My local Kroger has a weird layout where the bakery connects to the deli through a back hallway, and I started cutting through there instead of walking all the way around the produce section. Has anyone else found a hidden store shortcut that actually works?
So yesterday at the Market Basket in Methuen I had to decide between the regular line with 2 families and the self checkout with no wait. I usually pick wrong and end up behind someone with a price check and 4 coupons. This time I went self checkout and was out in 3 minutes flat. Has anyone else finally nailed their line picking strategy?
There was a woman at the Shaw's in Manchester yesterday with her cart piled to the brim, and she waltzes into the 10 items or less lane like it's a suggestion. I counted 47 things (bag of oranges, 3 boxes of pasta, a whole rotisserie chicken). Do people just not see the sign or do they think it's a vibe check? Has anyone else had to stand there tapping their foot while someone's cart becomes a Tetris nightmare?
I needed exactly one bag of frozen peas for a recipe. Store was packed, endcaps were all wrong. Walked the entire frozen aisle three times. Finally found them shoved behind the ice cream in a completely different section. Has anyone else had stock get rearranged that badly without warning?
I had the weirdest grocery run this past Tuesday where literally everything went right. First I found a parking spot right by the cart corral on the first try, which never happens at my Aldi in Tacoma. Then inside, they actually had the good Irish butter in stock and I snagged the last two packs. Even the self checkout line moved fast because the lady in front of me only had 3 items and used a card. The cashier even forgot to charge me for the avocados and I didn't notice until I got home. I swear the grocery store gods were smiling on me that day because usually I'm the one getting stuck behind someone writing a check. Has anyone else ever had a perfect grocery trip that felt like a glitch in the matrix?
This woman at the 12-items-or-less lane in Portland last week literally pointed at every single thing I put on the belt and counted out loud, then glared at me with 14 because of some avocados. Has anyone else had a cashier totally go overboard policing those limits?
Bought one yesterday at Publix and it was mostly bones and skin. Maybe 4 bites of actual meat on the whole thing. Anyone else notice the chickens are getting smaller or is it just me?
I used to do my grocery run every Saturday morning like clockwork at the Kroger on 5th Street. It was chaos. People blocking aisles, carts everywhere, and the checkout line wrapped halfway to the dairy section. Last Tuesday I had a day off work and figured I'd try a random afternoon trip around 2 PM. Place was dead. I walked right up to an open register, no waiting. The produce was fully stocked too, not picked over like on weekends. It took me half the time to get everything done. Has anyone else noticed a big difference shopping on different days of the week at your store?
Last Wednesday at the Kroger on Elm Street, I found a full rotisserie chicken just sitting behind a box of Cheerios, still warm and everything. Somebody must have changed their mind mid trip and just stuffed it there instead of walking 20 feet back to the hot case. Has anyone else found random hot food items abandoned in weird aisles?
I specifically bought a bag of Honeycrisp apples from the Fresh Market on Elm Street last Tuesday because they looked perfect, but by Friday half of them were mushy and gross. I mean, for $15 you'd think they'd last more than a few days. Has anyone else noticed the produce at that specific store going bad way faster than it should?
Had to carry a basket with a broken handle for 20 minutes because some lady decided her two items needed a full sized cart that she abandoned in the bread aisle, has anyone else seen stores just not have enough carts on busy days?
I was at the Kroger off Southport Road last Tuesday and this elderly guy in front of me had like 3 items but was taking forever to pay. He kept fumbling with his wallet and the cashier was getting all huffy. Instead of rushing he just smiled and said "honey, the only thing I'm in a hurry for is my next nap." Made me think about how I'm always racing through the store like it's a competition. Dude was like 80 and clearly didn't care about the 20 other people in line. Has anyone else had a random stranger just hit you with some calm wisdom like that?
I used to hate those self-checkout machines with a passion. Thought they were stealing jobs and just creating more work for customers. But last Tuesday at the Publix on Elm Street, I had a cart full of stuff and got through in 4 minutes flat while the regular lines were backed up 8 people deep. Now I'm kinda hooked... has anyone else had that change of heart about them?
Yesterday at the Stop & Shop on Elm Street, a lady had 4 kids each scanning their own items and the machine kept yelling 'unexpected item' for 12 minutes before I just moved to a different lane.
Woman at the register waved me off when I had like 6 bags of stuff. Said I'd be faster going to the self checkout if I had exact change. Took me almost 12 minutes because the machine kept saying unexpected item. Then the card reader froze on me. Had to call over the attendant anyway. Who else has had self checkout blow up in your face like that?
I keep reading all these rants about self-checkout machines being the worst thing ever. But last Tuesday at the Shaw's in Manchester, I got through with 12 items in under 3 minutes while the regular lanes had 4 people each waiting. Maybe I've been lucky, but mine have never asked me to wait for an override or flagged my bag of oranges wrong. Has anyone else had a decent experience with them or is it just me?
Honestly, I've been going to the same Kroger in Austin for like 10 years now and the milk aisle layout hasn't changed once. But lately I see people shoving half gallons of almond milk onto the shelf where the regular whole milk goes, right next to the eggs. It drives me nuts because then I grab the wrong carton and have to walk back. Has anyone else noticed this mix up getting worse lately?
I was at the Safeway on Broadway last Tuesday and grabbed their generic ketchup because the Heinz was almost $6. Figured ketchup is ketchup, right? Wrong. Took one bite of my burger at home and it tasted weirdly sweet with a hint of metal. Now I'm sitting here wondering how many other store brand things I've been lying to myself about. Has anyone else been burned by a supposedly harmless swap like this?
I used to always grab 15 items for the 10-item express lane and thought it was no big deal. Last week a cashier in San Antonio called me out politely and showed me the sign that says 10 items max right above the lane. Am I the only one who never noticed that sign before?
I always just grabbed stuff from the regular aisles and ignored the clearance section near the back. Some guy probably 70 years old saw me grabbing frozen pizzas and said 'check the end freezer first, they mark stuff down every Wednesday morning.' I went over and they had a whole box of those stuffed chicken breasts for like $4 each instead of $9. Now I show up around 10am on Wednesdays and usually find something good. Anyone else got a secret tip from a random stranger at the store that actually worked?
I swear my local Safeway in Denver moved the canned pumpkin to a random end cap by the pet food this year. I walked the entire store twice before asking a stocker who pointed it out. Has anyone else had a store hide a seasonal item in a weird spot like that?
I've been shopping at the same Giant in Arlington for like 3 years now and never paid attention to those fuel points. Yesterday I checked my receipt and I had 112 points saved up. That's like 11 cents off per gallon which doesn't sound like much until you fill up a 20 gallon truck bed. I used it this morning and saved $2.20 on gas which honestly felt like a win. Has anyone else ever let those rewards stack up without noticing and then felt super smart when you finally used them?
I always get stuck behind someone with a full cart in the express lane at the Aldi on Central Avenue. Last Tuesday I tried going through the self-checkout with my 8 items and it was way faster. Has anyone else figured out a solid workaround for those long lines?
I swear the folks at my Publix on Cleveland Ave in Atlanta must get paid by the hour to rearrange dairy. Three weeks ago cream cheese was by the butter, now it's over by the yogurt and I walked the whole aisle twice like a fool. Ran into my neighbor Mrs. Patterson who said she gave up and just asks the stocker now, but then you gotta hope they even know. Has anyone else noticed their store moving stuff around just to mess with you?