Coles Store T e a m o f t h e y e a r Coles Armidale Store Manager Chris Marsh is extremely proud that his team has been awarded Coles Store Team of the Year.
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e said to see the team get the recognition they deserve for what they’ve achieved makes him really proud and grateful to be their leader. “I enjoy every moment I spend with these guys. The support they have given me is second to none. Best team I have ever been a part of.” Tell us about the store’s recent award? We recently received the Coles STORE TEAM OF THE YEAR award for NSW Zone 2 (That puts us as 1st out of 92 stores). The award is based on Community Involvement, Store Achievement and Team Work. We have an internal ranking system and we moved from 725th ranked store in the nation to 152nd. We all
received pins to wear, extra discount in store, a celebration event for the team, and there is a big mural photo of the team coming soon. Tell us about the team at Coles Armidale and what makes them so special? The team at Coles Armidale have a lot of retail experience behind them; some of the team have worked here for over 35 years (Carol Williams) with many others having 5 - 30 years’ experience. Being part of the team feels just like being part of a big family – a family that has lots of fun in and out of the workplace. If you come into the store you will see smiling faces and familiar faces, and that’s what keeps customers coming back. We get to know you and your family and have fun doing so, which makes doing the shopping experience that little bit easier because you feel welcome and know that nothing is any hassle. How does Coles contribute to our local community? We have a lot of fundraising through Coles as a company. Our major fundraiser for 2013/2014 is Redkite, a charity for children and young adults and their families who are dealing with cancer.
We have donated over $5million nationally and just over $9,000 from Coles Armidale. We also provide store tours for lots of school groups and provide donations to various groups throughout the year. We help with orders of food for community groups, and many small businesses use us as well. We employ around 150 local people and have trained many others who have gone on to bigger and better things. Coles also has a program of giving any food that may not have sold in store (but is still good) to Secondbite – a community group providing meals to the less fortunate. Plans for the future? Coles is 100 years old next April, so we will have to wait and see what that brings. In the near future we will soon have Coles Online and Coles Click and Collect. Online will be delivered to your door. Click and Collect is for others wishing to order online and pick up later from lockers located mainly at Shell Coles Express Service Stations (both of these options replace the old Home Delivery that we had for many years). Thanks Chris.
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