Groceries

[sadchild]

From the "nobody may give a shit" department, I avoid Walmart but will shop there occasionally (the wife too). Our basic philosophy (which allows for exceptions) is support local when it's not unreasonable, support chains that (at least appear to) provide good product at reasonable costs,

For example, a 20-something entrepreneur opened a yoyo/toy shop in downtown Concord. My son was big into yoyos (and puzzles) so we bought from that store despite it costing more than Amazon or other places. My wife shops at the bookstore downtown first, before buying online.

For groceries, we go to Shaws. It costs more but it's worth it. Especially since the last time I went to Market Basket down the road a lady almost backed over my son, and another lady collapsed at the end of an aisle and started bleeding from the head. That ain't worth saving 5 cents a pound on radicchio!

That all said, we do a majority of our non-food shopping on Amazon. We spent years making sure his ex-wife got a big enough parting gift.

 

[scotchandcigar]

From the "nobody may give a shit" department, I avoid Walmart but will shop there occasionally (the wife too). Our basic philosophy (which allows for exceptions) is support local when it's not unreasonable, support chains that (at least appear to) provide good product at reasonable costs,

For example, a 20-something entrepreneur opened a yoyo/toy shop in downtown Concord. My son was big into yoyos (and puzzles) so we bought from that store despite it costing more than Amazon or other places. My wife shops at the bookstore downtown first, before buying online.

For groceries, we go to Shaws. It costs more but it's worth it. Especially since the last time I went to Market Basket down the road a lady almost backed over my son, and another lady collapsed at the end of an aisle and started bleeding from the head. That ain't worth saving 5 cents a pound on radicchio!

That all said, we do a majority of our non-food shopping on Amazon. We spent years making sure his ex-wife got a big enough parting gift.

This sums up our situation as well. We split our grocery shopping between Market Basket (the local low-price chain) and the nicer places. And we try to avoid going to the basket an hour before a Pats game, then complaining about how crowded it is.

Next up, above you basically said that GOP'ers are the Walmart types and Dems are the buy local type. I'm not sure I agree with that. I think it's all about one's financial situation.

I agree that much of the ability to decide depends on one's finances. It's a fact that red states more often have a lower cost of living and lower incomes, but I'm not criticizing that, or trying to lay blame. All I'm saying, is that it's sometimes convenient to claim that some people are the "takers" when that's not true, and that others "buy American" when that's not true either. Don't be a hypocrite between words and actions.

So really, people should do whatever they feel is best for themselves. As George Carlin said, people are fine; it's people in groups that's the problem.

 

[sadchild]

One of my big beef's with Walmart is they'll advertise a TV model for $30 less than everyone else, but what you aren't told is it's actually a custom-built version of that model, with cheaper parts, made specifically for Walmart. So if I buy the Samsung 55ABCD at Walmart, and you buy the 55ABCD at Best Buy, they aren't the same TV. Today I'm bragging about getting it for $30 less but tomorrow I'm bitching about it being unreliable and frustrating while yours works great.

 

[JHDK]

I buy nearly all my groceries at Walmart. I only go to Publix for the bogos or flowers if the Walmart flowers suck.

Anyway, my Walmart is phasing out the self checkout and it sucks cause it used to have like 30 self checkout machines and now they only open about 6. They haven't hired more people for the checkout lanes so I now wait to pay for groceries like it's a ride at Disney. I waited like 25 mins a few days ago. I get that it makes sense for them cause of stealing but FL is really strict about busting people for that so I was hoping it wouldn't come here. And it's not just my Walmart it's all of them in the area. Pam lives in a fancier town and they are doing the same thing at her's.

I mean I've accidentally stolen stuff a few times I've talked about here so if I'm doing it by mistake sometimes I bet people who are actually there to steal are doing it every time they go.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I'm sure you have your reasons, but I don't know why a person would buy groceries at someplace other than a grocery store. There's no comparison with the frequency, freshness and care of what's available with a local grocery chain. Up here, the Market Basket chain has unbeatable prices.

And they can ring-up a full carriage of food in like 3 minutes. We went to a Walmart supercenter when it opened several years ago, and it was brutal. We had a cart full of food, and we had to wait behind people with all sorts of stuff. It's just not a rational concept.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I do WalMart here. It's cheaper than the grocery store chains and I can get in and out faster. They still have self checkouts but now they have 3 or 4 employees hovering over you. People against self checkout have the mistaken belief that if they closed them they would hire more staff. And quite frankly, I do a much better and faster job than the non-self lane guy/girl. And the displays at the non-self checkout don't properly display the specials so I have to stop them and make them print me a receipt that shows the price is as advertized. Slows the whole process right down. But it saves me my $3 so all is good. Fuck the people behind me. If they wanted to be fast, they should have done the self checkout.

 

[Aaron]

We tend to buy a lot of the groceries at Walmart to save a few bucks.
But most of the fruit and vegetables and meat, we buy at a regular grocery store. Because of quality and they keep the fruit chilled.

3 years later, still applies here.

 

[HecticArt]

I still haven't Walmarted for a regular grocery run.
I think I've been in once or twice for some non-grocery things and grabbed a few things while I was there. Generally, there isn't a Wally-World where it's convenient for groceries.

 

[JHDK]

I'm sure you have your reasons

Since I live where I work it's a business district and I literally have a Walmart right next to me. I just walk there. It's like .25 miles from my front door to the entrance to Walmart.

And this:

It's cheaper than the grocery store chains

 

[scotchandcigar]

We have a nice local supermarket 5 minutes from us. We go there for light food shopping, plus they're in Maine, so I can get beer/wine/liquor/mixers there. The Market Basket is about 10 minutes from us in NH. The Walmart is 15 minutes from us.

But in any case, for someone like Mrs. Scotch (and most of central New England), Market Basket has the brands, variety, quality, and prices that people who prepare meals are looking for. And I'm not real familiar with Walmart's groceries, but my recollection is they have a lot of produce sitting in bins, rather than refrigerated, misted cases. I don't know if they have a full service deli, or fish market, or bakery. Maybe they do.

But we walk into our local supermarket, grab a carriage, and the dairy is right there. At Walmart, you have to walk half-way across a giant store to get to the food, then all the way back to the registers. And you have dozens - maybe hundreds - of other people there looking for TVs, and clothes, and coffee makers, and camping supplies. We want to get our food when it's fresh and get it into the car. And I can guarantee you that the cashiers at Market Basket are 10 times faster than either self-checkout or the Walmart cashiers who deal with everything other than food. Why would I want to be in line behind a mass of people getting price-checks on trash barrels, or a pallet of wood, or 3 carts of clothes?

There are certain things that Mrs. Scotch knows are cheaper at certain other places, like Walmart. But she goes to Target for a few things, or Aldi, or Trader Joe's. We know people who do all their food shopping at Target. But I realize that different areas have different situations. Right around the Boston area, prices are higher at the supermarkets, so maybe it depends on where you live.

 

[sadchild]

My son likes self-checkout. I don't prefer it. I only use it if lines are long and I have simple items (stuff you don't have to weigh, for example, just scan and bag it).

 

[sadchild]

Market Basket

I do Shaws. Better quality and I've had bad experiences with Market Basket in Concord. About 6 or 7 years ago I brought my son in to buy a few things and three major things happened. First, a lady was on the floor at the end of an aisle bleeding from the head. Second, a car started backing up INTO my son and I had to move him out of the way. I don't remember the third but it was on that level. I find the people that shop in that one (Concord) tend to be trashier in general. I stay away. Hannafords is as nice as Shaws. I go there to pick up the things Shaws doesn't stock.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I do Shaws. Better quality and I've had bad experiences with Market Basket in Concord. About 6 or 7 years ago I brought my son in to buy a few things and three major things happened. First, a lady was on the floor at the end of an aisle bleeding from the head. Second, a car started backing up INTO my son and I had to move him out of the way. I don't remember the third but it was on that level. I find the people that shop in that one (Concord) tend to be trashier in general. I stay away. Hannafords is as nice as Shaws. I go there to pick up the things Shaws doesn't stock.

Haha, I was waiting for you to chime-in. I would've pegged you for a "value" shopper at "the Basket". Where I used to live in NH, we had MB, Shaws, and Hannaford. Market Basket was always a zoo, but they had the best prices. I used to laugh about the people who'd go there an hour before a Patriots playoff game, and complain about how packed it was. Duh!

The Shaws in Plaistow NH was always a ghost-town. People who didn't like the crowd at MB, or just preferred the better quality, would shop there. But many of the prices were shockingly higher. Also, Shaws didn't have the strict employee rules like MB did; no tattoos, piercings, or facial hair, and hair tied-up. So the Shaws employees seemed to be all the MB rejects - they all had all of those. The Hannaford was a little further in Hampstead, and was kind-of a compromise between the other two.

The local place I mentioned by me now is a Hannaford, and it's very nice. But Mrs. Scotch goes to the MB in Newington/Portsmouth NH for the big weekly shop. I don't think we have a Shaws nearby.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I don't know how the Walmarts in the states are laid out. Here virtually every one has 2 doors. On one side is groceries. The groceries are all on one side. Some stores it's the right door, some the left. The produce is open and some of it has mist on it. Usually Walmart has their air conditioning set to 40f so refrigeration is not necessary.

I usually do a loop. I go to the McDonalds, grab a coke, then get a cart and head right to pharmacy. Get vitamins also toothpaste or sundry items that I need. Then pet supplies. Usually need something there. Then loop around the back. Usually stop at the washroom. Then pick up any electronics such as batteries or any good dvds in $5 bin (haven't been any in quite some time).

Then head to food. If I need a new belt or clothing I will stop as I pass. It's all one trip and usually takes about 30-60 minutes depending on the size of my list. I then saunter up to self checkout and check everything out. I sometimes have to argue with the people there because if I have too many things they say I should be in regular checkout. I ask where they have posted a limit and that usually shuts them up.

I have my tunes on, sometimes listening to a SXM countdown other times my own music. I don't go the closest one. I go to one about 45 minutes away from me. It was my wife's favourite since it has a Dollar Tree in same parking lot. I have kept up the tradition plus I also am very familiar with layout (and yes every walmart is slightly annoyingly different). Also its a weekend morning and a nice break from routine. If I am out of milk on a Tuesday I will go to my local one.

The local grocery chains (and they are national chains -- no regional ones) are very simular to walmart without some of the non-grocery items but a lot more expensive and more crowded on a weekend.

 

[sadchild]

I would've pegged you for a "value" shopper at "the Basket".

HEY! Greta voice: "How dare you!". I'll pay extra for quality of merch and experience (and not having my son run over).

The thought crossed my mind of connecting you with how the MB is in Concord (aka making a snarky comment) but quickly realized just because the Concord one is trashy doesn't mean they all are. That Concord MB is creepy tho.

 

[scotchandcigar]

The MBs around where we used to live were mostly freshly rebuilt. But they're all in the 'burbs. The only trashy one we went to was downtown Haverhill, in Central Plaza, during the time we were building and renting. But even then, we'd usually opt for the Riverside Plaza location (where the Bldg. 19 was); and that's a quiet area too.

But I can totally see how one in a city, like Concord, or Nashua, or Lawrence, could be a shithole.
edit: I totally forgot Manchester, but I try not to ever think about it.

HEY! Greta voice: "How dare you!". I'll pay extra for quality of merch and experience (and not having my son run over).

I figured that anyone who boasts about how few days they run the A/C, and chides the wife for not using the divider curtain when away, would want the lowest grocery prices.

 

[JHDK]

Well now idk what's going on. Today there we 12 self check out lanes open. Maybe they won't be phased out after all. Here's to hoping.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Well now idk what's going on. Today there we 12 self check out lanes open. Maybe they won't be phased out after all. Here's to hoping.

One of the walmarts only has them open at certain times of days.

 

[sadchild]

I figured that anyone who boasts about how few days they run the A/C, and chides the wife for not using the divider curtain when away, would want the lowest grocery prices.

Can't argue that.

On topic, we just bought a new AC last weekend, energy star, inverter, supposed to use less electricity. So I won't be as concerned no mo'

 

[Aaron]

Anyone shop at Aldi’s? They opened a couple of them in the nearby area.
I find them weird. Aside from a nice sized produce department, all the aisles in the middle lack cohesion. It is hard to figure out why they have some essential items but not others. Chunks of aisle space tied up with plants and plush toys.
Yet I know people who love the place.