Walmart Supercentre had an early start on Thursday, Jan. 28 as it opened its doors for the first time officially under its new name to guests at 7 a.m. in the morning, as store manager Lorrainne Jonzon introduced her team, made cheque donations to some of the local organizations and charities, which was followed by ribbon cutting.
"My priority is to have all processes in place to create a safe and productive work environment," said Jonzon. "Residents will notice an increase in the number of products we have to offer now in our one-stop shop. Supercentres offer up to 120,000 products, including the full range of groceries, fresh produce, bakery, deli, meat and dairy."
Stettler Food Bank, Stettler Hamper Society, Big Valley School Exchange Student Ptogram and Stettler Skatepark Association received $1,000 each in donation, while Stettler Minor Hockey and Stettler Lacrosse teams received $350 each.
"We have a charity committee within our store with associates and an assistant store manager that meet monthly and review where we will contribute," added Jonzon. "Walmart Canada's philanthropy is focused on supporting Canadian families in need and last year the store donated and raised $9,400 for a number of charities."
With the new set up, Jonzon expects her team to maintain customer satisfaction as the number one goal.
"Customer satisfaction is my entire team's number one goal for our residents here in Stettler and our visiting customers and it is on the top of our list everyday," continued Jonzon. "By maintaining fresh product, a clean store, full counters, fast service at our checkouts, and of course friendly service we will be taking care of each one of our customers and their needs."
With a career of 17 years with Walmart, Jonzon is not new to the environment, and has held management positions in Grand Prairie and Red Deer for long periods, having taken up the store manager position in Stettler in August 2015.
"Each location I have managed has certainly had differences in markets and what our customer needs are, but knowing your community and what their needs are in each specific location helps you to provide better customer service," said Jonzon. "We have created 30 new in-store jobs with the conversion and that includes sales associates, food managers and cashiers, with the store now employing 130 associates in total."