May-Jun 2010.indd - Commissaries.com

Karl Weisel and Darline Goyea
U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden
‘‘The commissary
– it’s
worth the trip.”
That’s what
Store Director
Kevin Kegler, Wiesbaden
Commissary, Germany, tells
patrons during regular courtesy
tours.
The tours, which last about 45
minutes, offer an inside look at
the men and women behind the
scenes and all of the elements
required to operate a store the
size of Wiesbaden Commissary.
Kegler, who began his career
with DeCA as an on-call stocker,
said he enjoys giving the tours for
all ages.
“It’s a team atmosphere,”
said Kegler, explaining that
every employee receives cross
training for three months in
each department. “This helps
provide continuity and expertise
across the store. Our No. 1 goal is
customer service, and doing this
ensures that goal.”
The work of maintaining such
a well-functioning machine could
not be done without the dedicated
efforts of the 85 U.S. and local
national employees who work full-
and part-time behind the scenes
and out on the sales floor.
During tours, patrons
get a chance to see the inner
workings of the busy store, one
of Europe’s largest. They are
Team atmosphere
High employee morale enhances customer service
at Wiesbaden Commissary
Wiesbaden Commissary, Germany. U.S. Army photo: Karl Weisel
shown the various departments
including produce, dairy, meats
and the bakery and given some
background facts such as that
the store receives 130 to 140
pallets of merchandise weekly.
This merchandise is ordered,
processed and stocked daily
before the store opens its doors at
8 a.m.
Kegler explained that customer
suggestions are appreciated,
and ideas for improvement are
always welcome. Among changes
in the past couple of years have
been more opportunities for selfcheckout
and a greatly expanded
delicatessen and bakery section.
Another more recent change
was moving the salad bar from
the bakery area to the front
of the store near the produce
department. This has proven
popular with commissary patrons,
he said.
Employee morale plays a major
role in the success of the working
environment and customer
satisfaction at the commissary,
Kegler said, explaining that
employee get-togethers such as
trips and Organization Day help
build that morale. While the event
offers a day of good times together
aimed at nurturing teamwork and
esprit de corps, it also features
vital training such as safety
highlights.
When you have employees
who have worked at the
commissary for more than 30
years, it’s obvious that people
have a fondness and stake in the
organization, Kegler said.�
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