the daily schedule is H. This means that whomever has an H, they do hospitality for a certain time. Not only does it deter theft it makes customers feel important. What our manager says before each person does his/her hospitality hour is G.A.T.T. Meaning, Greet the customer. Anticipate their needs. Take to item(s). Thank customer. So far our OSAT scores have been 85-100%
We have someone in our store that could probably fall under the title of "Hospitality Officer". She's actually a demo person... You know, putting out samples etc.
While it's a nice idea. Someone available to walk the store and help people out and all.. she's completely useless. It's sad.
What ends up happening is that a customer will ask her a question. She'll muddle around and take about 5 to 10 minutes of the customer's time trying to figure out what they need... then ultimately turn then over to someone else. Consistently.
It's like she plays this useless "middle man" at every turn. She'd be better suited bumbling around the store in a giant bear costume and handing out cookies to little kids.
We have someone in our store that could probably fall under the title of "Hospitality Officer". She's actually a demo person... You know, putting out samples etc.
While it's a nice idea. Someone available to walk the store and help people out and all.. she's completely useless. It's sad.
What ends up happening is that a customer will ask her a question. She'll muddle around and take about 5 to 10 minutes of the customer's time trying to figure out what they need... then ultimately turn then over to someone else. Consistently.
It's like she plays this useless "middle man" at every turn. She'd be better suited bumbling around the store in a giant bear costume and handing out cookies to little kids.
