It’s a haggard and tired cliché but like most haggard and tired clichés, it’s true: local retailing is a people business. At heart, the one superpower that a convenience store can wield against its competition is customer service. Nobody else comes close. Supermarkets aren’t even in the ballpark. Discounters seem to take some sort of pride in finding surly, unfriendly staff.
Only in a local convenience store can you be confident of getting a hello, a smile and a bit of banter. But, as we discovered last year when we unveiled the Above & Beyond Awards, the role that staff in your business play in your local community extends way beyond what could reasonably be expected of them.
When we launched the Above & Beyond Awards, it’s fair to say we took a bit of a flyer. Would anybody be interested in an event celebrating the stuff that nobody ever hears about? Would anybody enter? Would anybody sponsor?
As it turned out, the Awards were a success beyond our most optimistic expectations. We uncovered some truly breathtaking stories of store staff taking Above & Beyond to extreme levels. It was simply awe inspiring and, if you were lucky enough to be there, you will recall that quite a few tears were shed as the audience listened to heroic and epic tales. It was humanity at its very best.
And what stuck with me during the judging was how many of our entrants dismissed their truly heroic actions with a shrug and a ‘It was nothing special, I was just doing my job’.
Modesty is, of course, a Scottish trait – but sometimes it’s a good idea to park that modesty, just briefly, and celebrate the people who make our sector so special and so unique.
So we’ll be doing it all over again next year and we want to hear more inspiring tales of bravery, compassion, humour and care. You probably know of someone in your business who has done something special, or who routinely makes life better for colleagues and customers. Do them a favour: let us know. You can fill in the very brief entry form on our website or you can just provide us with a name and a contact number. We’ll do the rest.
Antony Begley, Publishing Director, SLR
It’s people that make this sector special
It’s a haggard and tired cliché but like most haggard and tired clichés, it’s true: local retailing is a people business. At heart, the one superpower that a convenience store can wield against its competition is customer service. Nobody else comes close. Supermarkets aren’t even in the ballpark. Discounters seem to take some sort of pride in finding surly, unfriendly staff.
Only in a local convenience store can you be confident of getting a hello, a smile and a bit of banter. But, as we discovered last year when we unveiled the Above & Beyond Awards, the role that staff in your business play in your local community extends way beyond what could reasonably be expected of them.
When we launched the Above & Beyond Awards, it’s fair to say we took a bit of a flyer. Would anybody be interested in an event celebrating the stuff that nobody ever hears about? Would anybody enter? Would anybody sponsor?
As it turned out, the Awards were a success beyond our most optimistic expectations. We uncovered some truly breathtaking stories of store staff taking Above & Beyond to extreme levels. It was simply awe inspiring and, if you were lucky enough to be there, you will recall that quite a few tears were shed as the audience listened to heroic and epic tales. It was humanity at its very best.
And what stuck with me during the judging was how many of our entrants dismissed their truly heroic actions with a shrug and a ‘It was nothing special, I was just doing my job’.
Modesty is, of course, a Scottish trait – but sometimes it’s a good idea to park that modesty, just briefly, and celebrate the people who make our sector so special and so unique.
So we’ll be doing it all over again next year and we want to hear more inspiring tales of bravery, compassion, humour and care. You probably know of someone in your business who has done something special, or who routinely makes life better for colleagues and customers. Do them a favour: let us know. You can fill in the very brief entry form on our website or you can just provide us with a name and a contact number. We’ll do the rest.
Antony Begley, Publishing Director, SLR
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