Oct 23rd. reflective thoughts

We went to Alberta food coop. It looked quite different from People’s. It definitely has more visibility and advantageous location; although I don’t think they’ve been taking advantage of that fact wisely. There are only very small signs for their name and what they do. They carried many brand names, such as Tillamock cheese and Sunshine milk. Considering the fact, that People’s focus on highly standardized natural food, which enhances their identity as natural food store, Alberta food coop has weaker identify, not much difference from New Season’s or Fred Meyer organic sections, except for produce that they buy from local farmers. They had bigger store space and more variety of products that customers will enjoy. However, I have to say People’s use its shelf space more wisely and keep it more clean and organized. Their use of lighting and display are more appealing too. The Operation Manager, Rachel, did great job to promote her store to us. She was very honest and open, knowing the condition of the business and members’ needs. It was nice that she offered us a volunteer opportunity, and People’s actually didn’t. That really changes the impression about openness. I thought volunteering at coops is only for members. Anyway, it was great to have something that can be compared together, so we get good picture of better natural food store.