Mr. George Gold Coin Award: Ben Robb

This month, we’re honored to share with you a Mr. George Gold Coin Award story that comes to us all the way from Harvest, Alabama. Why Harvest, Alabama you ask? Well, because that’s where honorary Gold Coin Award recipient and store manager, Ben Robb, calls home.

For a recap on the history behind our Mr. George Gold Coin Award or to take a look at some of the past Gold Coin Award stories, check out this page on our site!

Ben first joined the Publix team in 2003 as a cashier and has held numerous positions throughout the store, working his way up to Store Manager. When speaking with Ben, he told us that it didn’t even take him a month on the job to fall in love with Publix and decide that it was where he wanted to make a career. To him, the Publix culture of ownership and sense of family is what encouraged him every day to want to give his absolute best and to help others succeed.

In his role as Store Manager, Ben’s favorite part is being able to watch his associates grow. He explained that there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone you have invested in step into a successful and rewarding career at Publix. He went to the further explain that he feels very blessed to have worked under some great Publix leaders who took the time to share with him what it means to be an owner in our great company. As a store manager, he feels it is now his obligation to share that same culture of ownership and of growing leaders from within with his fellow associates.

In Ben’s job, no two days are quite the same and he never truly knows what opportunities or challenges lie ahead. With that in mind, Ben told us that one thing is for certain — it’s never boring. He attributes his success to his very high energy and strong work ethic and says that he uses them interchangeably to ensure every customer leaves with a smile on their face, knowing that Publix will always be a place where they’ll find the friendliest, most helpful staff and the best products available.

In his free time, Ben enjoys hiking, spending time with family, playing the guitar (which he does fairly well) and singing (which he fails at miserably). He told us that every time, he records himself playing/singing expecting by some miracle to become the next big YouTube sensation, only to find out upon playback that he’s quite tone deaf. We’ll be sure to keep a lookout for his first big hit.

The Story

The holiday season was in full swing and if you’ve ever been inside a grocery store during this time (which I’m sure you have) you’ll know that translates to B-U-S-Y. It was Christmas Eve morning and although Ben closed the store the night before, he was excited to get to work and arrived early. Not even an hour into the day, one of the customer service associates notified him that there was a customer who needed assistance in the parking lot. Once outside, Ben found an elderly lady with a flat tire who appeared to be very upset.

She explained that she lives alone and didn’t have anyone to call to come help her with the situation. Of course, Ben assured her that there was nothing to worry about and got to work on changing the tire. Once removed from the trunk and placed on the hub, he noticed the spare was flat and that there was no way the car would be able to make it home. Lucky for them, a gas station sits directly across the street from the store, so Ben took it over to fill up and see if it would hold air. To both their surprises, the tire was able to hold air and it got her home safely. After offering to pay Ben for his time and being refused, she now makes it a point each time she shops to seek him out so she can say hello and give a big hug.

Ben said that at the time, he didn’t think what he’d done was all that out of the ordinary, stating that he only did what he hoped someone would have done for his own mother in the same situation. He went on to say that it just goes to show you how much the little things we do for each other can make such a huge impact on someone’s life. He considers himself fortunate for the opportunity to be involved and says that he is truly humbled to be recognized for his experience.

He ended our chat by saying how proud he is to work for a company that holds to its core philosophy that we should be there in the moment to take care of our customers and fellow associates. We close this story by saying how proud we are to have such an exemplary manager in the Publix family and look forward to seeing what lies ahead for him.

Have you ever witnessed an associate truly going above and beyond at your local Publix? Share your story with us on Facebook, Twitter, via our Contact Us page, or give our Customer Care team a call at (800) 242-1227.