Co-op News: The Board Report
added 06/11/10
The Co-op as/and Family
by Kay Litten
Board President
As I reflect on our second annual Food Expo/Annual Meeting combination, I realize that we have probably begun a Co-op family tradition. We gathered all sorts of employees, producers, and merchandisers together to help us—the members and customers—celebrate a year of good eating and to look forward to all of the new products and suppliers who will enrich our shopping experiences so much in the coming years. It was a challenging year fiscally, but we survived with the support of loyal members and staff. Times of stress often cause us to do our utmost to make things better and to cherish those things which we value the most. Our Annual Meeting is similar to the family’s annual holiday gathering: full of celebration and togetherness, but piqued by some crankiness and complaints, too.
Most of us put families first, and it has always struck me as unfortunate that those folks we most treasure and hold dear are the very ones to whom we offer our sharpest criticisms and of whom we make the most difficult demands. We ask family members for help and then get crabby if they are in our way; we ask our children to spruce up for a special event and then criticize their choices as not fitting (our ideas of what would look best). We tell our partners how happy they make us and how much they mean to us, but then we somehow fail to find the kind of meaningful time together which is of value to both of us. Oh, la, la, I could go on and on.
Well, I often feel like my relationship with our Co-op is like my relationship with my family. I value it, but I am often quick to criticize. I love what it offers to me, but I often am sometimes ornery about what I observe happening or hear spoken. I have to believe that our dedicated staff do their very best most of the time. We are not perfect, and what annoys me is often the very thing which I most value: we are not a big corporation with slickness all around. Sometimes I wish we had the luxury of turning to a big corporate headquarters to help us slick up. (But sometimes when we get all modern and cutting edge and energy efficient, there are negatives in the mix: the new freezer aisle at the Lebanon store—which makes me feel like I’m walking on a path in a Star Trek scene—contains freezers so high that many shorter shoppers cannot reach items on the upper shelves!)
A couple of comments at the Annual Meeting struck me as being at the crux of this issue. One loyal and most articulate member asked if the Co-op has professionally trained folks who do our displays. We don’t; we are proud of what our staff produce, but we do not have lots of professional graphic designers and advertising executives. Nonetheless, this member’s point is well taken: displays and marketing can make big differences in helping customers to realize the range of possibilities for the variety of products we sell.
However, another member immediately spoke up to say that this is what she appreciates about the Co-op: that it is not a “slick” operation focused on appearances, but a down-to-earth store selling the wholesome products which its members demand. Probably we can address the desires of both of these folks, but one of them will doubtless think we are doing too much and the other not enough. You can see our dilemma. But this is what I believe is the biggest difference in our stores vs. the “big” grocery stores: we listen, provided you speak to the right folks. What I believe is most critical in this business of a family-oriented grocery store is that we keep the lines of communication open, just like members of successful families talk with one another. Members have to let staff know what especially pleases them as well as letting them know when service or products are not to their liking or living up to our standards. It really doesn’t help to complain to those outside the organization when we have issues: let the staff/management/board know what you think. Some things we can change immediately; some things we can start working on; but some things will never change! And that, too, is what we love about those things/people/places we hold dear: they are dependably the same for us even as they change (as all must); their familiarity offers us some security; they are the constants in our lives. May the Co-op be in our lives for at least another 74 years.
