Amazon Fresh grocery store managers Meyali Plascencia and Louisa Van like to say they lead by example.
And they demonstrated as much.
Masked and standing apart, the lively duo — both immigrants, mothers and college grads with previous management experience — have made health and safety a priority at their respective store locations. It’s no wonder. The brick-and-mortar offshoot of the e-commerce giant was launched amid the worldwide pandemic and the protocols that followed.
“Like everyone else in the world, we had to continue to find ways to launch a store while being safe,” said Plascencia, whose Woodland Hills store kicked off the big brand push in September when it opened in a former Toys “R” Us.
Amazon Fresh has since cropped up in empty storefronts in Irvine, Northridge, North Hollywood, Whittier, Ladera Heights and Fullerton. In March, Van launched the Long Beach store at the one-time site of Haggen Food and Pharmacy.
The company, which also owns Whole Foods, promotes low prices and organic fare at its Fresh concept. Amazon subscribers will recognize a familiar “artificial” assistant in the stores, too. Alexa-enabled devices help customers navigate the grocery aisles and tech-smart “Dash” carts scan goods as they’re dropped into the basket.
Women currently oversee five of the eight Amazon Fresh properties in Southern California, which the managers touched on.
Q: Is it true women store managers have formed a sort of sisterhood?
Louisa: Yes, but the atmosphere and the environment that we’ve created for each other is not only between our sisters but really with everyone around.
Q: How did you come to work at Amazon Fresh?
Louisa: I was with my last company for over 14 years, and it was just time to try something new. I have a really good colleague who is actually with Fresh. He was like, ‘You should talk to a recruiter!’ So, I did, and I got hired last year in August.
Meyali: I was recruited and then started in November 2019.
Q: What was the process like?
Meyali: We have an unbiased interviewing process, so they offer us a job based on our skill set and experience.
Louisa: Meyali actually interviewed me.
Q: Has your past work experience prepared you for what you’re doing now?
Louisa: Yes. I come from a retail background and have experience with clothing, but it’s still management at the end of the day; it’s still working with people.
Q: Can you share what it was like opening a store amid the pandemic?
Meyali: In the beginning, every day was different. The day after we were told masks help, everyone wore masks — the company provided them for all employees and their families.
Before employees came in, we did temp checks. Employees got extra breaks so they could wash their hands.
If you look around, you can see we still have ‘6 feet’ social distancing stickers all over our store. We have gloves available to our employees if they feel more comfortable using those. Face shields. Wipes.
Nobody was an expert on how to launch during a pandemic, but I think Amazon did an amazing job helping to support us and keep our communities safe.
Q: What were the biggest challenges?
Louisa: We have a lot of employees in the building. We want to make sure that they understand our protocols and what we have to offer. So the biggest challenge, if you will, is to make sure everybody is on the same page.
Meyali: Having to adapt to our new normal where if you see someone without a mask, you have to feel comfortable enough to go up to them and say, ‘Excuse me, you need to pull up your mask.’ Really coaching those behaviors that are keeping everyone safe.
Q: Were you coached in COVID ettiquete?
Louisa: Absolutely! We get lots of different support.
Q: How many people do you each manage?
Louisa: Hundreds. We hire many of our employees from our local community, which is another thing I felt happy and proud of. It’s great to provide opportunities for the community and then come back and serve the community.
Q: Can you give me some examples of how you’re serving the community?
Meyali: In the beginning, when people were so afraid to leave their homes, we were able to deliver fresh food to your doorstep fast. Sometimes within an hour.
Louisa: We also partner with local food banks.
Q: How do you keep your employees engaged?
Meyali: By giving people the opportunity to come to work and be the best version of themselves.
We have recognition programs and promotional growth opportunities. We have mechanisms in place that allow managers and employees to voice their opinions and share their ideas. Some of the greatest ideas have come from our employees.
Q: Can you give me an example?
Meyali: In the back of the store, we have a door where we receive (shipment orders), and one of our associates said we should add a doorbell. So we added a doorbell.
That has moved the process, so truck drivers don’t have to wait for us.
Small ideas like that make big changes to the overall operation.
Q: Amazon Fresh’s hourly wages start at $15. Does it also provide compensation to its employees for working during the pandemic?
Louisa: We are definitely compliant with any local and state requirements and regulations.
About Meyali Plascencia
Her store: 6245 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills
Backstory: She was born in Mexico and raised in California.
Hometown: Santa Clarita
Education: Studied history at San Diego State University
Previous occupation: Manager at Best Buy
About Louisa Van
Her store: 6235 E. Spring St., Long Beach
Backstory: Born and raised in Hong Kong, she came to the U.S for college.
Hometown: Torrance
Education: Studied merchandising at Cal State Long Beach
Previous occupation: District manager at H&M
May 07, 2021 at 11:30PM
https://www.ocregister.com/2021/05/07/meet-the-women-running-socals-new-amazon-fresh-stores
Meet the women running 2 new Amazon Fresh stores in Southern California - OCRegister
https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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