| Customers Casa do Cliente Grupo Pão de Açúcar, which pioneered the installation of an ombudsman in Brazil’s retail sector in 1993, further built on this concept, culminating in the creation of the Casa do Cliente (Customer’s House) in 2002. At present, more than 50 customer service professionals provide solutions to customers’ demand across all of the company’s banners.  The objective of Casa do Cliente is not only to serve as a communication channel between consumers and the company but also to identify opportunities for improving products and services. Since 2007, Casa do Cliente has also been receiving suggestions and requests for the Group’s exclusive brands as well as for those imported by it. In 2008, a total of 686,000 customer contacts were received through diverse channels such as telephone, e-mail, and chat. This number was lower than in the previous year, thanks to the improvement in the automatic customer service system, which offers useful information without the need for contact with an operator.  In about 46% of total contacts (approximately 319,000), customers obtained from the automatic customer service system the information they needed, especially telephone, number, address and store hours. The remaining 54% were attended by the team responsible for answering customer queries, with 77% of this percentage being resolved instantly. The leading contact channel was chat, which rose from 2% of total contacts in 2007 to 10% in 2008. The following table provides the breakdown of contacts by channel. Extra accounts for 72% of all customer contacts, followed by Pão de Açúcar with 17%, CompreBem with 8% and Sendas with 3%.
Awards In 2008, Grupo Pão de Açúcar received the IX Prêmio Consumidor Moderno de Excelência em Serviços ao Cliente award from the magazine Consumidor Moderno. In October, Extra was honored in the Super/Hyper Retail category of the annual survey As Empresas que Mais Respeitam o Consumidor no Brasil 2008 (Companies in Brazil that respect the consumer the most) conducted by the consulting firm TNS/Interscience. The two awards were mainly for the service provided by the Casa do Cliente program, showing the public’s recognition of Grupo Pão de Açúcar’s respect for its consumers. Customer Consultants To offer its consumers specialized and the best quality customer services, Pão de Açúcar has been offering the services of Customer Consultants since 1998. This initiative, available in 110 of the chain’s 145 units, aims to improve the quality of services offered at the stores through the consultants’ efforts to create a harmonious environment at the supermarket, ensure the quality of product display, and provide information to customers about the product mix. During the run-up to such special days as Easter, Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day and Christmas, the consultants even help customers to plan menus. The consultants also participate in the Customers Council, which consists of ten consumers and is used by Grupo Pão de Açúcar to measure the quality of service, products and services offered at the stores. Market Research and Competitive Intelligence To understand consumers and their level of satisfaction at the time of purchase, the Market Research and Competitive Intelligence unit of Grupo Pão de Açúcar periodically conducts quantitative and qualitative surveys, deeply analyzing the retail market as well as the Group’s units and exclusive brands. The surveys are aimed at indicating consumer well-being, understanding trends, evaluating the Group’s communications with the public and monitoring the retail sector to forecast future scenarios. The numbers for 2008 were:
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