JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Providing quality product selection and customer service is the focus of the Randolph Commissary at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, located in building 1075, which caters to the shopping needs of active-duty members, military family members and retirees.
The commissary, which is part of the Defense Commissary Agency, or DeCA, and headquartered at Fort Lee, Va., provides a wide selection of groceries and products to the JBSA community including meats, produce, household and health and beauty products, and a bakery, deli and sushi section.
The priority of the commissary’s 92 employees is to their customers, Claudia Smith, Randolph Commissary store manager, said.
“Our customers come first,” Smith said. “We try to give them the best service we can provide. “We want to make our store a shopping destination for our customers.”
Part of that focus toward customer service includes having fully stocked shelves with items customers want, Smith said. If there is an item not in the store the customer wants, the commissary will try to bring in or order that item for them.
The commissary has organic meat and produce selections and ethnic foods including Mexican, German and Asian. Customers can request special cuts on meats which can be done in one day.
Medicines including cold and cough remedies and pain relievers as well as vitamins and other products can be found in the health and beauty section of the store.
The commissary is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Smith said the store has a steady business, with an average of 1,700 customers per day and average monthly sales of $3 million.
Customers have the option of paying at 18 checkout lines or four self-checkout lines.
The store participates in the Defense Commissary Agency’s “Thinking Outside the Box,” which promotes quick, healthy meals recommended by a DeCA dietician.
To have a safe and healthy environment at the commissary, Smith said employees undergo food safety and DeCA standards training. The store adheres to food safety codes as inspectors from the Public Health Flight at JBSA-Randolph come to the store on a monthly basis to check on expiration dates, quality of food and cleanliness of the store.
Ruby Barnes, Randolph Commissary store associate, works in the receiving and delivery area and does price verification in the store.
Barnes has been a commissary employee for 20 years. Her favorite part of the job is to interact with customers and assist them in their shopping experience.
“You get to mingle with the customers,” she said. “They know you by name. Some of them seem like family because they have known you for so long and they look for you. I make sure I greet them with a smile and ask them if I can help them in any way.”
“After you help them, you tell them it’s my pleasure because it really was,” Barnes added. “Because without them there is no commissary. You want them to come back.”
JBSA members can go online to find information about the Randolph Commissary – including the floor plan of the store and products listed on each aisle, services provided and to sign up for a rewards card – at http://www.commissaries.com, under the locations tab.