Tite Frette, great seduction | The Press

The Léger firm published its annual list of businesses offering the best shopping experience on Tuesday. An opportunity to salute those who stand out… and those who disappoint.

I’ve written a few times about customer service over the past year, and it’s never been to brag about a sudden and remarkable improvement.

I rather find that waiting times are getting longer everywhere, that employees are becoming rarer, that those in place often lack training and experience. In stores and restaurants, I nevertheless remain conciliatory, because personnel management represents a more daunting challenge than ever. And when the girl serving me a donut at Tim Hortons looks like she’s 12 or 13, my expectations are realistic.

That said, despite the context of labor shortages, businesses still manage to impress their customers, if not to satisfy them more than adequately. They deserve to be named.

Léger has just revealed the results of its extensive annual survey on customer experience in stores.

Its “WOW Index” assigns a score to each company, which makes it possible to determine the best students and the dunces. That’s interesting, because we’re not talking about general customer impressions based on not much here. About twenty specific criteria (courtesy, staff competence, atmosphere, price, promotions, signage, efficiency at checkouts, etc.) were evaluated by 12,000 recent customers in Quebec.

The 42 Tite Frette stores occupy first place with a score of 97%. It’s proof that there is still a way to create concepts that will motivate customers to travel with a little imagination and clear values. The employees there seem to be as passionate about microbrewery beers as the customers, notes Christian Bourque, executive vice-president and partner at Léger.

This is exactly the recipe behind this beautiful A+, explained to me two leaders of the still very young franchise network. Its birth dates back to 2018.

“We have fun and it’s contagious. When people come in and they see that the product is fun, that the employees are smiling and that they are having fun, that enhances the customer experience and they want to come back,” summarizes the head of the company. experience (CXO) and partner Steve Morency, whom I joined at the Granby zoo.

The whole “family” of Tite Frette was there at the congress on Tuesday, when the news of his first place came out. Pure coincidence. A surprise that could not have come at a better time. Everyone was as delighted as they were moved, and this stimulates the whole team, which plans to open 15 branches in 2023, says President Karl Magnone. “I had tears in my eyes. »

It was the first time that Tite Frette had been evaluated by Léger. Nobody knew what to expect.

What are their tips for standing out?

In terms of customer service, the business model based on franchises – which can play tricks – is “significantly more advantageous” than that of branches owned by the head office, believes Steve Morency. “You have owners on site, people who invest in their business, who are financially committed. They want to recover their down payment, they want to make a profit, they want to succeed, and that goes through the customer experience. »

Karl Magnone adds that he puts a lot of energy into staff training since thousands of new products are released every year. Pleasure and excellence in service are part of the company’s values. The beer is categorized, which makes shopping easier. Tastings and even surprise bags are offered to customers. The idea is to create a bond of trust and mutual knowledge so that purchase suggestions are accepted without fear.

Of course, not all businesses can dream of attracting employees who are genuinely passionate about the products on the shelves. But the idea of ​​working with joy and enthusiasm can certainly be an interesting avenue to follow for retailers who find themselves at the bottom of Leger’s ranking.

It’s so unpleasant to come across a stupid look that doesn’t want to be there…

Least-liked businesses

Since it is published every year, the WOW charts make it possible to follow certain trends, sometimes linked to current events.

This year, all the major supermarkets – with the exception of Avril which occupies the first place in the category and the 26^e all types of companies – lost their feathers. Max (158^e) and Metro (100^e) show the steepest tumbles.

Leger speculates that the decline in this category is due to inflation hurting it when customers assess prices. Frequent stock-outs, especially of food on sale, shouldn’t help either. There has also been talk in the past year of the decline in the freshness of fruits and vegetables due to failures in the supply chain, a phenomenon highlighted by Dalhousie University.

“Costco overtook Metro and IGA for the first time,” notes Christian Bourque of Léger.

Since the start of the pandemic, cats and dogs have grown in popularity. Pet shops seem to welcome these companions as well as their parents! Two brands (Mondou and Pitou Minou & Compagnons) are part of the top 15 (out of 203). Two shops specializing in dietary supplements are also in the restricted group of champions. Their customers like the opportunity to make discoveries and find their website effective.

As has been the case since the start of the WOW Index in 2010, the SAQ once again stands out this year (7^e rank). Quebecers greatly appreciate the Inspire program, which concocts personalized offers for them, notes Léger. Small details, such as being able to easily find the names of previously purchased wines, play a decisive role. Note that in the Ontario ranking, its equivalent, the LCBO, ranks 141^e rank. Quite a difference! These are not the same people who compared the two Crown corporations, which requires some caution in the analysis, but we are far from being in the same waters.

And now, who is at the bottom of the list?

Small local grocery stores as well as the convenience store chain 7 jours, owned by Couche-Tard, essentially. And, what is much more surprising, the Spanish giant Zara. The clothing retailer is successful all over the world, but Quebecers don’t appreciate their visit there at all. That said, many popular businesses get poor ratings.

This is the case of the giants Réno-Dépôt, Dollarama, Economax, Walmart and H & M, which find themselves at the back of the pack. With the exception of Réno-Dépôt, they all rely on their relatively low prices and not on the customer experience to stand out.

At 186^e rank, Uniqlo does little better, even though the Japanese brand enjoys a good reputation. It’s pretty amazing too.

In the pharmacy sector, Pharmaprix stands out with its 124^e position. We are far from Familiprix (22^e), Near (23^e) and Brunet (26^e), the leading peloton that also dropped Jean Coutu. Obviously, the concept of a big box that sells as much medicine as ham and printers appeals less. When it comes to health, we like the warmth or at least the atmosphere of small surfaces, it seems.

No one from the Quebec region will be surprised to learn that Simons, Tanguay and Canac rank first in their category. These three chain stores in the Old Capital have always been loved by customers. And in all categories of clothing (with the exception of lingerie), Quebec companies dominate: Tristan, Ernest, Claire France.

Impacts of labor shortage

I spoke to you earlier about the labor shortage. Léger polled Quebecers on the issue and the results are quite surprising. Only 14% have “observed, experienced or felt the impact of the labor shortage on their shopping experience”. This is little. And for 2% of this group, the impact was positive.

Yes, yes, positive! When there are fewer employees, there is less pressured shopping and sometimes the ability to make an appointment to shop, which is appreciated. For others, the scarcity of labor has caused the proliferation of self-service checkouts. It’s an interesting way of looking at things. These funds, as I have already written, are far from unanimous. Some love them, others hate them.

The survey also reveals that the negative impact was felt mainly in five sectors, namely (in order) hardware, clothing stores for both sexes, groceries, telecommunications and bakery. .

It’s hard to say if Quebecers are more accommodating towards businesses that are short of people, or if they have lowered their expectations, but the main irritant for consumers is… the famous price hike. Should we be surprised?