Karen Rooyakkers
In the letter nominating her as a Value Champion, Karen is described as the best front end manager that Sobeys has. Her manager relies on her and appreciates that she takes on extra duties. Karen is the store’s “go-to manager for so many things.” “I get constant customer feedback on my front end staff, and that is because Karen leads by example. She always puts the customer first.” That may be because Karen believes in being open and honest with her co-workers and customers. “I am down to earth and treat everyone with respect,” she says. When her store lost their Community Room Co-ordinator, Karen took over the work and brought in more business. “You should see the birthday parties she plans and executes – it is phenomenal.” Karen is well-respected and liked by both customers and her co-workers. “I value everyday that I get to work with someone like her,” says her nomination letter.
Kelly Sato
Kelly feels a very strong connection to her store and community. “I grew up right behind this store so I shopped here as a little girl,” says Kelly. So when she discovered an elderly customer named Norma was in hospital after breaking her hip, Kelly didn’t hesitate to help. Working with co-workers Krystene Harvey, Kathryn Lachuk and Andy Baxter, Kelly organized a desperately needed refurbishing of Norma’s apartment, sourcing new flooring, cabinets and furniture to give Norma a clean and safe home. Being able to do that for Norma was Kelly’s proudest moment as an employee. “I don’t like to even call Norma a customer,” says Kelly. “She’s a friend now.” Those types of connections are Kelly’s favourite part of the job. It doesn’t hurt that her husband also works at the store. “We actually get a chance to talk without being interrupted by the kids,” laughs Kelly.
Holly-Anne Scott Velasco
As a registered dietitian Holly-Anne has the ability to directly impact her customers’ health and lifestyle by giving them realistic solutions to the barriers they face when it comes to eating healthy. “You can tell someone to eat less sugar or you can show someone how to realistically do it,” says Holly-Anne. “I get to give someone actual tools they can use instead of just hoping they figure it out.” Holly-Anne holds a variety of classes in her store, the most successful of which is Cooking for One or Two. “Mostly seniors were coming and we were having 20 or 30 people on the waitlist so I just kept running the program. People just kept coming.” One of the messages Holly-Anne gives customers is that there is room for all foods in a healthy diet. “I like to tell people dietitians eat pizza too!”
Amy Serpa
Every day, Amy brings her A-game to work. Not only does the Value Champion award recognize her strong work ethic but her leadership as well. During Sobeys involvement in the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show sponsorship reception, Amy ensured the catering event ran smoothly. She was instrumental in the planning, organizing, preparing and supervising of staff. Amy held planning sessions, looked after product ordering and came up with a Fall/harvest theme for the reception. Despite this being a first for the team, Amy made it look like they’d been doing this kind for work for years! Amy said that catering the pulled- pork dinner for 250 people was a proud moment for her and her team. “I was so proud to represent Sobeys. To see it come together and become a huge success was tremendously rewarding. We did such a good job, they want us back!” she says.
Jeanine Serrador
Being involved in her community is important to Jeanine, who has taken part in countless charity events including fundraisers for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Big Brothers and Sisters.aBeing involved in her community is important to Jeanine, who has taken part in countless charity events including fundraisers for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Big Brothers and Sisters. So when Jeanine realized her store didn’t have a day-old bread pick-up program, she set out to change that. “In our community there’s so many people who rely on the food bank and I suggested we send it there,” says Jeanine. “It was just a matter of talking to the right people and setting it up. Now they come in every day and pick up all the stuff we would normally throw in the garbage and now people have food they wouldn’t normally have.” Jeanine is teaching her children the importance of volunteering and making a difference in their community. “It’s important to give back to our customers,” she says. “If they need help we should be there to help them.”
Jeremy Shea
Jeremy was one of the key leaders on Project Defrost, travelling to Germany several times to ensure the successful rollout of the project. His work included training employees at the Vaughan RSC and highlighting issues to the leaders over the course of 20 weeks. “I try to break the system before we put it into production or a test environment,” says Jeremy. “I would break everything that I could to make sure that we had what we needed.” Jeremy trained employees on how the system works and what to look for, putting in countless hours. “There were times Jeremy left his family on a Sunday night to go into Vaughan to support our operation without anyone from leadership asking,” states the nomination letter. It’s a job he loves. “My proudest moments are seeing results,” says Jeremy. “Seeing the end goal for any project is a proud moment.”
Mary Sherwood
One of the best parts of Mary’s job is getting to know customers who come in regularly and being able to offer them assistance. For instance, she has taken it upon herself to ensure an elderly customer who is blind is able to shop safely and efficiently whenever he comes into the store. “It’s been five or six years that he’s been coming in on Fridays,” says Mary. “I wait and watch for him and make sure I’m available. If he doesn’t show up for a week or two, I start to get worried.” Mary considers becoming a Value Champion her proudest moment as a Sobeys employee. “I always place the customer first. We have people we see every day, sometimes until they are no longer with us. We try to ensure they have the best experience possible.” Building relationships with customers and co-workers helps create a welcoming environment. “My Sobeys is my home away from home,” says Mary.
Gilles St-Onge
With a personal motto of: “A happy customer is a customer forever,” Gilles lives and breathes customer service. He says he always makes sure that customers get the best shopping experience and a few have praised his enthusiasm and dedication. During a busy Christmas season, Gilles helped a frazzled couple with their selection of lobster and scallops. He walked around to the front of the counter and spent about 15 minutes with them, giving them pointers on buying and cooking seafood. Gilles didn’t realize that the couple had been to other stores and didn’t find what they wanted until they came to Sobeys! And that’s just one example of many. Gilles is lauded for his positive attitude, his smile, and his passion for his work. He loves to talk seafood and to share recipes with customers. This is a sentence from the letter nominating Gilles: “Thank you for everything you do to make Sobeys 586 the best store to work.”
Jessica Stafrace
“Customer service is important to me. I try to provide the type of customer service that I look for,” Jessica says. “I enjoy helping people.” When Jessica found an envelope that had been left behind by a customer, she raced out to find the customer but it was too late so she turned the envelope in to customer service. Later that day the customer realized it was missing and returned to the store to claim it. “In the envelope were cheques and money, including the customer’s rent,” says Jessica. “She was so happy to have it back, she called to thank me and came in the next day to give me a gift card.” Jessica understands the value in customer service and wants to play a part in making the customer’s shopping experience enjoyable. “I want people to be happy leaving our store and feeling like they will come back.”
Debra Robb
I can brighten somebody’s day just by doing what I like to do,” says Debra. “I had a customer I did a cake order for a year ago come back in for a similar order. I felt proud when they came back and asked for me.” Debra volunteered to walk in the Oktoberfest Parade, which is a big event in Kitchener, and she collected donations for the foodbank. She also helped with a fundraiser for Epilepsy. “I like to help out when people need me and I’m honoured to work for a company that supports the communities,” says Debra. Her generosity doesn’t stop there. Debra volunteers her time shoveling snow at a nursing home as well as for her elderly neighbour and she worked at the Sobeys booth at the Williamsburg Fun Fair, giving out prizes and encouraging kids to decorate cookies. “I enjoy seeing happy faces and having good times.”
