Another grocery strike??!?!?!??!? (unemployment, wages, live in)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by user_id

I explained, briefly, my position on Costco in a previous comment on this thread.

In terms of Trader Joe's, I have shopped their numerous times and I'm not really a fun. I have never found any of their "baked" (they don't really bake them....) goods to be particularly good, but I don't eat cookies, breads, etc often so I really don't care in the first place. If I do purchase bread its going to be fresh baked bread....

I don't think there is anything wrong with Trader Joe's or Fresh and Easy, but they aren't replacements for Ralph's, Vons, etc. For some people they may work, but they don't work for me.

and I maintain their breads are the best for the price anywhere. They compare with the bread/bakery I use here and I pay $3.75 a loaf. I wouldn't know about things like thier cookies, etc I bake my own if we eat them at all. I saw your statement about Cosco; for the most part you are off base. They do have excellent prices, as does Sam's. No, they do not have a huge selection in the produce dept. In fact we just got back today from Sam's. We use them for certain produce that we love and eat regularly but we buy the rest of our produce at the Farmers market, or the neighbornood super market (non chain I will add) No one is saying the three major chains should never be part of ones overall shopping experience, but there is no reason to partronized them only and if I lived in Ca and they were out on strike I would just laugh at the strikers.

Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Anyone that shops at the big 3 and only the big 3 is a complete idiot. If you take the time to go through the weekly ads and plan your shopping you can save hundreds of dollars a month. The ONLY things I'll get from the big 3 will be clearly marked on the ads. Plus, stick to the ads. One of the reasons they have these sales is the hope you'll fill your cart with their other over-priced, expensive items.

The stores I shop are pretty much in a straight line from the house. I can hit Costco, then Vons, FFL, Smart and Final, Ralphs, Vons then Rite Aid all on one tour. I've got a game plan each shopping day.

That is how we shop as a rule. We live a few miles up in the hills (no not of TN but of AR) so it takes us about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour to get to our starting spot: we did it today: first Aldi's (you don't have it yet) then the Mexican grocery store for tomatoes and cilantro cause they have gotten really expensive here. Then it is on to Sam's and last our favorite grocery store for the rest of our product, some of our meats and dairy products that we haven't already picked up. We don't have Cosco (we are in WalMart world) We did have Sams and Costco in NM and TX.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by nmnita

That is how we shop as a rule. We live a few miles up in the hills (no not of TN but of AR) so it takes us about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour to get to our starting spot: we did it today: first Aldi's (you don't have it yet) then the Mexican grocery store for tomatoes and cilantro cause they have gotten really expensive here. Then it is on to Sam's and last our favorite grocery store for the rest of our product, some of our meats and dairy products that we haven't already picked up. We don't have Cosco (we are in WalMart world) We did have Sams and Costco in NM and TX.

I can't wait till we get another Super Walmart closer to my place. It's almost maddening how much cheaper these other stores are than the Big 3 and lets us know we've been taken for a ride all these years.

Thank you strikers for driving us off to cheaper territory

[Dennis P]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

I can't wait till we get another Super Walmart closer to my place. It's almost maddening how much cheaper these other stores are than the Big 3 and lets us know we've been taken for a ride all these years.

Thank you strikers for driving us off to cheaper territory

Reps to you for this statement. As I mentioned previously on this thread, the last grocery strike was what drove me to shop where I do now. I can't even remember the last time I was at one of the Big 3 supermarkets.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by dennismpat

Reps to you for this statement. As I mentioned previously on this thread, the last grocery strike was what drove me to shop where I do now. I can't even remember the last time I was at one of the Big 3 supermarkets.

Well, after a couple of the morons threatened me while I was carrying my 2 yr old daughter I went home, dropped her off with my then went back to see if the clown wanted to wear his sign like a popsicle stick. I did ALL my shopping there until the strike was over. Then I pulled the plug and only shop there for an occasional sales item. What a bunch of jack holes screaming at babies and elderly.

Then after the first week the pansies gave out and hired people to picket for them.

[user_id]

Originally Posted by nmnita

I am beginning to wonder which union you work for and where you are getting your biased information? Maybe from the union leaders?

I'm not involved with any unions and the information I'm citing is straight from the company's financial statements.

You haven't refuted anything I've stated, instead, you just seem to want to bash the union.

Originally Posted by nmnita

The word "demanding" is the secret here: demanding, I want to demand higher interest on my investments and lower interest on my credit cards, demanding is a very bad word and will cost people their jobs.

Umm...huh? Having demands is bad?

[user_id]

Originally Posted by nmnita

and I maintain their breads are the best for the price anywhere.

You can prefer whatever foods you want, personally I prefer fresh bread and as a result wouldn't buy the bread at Trader Joe's.

Originally Posted by nmnita

I saw your statement about Cosco; for the most part you are off base. They do have excellent prices, as does Sam's.

To say it again, it depends what you are buying. If you insist on buying name brand products than Costco will be cheaper, if you are willing to purchase private label products then you can get better deals at the grocery stores.

Regardless, most people shop at the stores that are close to them and don't waste their time driving around from store to store...

[OC Investor2]

Originally Posted by user_id

You can prefer whatever foods you want, personally I prefer fresh bread and as a result wouldn't buy the bread at Trader Joe's.


To say it again, it depends what you are buying. If you insist on buying name brand products than Costco will be cheaper, if you are willing to purchase private label products then you can get better deals at the grocery stores.

Regardless, most people shop at the stores that are close to them and don't waste their time driving around from store to store...

I will agree with you that you can find things cheaper elsewhere - sometimes. But Costco is not about absolute cheapest, its about the best value. They can get low-low and beat just about anyone on certain commoditized categories, but more often then not they look for a way to add extra qualilty and deliver it for pennies above the bare bones offereing in the category and significantly less then traditional grocery stores sell similar quality branded product. If you would rather save those few pennies and forgo the "upgrades" then your right, Costco probably isn't right for you. But thats why they make chocolate & vanilla, right?

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Morem like about $16.50. It varies throughout the state but no one makes $25.

Try $10 to $13. And that is entirely thanks to the unions. My mom worked as a cashier at Wal-Mart and she was getting somewhere around $7/hour (and there was certainly no free health insurance. I'm not sure if she had health insurance at all.) I recall that she had a bad stomach pain once, and she had to go to the ER. She waited three hours in the lobby, got a perfunctory exam, some painkillers, and a bill that amounted to one month of her wages. Perfect demonstration of idiocy of the health care system in this country.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by esmith143

Try $10 to $13. And that is entirely thanks to the unions. My mom worked as a cashier at Wal-Mart and she was getting somewhere around $7/hour (and there was certainly no free health insurance. I'm not sure if she had health insurance at all.) I recall that she had a bad stomach pain once, and she had to go to the ER. She waited three hours in the lobby, got a perfunctory exam, some painkillers, and a bill that amounted to one month of her wages. Perfect demonstration of idiocy of the health care system in this country.

Things have really changed then as my old GF was making 16 an hour back in the 80s at Safeway as a checker.