2008). The actual task of monitoring shrinkage on a daily basis in the produce department is generally given to entry-level employees, and positive encouragement in this task as well as clearly defining the task and using other effective communication techniques can ensure that these employees appreciate the importance of completing this task efficiently and accurately (Papa et al. 2008). Without strong interpersonal communication, this task would not be properly completed. Customer Interactions

There are several reasons that properly completing the task of produce shrinking is important. The sale of past-prime fruits and vegetables could be incredibly harmful to the health of a store's customers, and is in fact illegal because of this. In addition, the company does not wish to earn itself a reputation of selling sub-par produce, and even when fruits and vegetables have not reached a point of true spoilage -- where they have begun to rot and would truly be harmful to customers' health -- they lose quality in terms of flavor and nutritional value, and it is the goal of proper produce shrinkage monitoring to remove produce items from circulation before they reach this point. Even though this is in the consumer's best interests, however, this does not mean that the practice is always easy to explain to customers, and in fact there are some interpersonal issues with customers that must also be addressed.

Many customers that witness the tasks involved in produce shrinking taking place seem to think that the practice leads to a great deal of waste, and that the proper managing of produce supplies would eliminate much of this waste. While it is true that all produce lost to shrinkage is essentially wasted in terms of human consumption (most of the waste is actually utilized in one form or another as animal feed, compost, and in other applications), it is also necessary that this waste occur in order to keep proper on-demand supplies of produce offerings available to consumers (PB 2010). Explaining this to consumers does not often yield...

For instance, launching immediately into an explanation of how produce that is beginning to rot might potentially harm consumers' health is probably not the best way to handle a query from a concerned or interested customer upon viewing produce shrinking procedures. Explaining that the quality of the produce is a paramount concern of the store, and that the waste is dealt with in a manner that utilizes as much of the material as possible without simply adding to problems of pollution and landfill space is usually the best way to begin (and often end) a discussion with a consumer on this topic, making knowledge and friendliness essential interpersonal attributes for anyone tasked with completing standard produce shrinking procedures.
Conclusion

Ultimately, even the customer interactions that take place depend on effective management-employee interactions and communications having been put into place first, it is by selecting the right individuals for the job and providing them with the necessary knowledge and abilities to complete the task that product shrinking is effectively completed. Like most business activities, this task is highly dependent on interpersonal interactions.

References

Papa, M., Daniels, T. & Spiker, B. (2008). Organizational Communication: Perspectives and Trends. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

PB. (2010). Produce Business. Accessed 16 December 2010. http://www.producebusiness.com/

Prevor, J. (2008). Straight Talk on Food Safety. Produce Business 24(8): 8.