The Best And Worst In Supermarkets

Recently I read an article about the 12 worst supermarkets in America. The list was from Consumer Reports, who asked customers a variety of questions about the quality of the store, and ranked the stores based on these answers. The only stores on the list that can be found in Southern California are Ralphs and WalMart. The criteria were cleanliness, quality of fruits, vegetables and meat, friendliness and price. I was surprised to find both Ralphs and Wal Mart on the list. The new Walmart in Encinitas is super clean, quality seems to be good, and the prices are great. Ralphs seems to be consistent, as I've been shopping there regularly for 40 years. Prices are average (or a little above ), the store is clean, the food is good quality, and the service is friendly. When you're ranking a supermarket that has hundreds, even thousands of locations, it's important to know where the survey was done. If they concentrated on stores in just one area of the country, the results may not be representative of the whole chain.p>

Other stores in the top 12 for worst supermarket include A and P, Pic 'n Save, Jewel, Shoprite, and the very worst rated, Pathmark.

Next, I decided to see who were the top supermarkets in the country, based on the same criteria. At the top of the list was Wegmans. Other supermarkets that ranked high included Costco, Trader Joe's and Publix. Suprisingly Whole Foods didn't make the top 12 list. It seems that regional chains ranked better than the big supermarket chains.

Best and worst lists are always just someone's opinion. This survey was conducted from many customer interviews, and there can be huge differences between the Ralph's in Pacoima and the Ralph's in La Jolla. Walmart is always going to come out on top if your only consideration is price. Obviously, with supermarkets like Publix and Wegmans at the top of the list, most consumers are looking for more than price. I know I am.