Like many communities far from urban centers, Grondines must fight to keep its supermarket, which has been converted to self-service, a new trend emerging in the region.
• Also read: LIB, an autonomous supermarket thanks to technology
The Grondines Solidarity Cooperative has been running a community shop since 2017. To reduce costs, it operates entirely thanks to volunteers and is only open from Wednesday to Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
In addition to the difficulties in recruiting volunteers, the opening hours are not sufficient to both serve the population well and ensure a good income, admits Isabelle Mainguy, president of the cooperative's board.
Isabelle Mainguy, President of the Board of the Grondines Solidarity Cooperative, Alice Morency, Volunteer, Johanne Gingras, Treasurer of the Board and Josée Denis, Volunteer. Photo Martin Lavoie
“We are developing a plan for self-service access. We are currently in the process of training our volunteers on how to use the new system,” explained Ms. Mainguy.
With few financial resources – and always based on volunteers who keep the project at a distance – the cooperative has created a system that allows access outside opening hours.
function
“People first sign a user agreement. They will then receive an access code with which they can unlock the door. Once inside, they select their products, which they scan at the checkout,” she explains.
Since the cooperative does not yet have the means to purchase the required application, the customer must additionally enter the invoice amount manually at the payment terminal. The stable reused the equipment it already had.
The company offers the usual convenience store products, but also places great emphasis on local products. Photo Martin Lavoie
If there are errors in payment, Ms. Mainguy does not expect any problems with theft. “It is an operation based on mutual trust. But we know who is coming in and there is also a camera,” she emphasizes.
However, the self-service operation does not allow the sale of alcohol or cigarettes, “which is the most profitable,” emphasizes Ms. Mainguy, nor the serving of transients. That's why volunteers will continue to be on site from 8 p.m.
“We hope to get another grant to hire a student this summer,” Ms. Mainguy hopes, which would give her volunteers a break and extend staff hours.
A showcase
In addition to standard convenience store items, Pop prides itself on dedicating plenty of space to local products.
Although her team's self-service solution is on the rise, Ms. Mainguy expressed her intention to seek information from LIB, the automated supermarket in Bas-du-Fleuve (see other text), after familiarizing herself with the concept.
The company offers the usual convenience store products, but also places great emphasis on local products. Photo Martin Lavoie
The Grondines sector – on the western edge of the Capitale-Nationale – has around 800 inhabitants.
Grondines is not isolated enough to be a “food desert” and, like so many other Quebec communities, is too close to major centers for its local businesses to survive. “If people could let go of Costco,” laments Isabelle Mainguy.
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