Cheers to Five Years

Five years on and she’s still smiling. Joanne Dumouchel celebrated her fifth anniversary as owner of valu-mart on July 7, this year.
Leaning on the courtesy desk, she talks about the past five years as owner and reflects on the 31 year career that brought her to the helm of this much beloved little store. She is dressed in her standard valu-mart polo with her name tag dangling from the collar, as if there was anyone in town who did not know exactly who she is.
“It’s been quite a journey,” she explains, “I really have run the gamut over the past three decades. Do you have any idea how many positions I have held in this store?” She takes a breath and starts to count out on her fingers, “Hostess, Cashier, Bakery Clerk, Meat Clerk, Deli Clerk, Bookkeeper, Grocery Manger, Store Manager, Owner. Nine!”
Asked which job she enjoyed the most, she says that being the store owner is, hands down, the most rewarding. “There is a lot of responsibility,” she says, “but that also comes with being able to make decisions about how this store runs and how we serve this community.”
With the lure of the big box stores across the river, Joanne has chosen to keep her customers local by thinking and acting local herself, sponsoring teams that come in with a request, holding charity barbeques to benefit local non-profit organizations and donating prizes for events and fundraisers. “This is my community too,” she says. “The more we work together, the stronger we all become.”
The store really is at the centre of the community. On any given day, just before dinner hour, the store is filled with friends and neighbours visiting in the aisles over the day’s news. Folks celebrate milestones here. They buy their Christmas turkeys here. They buy groceries to make meals for neighbours in need and they buy supplies to bake cookies with their grandchildren.
“I have seen generations come through this store. Our littlest customers arrive in stollers. As soon as they can walk, they are peeking over the courtesy desk asking for a cookie after the shopping is done. I see them as teenagers, when they come in looking for a job and years later, I see those same kids, all grown up, pushing stollers of their own. I don’t think that happens in city stores.”
There have been many changes in the store since it’s early days. “Oh where do I start,” Joanne sighs. “From debit and credit machines, to our new shelf pricing units, I would have to say that technology has played the greatest role in change here over the past three decades. Just last week, we installed electronic tags on the shelves that update prices at the click of a button up in the office.”
When asked about other favourites, Joanne reported that her absolute favourite moment in the store was when, during a Market Moments event, she was able to give away free groceries to every customer lined up at the cash.
As for her favourite customer? “Don Murdock was pretty special to me. I really miss him. We met over a complaint he had about being charged five cents for a bag. I took that time to explain the rationale and when he was satisfied with my reasoning, we came to an understanding and were friends for years. Funny how things come about.”
Leaning away from her perch on the courtesy desk, Joanne holds up a finger to suggest she needs a moment. A customer needs to speak with her so she excuses herself to deal with the things that are the most important to her – her customers, her community and her commitment to running the best little local grocery store around.