How has trade been in the run-up to Christmas? We expect to continue to be very busy right up until Christmas as we have some great promotions in-store.
How were you affected by the recent spell of bad weather? We were a lot luckier in this part of the country as we didn’t really get affected by the snow. We did notice a change in trading patterns though with more people visiting the store during the day rather than in the evenings when it was cold and dark.
Did you notice any panic buying? To a certain extent I think people were buying more of the fresh items like milk and bread. We didn’t have any issues with salt, though, as after the cold weather earlier in the year, head office took the decision to control stock levels of salt centrally this time to ensure there was always enough.
How do you reward good service? We don’t actually have a formal reward system in place but we recognise good service by making sure that we say thank you to the member of staff involved. I believe there is a lot to be said for saying thank you to someone directly and letting them know personally that their work is appreciated rather than simply handing out a prize.
How long have you been with Morrisons? I have been with the company for seven years in a few different roles. This is my second store manager role and I started at this store in June 2009.
What do you like about working for Morrisons? From a personal point of view the development opportunities with the company are huge and I have managed to work my way up quite quickly. As a store manager it is great to work with people and help them grow within the company. There is a lot of pride among people who work for Morrisons, particularly within our Market Street offering.
In what ways does the store work with the local community? We often have cash-collection initiatives in-store to help support local charities. Shortly after I joined the store we had a local school in and we did a lot with them around the importance of healthy eating and about where different foods come from. It was a really great day and I think the children learnt a lot and got to try some foods that they might not have had the chance to otherwise.
What would you most like to change in-store? Ideally I would like to be able to offer a greater range of non-food items as I think customers would like this. I have been in dicsussions with head office about it and we hope to be introducing some new lines into store next year
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