Three out of four customers surveyed said they were “extremely satisfied” with the new shopping experience. But if you dig deeper into the customer satisfaction ratings, the news is even better.

Customers’ perception that they were “extremely satisfied” with the staff’s product knowledge was up eight percent; five percent more said they appreciated being acknowledged by staff members; and three percent more said they were impressed by the level of staff engagement.

Among many other changes, Gartner and his staff initiated a program to help shoppers answer the age-old question, “What’s for dinner?” It was so successful in driving sales that the Woodbury store was selected for a pilot program this year offering meal kits.

He started rotating the shifts of staff leaders so that service levels and expertise were heightened at the busiest times of the day. An evening grocery supervisor was added to make sure store conditions remained strong right through closing time.

He enhanced training at all levels. For instance, employees in meat and seafood, bakery, deli and produce completed a program with classroom instruction and in-store demonstrations, all with the goal of expanding their product knowledge.