Castle Pines Sooper heroes!
As a way to boost morale, the entire staff of the Castle Pines King Soopers gets together for a team building rally every morning before the store opens and several times throughout the day. Customers can hear the enthusiasm over the intercom during the mid-day rally. “It’s my favorite part of the day,” said Johnny Hagan, assistant store manager. “It’s spiritual!”
There are not many households in the community that have not made a trip to King Soopers on Castle Pines Parkway in the past few weeks. For those who have, experiences have been varied. For every complaint The Connection has seen on social media, we have seen countless comments that speak of kindness and benevolence.
“In the 28 years I have worked for King Soopers, I have never seen anything like this,” said Dennis Fossceco, general manager of the Castle Pines King Soopers store. “We have witnessed extreme anxiety and also overwhelming compassion.”
Responding to an ever-changing landscape, King Soopers, like most businesses, is having to adapt the way it does business. From social distancing in check-out lines to putting quantity limitations on the purchase of select items, Fossceco admits it has been challenging at times.
“It is getting better day by day. People have been especially understanding of our senior population and the dedicated hour of exclusive shopping we have set aside for those customers who are at high risk,” said Fossceco.
Fossceco and his assistant store manager, Johnny Hagan, shared story after story about ways in which the Castle Pines community has shown its support – from the family who brought in pizzas for the entire staff, to the customer who gave a $100 gift card to purchase lunch for all the workers – and so many more. “Every time a customer says ‘thank you’, it makes a huge impact on us, and we greatly appreciate it,” he said. “I can’t say enough how much we are grateful for this community; you have been fantastic to us!”
Fossceco gave a shout out to his entire team, all of whom have been working long, hard hours away from their families. As a manager, he said, it is humbling to work with such an amazing group of people. He concluded our interview by reminding me that King Soopers is hiring, and they are accepting applications on the spot.
