Entrepreneur and Pick ‘n Pay Founder Mr. Raymond Ackerman would walk the aisles of the supermarket in Claremont, Cape Town, and speak with as many customers as he could. He asked them how they found the service. He asked them about the products on the shelf. He asked them about layout, variety and price.
He asked the customer what change they would like to see.
Mr. Ackerman would stand outside a branch and ask exiting customers which products on their shopping list they were unable to buy that day. He would consolidate this list and later hand it to the Store Manager asking: “I’d like these items, please?” He even confessed to once driving behind a car with a competitors plastic bags from Cape Town to Simon’s Town (almost 50kms) to ask why the person had not bought from Pick n’ Pay.
Mr. Ackerman wanted to understand his customer and turn that understanding into strategy.