Raley’s Family of Fine Stores, which is known for its award-winning customer engagement and customer experience, recently became the first retailer in the country to roll out a new, environmentally friendly food safety program.
Raley’s, the Northern California-based supermarket chain, announced the rollout of a new cleaning and sanitation program, saving about four million gallons of water, lowering energy consumption by 7.5 million kWh’s of energy, saving 100 tons in shipping, and reducing labor by over 23,000 hours a year. Implementation of the entire Ecolab program began at the end of 2014 and will be complete and in all stores by the end of April.
Toni Hofer, who is the Food Safety Senior Manager at Raley’s, told Loyalty360 that Ecolab had been testing new chemicals with Raley’s for the past year.
“We were looking for chemicals that would continue to improve the effectiveness of cleaning /sanitation, reduce caustic impact to our employees and the environment, AND that were cost-effective,” Hofer explained.
Chelsea Minor, Raley’s Director of Public Affairs and Public Relations, told Loyalty360 that a partnership with Ecolab ensures that Raley’s “provides our customers the cleanest and safest shopping experience possible while helping us reduce our overall environmental impact (energy and water), all of which is important to our customers.”
Minor said that building and maintaining brand loyalty is paramount at Raley’s.
“Raley’s strives to find innovative solutions that make our operations work more effectively and efficiently,” she explained. “With more efficiency, we can spend more time interfacing and serving our customers. We want to improve customer experience and provide superior customer service, which we hope will build loyalty.”
Minor said that Raley’s customers are concerned about negative impacts on the environment.
“Our partnership offers significant water and energy savings,” Minor explained. “These efforts are important to reducing our impact on the environment.”
Customer experience at Raley’s revolves around providing world-class service through its customer promises: Helpful knowledge, exceptional service, and a caring approach that infuses their lives with health and happiness.
“Customer loyalty is defined by our customers’ engagement and if they return to our stores,” Minor added.