It is a rainy Monday and I am feeling the need to give some constructive criticism (aka: griping) to several stores. And in fairness some kudos too. Being the main shopper of the family, I have built up enough experience at these stores to have developed some opinions about how they can change and either attract customers or keep the customers that they already have.
WINCO: After having kids this store used to be my main weekly shopping store. I used to drop $100 to $150 here weekly. The first blow to our relationship started when they quit giving a store credit for bringing my own bags. And then after starting in on couponing I have seriously cut my expenditures at this store. Yes, it still is the best store to go to if you need to pick up a specific grocery item that you know is not on sale anywhere else; but really my love for this store has definitely waned. I used to think that they had really great prices. Now I am just not that impressed. I am not sure if my expectations have changed or if their prices have creeped up. A little of both I suppose. I also have noticed that the offerings in the bulk section have decreased. Several spices that I used to be able to get in bulk are no longer offered. They are generally a little coupon-phobic. I can appreciate the no-frills, bag-your-own groceries to get a lower price; but lately I have been getting a lower price other places without bagging my own groceries.
PROS: overall low prices (but not always, be careful!), high volume of turnover so you rarely have to worry about expiration dates, great shopping cart return design: you are never more than a few cars away from one and they face both directions. Decent bulk foods section.
CONS: rarely do they advertise a sale and unadvertised sales vary from store to store, bulk foods selection seems to be shrinking, prices here have been rising over the last year whereas they seem to be decreasing at other stores causing the price difference margin to be shrinking IMO. Coupon friendliness varies from store to store and cashier to cashier. No rewards program.
ALBERTSONS: Sort of a love-hate relationship with Albies. Pre-kids I shopped almost exclusively here and then for years I did not shop here at all. Now I find myself shopping here more often, but not always finding it a pleasant experience. They have great sales that match up with coupons and catalinas, but their non-sale items are grossly overpriced. If they would just price their non-sale items a little bit higher than other stores, say 10-50 cents, then I would probably pick up more than the sale items while I am shopping. I will pay a few cents more to save me a trip to another store, but I just can't bring myself to pay 2-3 times as much! So with the ridiculously high regular prices, Albertsons needs the special sales and really needs to cater to the coupon shoppers. It will seem that they are doing this, such as by offering double coupons, and then they will put tons of restrictions on them, or they will really crack down on the cashiers who will then be wary of coupons. I also really do not like the recent changes to the gas program. I have been buying less from them since this change.
PROS: Good manufacturer sales that match up with coupons. A gas rewards program.
CONS: Overpriced non-sale items. The corporation comes across as trying to cater to couponers but the individual stores tend to make the couponers feel unwelcome. Low-volume turnover so you really have to watch the expiration dates. Very likely to be out of any really good deals. Recent changes to gas rewards program make it harder to earn rewards.
FRED MEYER: Probably my favorite of stores lately. Their regular prices are somewhat more expensive than Winco, but they do have great sales. I love how they rotate fairly consistently between sales of necessary items like eggs, milk, o.j., bread, etc. They also have a rewards program for both store rewards and gas rewards. They have great clearance sales and are one of the few places that frequently puts items such as legos and video game software and equipement on sale. Plus you gotta love the free child care while you shop.
PROS: one-stop shopping, good sales, rewards program, free child care, fairly coupon freindly. Generally high-volume turnover. Can get rainchecks on most sales.
CONS: Sales are generally store brand, fewer manufacturer sales than Albies (but that is okay with me), poor cart returns in parking lot (I wish they would steal Winco's design and placement). Fewer catalinas than Albies.
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