The best and worst grocery stores: You get what you pay for
I can鈥檛 stand customers who choose to shop at Walmart but still complain about the service.听Walmart is known for rock-bottom prices, so long lines and lackluster customer service shouldn鈥檛 be a shocker.
In fact, that鈥檚 exactly what Consumer Reports discovered when they asked more than 24,000 people to rate their grocery shopping experiences for the magazine鈥檚 May issue. Despite its low prices, Walmart ranked among the country鈥檚 worst supermarkets. Check it out鈥�
The rankings
The best鈥�
听
Consumer Reports polled shoppers about food prices, selection, and quality 鈥� as well as customer service, line length, and crowds. Four chains came out on top. In particular, the magazine says shoppers praised these supermarkets for 鈥渜uality meat and produce, a clean shopping environment, and very good or excellent prices.鈥�
- Costco Wholesale
- Fareway Stores (located in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska)
- Trader Joe鈥檚 (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington)
- Wegmans (Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania)
The worst鈥�
Three chains came out on the bottom because they 鈥渢ried customer patience the most.鈥�
- Pathmark (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)
- Pick鈥檔 Save (Wisconsin)
- Walmart
In limbo鈥�
Two chains were rated as highly in certain categories as they ranked poorly in others.
- Whole Foods (located in the U.S. and Canada) ranked 鈥渧ery high overall鈥� but was criticized for 鈥渆xceptionally high prices.鈥�
- Walmart was praised for its low prices but performed poorly enough in other categories to still be ranked among the worst supermarkets overall.
The moral of the story
Although many supermarkets avoided the best- and worst-ranked categories, I see two lessons that any grocery shopper should take away from these survey results鈥�
- If you get what you pay for, you must choose between quantity (i.e., price) and quality (i.e., service). This seems obvious, but I find myself reminding others of it too often. It reminds me of my parents. Mom, a paragon of penny-pinching, only shops wholesale clubs and Walmart. Dad, more interested in helpful employees and uncrowded aisles, pays a little more to shop at Publix Super Markets.
- If you鈥檙e more interested in saving money, think outside the box. As Money Talks News has reported, grocery stores aren鈥檛 the only place to buy groceries. In "The Cheapest Groceries Online," we reported that groceries from Walmart.com can be as cheap as those from Walmart stores 鈥� sans the hassle that earned the store poor ratings this month. In "30 Ways to Save on Food," we reminded you that alternatives like salvaged grocery stores and farmers markets sometimes have the lowest prices.
Karla Bowsher runs the deals page and covers consumer, retail, and health issues. This column first appeared in Money Talks News.
