Standard CO-OP gets new general manager

Times Contributor

 

After serving as the General Manager of the Standard Co-op for the last ten years, Doug McLaren retired when he handed over the keys to the store on Monday, Jan. 16, to the new General Manager Guy Christie.

Christie is a local Standard resident and has always enjoyed a challenge. He realizes that small, rural stores need to offer something unique to the communities they are in, in order to compete with the larger retail centers.

In order to keep the local store running and offering amenities to its residents some changes need to be made in what and how it sells. Standard has a fantastic hardware store that is part and parcel with the Co-op Grocery Store with an identity all on its own. It brings in specialty items and custom orders product for the many and various farmers in the area who don’t mind spending the extra dollar to support the local retailer.

Customer service and friendly knowledgeable staff is the key to most competitive retail centers and Standard is no different. Consumers want to be welcomed and helped in a timely fashion. What is nice about a small town business is that everyone knows everyone else and there is a personal relationship between customers and staff.

After being asked how his first day as GM went, Christie replied “Well, an interesting day at the store. The staff are great, they are very willing to help and the thing that we all have in common is that we want to enjoy our jobs, be productive and have fun. The customers are great as well and the staff have a really good rapport with them.”

Christie has some innovative ideas for the store in the coming days and is eagerly looking forward to implementing them and increasing the stores sales and productivity.