How Are We Doing? Customer Questionnaire Compiled Feedback

Transcription

1 How Are We Doing? Customer Questionnaire Compiled Feedback Survey performed over October and November Approximately 40 questionnaires were distributed and 31 completed questionnaires were returned. None spoiled but there is a belief that question 7 confused some respondents. have been recorded here verbatim. Question 1 Have you seen advertisements for The Village Stores in any of the following publications? Publication Yes Conclusion The Parish News Magazine 28 We will continue to advertise in the Parish Magazine, Stoke news Stoke News 25 and Langport Leveller. Other advertising opportunities (such as Langport Leveller or The Bridge) will be considered based on likely readership. 13 Somerton Sentinel Playing Field 60 th Anniversary Programme 10 Useful for opening hours. Have read introduction article etc. was unable to attend (playing field 60 th anniversary) Can t remember (playing field 60 th anniversary programme) Q2 Have you ever received a Village Stores advertisement through your letter box? Yes but I discarded it with other junk mail Yes and I read it 0 15 Letter box drops made to all houses in Meare Green, Curload, Athelney, all houses in Stoke, Stathe, Stanmoor and East Lyng. It appears as though this method of advertising is not particularly No not that I am aware 12 effective based on the number of positive responses. (Note notices requesting no junk mail were respected.) When you first arrived (response to Yes and read it) Don t live in the village And I still refer to it (response to Yes and read it) Very good to know opening times Your arrival card great idea and appreciated Was it the postcard if so, kept it We live quite a way out of the centre was one put through? Q3 How often do you visit The Village Stores? Rarely less that once per month Roughly once per month 1 1 The outcome should not be surprising as questionnaires were distributed from the shop. More effort needed to encourage customers to shop more regularly for non incidentals. Once a week 2 Several times per week 15 Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 1

2 Every day 11 Sometimes twice (response to once a week ) I think I use the shop much more now that I am not travelling out of the village to work so often For bread, paper and incidentals Normally just for newspapers When we are in SSG For papers Pretty well every day for newspapers Q4 If you visit The Village Stores only very occasionally, is it because: It s too expensive 2 First three answers correspond with the first three in Q3. It doesn t stock what I need 1 It s not open at the right time 1 None of the above 27 Sorry, but convenience and easy parking at Sainsburys Taunton Don t live locally Sometimes this is the case ( It doesn t stock what I need ) although the shop is very good for all the basics. More obscure (stock) e.g. cooking ingredients The opening hours are better than previous owners means we can pop in on way back from work Q5 What would attract you to shop for groceries at The Village stores more frequently? More competitive prices 14 Prices clearly a major constraint on sales. Need to address more Better range of stock 4 fully some of the responses received. These will be explained in Longer opening hours 0 greater detail in the Christmas newsletter. Other products/services 4 Fruit and vegetables ( better range of stock ) Cash back ( other products/services ) Not important provided you are consistent ( longer opening hours ) On some items ( more competitive prices ) Post office counter! ( Other products/services ) I know you have to get small amounts but some things are v expensive i.e. lemon 50p) Feel able to ask if range of stock not available Special offers board target weekly product Post Office with cash card facility Post Office I think your idea of having (?)some treats on display is a great way of gaining a little more custom. Sadly competing with supermarkets is impossible More variety of fruit/veg although I know it perishes quickly Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 2

3 Good range of stock. Hours OK. A means of obtaining cash, e.g. cash back, cashing cheques etc. How about a Post Office It sounds silly but at the moment I only use the shop for forgotten groceries & extras. Really I should try to do a weekly shop at the shop. A wider range of greetings cards, although the current range is fine & I always buy cards at the stores ( Other products/services ) More meat? Cash back facility Q6 What attracts you to The Village Stores? Convenience 30 Clearly customers value the convenience assumed to be based Value for money 7 on location and opening times. Range of goods 15 Efforts to increase availability of fresh produce and dairy appears Sale of newspapers, tobacco to have been well received. 26 and alcohol Reasonable response to range of goods which conflicts with PayPoint 4 some other comments regarding limited stock. Fresh food (bread, cakes, Value for money does not rate highly in customers minds. 24 fruit, vegetables) Low score for PayPoint is surprising given the number of weekly Dairy products (milk, cheese, cream, butters and spreads) 27 transactions. Frozen foods and ready meals 5 Special diet foods (wheatfree, lactose-free, low sugar) 2 For top up ( PayPoint ) Fair ( Value for money ) Definitely ( Convenience ) Particularly newspapers. Sometimes beer/wine ( Sale of newspapers ) Vegetables and fruit are expensive and look tired. A very difficult task to compete with, say, Lidl whose veg & fruit are always fresh and cheap A couple of times the shop has been sold out of dairy items When cost of travel is taken into account to go elsewhere ( Value for money ) Is it possible: gluten-free sausages/chipolatas, gluten-free (frozen) pastry please! ( Special diet foods ) Good range Sunday shopping for forgotten items. En route to parents from J27-J25 easier than Sainsburys Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 3

4 Q7 Please rate from 1 (good) to 5 (poor), the following Criterion Conclusion Cleanliness Generally satisfactory feedback. Product range and Friendliness product choice scores can be improved. Physical Decoration 15 space may restrict range and choice but it may be possible to improve on one of these criteria. Product range Produce customer shopping list showing full range Product choice of stock. Improved access needs to be addressed in Access to the shop and to shelves I would only expect one choice of each item in a small shop Very much so ( Friendliness ) For a village shop (rating of 2 for Product range and Product Choice ) Given the location etc. of the shop and the clientele I can t see that you can do much more (rating of 3 for Product range and Product choice ) For us but I can see that the front step may pose a problem for some ( Access ) I am quite tall perhaps some things can be lower for other people I suppose there is someone there to help ( Access ) Tricky access with a pushchair ( Access ) Q7 What is the best thing and the worst thing about shopping at The Village Stores? Best: Friendly service! The weighing of parcels is useful Friendliness/cleanliness/willing to get produce if not in Convenience/I think you both are doing a great job Pleasant and friendly service The friendliness Cheery greeting Friendly service & very helpful and obliging New owners The welcome, and the fact that you exist Having you two here Friendly service and long opening hours Friendly / clean Friendliness and helpfulness. A pleasure to go in Easy parking. Chatting to people you know. Getting to know other people Sociable/often meeting various people/information and tourist info Fun shopping compared to supermarket Convenience. Friendliness. Information and new local products Welcome clean convenient The warm welcome and friendliness Happy place to enter. Always a smile to greet one Always ready to help You can find almost everything you might need Shopping for groceries is a pleasure cf supermarkets! Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 4

5 Worst: Your friendly and helpful approach to customers! Convenience Being welcomed by friendly owners & cleanliness On the doorstep and the friendly greeting and service Friendly service, helpful, well informed on local issues That you stock a lot of local produce... and yourself of course!! Limited stock Goods sometimes expensive Limited stock & prices None at all really, tho you must find it hard to compete with supermarkets on prices. Alas, we are not well off! Can t think of anything There isn t Some prices Having to charge more than supermarkets Not big enough Too expensive Can t think of anything n/a Sometimes too much talking with others. A bit too high prices on some goods Prices Nothing Nothing bad Old shelves The feeling of guilt when one sees the prices and is loath to buy anything I think everything is pretty good Nil Nit picking, but very rarely you ve run out of milk and by the way (Opportunity for comments/observations etc.) Before you came, we avoided the shop as it was so unfriendly. You have transformed it and now it s a pleasure to use the shop. We like the mixture of essentials and treat items. Congratulations on your first six months, keep it up. Very friendly service. Would some reorganisation outside e.g. paved area with marked parking spaces make it easier/more attractive? Somewhere to park a bike rather than leaving it against the wall blocking the pavement partially? Am I suggesting landscaping the Square?? Perhaps not possible!! We are very privileged to have Karen & Ian living and serving the village. But a feeling of sadness when one sees people unloading their supermarket shopping and the delivery vans coming through the village. Thank you for running the village shop. You are a lovely family and deserve support and success. The village shop is very important to me. Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 5

6 Are you going to the Rose & Crown Christmas Fayre? I can t remember what date it is. Might be worth a try though. You have done a wonderful job in the short time you ve been here and it must be very hard to be all things to all men. I feel I cannot comment on some of your questions as I really use the shop as a convenience store. But it really is great well done Ian & Karen. There is a buzz about the shop which has not existed for years. The service is excellent. We are keen to spend more, but also have to consider our own budget and as we work in Taunton the supermarkets have the edge on price and we don t have to make a special journey. We like local/organic produce where possible You are doing very well. Thank you for running the shop. For a small shop it has a good range and you are really trying with more exotic ranges. I would like lo-fat yogurts and better fresh veg but understand how difficult it is with fresh stuff with a limited shelf life. Thank you for clearly displayed local posters & info and used stamps collection box. A great source of local what s on & where. More local fruit and veg according to season. Friendly and helpful always. We wish you both every success as you re really trying to listen and serve this local community. The place to meet people who you half know or haven t seen for a long time. We are delighted with the friendliness and willingness to help whenever possible. Nothing is too much trouble. We wish you every success. We just feel so lucky to have a village shop at all that stocks so many interesting and good fresh things fruit and veg (hard to do!). I think the village store has become the most pleasant place to enter. Ian & Karen are always ready to help without the feeling that one is a pest. Long may they stay. Stoke shop is now the heart of the village. Best since we moved here 20 years ago. Keep up the good work please. I can buy large re-cycle bags here but not in Tiverton! Any chance of a cash back service to save me going to North Curry PO when I run out of cash. Keep up the good work long partnership we hope with the village. Cash back or ATM service (chargeable would be acceptable). Extend Post Office service if possible. Competitive ranges to be advertised (supermarket style). Keep it up! It s good to support local business. Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 6

7 Our outline responses to the above comments... In some cases, our prices are at least on a par with supermarkets. It would be good to show comparisons with supermarkets but the time needed to undertake the research would be significant. It is not our aim to undercut supermarkets with their superior buying power but to offer a reasonable alternative to making a special visit to the supermarket (with today s fuel prices taken into account) without exploiting our position. We do stock sour cream and small tins of tuna (John West) We like the idea of weekly offers and will consider how this can be best managed. We source greetings cards from two commercial suppliers, three local artists and a Church that raises money for special projects in Africa. It is unlikely we will have space for more greetings cards. Access to the shop is a concern but we are willing to assist people and pushchairs. We are looking into obtaining some funding to remove the steps. We have tried different fruit and veg during the past six months but often we are left with unsold items where they were not mainstream items. We will continue to try new items. We have plans to refit the shop which should improve decoration, access to shelves, and generally make the shop a more pleasant place to visit. We would like to increase a greater range of fresh but this will require space and improved display/storage equipment. Also, if we are to avoid the mass-produced vacuum packed fresh meat found in supermarkets, dates will be much shorter and we must be assured that sales will be all but guaranteed. This strategy is also applicable to dairy products. Cash back puts a significant strain on the budget. We would be required to hold a significant amount of cash on the premises (which has security implications) and it would be effectively dead cash for us i.e. we could not use it to pay day-to-day bills. Should our takings increase, then servicing a cash dispenser or cash back system may be possible, but sales would have to significantly increase. The business case must also be made if people come to the shop for cash they are unlikely to spend it in the shop (given that they need a debit card to obtain the cash in the first place!). The issue of the Post Office has been extensively researched by us. The offer made directly to us by Post Office Counters was very limited due to the footfall. Indeed we were told that had we been applying for a PO where none had existed, it would be rejected on the basis of insufficient footfall. The PO has a requirement to retain a certain number of rural outlets but there is no long term guarantee that our PO would remain in place ad infenitum. The business benefit is negligible too as income is based on a very low rate of commission. Taking these factors into account, and having discussed the merits with other PO mangers and press reports about problems with the PO computer system (which generally means managers are out of pocket), we decided against applying for a Post Office Local. The services provided at North Curry are much more extensive that those that could be provided at Stoke. Many respondents regarded convenience as a key feature. Unfortunately, convenience comes at a cost and we will be starting a campaign to encourage customers, particularly those who regularly use supermarkets and online ordering, to spend 10 a week on groceries in the village stores. If this level of commitment were to be achieved, it would improve the likelihood that The Village Stores would thrive and the convenience would be maintained. It would also allow us to better source the most popular products Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 7

8 rather than have to second-guess the level of trade in any particular week and the type of products preferred. It would be a win-win situation for us and the customer. Customer survey Oct/Nov 2011 Compiled Feedback Page 8