[DarkWolf]

What's the opinion on Aldi's produce?

[pulpfiction]

I actually just received both an email and phone call from S&S.

The email seemes 'canned'...but apparently they're sending me a $10 gift card
Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

I am terribly sorry to learn about your dissatisfaction with produce purchased at your Rockville, CT Stop & Shop. We are making every effort to assure that we are always providing our customers with the freshest, highest quality fruits and vegetables. Please know that I have made your store manager as well as the produce supervisor for your store aware of your comments for their information. You can be assured that they will follow up with the staff to ensure that they are properly stocking and rotating the produce. I have also notified our produce buyers for their follow-up as well. We certainly do not want to lose a great customer to one of our competitors, and we certainly do not want to present our customers with any below standard products. I hope you can accept the gift card I will be mailing you for any inconvenience this has caused you.

Thanks, again, for bringing this to our attention so that we can work to ensure your future experiences are more satisfactory.
Sincerely,
Customer Care Representative
Ref:
Enclosure: $10 Gift Card (1)


The manager from my local S&S called and seemed genuinely concerned about my experience. We'll see if anything changes...supposedly theyre going to be meeting with the entire produce department to share my email and look at this thread. I did explain that the issues aren't isolated to my local store--it really is company-wide...and that if the lack of quality continues, I will jump ship as soon as something better comes along.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

I did explain that the issues aren't isolated to my local store--it really is company-wide...and that if the lack of quality continues, I will jump ship as soon as something better comes along.

I'm sure the stores that they've had to shutter lately in CT already tells them that their quality is lacking. This is a company that is well known for assuming leases of larger buildings in an effort to shut out competition. Why would they want to staunch competition? Because they don't operate nice stores.

[NJ Supermarket Directory]

Stop & Shop's produce (where I live) is generally just mediocre, not terrible, not great. My local ShopRite has good produce at good prices, but nothing spectacular. For the best produce, at the best prices, I'd recommend any Glass Gardens-owned ShopRite. I've found them to be consistently the best and best-priced. Pathmark and A&P have horrible produce and Kings' produce is ridiculously overpriced.

[Goose-boy]

Dropped S&S in favor of Whole foods and Trader Joes, never looked back.

[pulpfiction]

Originally Posted by Goose-boy

Dropped S&S in favor of Whole foods and Trader Joes, never looked back.

Well, yeah..a nice upgrade in terms of quality..but I'm sure youre spending significantly more.

TJ's is great for certain things, but produce and meats are subpar. WF obviously is terrific in these areas, but are at least 50% higher priced than S&S. Moreover, both have a somewhat limited selection (especially TJ's)

Bring on Wegmans. PLEASE.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Goose-boy

Dropped S&S in favor of Whole foods and Trader Joes, never looked back.

A friend swears by Whole Foods for produce but unfortunately it is not the kind of store most people can afford to shop at for everything. Also I have little time to run around to different stores for different things so I just stick with Stop & Shop.

Still, I have noticed that Stop & Shop overall has become a less pleasurable place to shop. The aisles are line with free-standing displays that you must maneuver around, they are stocking shelves in many aisles during the middle of the busiest times of the day and the selections of meat, particularly beef has decreased significantly. It is making me have second thoughts on where I should shop. Jay

[mels]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

Well, yeah..a nice upgrade in terms of quality..but I'm sure youre spending significantly more.

TJ's is great for certain things, but produce and meats are subpar. WF obviously is terrific in these areas, but are at least 50% higher priced than S&S. Moreover, both have a somewhat limited selection (especially TJ's)

Bring on Wegmans. PLEASE.

I actually spend less at WF than at Stop and Shop, for the most part. Plus I have never encountered rotting produce at WF like I have at S&S. Comparing apples to apples (no pun intended), their prices are very similar (e.g. comparing non-organic vs. non-organic). However, this time of year I am all about my CSA and won't have to grocery shop for produce until next winter, thank god. I haven't set foot in a Stop and Shop in a very long time and plan on keeping it that way.

I agree that Wegmans in CT would be awesome.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

A friend swears by Whole Foods for produce but unfortunately it is not the kind of store most people can afford to shop at for everything. Also I have little time to run around to different stores for different things so I just stick with Stop & Shop.

Depends on what you buy at WFM and what brand. Some things I buy from there (coffee grounds, mac & cheese, rice pilaf, black and pinto beans) are actually really inexpensive, the reason being is WF has their own generic brand known as 365. I saw on the news they plan on opening a few small-sized grocery stores that strictly sell 365-brand products. I also buy milk from there sometimes, since they supply it from local CT farms which I'm happy to support, even if it's a bit more expensive. Having said that, like most people I can't afford a week's worth of groceries from WF so I go to TJs.

Wegmans is great, but the only place I've seen them is upstate NY up in the Finger Lakes area where a friend of mine lives. Are they even in CT yet?

IMO, shopping at S&S is a lot like buying clothes at The Gap: paying a fortune for a bunch of overpriced, cheap crap.

[goldentraveler]

Although the quality differs from store to store, most Stop and Shop grocers that I've gone to are lacking in every department. Their produce is low quality. You can spend several minutes trying to pick out fresh vegetables that are damaged, rotted or old. And sometimes you can't even find common items like scallions or fresh green beans. They're always "out". I generally don't buy anything unless it's packaged (rice), canned (corn) or paper goods. I've had to bring back chicken countless times because of it's smell. I can buy chicken at other stores and it's good in the package for a week. Probably because it was handled correctly and packaged fresh. I never buy anything from the fish department either. Unfortunately the S&S store near me is poorly managed, so that doesn't help either. I find Shoprite to be much better but it's 30 minutes away. Trader Joe's is the best. I wish they would expand all over the state. They would do well. I just can't understand why consumers (especially in my area) accept such mediocrity. They should demand more, especially at the prices we pay.