Shopping in Mayberry

We hear a lot these days about poor customer service. Poor customer service can kill a perfectly good business. It is a fact a restaurant or retail store where the service is poor guarantees I will very likely never go back. It is also a fact that negative aspects of our society is mostly what we hear about. So I wanted to shout out a really positive place to shop to balance out all the negatives flying around out there.

I love to shop at Publix. Not that grocery shopping is my favorite pastime. Actually, it is a chore I will put off till I simply have no choice. But Publix always makes me leave with a smile on my face and a feeling that the people there really do care.

A recent example:

I walk into our local Publix in Franklin and am immediately greeted by a gentleman stocking shelves. It has always impressed me that if I Iook at all befuddled at Publix, someone appears out of thin air to ask if I need help finding something. If I do, they don’t just tell me where………………….they TAKE me to the item. Has been like that since the day they opened the store and that impresses me. If they don’t have an item I need regularly they will special order it for me.

I walk to the bakery department and ask to have a loaf of their delicious store-made breakfast bread sliced. No problem says Anna, the most helpful lady in retail these days.

Anna reminds me of a throwback from Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. She is probably in her sixties and has lots of great tips for the homemaker. She would have been Aunt Bea’s best friend. One time I was pondering the glass cleaner section and Anna came up behind me and pulled out an obscure spray can and said, “I guarantee you will like this one the best!” I agreed to try it after she convinced me she knew from experience. Since that time I have bought dozens of those cans and will continue to do so. Anna knew what she was talking about.

So this time Anna is slicing bread for me and chattering away like she is my best friend. That is what I like about Anna. She always makes me feel like she is letting me in on her best kept secrets. She hands me a piece of fresh baked hearty grain bread while telling me how nutritious it is. “Want me to slice a loaf for you?” And of course I threw one in my cart. She is a great saleslady but not in a pushy kind of way……………she just tells the truth.

I head up and down the aisles and stop at the fresh meat counter. I tell the gentleman I would like a pound of the shrimp that is on sale. “And will you please cook it for me?” to which the kind gentleman asks me, “What kind of seasoning would you like?” I tell him and leave to gather a few more items. When I return, it is still warm in the wrapping and smelling good enough to eat on the spot. A great start on fixing dinner that evening.

I wheel my cart to the laundry soap aisle and ponder the variety there. Anna comes up behind me and tugs on my sleeve and shows me the best deal there. Says she just got some for herself and loved it. So today I am doing laundry and of course I am using the soap Anna recommended. Then she leans over conspiratorially and says, “You know what is the best laundry freshener and softener?” Just so happens I had been wondering that very thing………….honestly!! She leans in and says, “White vinegar!” She steps back and watches for my response. “Really?” I say? “Yep! Come here……I’ll show you where it is. Most people don’t know this but I read it in a leading magazine years ago and it works like a charm!” She shows me the nice clean shirt she has on and says, “See? It is good for your clothes and takes the soap residue out during the rinse cycle. Just put in ½ cup and see for yourself!” And you bet I put a large container of white vinegar in my cart. (Have done exactly what she said and am very pleased with the results.) I remember to thank her for the tip on the glass cleaner and she beams with joy that I remember her and her advice. She asks me to let her know what I think of the laundry soap and the vinegar rinse. I intend to do so with gusto!

I then proceed to check out where the lady at the register who has a goodly amount of graying hair says to her line of customers, “Today is senior’s day! Looks like no one in this line qualifies but I wanted to let you know.” I ask her what constitutes being a senior. She tells me it is age 60 and over. “I’m going on 62, so I guess that qualifies me!” I say “So what do I get?” She informs me I get 5% off my total bill. “Well, great! I’ll take it!” Then the guy who is bagging my groceries asks if I have gotten my penny item for the day? I didn’t have any coupon for a penny item but he said it didn’t matter so I ask what it is and this day it happens to be any kind of iced tea I want. I choose peach tea and the cashier rings up one penny. Now I don’t have to figure out what my dinner guests will drink.

Wow! The bargains and tips for the day have left me quite impressed with Publix once again. But it isn’t over! The gentleman (who looks as though he qualifies as a senior) doesn’t ask me, he just wheels my cart of groceries out to my car while chatting about the hot weather and being generally friendly. When I begin to help him load the groceries into the trunk he says, “Why don’t you go inside and start the air and stay in the cool while I do this?” I am astonished and thank him. He gathers up a bag of frozen items and asks if he can put them in my car to keep them cooler while driving home. I agree and thank him for being so considerate.

I drove home that day in awe of the excellent service and felt like the “chore” of having to buy groceries was turned into a blessing that stuck with me for days. Excellent customer service may seem a rarity to folks these days but I promise if you go to Publix…………especially the one in Franklin, TN…………you will have an experience that would make Andy Taylor and Barney Fife proud!