Did you get a Co-op card despite being very resistant to having more plastic in your wallet and absolutely hating the ‘privileged’ pricing blackmail from other stores? Did you get a card because you really liked the idea that you would be helping to raise money for small local charities?
That’s why I got mine, ten plus years ago. I was going through a rough patch and getting amazing support from a tiny, volunteer-run, mental health counselling charity in Axminster. It was pay what you could afford (and I could and did), but my counsellor told me that if I wanted to help more ‘without even feeling it’ (as she put it), I should get a Co-op card and nominate the charity (on the local Co-op’s shortlist) as my chosen beneficiary of their community fund. It was the best possible reason to get a card and to be sure to shop in my local store, pretty much regardless of price.
I felt good about my Co-op card. Virtue-signalling? Maybe. I didn’t really care. Every pound I spent meant money for the charity. I liked all the fairtrade products and the sense that ethics came ahead of profits. I didn’t feel like my data was being mined or my shopping habits monitored. My inbox wasn’t full of marketing guff and, when in the store, I did not feel badgered to buy stuff I did not really need merely because it was on promotion.
In fact, the only emails I received were about the choice of local charities to back and it was impossible not to be impressed by the level of granularity in the selection. It really felt like the local Co-op was an important partner in the community, and not just a profit-oriented retailer.
No wonder the local knowledge was so good! It had been garnered by ‘Member Pioneers’: a large team of people right across the country who identified with the Co-op’s USP and responded to job ads like this one:
“At Co-op, we stand for something different, and we put our communities at the heart of everything we do. As a member pioneer, you’ll play a key part in helping us to build stronger and fairer communities.”
I cannot feel the same way about the Co-op now that they have axed all 770 of their Member Pioneers (the number would have been 900 if the Co-Op had not already been operating a hiring freeze, suggesting these plans have been in the pipeline for some time). Apparently, we members (who allegedly own the Co-op according to the slogan plastered all over stores – ‘Owned by you, right by you’) are now entirely motivated to shop in the stores by ‘member prices’, just like any other supermarket. My local branch already feels and looks different. Stickers from floor to shelves shout about the deals. Forget the ethics! Hell, someone even sent me news of member pricing on disposable vapes! What? Talk about tin-eared.
But let’s just focus for a moment on the 770 people who have lost their part-time jobs, jobs which enabled them to contribute to their local communities, just as the job ad promised they would, and made them proud to be Co-op employees, even if it was only for 16 hours a month. Their role was to identify local causes for whom even small sums of money were potentially transformative: charities without the clout and resource to attract government or national lottery funding or to be able to employ a fundraiser of their own. For them, Member Pioneers were a godsend – rooted in the community, able to help them apply for funding, encouraging local people to help boost funds by joining the Co-op membership scheme and generally acting as ambassadors for the stores – the human face of the Co-op’s avowed inclusive, caring, community values.
I spoke to some of the Pioneers who are involved in a formal grievance against the Co-op. Based on what I heard, they have a strong case, but leaving aside the very many ways in which the management appear to have mishandled the redundancy process and the filling of the new roles, I wanted to learn more about the potential impact on local communities and the Co-op’s reputation.
Sarah from Minehead:
“Co-op members could really see the local community benefiting from the money they raised, whether it meant that the Dementia Action Alliance could pay for rent of the church hall to hold its activities for those living with the effects of dementia and carers, or the Brownies and Sea Scouts could finally buy a minibus.
“The hyper-local aspect is really motivational. How is that going to be replicated by one person covering a huge area from South Bristol, Somerset, and the Mendips? What chance will the micro-charities have?
“They’ve given no thought to the impact of this change, and they have yet to give any details about how much funding will be available in future and the basis on which it will be awarded. The local community fund lasts until the end of October. Next year’s round is meant to start in November but there are no comms about that at all.
“I really believed in the Co-op and its ethos, but now we are told that the emphasis on prices is what members want. Where’s the evidence? What role did the Members’ Council have in the decision? Some say they weren’t consulted at all.
It’s very sad. Skill sets have been squandered and values lost.”
Sue from the Dorset/Hampshire border:
“I feel so angry about the way the community has been affected. Members really loved the fact that there was a genuinely local person championing local causes. I helped build a really supportive network – if people got funding, they were only too happy to help others do the same. We’ve been able to help support groups helping people of all ages, young and old, and now I don’t know where these small but vital bodies are going to find funding. The Co-op’s whole USP was about community!
The cut to the 2p reward has already hit the most vulnerable hard. It was a fallback which built up when shopping, in the knowledge that your purchases not only benefitted a local cause within your community, but gave a little bit extra for you to save for emergencies or a Christmas treat.”
[Now the only benefit of membership will be on specific ‘deals’ and if you don’t want or need any of the often bizarrely random items, there’s no benefit to be had at all].
“You know, if you cancel your membership, you should get your original pound back. I wonder what would happen if lots of people did that?”
Bob, from Sussex:
“The CEO who left in 2019 was very community-minded, but his replacement is very corporate. It’s all about the numbers, not the ethics or the altruism. She and her top team clearly thought they could just get rid of us with no issues. They have thrown away the efforts of people from all walks of life, with a wide range of skills who were prepared to work for more than the 16 hours for which they were paid.
I was able to get about £5,000 for nine causes last year. That might not sound like much, but it’s life-changing for the charities and the people they are able to help. The Co-op has historically been strong in rural areas, where it is often the only store. Downgrading local community involvement like this does not send a good message at all.”
So, there you have it. All that local knowledge, goodwill and commitment has been trashed. The Co-op management seem to have forgotten that old saying about reputation taking years to build and seconds to destroy… Instead, they chunter out management speak about the pioneer programme having ‘evolved’ into the ‘Member Engagement Activator’ role to serve their ambition of growing the membership from 5 million to 8 million by 2030. In other words, data is king. I didn’t become a member to have my data mined or to get bargain vapes and neither, I suspect, did millions of others. The Co-op had built up a special kind of genuine loyalty, but now they have chosen to abuse it. Increasingly, I am crossing the road to the Spar for grocery staples. They don’t pretend to be something they are not.
Oh, and I am minded not to leave aside the manner in which these people lost their jobs. What does their shabby treatment say about the management of the Co-op? It hardly reassures me that the people at the helm remain true to the Co-op’s original guiding ethos. I hope their group grievance succeeds. It should never have been necessary. And if the Co-op is owned by me, by us, then do right by them!
