Text 1485, 138 rader
Skriven 2013-06-21 00:26:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: What's in your Troll 740
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 -=> Dave Drum said to All <=-
 -=> Dale Shipp said to Dave Drum <=-

 DD> notice a sidebar touting a list of "America's 12 Worst Supermarkets". I
 DD> noticed, too, that only one is a left coast based company.

I don't hold much hope for Consumer Reports in the up-to-date,
comprehensive, or accurate departments. I've expressed misgivings
before, which have yielded half-hearted agreement, half-hearted
excuses, and half-hearted "well, it's the best we've got." In
addition, this is a survey of customers, which is going to have
its own biases. Not being a member, I didn't read the whole
article so can't do more than guess that the polling sample is
east-coast-biased. Perhaps someone with a membership/subscription
can post the whole list.

As far as the Fiscal Times goes, just put it this way. FT it's not.

 FTi> Not all supermarkets are created equal. For many Americans, stopping
 FTi> by a chain supermarket has become a major chore, involving long lines,
 FTi> rude employees, unsanitary conditions and poor selection. Consumer
 FTi> Reports recently conducted a survey of more than 24,000 shoppers to
 FTi> rank the best and worst out of 52 grocery store chains - and the
 FTi> results show just how disappointing customer experience can be at some
 FTi> megastores.  

I really want to see the details of this survey. I don't care
to see any more of the Fiscal Times's hyperbole-ridden article.

 FTi> 12. Stop & Shop: Reader Score: 73
 FTi> ... which is to say, they're not necessarily doing
 FTi> anything wrong, but they're not doing much right. 

Pretty much how I feel about S&S. When the Rabinowitzes had
control, it was really a chain of neighborhood stores - not
the best selection but pretty high quality and at least a
vestige of the family feeling - similar to the way the Star
Markets were supposed to have been in the olden days when
the Mugar family owned them. After the KKR takeover and
various wrong turns culminating in the merger with Giant,
during which time store individuality decreased and price
and other dissatisfaction decreased. I used to chortle as
I compared Stop & Shop prices with Giant's ... no more.

 FTi> 11. Acme: Reader Score: 73
 DS> Used to be in this area, but have closed up all the stores we know
 DS> about.  I think that they had some decent things, but were a bit out
 DS> of our normal driving range.

They were wretched in my experience, far worse than, say,
Weis or Pathmark.

 FTi> 10. Ralph's: Reader Score: 73
 FTi> ... mediocre on everything but cleanliness,

I've been in them; nothing interesting. I guess mediocre
is a good word.

 FTi> 9. Pick 'n Save: Reader Score: 73

Don't know.

 FTi> 8. Food Lion: Reader Score: 73
 DS> There is one not too far away and we might stop there for sales or
 DS> special items.  They got a very bad reputaion a number of years ago as
 DS> the result of an undercover TV show that filmed a number of bad
 DS> practices in some of their southern stores.

The ones I've seen have been bad but not THAT bad. I just want
to add that the undercover TV show itself turned out to be
fraudulent, with ABC staff trying (sometimes unsuccessfully)
to incite store personnel to commit the offenses filmed.

 FTi> 7. Weis Markets: Reader Score: 72
 FTi> The main complaints were customer service.
 DS> There is one of these in Laurel, a half hour drive away -- but I don't
 DS> think we've been there in more than a decade.

My complaint about Weis is cleanliness. Other than that, I
find it a pretty nice set of stores (from a sample of only
about 3, I admit), with more regional merchandise than most.

 FTi> 6. Tops Markets: Reader Score: 72

Perfectly okay. These were very similar to Giant and Stop &
Shop, not a surprise as they were co-owned for a time.

 FTi> 5. Jewel-Osco: Reader Score: 71
 FTi> Jewel-Osco had mediocre ratings in all categories, except price, which

I've not been in one for a while; they used to be co-owned
with Star Market (now part of Shaw's-Albertson's) and seemed
to be a weak sister, though the Osco drugstores were fine.

 FTi> fell into the "very dissatisfied" category. Reviews on Yelp are mixed,

What article takes Yelp as a source?

 FTi> 4. A & P: Reader Score: 70
 DS> Most A&P stores changed their name to Super Fresh years ago.  The only
 DS> one within moderate driving distance closed down a couple of years ago
 DS> and morphed into a Shopper's Food Warehouse.

These were always a bit seedy, even when they were the
dominant player. I didn't mind them and always found what
I needed, though the Ann Page house brands were mostly to
be avoided.

 FTi> 3. Shaw's: Reader Score: 69

Shaw's is a carbon copy of Albertson's; the disparity between
Shaw's's and its score (unknown - I don't have a membership to
CR) likely represents the difference in charitableness between
east and west coasters. The corporate integration among these
two and Star Market is about the best I've seen, though Giant and
Stop & Shop are getting close, and the only way I'd be able to
tell a Shaw's from an Albertson's is that the latter sells booze.

 FTi> 2. Walmart Supercenter: Reader Score: 69
 DS> None of these in the area.  Both Walmart and Target in this area have
 DS> limited food items but neither would be considered a full service
 DS> grocery store.

Agree with DD, DS, and the reader score. The quality of the
meats is particularly dubious.

 FTi> 1. Pathmark: Reader Score: 68

I didn't find Pathmark stores to be any worse than any other
urban establishments. The prices are high, but they're high
at Gristede's (which I prefer only marginally) too. And the
branded Pathmark health and beauty aid products are just as
good as anyone else's. Perhaps the Pathmark clientele (largely
downstate New Yorkers) grouse more than normal people.

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