Freeze-up is the real test
Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Nov 13/00) - There's a lot more to running a grocery story than simply stocking shelves.
Ask Kim Myers, foods manager of the Northern store. He spends as much time on staffing as he does groceries.
"Basically my number one job is managing people," said Myers, who has held his current job for the past three years. He's responsible for 25 full- and part-time employees.
It's a busy job.
With five inventories -- produce, meat, tobacco, chilled (primarily dairy) and the Quik Stop -- the continuity and flow of goods is very important, he said. Of course, with produce coming from Edmonton, milk from Calgary and non-perishables all the way from Winnipeg, it's not always an easy task.
Two trucks arrive each week from Edmonton with freight from each of the cities. It takes two days to get her from there: one day to load the trucks and another to make the 1,400-kilometre drive to Fort Simpson.
Because of the delay, the bread and milk shelves simply can't always be full. Down south, most stores get shipments every day, he said.
The real test comes with freeze-up, only a few weeks away. Myers figures out what will be needed and stockpiles 30,000-35,000 pounds of non-perishable freight in anticipation of the annual phenomenon.
"After three years, you basically know what sells and the quantities," he said. "You sort of have to be right on ... If we're flying them in we absorb the cost."
While the Northern store swallows the additional transportation costs on non-perishables -- roughly three times the normal rate, according to Myers -- customers have to dig a little deeper for items like milk and produce.
"It's a plain fact of life, it costs more to do business in the North," Myers said.
On the other hand, the store tries to do its part in the community by sponsoring awards, taking part in events, holding an annual community clean-up and frequently honouring requests for donations and discounts on goods, he said.
