I wasn't just the coffee...it was him

My first memory of meeting Carroll Zeringue, or as a affectionately referred to him simply as "Z". It was November 1983, we were opening our 4th location, it had all the bells and whistles of the day. A very modern supermarket and a great addition to the East Side of Houma, LA.

Mr. Carroll was at the time the Meat Supervisor (before we had directors)...and on grand opening day the meat dept. had salt pork (picnic) in the ad for $0.49lb. Not the kind that comes in a cyrovac pack...this was the whole salt pork shoulder which was cut and packaged in store. They had a full load of salt pork when we opened at 7am that day, and by 11am we were sold out! That's 40,000lb in 4 hours. To say folks in SE Louisiana like their "salt meat" as they say it, would be a gross understatement.

I remember Carroll standing on the end of that Frederick flat deck meat case for hours after we sold out of salt pork, hand writing rain checks for customers who wanted to come back when we had more. This man wrote 100s of rain checks, maybe 1000s...but he wrote them nonetheless knowing we were losing money on every one he wrote.

That was Z, he stood on principle and did what was right for the nearly 40 years I have known him, he never wavered, not once.

Over the succeeding years I knew Carroll, as my career took me into new roles and responsibilities eventually becoming a fellow director before later in his career when he stepped back into a buying role ultimately retiring from Rouses as the longest tenured non Rouse family member to ever work for the company at the time...I gained a world of knowledge from him and respect for him.

Funny yet Brutality Honest

But, not without a dose (or two) of some real hard "ribbing". Carroll could zing you with the best of them. He could tell a Boudreaux and Thibodeaux joke with gusto which would make you roll over in laughter. There was the time he tried to convince me that there was such as thing as boneless cows, because I simply question about the boneless goose neck rounds coming in from our warehouse. Look I was the produce guy, I remember telling him...but he wouldn't let it go. He basked in giving me heck about that for years following.

It was about Relationships

To say Carroll was a mentor would be to say, I had many...and he certainly was one. There was a period of time when we shared an office in the 90s (produce and meat) merchandising and buying teams. Those days were priceless to me...the lessons I learned by just listening to how he interacted with his peers and when sales persons came to call on him. He always wanted to know how they were doing, before they spoke about business. Relationships were key and it was something of great value for me to learn as a young director. He would say to me. Joe, you have to tell the person wanting to sell to you what you need from them...but you also need to know what they need from you. It was a simple phrase which made so much sense and was invaluable to me for the rest of my career in retail.

Coffee In the Kitchen

Once we moved into the new office which was actually an old location we relocated we were not in the same office any longer. But close enough that he would walk down my aisle and say in his mostly loud voice...let's go get a cup of coffee! Those kitchen conversations were epic, everything from his latest joke, to road trips reviews, to whatever scuttlebutt was trending (before social media). Carroll told stories of his days running meat processing plants all through South Louisiana before he made the jump to retail in the early 70s. It was these stories and others which gave me insight to the incredible knowledge I had at my fingertips. I looked to Carroll for guidance so many times, asking is opinion on a decision I had to make. But he most often didn't give me the answer I wanted, he gave me the answer I needed.

As time went on and Carroll was getting closer to retirement we often spoke about what I wanted to achieve in my career. I would share my aspirations with him and he told me more than once time that if my plans were to be fulfilled I would need to look to make a move eventually. He reminded me that if I didn't hold firm to my beliefs and fight for what I knew was right I would never be fulfilled in work or in life. Carroll was always a straight shooter when it came to telling you like it was, and in doing so with me, he planted a seed that ultimately gave harvest to me making the decision to move on. Not out of dissatisfaction for my work or company, but because of a need I had to achieve another goal.

The Years After

In the years since I left, and Carroll had retired we stayed in touch occasionally and he would update me on happenings on the bayou and I would tell him all the places we had been to and traveled and the work we were doing. It was those times when I appreciated him the most. He had seen me at the very beginning of my career, when I was a produce clerk and he a director, and later being peers only strengthened our relationship.

What I learned from Carroll are that having concrete principles will never let you down. Relationships are the key to success and never give up on your values to satisfy another.

Today, Z I hear you...I will always hear your voice saying, "Hey Joe, let's go get a cup of coffee".

God Bless you Carroll Zeringue, may you rest in peace.