Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of a current article from Grocery Headquarters magazine, presented here for discussion.
At a time when finding talented young grocery managers is a crucial challenge for the industry, Hollywood has come out with what may be the ultimate anti-recruiting film. The Promotion, released in June, depicts the competition between two assistant managers to become the manager of a new store being built by Donaldson's, a fictional Chicago supermarket chain. Battles of ambition are a time-honored movie genre, typically exploring a man's burning desire to win at all costs and his fixation on some glorious, almost unobtainable prize. Think Rocky Balboa going up against Apollo Creed.
In this film, the goal is portrayed as so plebian as to be pitiful: a $69,000-a-year job that will put the winner on the same level as the mediocre manager who is his current boss. It's not even close to a ticket out of the middle class, and perhaps that's why Doug, played by Seann William Scott, and Richard (John C. Reilly) never seem driven in their quest for the position even though they both really want it.
Overall, The Promotion is a portrait of not-very-talented people doing dispiriting, sometimes demeaning work that leaves them with the feeling that what they're accomplishing isn't worth much. It's enough to make any viewer who's ever thought about a career in grocery retailing seriously reconsider.
If the store-level atmosphere weren't bad enough, the five-man board of directors who inspect the supermarket and, during interviews at headquarters, sit in judgment of manager candidates who wear cheap suits and unfashionable ties convey the clear message that there's no level at which things will get better.
It's obvious that the Donaldson's chain was not modeled on Wegmans, Hy-Vee, Publix or a number of other familiar players. But the inspiration had to come from somewhere, and that should be troubling to the industry.
When this film comes out on DVD, buy a copy. Buy a lot of copies and pass them around to the executives who help set the tone for your organization. Better yet, have them sit down and watch it together. Ignore the lame comedy and focus on the lack of imagination and the atmosphere of helplessness that pervade Donaldson's. If you see something of your own company in any of the situations in The Promotion, consider what that does to your chances of attracting and retaining the best managerial talent.
Discussion Questions: Is there any validity to the way retail jobs are portrayed in movies such as The Promotion and others? Which stereotypes are true about working retail and which are false? Can and should the retail industry be doing anything to counter negative images portrayed in movies, television, etc.?