There's always chores that need done. ALWAYS. One of my least favorites is grocery shopping. Add kids to grocery shopping and it makes it unbearable. Tack on using coupons, or price matching, and it is downright intolerable. But, I discovered a big secret in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There is a place where I can do all three - grocery shop, grocery shop with kids, and grocery shop with kids and coupons that is unbelievably friendly. The Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids is a store that has unmatched customer satisfaction and service.
I didn't realize how much I actually enjoyed going to my Hy-Vee store (the Johnson Avenue Store in Cedar Rapids) until I visited a different store in the same city and felt a very different vibe in the air. When I needed the exact same ingredients for the same recipe that I had made the previous week, I went to the Johnson Ave Hy-Vee instead of the other store and conducted my own social experiment to see what the difference was between the stores.
The first thing I noticed was that employees made a conscious effort to say, "Hi." There were opportunities in the produce department, opportunities at the meat counter, opportunities in the dairy section, and in the canned food aisles. I am pretty sure that every employee I saw said, "Hi." It didn't feel forced, it just felt like that was the way of the store.
When I had my cart full of ingredients for my Chicken and Gnocci Soup, I went to check-out, complete with my price matching ads and the cashier was again quite friendly, and empowered. She figured out my totals and then called the manager over who entered her information with a smile - and even continued to do so after she needed to come back to add my Fuel Saver card.
When I walked out, I asked for the store number. I wanted to show my gratitude for the way that I was treated. So many times when we're tired, corralling our children, and trying to do our best to live a healthy life, we forget that we need to say "thank you" for our positive experiences.
When I emailed the store director at the Johnson Avenue Hy-Vee Store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I was excited to share my positive experience on my blog. The feeling in the store is one of the friendliest that I have ever felt in a grocery store. It makes one of my least favorite chores just a little easier, knowing that when I go to my Hy-Vee I truly am going to see a "helpful smile in every aisle."
About the author:
Brandi Parsons is a freelance writer, a budding novelist, and an educator. Follow her blog for book reviews, highlights of life, Adventures in Cooking with Tori, and her mindfulness and gratitude journey.