GOODING'S KIDS' CLUB MAKES TREK TO PERISHABLES FRONTIER

ROSEANNE HARPER

APOPKA, Fla. -- Gooding's Supermarkets here is putting the spotlight on all its perishables departments with the launch of a kids' club that takes members to each department for a special treat.

In deli, the kids get to sample a cheese of their choice. In produce, they get a stamp on their hand; in meat, a free sticker; in bakery, a free cookie; and in the floral department, a free balloon.

The club, encompassing all the fresh departments, was designed to both draw new customers in and to cement the loyalty of current customers, said Michele Nunnelley, who is the kids' club director for the 12-unit retailer.

She explained that if kids know there's something free or fun in each department, they're not as apt to complain or try to hurry Mom or Dad out of the store.

"Having something like this makes it easier for parents to shop the store. They can bring the kids with them, knowing it'll be fun for them. Kids don't normally like to go to the grocery store, and, who knows, they may have been in day care all day, and they're already antsy," Nunnelley said.

Parents have expressed their appreciation for the kids' club, both orally and in writing, Nunnelley said.

All Gooding's units have a bulletin board on which customers are encouraged to leave their comments on anything about the store. "In one of our stores, I noticed recently that 10 out of 20 comments on the board were about the kids' club," Nunnelley said.

Some of the comments she noted were "The kids make me come here," "I won't go back to Publix," "We love the kids' club" and "Keep up the good work." Children also have written thank you letters, and sometimes call to say "thank you," Nunnelley said.

Customers also say they appreciate the fact that Gooding's is offering their kids nutritional items, instead of candy, Nunnelley said.

In the case of the deli, cheese sampling can be a way to introduce kids to a new variety, she said.

"If you want your child to taste a particular cheese that he hasn't had before, it's an opportunity to get him to try it," she added. However, kids usually ask for American or Swiss, a deli associate at Gooding's flagship store in Orlando told SN on a recent visit.

"We offer them Muenster, too, because it's also one of the more mellow cheeses. They usually like it, and they like to call it 'monster' cheese," the associate said.

"We employees offer customers samples. We're always doing that. We like to cut a slice fresh. We never just put pieces of cheese out on the counter for sampling. And you don't have to be a kid for us to offer you samples at the deli," he said.

A sign set on top of the service deli counter encourages parents and kids to ask for a sample. It says, "Free cheese samples for kids' club members," and it features a colorful picture of the kids' club's mascot, Goody the Parrot.

Gooding's chose a parrot as its mascot because it didn't conflict with anyone else's mascot, Nunnelley said. "There are so many mascots in Orlando. Everybody has one. So we had to find something, for example, that can't be confused with Mickey Mouse or any other company's animal. A parrot was it," she explained.

Nunnelley also pointed out that the name "Goody" was a hands-down favorite among kids as a name for the mascot, a stylized parrot clad in overalls. When the club was launched at one store late last fall, the company asked customers' kids to help name the mascot. Some of the suggestions included "Bubba" and "Garrett," but more than 100 children suggested "Goody" as an appropriate name.

Goody's picture is featured on the stamps and stickers and balloons given to kids. Indeed, his pictures change with the season. For the Fourth of July, for example, he might be wearing red, white and blue, or, in the fall, a football helmet.

Goody is also featured on a large sign at the customer service desk that urges kids to sign up for the club. By now, Nunnelley said, enrollment has hit 15,000 and she expects it to reach 20,000 by the end of the year.

"It has done better than we had expected in this amount of time. But we don't really have anything to compare it with," she said.

According to Nunnelley, none of the chain's competitors -- which include Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix Super Markets; Winn-Dixie, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla.; and Boise, Idaho-based Albertson's -- have kids' clubs that span different departments as this one does.

And this is the first venture of this type for Gooding's. While many supermarkets have had cookie clubs connected to their bakeries, Gooding's bakeries had not, until now.

"We would offer a child a cookie, but it wasn't a club with a membership card," she said. Now, in Gooding's bakeries, a 5-foot, wooden Goody the Parrot holds a sign that tells customers their kids can have a free cookie. There, children can ring a bell to let associates know they're there for a free cookie.

A side benefit of the program is that it's good for employee morale, Nunnelley said.

"It definitely has an impact on employee attitude. It makes it easier for them to talk to customers," she added.

The club's rollout was completed late in the spring, at the chain's tenth store. Gooding's remaining two stores will not use the club program, Nunnelley said, because they're located in areas -- International Drive and Buena Vista Lake in Orlando -- that have a transient customer base.

Shoppers at those stores, for the most part, are visitors to nearby Disney World and other theme parks.