How Do We Keep the Magic of The Wedge?

What does Wedge Community Co-op membership mean to you? Your board must understand your needs and desires to plan for the Wedge's future. You, your board, and the talented Wedge staff want the Wedge to continue to thrive. Last year, Director Merle Borchers asked, "How do we keep the magic of the Wedge?" Board members realized that we had not yet developed a shared vision of a thriving Wedge or what makes it special.

We needed to prepare ourselves for strategic planning. This requires a clear picture of the Wedge of the future. Directors must understand how the rapidly-changing natural foods industry and our growing membership impact the Wedge.

As one way to learn about the industry and member needs, the board, management team members and the general manager participate together in quarterly events called "Conversations for Thriving." Department managers are a great asset to the conversations because they have a wealth of knowledge about the industry from years of experience on the local, regional and national level. In addition, daily interaction with members and shoppers provides another perspective.

During the conversations for thriving, directors also learned more about Wedge employees. Our employees like working in a place that respects their values. Our managers had many positive comments about working with such a cohesive team. As a result of these conversations, directors have a better appreciation of how much work and cooperation go into the Wedge's magic. One director compared the efforts of the managers to conducting and playing in an orchestra because of the amount of collaboration necessary to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Your shopping experience reflects the competent, committed employees who deliver exceptional customer service. To illustrate, Director Marty Broan told how he and his son, Simon, not yet two years old, had shopped at a local grocery store. Simon was having a delightful time walking through the store with Marty as he put his selections in his cart. Simon picked up an orange to examine it and it fell out of his hands. A store employee asked Marty to seat Simon in the grocery cart, using a tone of voice that clearly reflected disapproval. Simon wailed, "I want Wedge," much to the consternation of the employee. Later, at a trip to the Wedge, Simon was allowed to be mobile, not confined to the cart. He satisfied his curiosity, this time exploring a grapefruit in his small hands. A produce worker came by and shared Simon's enthusiasm, declaring that he had picked out a big, tasty grapefruit. Simon hugged the grapefruit and said, "Wedge is good!"

It is the passion for the Wedge, as represented by Simon's experience, that the Board of Directors, general manager, management team, and Wedge employees want to create and recreate every day for our members and non-member customers. To help ensure that we are on the right track and stay there, the Board will conduct a survey of Wedge members to learn as much about you and your experience here as possible. We want to understand what is important to you. We know your time is precious. If you are one of the members selected to receive the survey, please take the time to complete it.