Grocery Stores (West Side) (Madison, La Crosse: buy, live, price)

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by Drover

Oh you poor thing! Families -- *gasp!* -- shopping together! How thoughtless of them to inconvenience you like that.

You missed her point -- completely.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

I don't know if I even want to go into this any further, but I feel a need to clarify myself and be understood.

Actually, I love kids (some parents I'm not so crazy about, but that's another thread for another forum...) and I completely understand a Mom or Dad having to take their children to the store with them. What I don't understand is when the entire family has to go.

You don't seem to understand that I'm not exaggerating for the sake of emphasis here. When I say there are whole families shopping at Woodman's, I mean 3 generations sometimes. If there is a competent adult available to take care of younger children at home, why don't they do so? It can't be "fun" to have to watch small children while you are grocery shopping. Maybe they think the other adults who come along will help with that part of the venture, I don't know, but I don't see it happening.

Plus, most of the time it isn't the stray toddler who is causing the problem, but the clueless adults. You can be patiently (but obviously) standing there waiting to pass their shopping party while the adults take up both halves of the isle. If they even notice you they often just look at you as if to say, "Why are you standing there?" Duh! Because I can't get past you!

I shop at Woodman's pretty frequently and it's not nearly such an exasperating experience for me, so I don't know what to tell you. And whether a whole family tags along and/or their reasons for doing so are frankly none of your business.

With regard to your last paragraph, I find that a polite "excuse me please" works better than "patiently (but obviously) standing there" about 98% of the time. Try it some time.

[Chelito23]

I have heard more people on the Madison forum complain about families in supermarkets....and that is an issue I was never aware of. Not here or anywhere...it always seemed the same everywhere. And I grew up going to the store with mom....but anyways....in general, wherever you are, like a mall or Wal Mart or Target, you see shoppers in groups. I think in the Supermarket (mainly Woodman's) it is worse because the store is just much more crowded in general and the aisles aren't as wide. But I agree, a simple "excuse me" always does the trick for me.

[7G9C4J2]

I guess I'm a wierdo, but I really kind of enjoy the people-watching opportunities at a store like Woodman's. It's a microcosmic view of the cultural anthropology of Madison, and I appreciate the regular reminders that there are people in the world - even in my neighborhood - who aren't carbon copies of me. And truth to tell, I'd rather see youngsters going to the store with Mom and Dad than sitting at home hypnotized by the idiot box; they may not be perfect little angels at every moment, but they're learning about shopping behavior, interacting with others, sharing the aisles and generally practicing to be grownups some day.

I will be the first to agree that I've witnessed some unpleasant interactions at Woodman's, and certainly the crowds there can be oppressive if I'm feeling especially touchy. But I've also exchanged laughter and jokes with other customers, shared a smile at a baby's reaction to his mom, have both asked and given cooking advice, and I'm always impressed (even astounded) by the variety of Packer gear I see there on game days.

I don't work for Woodman's, and I definitely don't restrict my shopping to just that store. I far prefer the Farmers' Market and/or Willy St. Co-op for fresh produce, meats, fish and eggs. But I'll definitely go for the best prices I can find for mass-produced grocery items, and in Madison, that means Woodman's. The cultural anthropology opportunities are just a bonus.

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

I don't know if I even want to go into this any further, but I feel a need to clarify myself and be understood.

Actually, I love kids (some parents I'm not so crazy about, but that's another thread for another forum...) and I completely understand a Mom or Dad having to take their children to the store with them. What I don't understand is when the entire family has to go.

You don't seem to understand that I'm not exaggerating for the sake of emphasis here. When I say there are whole families shopping at Woodman's, I mean 3 generations sometimes. If there is a competent adult available to take care of younger children at home, why don't they do so? It can't be "fun" to have to watch small children while you are grocery shopping. Maybe they think the other adults who come along will help with that part of the venture, I don't know, but I don't see it happening.

Plus, most of the time it isn't the stray toddler who is causing the problem, but the clueless adults. You can be patiently (but obviously) standing there waiting to pass their shopping party while the adults take up both halves of the isle. If they even notice you they often just look at you as if to say, "Why are you standing there?" Duh! Because I can't get past you!

Agree x1000


When did Megan directly state she hated children being there? She means you don't need uncle, joe, aunt susie, cousin tim, granny barb to get some groceries. It's not the kids, it's the people that sit there and talk, and talk, and talk. If you want to socialize maybe a cafe is the place to do it. People are trying to get around and who ever said Woodmans is packed hit the nail on the head. Nothing wrong with kids, just too many people for such little tasks.

Midwesterbookworm, there is a diverse body of people @ Woodmans.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by MidwesternBookWorm

I don't work for Woodman's, and I definitely don't restrict my shopping to just that store. I far prefer the Farmers' Market and/or Willy St. Co-op for fresh produce, meats, fish and eggs. But I'll definitely go for the best prices I can find for mass-produced grocery items, and in Madison, that means Woodman's. The cultural anthropology opportunities are just a bonus.

On the other hand, one thing I really like about Woodman's is their selection of items produced by mom-and-pop Wisconsin producers. They do this even in their Illinois stores. For me a trip to Woodman's is like a mini-escape to Wisconsin -- though sometimes, depending on the traffic situation, the Kenosha Woodman's is the easiest for me to get to so it's an actual mini-escape to Wisconsin. The fact that their prices on "mass-produced grocery items" are the best around is another good reason to shop there. What's more, the beer selection in their liquor store is bested only by specialty beer stores. (That's another reason I occasionally truck up to the Kenosha Woodman's -- it's the closest place I can get several Wisconsin beers that are hard to find or outright not sold in Illinois.)

I haven't had the same issues with the deli as Hans has, but I think it's nearly universally accepted that their produce is borderline-abysmal. Thankfully there's a great produce market right down the street from the Woodman's we usually shop at.

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by Drover

On the other hand, one thing I really like about Woodman's is their selection of items produced by mom-and-pop Wisconsin producers. They do this even in their Illinois stores. For me a trip to Woodman's is like a mini-escape to Wisconsin -- though sometimes, depending on the traffic situation, the Kenosha Woodman's is the easiest for me to get to so it's an actual mini-escape to Wisconsin. The fact that their prices on "mass-produced grocery items" are the best around is another good reason to shop there. What's more, the beer selection in their liquor store is bested only by specialty beer stores. (That's another reason I occasionally truck up to the Kenosha Woodman's -- it's the closest place I can get several Wisconsin beers that are hard to find or outright not sold in Illinois.)

I haven't had the same issues with the deli as Hans has, but I think it's nearly universally accepted that their produce is borderline-abysmal. Thankfully there's a great produce market right down the street from the Woodman's we usually shop at.

That's the nice thing I liked about the store, tons and tons of cheese to choose from. I like my cheese! I'm sure they carry other Wisconsin brands and products I was just in awe by the cheese section.

[Bo]

Cub and Woodmans were my favorite places to save on groceries when I lived in Madison, although Woodman's was always nightmarishly crowded on weekends.

I liked the selection at Woodman's, but the discussion in this thread reminds me that I don't miss the crowds there.

BTW, you've got Trader Joe's now, don't you? In my experience with that store in other cities, there are some grocery bargains to be found there.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

Woodman's. Cub Foods, before...but I think that chain has disappeared altogether. Otherwise that leaves Aldi and Woodman's or Wal Mart.

BTW there is still a Cub Foods on the west side. In fact it looks to be the only one left in the entire state. The east side Cub Foods was one of my go-to places when I lived there.

[7G9C4J2]

Originally Posted by Drover

On the other hand, one thing I really like about Woodman's is their selection of items produced by mom-and-pop Wisconsin producers. They do this even in their Illinois stores. For me a trip to Woodman's is like a mini-escape to Wisconsin -- though sometimes, depending on the traffic situation, the Kenosha Woodman's is the easiest for me to get to so it's an actual mini-escape to Wisconsin. The fact that their prices on "mass-produced grocery items" are the best around is another good reason to shop there. What's more, the beer selection in their liquor store is bested only by specialty beer stores. (That's another reason I occasionally truck up to the Kenosha Woodman's -- it's the closest place I can get several Wisconsin beers that are hard to find or outright not sold in Illinois.).

Excellent points, Drover! We also appreciate being able to buy Wisconsin-made products, definitely including the cheese, at Woodman's. And my spouse wholeheartedly agrees with you on the beer selection there; the beer prices are also generally the best of any retailer here.

As to the comments about "uncle, joe, aunt susie, cousin tim, granny barb" all going to the grocery store together, I'm going to risk a slap on the wrist here and make one more observation.

If Cousin Tim is the only one in the family who can afford to own a working vehicle, why wouldn't he take along Uncle Joe, Aunt Susie and Granny Barb to do their grocery shopping, too? I lived for 18 years in the poorest per-capita county in the United States, and I have been poor myself, and I am here to tell you that even in the year 2012, not everyone has a car they can just hop in to go off to the grocery store all by themselves every week. Try taking the bus to do the week's shopping for a family of four sometime, and you might have a tiny bit more sympathy for families who carpool together to the store.