Harris Teeter vs. Giant (Arlington, Washington: sales, coupons, live in)

[Jtrain12]

I just moved to Arlington (Ballston) a few months ago. I've been splitting my grocery shopping between Harris Teeter (the one on Glebe) and the Giant on Washington Blvd. Everyone and their brother seems to love Harris Teeter, and their selection is nice, but honestly, I feel that Giant is much cheaper, and their gas rewards program is better than HT's VIC program. Anyone else agree?

[mikeva]

I find giant to be a little cheaper, but the biggest reason I go is for the handheld scanners that let me scan and bag while I shop. Speeds things up tremendously.

[Carlingtonian]

I've shopped both but now go to H-T on Lee-Harrison because it's the most convenient. (I always hated the parking situation at the Glebe H-T, as well as the high quotient of chumpy young guys and stuck-up young women. It felt like an extension of Clarendon Ballroom or something.) Giant is OK; it really depends on which one. Used to go to the one on Washington Blvd., but it's no longer convenient to where we live. Any Giant is better than Safeway, though.

Originally Posted by mikeva

I find giant to be a little cheaper, but the biggest reason I go is for the handheld scanners that let me scan and bag while I shop. Speeds things up tremendously.

Oh, my god. Those are the coolest things ever. They accommodate my paranoid frugality (allowing me to check prices as I shop) along with my impatience!

But the paper bags with handles at the Hairy Teat are hard to beat. (Traitors and Hos has them too.)

[JfromReston]

Have you ever been to Wegmans?
Once you do you will never go back to HT or Giant
Wegmans

[HereinVA]

I live in PWC so I don't use those specific locations, but I find myself at HT more...

1. I find HT has more of the great deals when I combine coupons/sale prices to get items free/mere pennies!

2. HT sells Blue Bunny ice cream. Blue Bunny Birthday Party ice cream. I LOVE this stuff!

3. HT puts out samples of deli meat, cheese, fruit, pastries...and there are those sugar cookies...my kids love them!

[stp_fan]

They both put things on sale, so you win either way.

However, HT tends to me more expensive overall.

I find that HMART has a lot of vegetables for dirt cheap compared to others.

I find the checkouts at all the HT to be slow as hell, like they built them too small - it's so cramped - and there is never enough people working there.

Except one - the one near Tysons Galleria - the self checkout there is fast as hell. Miss that place...

[CaliTerp07]

For my usual grocery list, Giant saves me a significant bundle over HT. I'm sure a handful of things are cheaper at HT each week if I were willing to watch sales and split my list between multiple stores, but my time is worth more than that. If I'm only going to one store, Giant is my favorite.

[spencgr]

We are all lucky to be in an area where we have multiple choices for good grocery stores. I shop at them all, for various reasons.

Safeway - by far the closest (3 mins walking), but I go here for last minute or emergencies only. Never done a full shopping trip here. Poor produce and meat selection, but fantastic wine deals.

Harris Teeter - 20 minutes away. Will go here for things I can't get at the Safeway. I have noticed that (when on sale) you can get excellent deals on soda. Don't but anything else here unless it is on sale. Also good for stopping for sushi rolls on the way home....

Giant - 23 minutes away - good prices for the basics. A lot of our "standard" shopping list is usually on sale here, so a great place to go, if you only want what is on your standard list.

Wegmanns - (cue the doves and the "a-ha!" music). Good for EVERYTHING!! This is always where we go when we need to do a full trip (and we travel 45 minutes to do so).
meats and seafood - they ALWAYS have what you need
deli counter - there will be 20 people in line, but you only wait 3 minutes. I've waited 20 at Giant, and I was the only person in line...
cheese counter - don't know what you need? just ask. Wegmann's actually send their cheese people to France for training - they will be more than happy to find you whatever you want.
produce - super fresh, and great selection - many, many local selections
fresh bread bakery - just try it
prices - on the basics, Wegmanns is just as good or better than everyone else. While difficult to do so, if you can get out of there with just the basics, you've saved money over other places.
customer service - they ensure that everyone can help you with everything. And they make sure that there are very short lines. I was in there the day before thanksgiving (at 3 pm) and didn't wait in line at all.

[sullyguy]

I have never seen the words "Giant" and "cheaper" in the same sentence.

How interesting!

[spleuchan]

We usually go to either Wegmans or Bloom based on what we are getting. I really like the store baked Turkey from Giant, which is the only reason we sometimes go there. Harris Teeter always seems more expensive the few times we have gone there.