Write it in stone so you remember and mean it...they did!

Do you have a favorite place to shop? I do, but I forgot about it. So if you asked me that question a few days ago I would have given you an answer like Ebay, Amazon, or Duluth Trading Company. I would have cited that their online presence and ease of self-service is what I valued most. Their return policies give me peace of mind. Yep, one of those companies is what I would have sworn was my favorite “stores”. But then, as I was leaving to catch a red-eye fight on Halloween night and I kissed my kids goodnight my oldest kids and my wife asked, “Will you go to Stew Leonard’s and bring back apple cider donuts?”

OH YEAH, Stew Leonard’s!!! That is hand downs my favorite store! Never heard of Stew Leonard’s? That might be because there are only 6 stores total and they are all within about 60 miles of each other. If you don’t know them, here are a few things that have been said about them or awards they’ve received:

  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Deemed them “The World’s Largest Dairy”
  • The New York Times called them the “Disneyland of Dairy Stores”
  • Fortune magazine listed them as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For”

These are pretty high praises! From my experiences, I found them all to be earned and accurate. Like most of us, in their history, if you dig deep enough, there are items they likely aren’t very proud of, but they clearly haven’t let that history define them or hold them back; given my experience, their notoriety and those noted praises and awards.

For those of you that know them, but like me, no longer live in that 60 mile area, I bet just reading the name Stew Leonard’s brought back joy, excitement and several memories.

For those of you who know them and are frequent customers; thank your lucky stars!!!

So just how does a store in the small, odd category of ‘dairy store’ stir so much emotion within me, and why would three members of my family, 6 years removed from shopping there, remember such a specific seasonal item and ask it to be delivered from 2,360 miles away?  Let me try to do justice in answering and remind us all about the powerful impact of putting customers first; and loving it!

  • Written in stone, no really!: The store is noted for its customer service policy, which greets shoppers at each store’s entrance, etched into a three-ton rock with: “OUR POLICY 1) The customer is always right!  2) If the customer is ever wrong, re-read rule #1”. The bar is very high for them right from the get go with that out there, and they embrace it. There are stories of a returned and fully refunded Christmas tree that had lost its freshness…in February!         
  •  Beloved sandwich board of small details: I love this one about the chef prepared Thanksgiving dinner! I’ve seen many different things that they put up there and they all look so great, professional and remind me of the high quality food I’ll be purchasing. But, that’s not what speaks to me. It’s the note of “For less then $19 per person”.  They did the cost analysis for me!!! As an account by schooling, I know it’s a little geeky. But I feel like they have millions of those little details all throughout their shopping experience that truly help make all of their customer’s lives a little easier.
  • Take a sample, or 12: Seriously the best cider around and they want you to know it before you buy it. And it’s not just the easy stuff to sample that they are letting you sample. Once I was in the produce aisle and I was a little worried that we were at the end of orange season so they might not taste as good anymore. I honestly don’t remember saying anything to the gentlemen working there, but he must of sensed something was off from me standing at the oranges for so long. Before I know it, he has a knife out cutting an orange into easy to eat pieces for me and my kids and asked if there were any other items we might need to taste to help with our shopping.  PS the orange was delicious and we bought several!
  • See how it’s made: They bring out items to the front of the store and make them right in front of you. The first thing I remember seeing was kettle corn; had no idea that is how they made it. This day it was the apple cider donut holes! This is so awesome for the kids; ok I really, really love it too.

I have to stop here and just point out, I’m up to 4 things I really, really love about Stew Leonard’s and in the overall shopping journey I’m not even a full 10 feet inside the front doors and I’ve planned Thanksgiving dinner, had fresh cider, had an apple cider donut hole and my cart is still empty from not really starting to shop.  If this is the joy you can feel ten feet in, it’s a pretty cool place!

  •  Talking fruit and cows: You don’t walk through Stew’s and grocery shop you stroll through Stew Leonard’s and find the treasures.  Like a talking banana, singing milk cartons, a lobster doing chin ups, Clover the cow and Henrietta Hen. And it’s not boring aisles with numbers, it’s a pattern of pleasantries as they bring you to a meander that slows you. And that reminds you that you want to take your time and see each and every item.
  • Singing Banana
  • “You can get a good look at a T-bone by looking up…”: Here is how close of a relationship Stew’s has with it’s business partners and how much they focus on providing the best for their customers, they have videos playing in the butcher area of Stew at the Kansas ranch showing where the cattle are being raised that the beef came from.  The ranchers come from Kansas to visit Stew’s to see where the end product is being sold. Once when my cattle rancher brother and nephew from southern Utah came to Connecticut to visit we told them about Stew’s. They had to see it. They were dressed like they always are, cowboy hats, western shirts, wranglers and boots. The second we walked in, we were usher quickly to the butchers area and 4+ butchers were out in front of the counter standing at attention. After some slightly awkward conversations and introductions and find exactly what the heck this was all about, we learned that they get so excited when the ranchers come and always want to show off their craft that they just hoped they were the ranchers. Certainly, made a huge and fun impression on those two cowboys!
  • Part of the community: Like many of us, the Leonard family has had tragedy strike close to home. They were deeply impacted by the drowning death of a child. While we’ll never know fully the pain they suffered, we can see the good they are trying to bring forth out of the tragedy. Each year that I lived in Connecticut, I noticed that during the summer months most of Stew Leonard’s radio spots were about water safety and preparing for the swimming season. They started the Stewie the Duck Water Safety Foundation and pledged that they would do everything in their power to prevent this tragedy from striking other families. Their work in this area is true gift from the heart to the entire community. Visit them at stewietheduck.org

 The memories and the ways I feel this “store” touches lives and impacts families are endless. And I feel it all starts from really just wanting to treat their customers as the most important part of doing business.

I’m off to share an apple cider donut and some memories with my family, thanks you Stew’s! Fresh off the plane!