The young produce clerk was a little perplexed by the shopper’s request.
“Excuse me,” the customer said. “Do you have some fresher jalapeños in the back? The ones out here look like they’re on their last legs.”
I surmised, while quietly shopping nearby, that the clerk’s surprise may have been because the produce department was in otherwise decent shape. The power items, such as lettuce, tomato, bananas and ad items, were mostly neatly displayed, full and inviting.
In fact, all the points I typically hit: the multideck salad case, apples, pears, berries, grapes, citrus, Idaho potatoes and other areas were equally acceptable, nearly meeting the display standard goal that one supervisor once directed, “Cull your displays so well that customers gain enough confidence to pick up the first item and put it into their shopping cart.”
Produce departments sell so much more produce when following that advice.
I loitered near the waiting jalapeño customer, curious to see what followed.
After all, I’ve had customers send me to the stockroom for a lot of items, but chilis? Not so common. He waited as I imagined the clerk rummaging through the cooler in search of fresher fare.
Everyone seems to be a home gourmet chef these days, I thought. But I agreed in principle, if something is important enough to include in a favorite dish …
Besides, there’s nothing like super fresh, crunchy jalapeños, diced and tossed on smothered burritos, on eggs, on nachos, is there?
Fresh. So much better than the rubbery, jarred stuff.
My train of thought was interrupted by the clerk, who emerged with a new case of the chilies.
The customer still grumbled over the aged stuff on the shelf but eagerly dug into the fresh batch.
Grateful for the clerk’s help, he bagged his purchase and moved on.
Which all comes down to this: Don’t let your customers do your culling for you.
A good start to any produce manager’s day is to thoroughly walk the entire department, straightening and culling each display. If a bin is too big, or will take too much time to cull, haul the whole thing in the back to sort later.
Don’t leave anything to chance and especially don’t leave anything on display that might repel a sale.
I detail this jalapeño story, not because it’s an item that every customer is necessarily shopping for, but because everything you have on display contributes to a produce department’s freshness perception.
When a customer speaks up, it’s important to hustle and retrieve something fresher.
But they shouldn’t have to ask in the first place.
Editor's Note: This originally appeared in The Produce Aisle, by Armand Lobato, in our sister publication, The Packer.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years’ experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions. E-mail [email protected]. He also writes the 10-Minute Merchandiser series for Produce Retailer magazine.