The team in our store works together on a new product in that it will be first identified by one of my colleagues going through the Merchandising News or something similar. We will then make the order to get the product in store and the in store teams will make sure its put on the shelves in the right place and regularly replenished. The information we will then get through sales or waste or even damages or shortages can then be analysed by the people back at the centre to track the success of the product.

Well it can be a challenge to us if we get a customer complaint for instance with a new product or any product. We then have a procedure in store where we will fill out the customer complaint form. This again goes to a central database, where they can monitor what customers are saying about a product and if we do have any issues with a particular batch or a product in general.

What gives me great job satisfaction is seeing a new product coming in to the store, and giving it the support and hopefully making it a success. In terms of our Fairtrade ranges, we get a lot of interest from our regular customers but particularly school children who may be doing projects at school or who are just otherwise interested in Fairtrade. We can often help people doing events as well that we can support.

The difference between The Co-operative and other food retailers is - I do believe its part of our ethical strategy that we’ve always had from the beginning of The Co-operative. Other competitors may see the commercial benefits of some of our practices but we do it because we think it’s the right thing to do.

We are known as the community retailer and our customers feel comfortable approaching myself or a member of staff and asking us about various things be it about products that we sell or other activities in the community. Well I was very pleased to be approached by a group of people who were trying to get Fairtrade town status for Knutsford, where I work; and I attended a preliminary meeting with them, where we had council members in attendance to try and get that project off the ground and I still hope they have a successful outcome with that. They do know that The Co-op is a great champion of Fairtrade and I think that’s why they approached me.