On Thursday Tammy and I had a quick trip to Minneapolis for some ConAgra work, and the one thing that will probably stick with me the most had nothing to do with our project. It was our trip to the grocery. Byerly's to be specific.
I had never heard of this chain before (I think it only exists in Minnesota), but it was the model of an upscale grocery experience. And it was full grocery, not a specialty place like Whole Foods or Fresh Market.
Beautifully lit, airy, open, bright, with wide aisles, the environment encouraged browsing. Beautiful store brand packaging sat proudly next to national brand competition. A wide array of prepared foods was available, along with the expected pharmacy, meat counter, coffee bar, etc.
But things went from mild flirtation to full on crush at the checkout line. There, after more than a few minutes of confusion on our part, our groceries were bagged, put into grey plastic tubs and whisked away. Instead of the bags and our cart, we were handed two license plate-looking things. The cashier patiently explained to the out-of-towners that we were to pull our car around the side and our groceries would be waiting for us. Sure enough, down a little carousel came our tubs of groceries. We said put 'em in the back seat, the man did, and off we went. It was somewhat magical.
Since then I have joked with friends that it was enough to make me want to move to Minneapolis. That's probably an overstatement, but it was certainly memorable and based on just one trip I have been spreading the brand's message to anyone who will listen.
Kroger, you listening?
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