Wegmans? Not only a supermarket- but a family!
Wegmans supermarkets are more than the traditional supermarkets. Ranked at #4 on Forbes Best 100 Companies to work for, the Wegmans empire is a privately owned family business that is continuing to open stores across the eastern United States and has been opening an average of four stores per year throughout the economic difficulties. Why is it that this privately owned supermarket is doing so well, and why is it that everyone wants to work there? Pretty simple. Its the people they hire and the values that they all follow. Wegmans adhere’s to their core values of: caring, high standards, making a difference, respect, and empowerment. Manager Kevin Lang of the King of Prussia Wegmans discusses working at Wegmans:
Why can’t every supermarket be just like Wegmans?! If you haven’t visited a Wegmans yet, I suggest you do!
For our excursion, Team Rhymes with Orange visited the Wegmans supermarket in Woodbridge and was led around by one of the employees, Karen. We learned that Wegmans is extremely dedicated to their customers and show it in many ways. Did you know that Wegmans is licensed to sell cigarettes but chooses not to because it goes against their values? That alone shows dedication and the upmost respect for their customers because rather than making extra money through selling cigarettes, they want to promote health and wellness to their customers and practice what they preach. And did you know Wegmans employees place fruits one by one in the baskets in order to prevent them from going bad as quickly even though they know their customers might end up tossing the fruit in the cart anyways?
At Wegmans, everyone wants to make sure that their customers are safe and healthy. Karen told Team Rhymes with Orange that if there is a spill on the floor, it is the job of every employee, regardless of their position, to clean up the spill or pick up the banana peel in order to ensure the safety of their customers and co-workers.
At Wegmans, they use cross-training, they hire from within, and everyone’s name tag is the same. The manager’s name tag looks exactly like the name tag of the cashier or of the produce employee. In order to make their employees happy, they are caring, respect them and want to empower them. That last sentence sounded just like NSO, did it not?
“In order to make their employees happy, they are caring, respect them and want to empower them.”
Their attitudes are contagious and their passion and drive for their work is evident when you see the smiles on their faces.
Karen informed us that Wegmans is very flexible with employee hours and spoke about the “Helping Hands” program in which the employee’s children could participate in. As long as the child is fourteen years of age, he or she can go to work with their parent(s) and work with them.
At NSO, we don’t promote the idea of hierarchy just as Wegmans stays away from, and we also stick to our values just as Wegmans does. There are many similarities between NSO and this privately owned business. Such as the idea that we are family. Numerous people have referred to the term “NSO family” and Wegmans has their own “Wegmans family”.
The customers have this trust with Wegmans and know that each and every time they step into the store that they will have a great experience, and knows that the quality of their products and service is one that they cant trust. As orientation leaders, we should always make sure that we can have an environment in which we can have our students trust us, and have trust amongst each other. By adhering to our core values as Wegmans does, we are sure to have a very successful year!
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