Where shopping is a pleasure.

Meanwhile all is perfect and pleasant over at Publix! All the registers are open. The items are perfectly organized. The food is fresher and greener. The people working there are smiling and asking if you need any help. My wife said she was there the other day and that the man bagging her groceries was told by the supervisor that he was “making wrong choices.” That fruits should go with fruits and so on. She said he took the instruction well and proceeded to carry her groceries out to the car with a smile. The experience was enjoyable she said.

Now Publix is a littler pricier I know. But given the inevitable misery that awaits me at Wal-Mart, it almost seems worth it. I would only assume that Publix’s competitive strategy is to make the shopping experience as enjoyable as possible so as not to compete on price. That way, when you think of Publix you don’t think “more expensive” but rather “more enjoyable”. Completely different playing field. Almost like apples and oranges. And why not really? Going grocery shopping should be enjoyable. And it’s really just small things that go a long way. Smiling, helping, courtesy, customer service. They are so simple and they don’t cost anything yet they speak a huge amount of value. They can change a company’s competitive advantage. They can even make the same products just on different shelves worth that much more.