Jewel Upping Customer Service

CHICAGO - Jewel-Osco here, the 200-store subsidiary of Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu, has launched an initiative to improve customer service called G.O.T., an acronym for "greet, offer and thank."

Supervalu's c.e.o. Jeff Noddle mentioned the customer-focused program to analysts and investors at a JP Morgan Consumer and Retail Holiday conference in New York last week.

The G.O.T. program trains employees to anticipate shoppers' needs by starting conversations or offering to help find an item, Jewel spokeswoman Lauri Sanders told the Chicago Sun-Times. Managers will reward store associates who participate in the program, Sanders said.

In California, Supervalu has also resurrected a familiar industry campaign -- "Three's a Crowd," which mandates that workers open a new checkout aisle any time three or more people are waiting in line.

Supervalu is spending roughly $1 billion this fiscal year to build new stores and remodel older units, while also focusing on adding Osco pharmacies to new stores and installing organic and international foods sections to all stores.
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