Are These America's Worst Supermarkets?
We all have a love-hate relationship with the supermarket. But anyone who's shopped at more than one knows that some are much better than others. Every year, Consumer Reports releases a list of the best and worst supermarkets, and these are the worst.
Click here for the Are These America's Worst Supermarkets? (Slideshow)
There are plenty of factors that can make a supermarket experience miserable. It can be crowded, with narrow isles, there could be a long line to check out, advertised specials can be out of stock, and they might simply not stock the particular item you're looking for. Consumer Reports asked their more than 27,000 subscribers to weigh in on these factors for the country's 55 largest grocery store chains, and the results might surprise you.
At the top of the list was east-coast chain Wegmans, which earned 88 out of 100 points. Trader Joe's scored 87, and Publix and Costco scored 84. A third of respondents told the magazine that high prices, long waits, low food quality, and crummy selection forced them to switch allegiances in the past year, but even though they might not be perfect, consumers visited the supermaket an average of 1.6 times per week in 2013, according to the Food Marketing Institute.
Respondents were asked to score the supermarkets on service (factoring in checkout speed and employee friendliness), price, cleanliness, and perishables (or food quality). So read on to learn which 13 supermarkets came in on the bottom of the list. While it might not be feasible depending on where you live to seek out a new supermarket, if one of these if your local chain you might want to take the extra time to drive somewhere that's a little better.
#13 Giant Eagle
This chain, which has locations in Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Indiana, scored a 73.
#12 Vons
Safeway's higher-end arm, which boasts full-service banks, pharmacies, dry cleaners, and copy centers, has locations in California and Nevada. It got a "neutral" score for service, courteousness, and price satisfaction, with a score of 73.
Click here to find out what other groceries store made the list