Sophie
Video transcript
My name’s Sophie Ah-Yave. I joined the Partnership in 2008 and I’m now on a Section Manager trainee programme. I came from Mothercare head office which was a bit too far for me to travel and at that point I heard about John Lewis’ reputation for its customer service - and I’m a real foodie at heart.
Being a co-owner means that essentially you own a part of the business and in effect you’re working very much for yourself and you can take that responsibility in your day to day role. As well as working for yourself you’re also working for the benefit of your co-Partners and that really instils a sense of corporate, social responsibility.
It’s important to understand that the individual has a voice as part of the Partnership because they own a stake in the Partnership. The are working for themselves and they have every right to be encouraged, to be developed and to have a say in what’s going on in the business.
Part of my job is to interact with the customers that we get in as well as doing the run of the mill, day to day jobs. Really talking to the customers, finding out what they like, offering suggestions of recipes that they might want to make: I get a real buzz out of that. And seeing regular customers come through our doors is always really, really lovely.
I work as part of the checkouts department and we see 4,000 people walk through our doors every week. For that reason our Partners in our team really need to work together and pull together to make that the most efficient and enjoyable experience for our customers. I love working with the people that I work with, we all share the same ideals, working in the Partnership and having the same Partnership spirit.
As well as providing great customer service and great quality, the Partnership sets itself apart from other companies, through the care that they give to their Partners and the welfare and the happiness that they want from their Partners.
I think this is really apparent in other branches, or in numerous branches where we have long standing Partners who have been with the company for 10, 15, 20 years. I think that’s a real testament to the business. I love working for Waitrose because I know who I'm working with, the team that I have around me are really supportive. We’re all working towards the same goals and I really enjoy being in a company that actually care about me.
