Tuesday 14 September 2010

Supermarkets Indonesia

I guess I am a little bit biased when it comes to supermarkets here in Indonesia, after all I spent 16 years working within food retail in England before my life changing experiences which brought me here.
16 years of being 'managed' and 'managing' both employees and customers to ensure the business and peoples expectations were met.
Working 12 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week, with midnight and early morning calls to discuss problems with the business I was running.
I started working in a corner shop around 12 or 13 bagging up potatoes and doing deliveries from a very small shop in town before being lured to the big lights of the towns only supermarket, Safeway, where I used to push trollies and refill the sugar section at night.
From College I went to work full time and then joined the management training programme, got a car and never really looked back. Rising up through management levels and positions and stores to ultimately become a store manager and be the big boss. It was the ultimate challenge and driver and whilst it ruined by social and personal life it was the ulitmate kick as I was the boss!!!!
I learnt many things a long the way all of which helped me become that manager,
So here I am now, shopping as a customer in Indonesia, in one of the worlds largest chains of Superstores, hypermarkets etc and one of its main rivals is the English born Tesco which does a great job where ever it is. The place I am talking about is Carrefour.
I like Carrefour. I like its electronics, the household stuff and the bakery. On the weekend you can buy cheap pizza already cooked. You can't buy it on a Tuesday morning at 10.30am.
They are big big places, full of people, full of staff and full of the least smiling people I have ever seen.

I was taught that shopping was to a rewarding experience where the customer was delighted with their shopping, prices, range of goods and most of all the service.
Service - The key to any customer facing business the world out.
In my local Hero, the fruit man runs around after me with a trolley convincing me to put my 2 baskets into that to help me, they pack my bags quickly, don't get in the way and are generally pleasant, even the security guards are not too suspicious of me!!!
Back to Carrefour.
I shop at Central Park so its nice and new and clean. Lots of things there I could buy. But the one thing that makes me angry (this is a British thing I believe as we are taught about such things) is the service at the checkouts. They do have conveyor belts which I have yet to see work, but thats ok.
They have though the least convincing service standards. Lack of care, lack of speed, lack of organisation and lack of consistency from the cashier.
Every time I go there something does not scan, the cashier wont help so I can't have it, or the cashier wanders off to find a price leaving the queue, me and the other customers waiting for their return so the transaction can be complete.
The bag packing is terrible and there is little or no support in this area. Prices are wrong and so on and so on. But the service and the training is the one thing that just lets them down.
I can't believe that a company this big competing for customers and in an ever growing market fails everytime to offer good and simple service which is quick and competent.
I left there today after an hour (of which 30 minutes was spent queueing in the basket lane) disappointed and without the basics I need and the satisfaction I like when I do shop. You know smiles and thank yous, the basics in life.
I should like to meet the manager and find out the importance of service over profits, as one drives another.

Right rant over..........

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should? Maybe you get a consultantcy fee?
Helen

Jolly Princess said...

I am grinning as I am reading your post. Thanks goodness most of big grocery stores here in Manila have good scanning facilities. Although some items do not scan cashiers are well trained on how to encode the items on the machine. I hate falling in line too long. I know how frustrating indeed it could be, waiting on a long queue.

Unknown said...

Maybe Helen, maybe... but would they listen?
JP maybe I should start shopping in Manilla!!!! I hate queues they drive me nuts especially when the service is so slow

Boonchai said...

Everywhere.. what kind do u want? Every neighbourhood have supermarkets

OneMillionConnections said...

Hi luke thanks for passing by my blog added a link to your site on my blog. Hope you are well

Unknown said...

@ Boonchai, yes that is true. All I want is good service.
@ OneMillionConnections, thank you for the link, I have also linked to you. Have a good day

Yari NK said...

Oftentimes the cashier at the checkpoint is having a chat with another cashier at the next checkpoint or with another employee unnecessarily. That also prolongs the process of the checking-out too.

anna2003 said...

As u said..those are British thing :)

In Indonesia thing, that's common :P

Welcome to Indonesia

Unknown said...

@Yari NK, yes you are right that is never very helpful but no one complains???
@Anna2003 yes us British do not like queueing and neither do Indonesians! but I fail to accept Indonesians accept bad service or am I wrong?