From January 27th to March 3rd, United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 ran an online survey for customers of Cub Foods. United Natural Foods Incorporated (NYSE: UNFI) owns Cub Foods. The intent of this survey was to see what customers would change at their local Cub to keep them as a loyal shopper. The survey received over 500 responses. Below are key takeaways.
Customers Want More Staff in Stores
84% of customers that have noticed changes at Cub Foods described those changes as “negative.”
When asked what customers would change about Cub Foods, the top ranking suggestion was to increase staffing. Here are some quotes from customers that illustrate the issues in stores:
“Customer Service. There are not enough associates in the stores for proper customer service. I/we should not have to wait in line for 10-20 minutes to be helped at the service counters (deli/meats/ or bakery) let alone the same amount of time just to get through the registers!“
-Customer quote from survey
“I think they are often short staffed here. You can see the employees trying. They’re kind, they’re always hard at work, but sometimes there’s not enough of them to help customers when needed.“
-Customer quote from survey
Adequate staffing ranked higher than concerns with the prices of groceries. Customers noticed that there are fewer cashiers than needed, and lines are long. They have also noticed that all departments look short handed, and workers are visibly tired and overwhelmed. Additionally, customers are noticing that the cleanliness of stores, availability of products, and the accuracy of pricing have all suffered due to lack of staffing.
Customer Service Impacts Business
According to the survey, out of 4 factors that customers value in their grocery store (customer service, convenience/location, commitment to their community, and other), customer service outweighed the other categories combined with 57% of respondents ranking it #1.
In summary, shoppers want to shop at Cub Foods, but management isn’t making it easy for them. By cutting staffing to the bone, the company is jeopardizing the very things that shoppers value.
Over the last 12 months, UNFI has severely cut labor hours in stores, and implemented radical changes to the scheduling of its employees. Slashing staffing is not leading to more sales — in fact, UNFI’s retail sales are still down. Workers and customers agree: by investing in its workers, Cub can get a leg up on its competitors and increase its sales and profitability.
More than 9,000 grocery workers are fighting to secure new union contracts that expired in March 2025. UFCW Local 663 is committed to creating the quality jobs that Minnesota needs to thrive.
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Stores whose contracts expired March 1, 2025
Haug’s Cub Foods
Jerry’s Cub Foods/Jerry’s Foods
Kowalski’s Markets
Radermacher’s Cub Foods
Stores whose contracts expired March 2, 2025
Lunds & Byerlys
Knowlan’s Festival Foods
Stores whose contracts expired March 4, 2025
UNFI Cub Foods
