Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Corona Virus, Creativity, Culture, Customer Service, Differentiation, Experience, Loyalty, Management, Marketing, Service
One thing that actually angered me throughout COVID was the attitude supermarkets adopted over the Christmas break.
Don’t get me wrong, they did an amazing job to ensure food supplies were maintained but they also did it because they were making incredible profits at the same time.
I’m cool with that.
I’m less cool with how some still lobbied for government benefits, made whole departments unemployed – looking at you Sainsbury’s – failed to use the Christmas period as a time to ‘give back’ to essential workers [ie: their own staff] and just ran bog-standard ads [even though they were generally pretty poor] … all the while claiming they were a version of ‘ one of us’.
Which is why this little gesture by the Co-op made an impression on me.
It’s very nice.
Not bombastic. Not chest beating. If anything, it’s almost silent.
But it’s impact for those suffering from isolation could be huge.
I really like this. Not just because it more needed than many think, but because I can imagine there are a lot of possible implications on their business should their customers take them up on it.
I have no idea how many customers Co-op delivers to each day, but if each customer just wanted a 5 minute chat, that means the subsequent deliveries will be 5 minutes late.
The more customers, the more deliveries get impacted in terms of time.
That can add up to something significant and potentially make other customers frustrated.
Maybe they’ve put on more delivery drivers to off-set this.
Maybe they’re only going to offer this for a limited time.
Maybe no one will actually take them up on any of this.
But even then, I can see a lot of reasons why a lot of companies would say no to this idea.
The cost.
The impact.
The potential for logistical nightmares.
Which is exactly why I think the Co-op have done something pretty great in doing it.
Because while words, money and countless bloody ‘purpose statements’ may make a company feel they’re doing valuable stuff for the community, its actual acts of action that proves to the community you actually care.
It’s not that hard to make a difference. If you actually want to make a difference.
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If they got anyone to chat in London then they’re miracle workers.
Comment by Bazza March 29, 2021 @ 7:34 amHahaha … Jill felt exactly the same thing, I – on the other hand – did my usual “talk to everyone” which on more occasion was met with the response, “you’re in London mate, we don’t do talking to people”.
Comment by Rob March 29, 2021 @ 7:38 amThey make NYers look like Cali.
Comment by Bazza March 29, 2021 @ 7:50 amThe chattier the city, the less interesting the conversation.
Comment by John March 29, 2021 @ 8:27 amAn excellent point John.
Comment by Lee Hill March 29, 2021 @ 12:01 pmSince the Co-Op came out and said they were going to do this [and admittedly, I heard nothing more of it since they came out and said they were going to do this] I’ve heard more and more companies cost cutting at employee and customer cost.
And not to keep the company surviving, but to allow the C-Suite exec profit bonuses to come in.
Sadly, some of the organisations we hold up as ‘driving the future’ are big players in this sort of behaviour – either blackmailing governments to lower their tax obligations or demanding power to continue to do what they’re doing.
Meanwhile, they run ads saying they care.
As my last line states, it’s not that hard to make a difference if they actually want to make a difference … and it appears not many actually want to make a difference. Except to their bottom line.
Comment by Rob March 29, 2021 @ 7:42 amAre you really surprised?
Comment by George March 29, 2021 @ 7:51 amI hope they did it and it wasn’t a PR stunt. That said, it shows an understanding of the situation for customers that few companies would spot, let alone put something in place to counter it.
Comment by George March 29, 2021 @ 7:53 amI hope so too. Not that it’s the ambassador for truth, but the reviews on TrustPilot are either amazing or horrific, And no one has called out the badge from the comments I’ve read – but some have talked about the drivers having a bit of a chat. As you said, noticing the need for human interaction is a great thing – I just hope they did it.
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.co-operative.coop
Comment by Rob March 29, 2021 @ 7:56 amProving the Brits still love to complain.
Comment by George March 29, 2021 @ 8:02 amWorld champions.
Comment by Bazza March 29, 2021 @ 8:25 amI bet it also made a difference to their drivers.
Comment by John March 29, 2021 @ 8:25 amI don’t know how much it was rolled out but they did do it. My friends mother experienced it first hand and was very grateful for it.
Comment by Lee Hill March 29, 2021 @ 12:00 pmWhat do I find looking on twitter in the middle of the night.
So much for flattery, this is identity theft.
https://twitter.com/victoriafutures/status/1376270847506317326?s=21
Comment by DH March 29, 2021 @ 7:49 pm