The greatness of work is inside man. –Pope John Paul II
November 3, 2002
Dear Family and Friends,
In a previous update letter I mentioned our work with the local cooperative, which I have nicknamed “Mr. Olson’s Little House on the Prairie General Store”. The goal in working with the store is to improve business practices as well as business profits. Increased financial gains create benefits for the entire community. It enables the store to offer a more diverse selection of products in order that the town’s people do not have to travel three hours by bus to get groceries. Additional funding allows the Savings and Loan department to give out more loans for people who have lost housing, land, and livestock during the disaster of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Finally, basic economics tells us that thriving businesses mean thriving communities.
Let me back up for a minute. The introduction of diverse products would be an
enhancement to the quality of life for people living in Concepción de Maria.
When we first arrived, I couldn’t believe the limitations for shopping. You may
remember my letters detailing our long bus rides to get groceries. When I was
working on pricing items last week, I jotted down a list of the food items
available for purchase at the cooperative just to give you an idea of selection
and options. The list is as follows:
I am not complaining. I just thought it would be interesting to compare these items to what you can find in CUB Foods or Rainbow!
Goal number one when beginning our work with the cooperative was to establish organization within the store. We broke the store into sections or departments. No longer would the cleaning supplies and laundry detergent be placed on the same shelf as the beans and rice. Customers had been complaining of food tasting like soap (not the best sales strategy). Part of the organization process included creating a weekly checklist to stock shelves, clean the store and reorganize products that had been misplaced. We found that many of the products were kept in a back storeroom where clients could not view them. For example, in the past if I wanted to buy a pair of rain boots I would come to the store and need to ask if they sold the type of boots I wanted. The cashier would then run in the back and look. This was the first thing we changed. We set up a shoe department in the front of the store with a visible display to exhibit the various choices. Within days shoes that had not sold in years were now being sold as people could browse and choose for themselves what style they preferred.
A similar success occurred with some corn grinders that Shawn had discovered hidden in a box under a dusty shelf. He immediately thought this would be a popular tool since one of the daily staples in the Honduran diet is corn tortillas. Daily the women of the household either grind the corn needed for the tortillas by hand or they send their children to walk miles into town where the community has a local grinder which grinds a bowl of kernels for one Lempira (Honduran currency – the equivalent of about fifteen cents). With the assistance of a hand grinder, much time and energy could be saved for the women without having to leave their homes. Shawn made a display shelf with Santo, the stock boy, and within two weeks five of the six grinders had sold. Santo was pleasantly surprised and commented that they usually sell one per year. Slowly, they are learning the concept of sales – people can’t buy what they don’t know exists and people won’t buy unless it somehow attracts them, helps them or makes their life easier.
Weekly we are presenting seminars on sales techniques, customer service strategies and promotion of products. The most important teaching method we have found is to lead by example. We have been visiting the store every afternoon to review business topics and procedures. Various assignments include setting up product displays, pricing items, and finding items to entice customers with sales and special promotions. It may not be the next Target Greatland, but with small improvements we have already noted an increase in sales.
The store has three people who work on the floor – Santo the stock boy, Yolanda the cashier and Rufino the cashier/supervisor. Sales training has never been part of the work plan in the past, but we are slowing introducing techniques to improve sales. For example, in the past a customer would come in and ask for a specific item. If they did not have it in stock one of the employees would bluntly respond “no, we don’t have that”. It was quite simple and quite direct. Although “sales” is not my profession by trade, being a good consumer buyer in the states has taught me a bit about suggestive selling. Now when a customer brings the employees a request and they don’t carry it in stock we recommend another item that may work just as well…”Yes sir, we don’t have Advil, but Panadol (a Honduran Ibuprofen) works just as well if not better!” If we don’t have a supplemental item we then respond that we will investigate carrying that item in the future or we will refill that order in one or two weeks encouraging the customer to return.
You may read this letter thinking that it seems so basic, so simple. But, running a business is a learned skill. We are starting from scratch and witnessing small victories. It is exciting to see the employees encouraged when they make a sale, when they balance the books in the black and not in the red, or when they smile with pride that their store looks presentable and in good order.
Goals for the coming month include purchasing a cash register to better monitor cash flow and code products, creating an accurate inventory of products and computerizing the data, and purchasing a computer to use within the store while teaching the employees how to click the mouse!
Of course life here isn’t all work with no play! Changing the subject I wanted to end this letter by answering a question from a friend who wrote a couple of months ago. Our friend, Megan is planning her wedding for January and asked about Honduran rituals and wedding customs. There are three types of marriage traditions in Honduras. The first and most popular is a civil ceremony before a judge in order to make the wedding legal. A second ceremony may be held in a church, although not required by the state; it tends to be the choice for those who wish to have a Christian blessing for their marriage. This choice of ceremony is in addition to the civil ceremony since it does not replace it. Being married in a church is not especially common for couples due to the high costs involved and often older couples will choose a second wedding date to be married in a church when they are financially established. Our neighbors celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary by having a wedding in the church for the first time. Now they celebrate two anniversaries.
Finally, there is the tradition of the bride being “stolen” by the fiancé. This may be similar to the idea of “eloping” in the states. However, there are no legal ties to this form of marriage agreement. Literally, the boyfriend comes to the bride’s house and steals her away from the family to live with him and his extended relatives. This actually just happened to my friend Teresa who is the Kindergarten teacher in the mountain village that we frequently visit to do art and health projects. Last Monday afternoon she was whisked away and now lives with her fiancé. Teresa’s aunts told me the entire story when I went to look for her last week and discovered that she no longer lived with them. They giggled as they explained, “She was stolen. Carlos came and robbed us!” Although they were chuckling, I sensed a bit of awkwardness. When I found Teresa’s new home she told me she is hoping to have a civil ceremony in December. If this happens I will make sure to take notes of any other interesting customs. Speaking of weddings, our friend Tonja and her husband Mike were married this past weekend. Congratulations and Happy Honeymooning!
Let us know if there are any other Honduran fun facts you are curious to learn about. We would be happy to research your interests and write about it next month.
Counting the months to see you!
Shawn and Jennifer
Peace Corps Honduras
Website: globalsilveras.com
“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person”. Mignon McLaughlin