Mike Houston, General Manager
I’ve always slept next to the wall. My wife sleeps on the side with the nightstand. She’s a pretty deep sleeper, so she never noticed that every single night I get out of bed to drink water. I’ve always woken up thirsty, all hours of the night, so I would logically go got something to drink. One day, after years and years together, this came up.
“You get up EVERY night?”
“Yea, sometimes multiple times.”
“Why don’t we just move the bed over and give you a small nightstand?”
Silent pause.
I’m a smart guy. College graduate, avid “Jeopardy” watcher, run a grocery store. That idea had NEVER occurred to me. Not once in all our time together. I had never even contemplated the idea that we could do that. To me, I had come up with a solution to the problem and was executing it well.
So we moved the bed 18 inches, put a small stand next to my side and guess what … life changing! Oh, it was amazing. I slept better, had all the water I could ever want and could even get in and out of bed more easily. Ancillary benefits!
The point here is, my wife had a different perspective than me. You can be the smartest, most well-read or have all the experience in the world, but you still filter all that input into your life experience and perspective. It took talking through a problem with someone else to come up with an obvious and beneficial solution. Having access to different perspectives matters.
Which brings me proudly to the 2020 Co-op Shopper Survey. We’re seeking your input. We want to hear from you because this store belongs to you. But we also all benefit when we hear from different people with different experiences and viewpoints. Co-ops are, by their nature, a collaborative enterprise. In order to execute the vision of the community we serve, we need to hear from everyone.
So please help us learn about you and hear your thoughts on TPSS Co-op. Help us spread the word to capture as many perspectives as possible. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful feedback, your time and your support. We couldn’t do it without all of you.