Trader Joe's founder Joe Coulombe has died
usatoday.com
usatoday.com
Its size is not too small as to feel claustrophobic, nor too big as to feel overwhelming.
But most important, they have a great selection of high quality and reasonably priced items.
I wish more companies would be like this.
For example, I'm usually shopping at Edeka (higher tier, more SKUs, more expensive; a full-sortimenter).
Every time I shop there, there are several articles their bar code scanner does only recognize after two or three attempts, often the cashier has to try a handheld scanner, sometimes he must enter the digits by hand.
Every five or so times I shop there, an article is not recognized by the system, and the cashier must phone the department and ask for the price.
Aldi has larger bar codes on their packaging, often one on every side. Aldi barcodes are usually black on white, not black on transparent (with the content confusing the scanner). There is never an article missing in the system.
That's why the cashiers handle your articles faster than you can bag them. Because scanning works on the first try, every time.
Somehow this culture has survived for decades, despite short-term thinking and too-narrow optimization destroying the staff and retail experience at other grocery stores. I'd be enormously proud to have achieved something that lasted like that. I wish I knew how they did it!
Miles of Aisles with processed sugar in everything . . .
It's also a story about how a quirky startup created a culture of quality and value and treating their employees and customers well - and kept that culture after being acquired.
I think there is a lot for all founders to learn from Trader Joe's.
And who doesn't enjoy the Fearless Flyer?
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