Customer service alive at Raley's

Customer service alive at Raley's
By Brian Miller and Karl Dumas | September 04, 2009

Would you like to see the return of the good, old-fashioned village store? You know the place, where friends meet, you can buy postage and gifts as well as basic groceries and other services.

Your reporters recently visited the local Raley's on Travis Boulevard and could not help but think of how their customer service office is a great throwback to when businesses focused on family, friends and good old customer service.

We have to admit that in the years to come, we will probably become two grumpy old men searching for customer service. In the age of the Tweeter, texting and Facebook, we can't help but wonder about customer service.

Raley's is one company that is trying to bring customer service into the modern era. Their Travis Boulevard (Geritown) store has a sizable customer service office located in a corner of their store. It's refreshing to see that it is staffed and the person is ready to serve your needs for items like paying PG&E bills, the purchase of postage stamps, mailing items, purchase of boxes for mailing, etc.


They are ready, willing, and able to meet your needs, pick up groceries and get a few chores knocked off your to-do list at the same time. Is full-blown customer service one strategy for competing with the discount stores and 'big box' markets?

While thinking about the future of grocery stores in the Fairfield market, your reporters took a look at the building permits for housing. Grocery stores need new housing to help them grow their business. More 'roof tops' equals opportunities for grocery store operators to invest in enhancing their existing stores or secure sites for new stores.

There may be a glimmer of light in the Fairfield residential construction market. Despite the overall economy, Fairfield is now seeing developers pull new residential building permits.

We are not talking about 2004 numbers, but 104 permits (the number to date is almost triple the number pulled at this time in 2008).

Admittedly, these permits include the final few units in subdivisions that are largely completed (Hidden Meadows in Green Valley and Andaluc’a in Rancho Solano, but we are also seeing new permits in the latest Seeno development in South Cordelia, Garibaldi Ranch. This master-planned subdivision will include 520 single family homes immediately south of Southbrook along I-680 (Lopes Road).

Depending on the overall housing market, we could also see development in nearby Fieldcrest within the next five years. Fieldcrest is located behind (west of) the current Cordelia Villages community off Red Top Road. Seeno Homes will be the developer here as well.

See the complete story at the Daily Republic Online.