I'm pretty much a "glass is half empty and leaking " guy, but I do want to mention something positive.

There's a small supermarket near to me that's an example of how the little guy can compete ( at least I hope so).

The warehouse supermegamart has won the battle around here, and is a little complacent. The little guy is surviving by doing a lot of things right.

The staff is always on top of things. If customers are stacking up, somebody opens a new register. They may close it 10 minutes later, but they react. They have baggers/carryouts, and the idle ones jump in to help -- as does the cashier. They know how to bag, and they all seem to work together.

They're friendly, and they seem to have a good time. This has to come from the top. It isn't like the Wally world forced friendliness. Whoever is running this place must be treating them halfway decent.

Finally, the prices aren't bad. As I've said, the warehouse place has won the big battles, so they aren't nearly as competitive as they used to be. Plus, they've gone to selling shelf space in a big way and reduced the number of brands.

The little guy is a LOT smaller. But, they actually have a better selection in a lot of areas, and the prices are often as good/better.

Anyway, the little guy is no threat to the megawarehouse, but I'm glad that they're around. It's actually a very pleasant shopping experience -- not something you get a lot of these days.

I'd been meaning to bring this up for a while. I'll return now to my usual grumpy personality.

 

My choices for food shooping are meijjers or Jewel

When both parking lots are full, meijjers is a freaking nightmare,
the crowd at jewel is comfortable (way smaller parking lot) i canm get in, out and on my way

 

Cool!

Is this store part of a smaller chain of stores or maybe just an upscale mom and pop kind of place?

This place seems to have all it needs to operate well.

As a teenager I worked in a grocery store that belonged to a smaller chain and I can see how this store has won you over. It's much easier to know your way around in a smaller store. What often keeps the employees content and happy is how well their manager treats them. Often people are hired or made managers who have little people skill and tact. They fail to get the most out of their help and they might not be too people friendly.

Treat your customers as friends and treat your help as people!

 

I like AUDI stores......not alot of brands but always good and much cheaper than the other stores. bread seems fresher too and only 50 cents a loaf

 

Proof that customer service really does sell.

 

Wal Mart drove the little JayC store out of business here. They just could not compete. I will usually drive a bit further to go to the little store that remains open in a nearby town. I like it. Its alot like Cheers...everybody knows your name!

 

I prefer the small chain grocery (Hannaford) store in my neighborhood to the big chain stores we have around here like Stop and Shop and Shaw's.

This store doesn't have any kind of customer loyalty card to get the discounts, they have a good selection of stuff and their prices are very competitive. That's all I need in a grocery store.

 

I won't food shop at Wally-World.......

Harris Teeter is mine.....They do what Ford2Go stated.....They see ANY stacking up at the registers, they open another one up, even if only temporarily........

I may pay a little more there than at Wally-World, but for me, the cleanliness, selection, and efficiency (not to mention, atmosphere) is worth the price of admission.