I have been shopping here for years. The produce is the best and cheapest in town. The deli is limited but well priced. The meat selection is limited but priced well. Processed food other than staples such as bread and rice is often a bit over priced. Any specialty items, such as low fat, as well convenience items are very limited and over priced.
The store has a small town feel and you can get in and out quickly. Some of the employees are polite and friendly, even glad to see you.
The problem is that the service is inconsistent. The turnover is rather high, although this may be typical for this type of job. Many of the cashiers are teenagers that are indifferent and poorly trained at best. Additionally, they have problems with the way that they price their items (technical issues with the labeling) that may result in problems when customers pay with WIC or the Lonestar Card.
Over the years I have had problems using both and it has always been due to such an issue, typically when they sell an item without a barcode on the label. This is an unusual business practice, as it does not allow the merchant to directly account for what specific item is being sold, for example, instead of the computer reading Butterball Oven Roasted Turkey it will ring up simply as deli. This is an issue that has happened on enough occasions with different produce and deli that I am inclined to think the problem is systematic and not a fluke. They have been in business long enough to anticipate such technical problems. If they advertise that they take WIC or Lonestar, they should make certain that their practices do not interfere with customers using these benefits. Money is money and nothing hurts a business more than word-of-mouth. The sad thing is that this is totally preventable and does not happen at other stores.
The last experience I had with their computer denying my benefits because of their labeling was particularly bad. The cashier apologized to the people behind me and never to me. She did not try to remedy the problem. I had to ask for a manager. He never smiled or offered to help me. In fact, he didn't say much of anything. The cashier said, ""My bad."" and went on with the other customers.
I went up to the manager and let him know about my concerns regarding the issue and the poor customer service from the cashier. He flatly told me, ""We've had nothing but problems with food stamps."" When I remarked that the sign on the door says they accept them he mumbled, ""Ok,"" and turned around.
This experience was humiliating and degrading. I have never seen such poor customer service. This is not typical of all management or cashiers, but as I stated, they are simply inconsistent. They certainly would benefit from analyzing their business practices.
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