It's been 15 years since I began cutting. I started in a steakhouse and went to retail a short time later. I've seen simple steak cutting to full-blown merchandising that incorporates all elements of a retail grocery store (how about some hemp seed with your steak?). As a long time member here that doesn't post a lot (I do lurk a lot), I almost feel out of place. At my company, my opinions are welcome and expected--it's the only way to work up. Typical rules and regulations such as labor and extraordinary gross expectations take a back seat to innovation. The competition is extreme and I'm having a hard time with out-'fluffing' them.
I'm a traditionalist. I prefer quality above all. Cut a damn fine product on a consistent basis and you'll have a customer for life. But that's not good enough. I've never really been one to create new ideas, but I can take one and make it better and implement it more effectively. You see, I work in a wealthy market and while it makes sales easy, it becomes very difficult because that same wealth can be spent anywhere as there is no price limit to these folks. Trendy would be the word. In reality, I'm running out of ways to merchandise chicken (among other things).
What makes it even more difficult is that our customer base loves to cook. They watch the cooking shows and take down the recipes. One local show said to get your stew meat at our company and that very same day there was a mad rush on stew meat. Well, this is great for my traditional ideals (a proper stew meat instead of junk stew meat), but the higher ups want ready-to-cook meal ideas. It's a good way to generate some sales I suppose, but in our market, it's not so effective because people like to use recipes to cook.
In short, my bosses are enamoured by the fancy camp. I'm in the "you can't f*k up a good piece of meat" camp. How would YOU bridge the gap?
-- Edited by T-Bone on Wednesday 6th of June 2012 09:52:02 PM
First of all, its good to ask the question- many guys dont, thinking it will show a weak spot-which is just foolish
If the owners have thier head in the clouds, and want to see innovation, well, it sounds like you are an independent, so you have the freedom of innovation and creativity
here's a thought to bridge the gap promote a "recipe contest" in your store around your meatcase
here's what I did, I had blank recipe cards put next to an empty box - I asked customers to submit thier favorite recipes and by doing so, we will have a drawing for a chance to win (5 free lobsters) well, i got 437 recipes in two weeks-the ladies loved it
keep this in mind- most stores are community centers, people run into folks they know- so recipes coming from friends and naighbors (local area) are much more warm and friendly and inviting .
when you have the recipes, YOU hand pick the ones you want to promote, and incorporate YOUR products in this-you can place these in the flyer or around point of sale this may sound like a lot of work, but it isnt-the benefits are great!
after i got my recipes, I made a "Recipe Board" and again, left out blank recipe cards for customers to write/copy the ones they want-they did it because, many knew the person who submitted the recipes
dont be afraid of the cooked stuff- I love to cook, and remember, beef is cold dead muscle-til someone cooks it into food-
customers will pay for convenience- in many meat dept. now the rotiserries are in the meat rooms, or close by, the meat manager is in charge of it-which I like because meat dept, get the sales and gross margin.
over 80% of the independent stores around here (meat dept) are now cooking thier own meals- NOT getting screwed on transfers to the deli- they are using the deli/bake ovens, but packaging the items themselves and getting sales credit
do you have a vacuum sealer? those are great for marinade sections,-3 week shelf life this can open up many ideas for innovation
II too have worked retail grocery and understand the pressures involved in meat Dept. Sales. There are only so many ways to market a piece of meat. It drove me crazy. I am now the meat cutter at golden corral and though I cut close to 800 lbs. Of meat on a daily basis, the pressure is off. No marketing, no customers to deal with, no recipes to invent and implement, just straight forward cutting and quotas. I couldn't be happier.
II too have worked retail grocery and understand the pressures involved in meat Dept. Sales. There are only so many ways to market a piece of meat. It drove me crazy. I am now the meat cutter at golden corral and though I cut close to 800 lbs. Of meat on a daily basis, the pressure is off. No marketing, no customers to deal with, no recipes to invent and implement, just straight forward cutting and quotas. I couldn't be happier.
Ha, I learned to cut meat at a local GC. I remember when they were only anal about not being over or under by more than a quarter ounce. It makes for a simple job (NO disrespect, let me tell ya!). I got tired of prepping all the dang rotissere chicken so I started griling. That was fun, so long as my helper could keep up. I remember rocking 2 grills top and bottom on weekends. I think this was pre-buffet time. I was long gone after they started focusing on the buffet. I developed my speed while at the grocery store level.
Does GC still have you 'marinate' your meat with those jugs of brown liquid? I also kind miss the marinated steak (a 5 I think? ask a veteran). I always loved the steak and shrimp meal.
