Samantha Penney
Samantha was in the bakery when a customer who is visually impaired ran his cart into the bakery gate. Concerned, Samantha spoke with the customer who said he was fine, just not familiar with the store. Without hesitation Samantha offered to help him with the rest of his shopping. “I didn’t want to intrude on his space but he seemed grateful for the help and he didn’t need many things so it didn’t take too long,” she says. After he was finished at Sobeys the customer mentioned that he was going on to another store which was across a busy four-lane street. Samantha offered to walk him to that store and then notified that staff about the situation. The customer was grateful and returned the next day to thank Samantha with a card and a box of chocolates. “I was relieved he was alright with me helping him and that he was safe,” she says.
Jennifer Perenack
Jennifer has a played a huge role in bringing new employees into the company following the Safeway acquisitions and she has travelled extensively across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan doing just that. “You have to understand that you are going into a business that employees have been used to for so long,” says Jennifer of the challenges she faces. “I try to listen to them. I understand there are fears. I let them know that I’m not there to stomp all over them. I want to make them part of our team.” One small location was particularly challenging. “Everybody was very disgruntled and upset. I had a lot of resistance,” says Jennifer. “So I started working with every person, having conversations with them, assuring them that we welcome them, we want them to continue with us and grow with us.” Showing that sort of patience and leadership paid off when attitudes started changing. “You need to let employees express themselves instead of just overriding them,” says Jennifer.
Kristine Ramezani
Kristine’s job has expanded and evolved over the 13 years she has been with Sobeys but it comes down to all things visual. Among her responsibilities is private label packaging, seasonal decor for the stores and the look of the stores and the Tahoe office. “It’s an amazing, amazing job,” says Kristine. “I’m kind of like the creative director, visually.” Kristine was nominated as a Value Champion for her work that included the creation of the Chalo! FreshCo. brand. “The look and feel had to be authentic,” says Kristine. “It was very satisfying changing how we look at stores.” Another facet of her job is designing private label packaging, work that also makes Kristine very proud. But don’t ask her to choose a favourite project or product. “It’s like children,” she laughs. “I love them all the same.”
Sandra Reda
“It’s important to go the extra mile and work hard to resolve any issues as they occur to ensure the customer is happy,” says Sandra. The opportunity to work on Project Defrost, the expansion of the Vaughan RSC, was amazing, says Sandra, who facilitated the system environments and data for testing in Germany and commissioning in Vaughan. “A team of us went to Germany three times last year to do some testing. Then we brought that knowledge back for further testing here.” Sandra has worked for Sobeys for 35 years and says her favourite part of the job is her co-workers. “I enjoy seeing the guys on the floor, chatting with them. I like to try and make their lives easier out on the floor.” Her daughter is on a one-year contract at the RSC and Sandra couldn’t be more proud. “The guys welcomed her into the family just like they welcomed me.”
Paul Rehberg
Paul is a man of few words but what he does say comes from the heart. So when a customer broke down and started to cry in front of him, he asked her if she was alright. It turned out that the customer was facing a health crisis. “She was struggling with the decision of whether or not to get an operation,” says Paul. “I just asked her what her quality of life was now and what it could be. We sat there, talked and she gave me a hug and left.” That’s just one example of how Paul treats customers. “We all have our hard days. She just needed somebody to talk to,” he says. “It’s not going above and beyond, it’s just being human.” Paul’s proudest moment? “Meeting her,” he says, nodding to his fiance who also works at Sobeys. “She helped me through a hard time.”
Brooke Rideout
Brooke brings many new customers through the doors of Sobeys. As the first pharmacy Sobeys dietitian in the western region, Brooke reached out to other health professionals in the city to form partnerships to improve the service she provides to her customers. Brooke tailors her programs to create a very practical, hands-on approach to health, leaving customers feeling empowered and motivated. With an innovative approach to these chronic disease management groups, she continues to host a new group of people each month. Brooke also promotes the grocery store as a unique classroom, giving realistic advice for her customers based on meal planning, cooking, label reading and shopping. “I feel it is a privilege to work with people in the community,” says Brooke. “They are our family, friends, neighbours and our customers.”
Denika Robinson
When a patient was facing a roadblock of red tape trying to get provincial Pharmacare coverage, Denika took it upon herself to help. The patient, who has a care worker through the Department of Community Services, wasn’t set up properly in the system in order to have her medications covered. It took a couple days of back and forth between the customer, the healthcare worker and the province but Denika was able to solve the issue. The customer was very grateful, says Denika. “She called the store manager, the pharmacy manager, she came in to thank me,” she says. “She still thanks me every day that I see her. She just needed someone to listen and to help.” Being caring and compassionate comes from Denika’s heart. “My mom taught me to treat people the way I want to be treated,” she says, tearing up at the thought. “She’s an amazing woman and I love her very much. I’m glad I made her proud.”
Colleen Rolfe
About two weeks before Christmas, the Helping Acton Food Hamper Program was struggling to get donations so Colleen took up the cause. “It’s Christmas,” says Colleen, becoming emotional at the memory. “How can people be without food?” Colleen started fundraising in the store, collecting from both employees and customers. In a short time, she and her team raised $2,500 as well as $1,000 worth of food. Colleen also volunteered her time to put the hampers together and to get them out to families. “Without Colleen’s call to arms, the Hamper program would not have happened this year in Acton,” states the nomination letter. Colleen credits her co-workers and all of Acton for pulling together to make it happen. “I’m just proud to be part of this community.”
Cheri Rennie
The staff at Cheri’s store appreciate her leadership style and make a point of telling management how much they enjoy working with her. “Cheri has a charm about her that allows individuals to immediately feel comfortable,” states the nomination letter. “She is genuine. and gets to know staff on a personal level.” Cheri set out to increase the response rate to the annual employee engagement survey by personally speaking to every employee. “When people were punching in, I’d pull them into the office, explain to them what the survey is about and that it’s beneficial that we know how they are feeling,” says Cheri. “In one weekend I got almost the entire store to finish it.” Cheri stays real by treating each employee the same and with respect. “My motto is if you want to be trusted, be honest,” she says. “That’s the way I’ve always been.”
Paul Nielsen
Paul coaches Special Olympics basketball and when the season finished, one player said he was taking time off to take up figure skating. As time went on, the athlete would stop by the store to update Paul. “He came in one day and told me he had won provincials so he wouldn’t be back yet. Then he came in and said he had won nationals and wouldn’t be back yet. He was going to worlds.” Shortly after that, in walked the athlete to share the news: he had won three gold medals at the World Figure Skating Championships in Austria. “It brought tears to my eyes,” says Paul, emotional at the memory. “He went home, came back and brought the medals with him. It was quite a day.” Coaching Special Olympic athletes is very humbling and rewarding, says Paul. “The things we get stressed about means nothing to them. They are just there to have fun and that’s what they do.”
