The Brand Man Speaks

Whole Foods under fire for "English-only" requirement by employees on the clock

Whole Foods, the high end specialty grocer, has come under fire for an incident that occurred in one of their New Mexico stores over the speaking of Spanish vs. English on store time. Two employees were fired for speaking Spanish among themselves while on the clock, or so says several non Whole Foods accounts of the situation.

The actual circumstances may be different than what social media and the press picked up on (Whole Foods says the employees were behaving disrespectfully and rudely while dealing with the management feedback on the matter), however, the outrage is prompting a national ban to not shop at the store by Latin groups.

This event prompts for me a much bigger issue about what language should be primarily used in any business environment that caters to multi-language speaking consumers. I believe fluent English should be required of all retail store personnel in any store that clearly does not cater only to customers who speak a language other than English.

In the case of Whole Foods, all staffers who deal with consumers in anyway should be able to converse in English and if the customer requests another language be used the staffer can if able use the other requested language while on the clock. I do object to the fact that for example, in my Publix supermarket in Miami that caters to English and Spanish speaking customers, many times I cannot find anyone who can speak English well enough to serve my needs. And, to counter-act Publix slogan "Where shopping is a pleasure", it is many times not a pleasure. This is still an English speaking country and sometimes I think certain elements of society forget that.

I reviewed Whole Foods policy as outlined by their managment in several news articles and find it sound. I believe social media and certain Latin groups took advantage of the situation and are not being totally fair about how they are reacting. I do not have a problem with staffers talking to themselves in whatever language they are comfortable with AS LONG AS they are immediately able to address English speaking consumers without any difficulty.

In the case of my local Publix, I have filed a complaint with corporate management but have yet to hear back from them.

What do you think? Let me know.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Walmart offering "money back guarantee" on its produce to ensure lower price doesn't mean lower quality

As Walmart continues its journey to take over the grocery business from mainstream supermarkets across America, the huge retail concern has added a new strategic weapon to cement this effort.

I was quoted on Bloomberg News yesterday about this story: Bloomberg News

The retailer now offers a full refund guarantee on all of its produce. Produce (no pun intended) a receipt to the customer service desk (lines there can be long, however) without too many questions asked, and you Mrs. consumer get your money back.

To ensure that Walmart shoppers understand that lower prices on produce (vs. other retailers) does not mean lower quality, this refund policy is a smart marketing tool. The only issue is in-store implementation. Walmart's are huge stores with long lines. Since one cannot get the refund at the check out but rather at the customer service desk, this may reduce the number of consumers who actually seek the refund.

Abuse of the offer is also a possibility. Walmart's money challenged customers may find this a temptation worth pursuing to get food for free since returning the produce is not a requirement to get the refund.

I think Walmart believes the overall costs of the refund policy will be outweighed by the strong impression that Walmart sells produce as good as any other food retailer, just for a lower price which may entice customers who do not buy perishables at Walmart to give it a try.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

Cheerios multi-cultural TV ad attracting hate comments on YouTube

A recent TV ad for General Mills Cheerios (one of the long standing multi-generation cereal brands still going strong in America) introduced a campaign futuring a multi-cultural family. The creative which brings a multi-race child, white mother and black father together over heart health eating Cheerios depicts an increasingly common site in America: Mixed families.

However, it is not a surprise that such progressive advertising in which General Mills takes a stand of inclusiveness and tolerance is causing a stir of strongly worded hateful postings online. Unfortunately, many Americans mostly over 40 still see this kind of crossing-over family mix as a problem--to some still unacceptable. The ability to use the iternet to anonymously express oneself fosters the expression of such negative hateful opinions.

General Mills has decided to remove the hateful comments on YouTube as well as to disable the comment section altogether instead of dropping the campaign which they believe is reflective of today's society.

I applaud General Mills for this action and wish more companies would follow their lead.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Marketing #101: Under promise and over deliver. Why Gaylord Palms Resort Orlando fails

One of the first mantra's one learns studying marketing is the most successful entities/products/services are ones that under promise and over deliver to the delight of the consumer.

It doesn't take a genius to understand that if you promise something you can't deliver, you not only disappoint your audience but also you likely will lose them and they will spread negative information about your brand.

Saying and delivering outstanding customer service are too very different things. Words are fine but actions speak far louder than words.

Case in point.

I recently stayed at the Gaylord Palms Resort in the Orlando area to attend an event held in their convention center. The hotel is huge with over 1400 rooms including an indoor activity atrium and numerous themed restaurants. It is kind of Disney-like but not Disney.

Virtually all touch points from recordings on the phone to the in-person dealings with staff include efforts to communicate a commitment to extraordinary guest experiences. I like this idea especially the fact that they try to carry this brand message throughout the facility in any and every way they can.

Problem is the execution falls flat and greatly disappoints.

Examples.

I called housekeeping for extra towels and was assured they would be up to my room in a jiffy. Four hours later still no towels. Two calls to the "can do it/get it done" hotline later and the towels finally showed up along with apologies that they dropped the ball "somewhere".

I stayed two nights with different room rates for each night based on what was being offered. This required getting new keys which were delivered under our door during night one. The keys worked in the room lock but failed to allow me access to my car in the self-park. Although wanting to be very helpful, front desk staff were not consistent in their approach to solving the problem requiring a few, "let me check how this can be done", quips.

The room rate change (but still in the same room) also caused us to lose access to the internet service which never seemed to work again for us. The system did not recognize me and my room number as legitimate guests. I didn't have time to waste trying to get this fixed so I just used my cellular data plan instead.

Special meals for the fitness event I attended were supposed to be available in the sports bar restaurant. Again, the staff was not prepared and had to scramble to try to meet the expectation. The same restaurant the next day was quite busy and this seemed to completely overwhelm many waitstaff members leaving diners unhappy because of delayed food and incorrect delivery of orders. Apologies notwithstanding the problem seemed significant for a place that promises extraordinary service.

There were serveral other service delivery issues but the most insulting two occurred upon check out. I did not get the bill under my door as usual with most hotels, so I called the front desk to get it delivered. (BTW in this huge hotel it is quite a hike to the front desk from most rooms). After waiting over 30 minutes and two telephone calls later and no bill, I went down to the lobby to handle it directly. I received more apologies for the "no-show" front desk person with my bill, but that was the least of my problems. My bill was not remotely accurate requiring an extra 20 minutes of my time to get it straightened out. Despite my rate package documentation in writing, the hotel did not have this information in their system (for some unexplained reason---which generated more apologies) and the front desk staff member assisting me had to manually re-code and re-enterfix each of the four mistaken/inaccurate entries.

And the final blow came when we arrived home only to find that a family member's pillow and blanket had apparently fallen off the bellman's cart while our belongings were being transferred from the room to the hotel's front drive and was not packed into the car. (The hotel fed ex'd the items overnight with more apologies).

The lesson to be learned (hopefully) for Marriott (which runs the Gaylord Palms Resorts) is not to promise what you cannot deliver consistently. Even calling the fix it hotline required several attempts each time because the phone did not get answered or was put into perpetual hold. Not good.

All in all Gaylord Palms is a "needs a lot of work" brand especially if it continues to espouse the "extraordinary" service mantra.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

Twinkies for life: Hostess to shut down but iconic brand will survive

Any babyboomer who has not been sleeping through his or her lifetime knows about Hostess Twinkies. The vanilla cake outside with creamy white filling inside. It was the ultimate kids feel good snack so surgary and soft so calming and satisfying.

Hostess unable to resolve a employee union dispute decided to shut down its operations this week. The reality has been in the air for sometime. The baking company has been in financial difficulty for some years but this union pay strike put the "icing on the cake".

The maker of Wonderbread, Ho Hos, Devil Dogs, Funny Bones and their most famous brand Twinkies is closing up shop rather quickly, however, I believe this will not be the end of this iconic brand.

Twinkies are a part of the fabric of babyboomer lives which is why it makes it such an important brand of long standing. Although the butt of many jokes over the years and less in demand because it is truly unhealthy food, Twinkies nonetheless has a place in our world and will continue to have one. This brand is just too important and meaningful to people to let it die. Without the baggage of the dying manufacturer, a more financially stable baker can swoop in and buy the brand and ensure it stays around for years to come.

Wonderbread, the doughy white bleached flour product that served as sandwich bread for millions in my childhood, has some iconic status as well. However, people of all ages have increasingly forgone using white bread because it is so unhealthy, there are so many alternatives that are more healthy and honestly it won't be missed. It is a symbol of our childhood when eating unhealthy was the norm and most of us have moved on from that point and only see Wonderbread in the rear window.

Twinkies remain a symbol of our collective need for mini-indulgences even today. Our stressful and complex lives yearn for such pick me up products and despite the tons of sugar and other unhealthy ingredients, we continue to need such products to turn to if for no other reason than babyboomers are into naustalgia and a need to hold on to some key elements of their childhood as they age. It also tastes amazing when you just want that small satisfaction of uummm good bad stuff in your mouth.

The bottom line is the brand value of Twinkies is very high and undoubtedly this brand will be picked up very soon and back on grocery store shelves before you know it.

Publix, Trader Joe's, Wegman's, Whole Foods among best supermarket brands in US

A recent Consumer Reports Study concluded that Publix, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Wegman's are among the most beloved supermarket brands in the United States. Customer service, attractive environments and variety and quality of choices contribute to creating memorable food shopping experiences.

The reality is most American's can't afford to shop in the more upmarket supermarkets these days making greatly disliked Walmart's supermarket business #1 in the US because of its prices and convenience.

I read excerpts of the report which also stated people prefer stores with shorter check out lines as part of good overall customer service. What I found interesting is my own kitchen research doesn't necessarily support this premise.

Here's what I have experienced.

First, customer service is at an all time low in virtually all supermarkets because they are trying to keep costs down. Food costs are not as easy to regulate as costs of staffing. I find customer service in Whole Foods for example in New York, LA and Miami extremely poor. Increasingly, I find behind the counter staff surly uninterested and make many customers feel like they are doing them are favor to provide service. The same is been experienced at Publix throughout Florida despite their mantra "Where shopping is a pleasure". Not necessarily so. Check out lines at Publix tend to be long and they are slow to open additional lanes when crowded. I find cashiers and baggers sometimes so involved in their own conversations they practically ignore the customer.

Another interesting observation I have found is that prices for the same items vary dramatically from market to market. I am not talking fresh foods per se (although they vary widely as well based on availability and distance from source) but rather basic commodity items from cleaning products to cookies. I did a mini research study of prices between Ralphs ( a division of Kroger Foods)  in West Los Angeles and Publix in Miami Beach. I found prices in Ralphs on such basic items as Windex and Fig Newtons were vastly higher than in Miami Beach. The differences were as much as 50% higher in Ralphs vs. Publix yet I do not believe the key variable transportation costs should merit such a price difference. Ironically, Ralphs actively promotes "low prices" in their advertising efforts.

Additionally, Trader's Joes is the anomaly. Low prices, high quality pretty decent service and an interesting variety of products. It doesn't replace a supermarket for lots of items but my research consistently shows they check off most of consumers "must have" boxes for a good food shopping experience. Wish they had stores in Florida.....

Finally, I have found sometimes pricing in stores like Whole Foods is LOWER than pricing at Publix for example and although Whole Foods is generally more expensive that is not always the case especially with fresh foods and produce.

My conclusion is that perceptions about better service, pricing and products is quite variable and it is increasingly difficult for supermarket brands to distinguish themselves substantively. Thus, consumers (which they are apparently doing in larger numbers) are shopping around going from store to store rather than only shopping with one brand.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

 

 

Kraft Foods creates new brand for its global snacks business: Mondelez?

Often times when corporations either start a new division, have image or legal problems they consider introducing new names for their entities. These days most of the names are made-up ones that may or may not have any meaning or tie to a meaning. Finding names that work across many languages and also are available on the internet is tough going.

Kraft Foods announced last year that it was going to split its food and snack business into two distinct companies. Now Kraft has announced the name for the snack business: Mondelez. It is pronounced mohn-dah-leez and apparently can be linked to the meaning "delicious world".

With enough money and consistency of use almost any name can become well known. Almost all. Mondelez probably will have more success with acceptance overseas than in the US. In the past that might not have been such a big deal but today most businesses are global in nature with the US market of reduced importance.

My problems with this new moniker are 1) pronouncing it and 2) the image it might create among Americans. Most fellow brand experts I talked to say it will be a stumbling block to US acceptance and could possibly backfire. Why? American consumers are used to foreign brands, mostly for higher end goods, but may not find comfort buying commodity food products like snacks from what sounds like a non-American company. Comfort comes from reliability in knowing who is making your food or at least whom you think (or perceive) is making your food.

Only time will tell if Kraft can pull this off. BTW I was not able to find the accent bar to go over the second "e" on my computer, (it's probably there somewhere)--as Mondelez uses this bar as part of its name-- further contributing to difficulty using this new name among most folks.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Intercontinental Hotels to launch Fitness-Oriented hotel brand, Even

Intercontinental Hotel Group will launch the first mainstream hotel brand focused on the fitness minded traveler. The new chain will be called "Even" and will feature a large fully equipped fitness center in the lobby and fitness minded furnishings in each hotel room.

Research shows that business travelers increasingly are looking for hotels with truly functional gyms and not small closet afterthought exercise spaces. Currently many top luxury branded hotels and spas have fitness centers comparable to health clubs. Canyon Ranch Hotel and Spas in three US locations is noted for its excellent fitness centers on-site.

Intercontinental whose brands include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Intercontinental, Candlewood and Staybridge Suites plan to open 100 US locations of Even Hotels. The new concept is truly distinctive and quite different than their existing properties.

The Even Hotels will also serve health oriented meals in its restaurants. In room amenities will include a coat rack that doubles as a pull up bar and a luggage rack that is usable as an exercise bench.

Although many might see this as too niche oriented, I believe it is a good branding idea for the relatively stagnant hospitality industry seeking to meet the needs of travelers who want to maintain their fitness regimens on the road without having to search for local health clubs.

The first location (not yet specified) is scheduled to open in 2013.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Paula Deen may have swallowed her own poison pill. High Fat Food Chef hides Diabetes

Paul Deen the southern chef who rose to prominence in the past few years with her high fat generally unhealthy but delicious (to many-but not me) cuisine has finally disclosed that she has Diabetes. What is worse and threatens to destroy her brand is the fact that she hid this information from her "fans" and the public in general and then has gone on to become a spokesperson for a Diabetes drug called Victoza.

The problem lies in the fact that her claim to fame are foods that are unhealthy and could directly relate to causing Diabetes in those who indulge in such fat-ladden meals. Ms. Deen has said she "didn't know how to handle" disseminating the news of her Diabetes or her new spokesperson status given the nature of her brand's identity.

Famous recipes have included Deep Fried Mac and Cheese and Fried Butter Balls. Can you say "it might kill you" foods?

Fans of the Food Network have spoken loudly condemning Ms. Deen for making millions and not being honest with her fans and the American public in general.  Other notable chefs have gone as far as to make public statements about Ms. Deen that are not complimentary about this situation.

From a brand point of view, this latest twist (which includes now offering low(er) fat recipes and tweaking her famous Paul Deen Southern Cooking approach dramatically) may create empathy but it undercuts what her brand was all about specifically all her cookbooks and shows that are completely tied to fatty foods.

If she radically changes her shows books and endorsements the Paula Deen brand will be no more and likely to become a footnote in celebrity chef history.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli

Starbucks cutting off power access to customers who set up shop for hours in the cafes

Have you ever gone into a Starbucks to perhaps have a sandwich and a cup of coffee only to find that all the multi-seat tables are taken over by one person hogging them with laptops, printers and smart phones? Free office space (with free unlimited internet access) is what I have called it for several years and it was one of the reasons I stopped being a loyal Starbucks customer.

These squatters buy one Latte and nurse it all day while they use the free WiFi Starbucks offers to all customers. Now in an interesting offensive move some Starbucks locations in New York are blocking electrical outlets to "discourage" the space hogs. Finally Starbucks is admitting what many of us have been telling them for years that allowing a few folks to make it untenable for others to sit and enjoy their coffee pastry or sandwich is hurting their business.

Good move Starbucks send these cheap skates to the sidewalk or have them ante up every hour like using a parking meter.

Watching out for you everyday.

Eli