Ronnie,

I would not return the nuts. I know that the money is not the issue, but making a point to the store is the issue. If this was the Mariano’s headed up by Bob Mariano, I would absolutely return the nuts and write them. Bob Mariano cared.

Kroger does not care. Your effort to return the nuts will not accomplish anything.

lougord99 wrote:Ronnie,

I would not return the nuts. I know that the money is not the issue, but making a point to the store is the issue. If this was the Mariano’s headed up by Bob Mariano, I would absolutely return the nuts and write them. Bob Mariano cared.

Kroger does not care. Your effort to return the nuts will not accomplish anything.

I think you're right, Lou. It's not worth the bother. I'll just chalk it up as a relatively inexpensive reinforcement of a lesson I learned a while back: don't shop at Mariano's.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:don't shop at Mariano's.

Then you would miss the matzo sale of the century . . .

The Kosher Jewel on Howard has a bunch of Passover stuff 75% off including matzo. It is in the back of the store right by the dairy department.

BTW- Mariano's has mostly eliminated their Friday freebies. I've heard that Kroger does not have them that much either.

NFriday wrote:BTW- Mariano's has mostly eliminated their Friday freebies. I've heard that Kroger does not have them that much either.

Wow, I will really miss all of the weird beverages that noone would try and the energy bars. It has been a while since they had anything thjat I really wanted to try.

jlawrence01 wrote:

NFriday wrote:BTW- Mariano's has mostly eliminated their Friday freebies. I've heard that Kroger does not have them that much either.

Wow, I will really miss all of the weird beverages that noone would try and the energy bars. It has been a while since they had anything thjat I really wanted to try.

For the first time in many weeks they have a Free Friday item today, Lemi Superior Lemonade. I don't see it mentioned in their weekly ad at all, they used to give it a full page in the ad then went to a small banner at the bottom of a page and now nothing at all.

Core Hydration water is today’s free Friday download for me.

It's not something I'd normally buy but a coworker was quite persuasive in recommending the jalapeno cheddar chicken burgers from the meat case. They have been consistently very good across two stores (harwood & elston) and for five or six trials. Just slap em over the hot lump coals and don't let them overcook. I'll recommend.

Everything my friend (Jewel employee since 1984) said would happen to Mariano's from day one has happened. I am sure most of you have seen the differences from when each Mariano's had their glorious openings and the downhill slide. I was at the Bannockburn location recently just to get a soup around 1 or 2pm on a weekday. All of the quick pay lines by the prepared food area were closed and basically no staff. I was so pissed I ate the soup without paying first. No one cared as expected. I walked over to pay at the main checkout (only 2 lanes open of course) after I ate. Clueless cashier was shocked I was paying for an empty bowl. Then fool me twice, I went there with a friend for lunch. Same thing happened. We had to walk over to the main checkout area and wait in line to pay even though they have 4 or 5 quick pay stations by the prepared foods/Starbucks/wine bar area that were deserted.

riddlemay wrote:

Drover wrote:

JoelF wrote:The same issue also mentioned that Kroger's is cutting capital funding for Mariano's remodeling, while requesting more $$$ per square foot in sales.

Let the micromanaging into the ground begin...

How long before those areas of quality that have distinguished Mariano's are gone and it becomes "just another supermarket"?

Our experiences with the offerings from their fish counter have been excellent. I hope that won't change. Was also impressed by the sheer size of the cheese room in the Broadway store.

If the continuation of this thread is any indication... about two and a half years.

A recent unwelcome change at Mariano's: they have implemented a 50 cent charge if you want cash back with a debit card purchase.

Edgewater Marianos was always bad but it's just a total dumpster fire these days. At least self checkout is back

The GP wrote: A recent unwelcome change at Mariano's: they have implemented a 50 cent charge if you want cash back with a debit card purchase.

Uh oh. That sounds like corporate taking charge {literally}. I shopped at Food4Less earlier today, and on the pay stations at its checkout was a {adhesive tape} note of the fees charged for cash back on a debit card purchase.
People, debit cards are just a really, really ghastly {we're still close to Halloween } way to pay for items or services. Use cash. Use credit. Don't use a debit card.

pudgym29 wrote:

The GP wrote: A recent unwelcome change at Mariano's: they have implemented a 50 cent charge if you want cash back with a debit card purchase.

Uh oh. That sounds like corporate taking charge {literally}. I shopped at Food4Less earlier today, and on the pay stations at its checkout was a {adhesive tape} note of the fees charged for cash back on a debit card purchase.
People, debit cards are just a really, really ghastly {we're still close to Halloween } way to pay for items or services. Use cash. Use credit. Don't use a debit card.

Could you maybe explain why you think this? To me a debit card is the exact same thing as when we used to write checks - the money comes right from your account.

Concerning debit cards, if you order something online, and you never receive it, you can not get your money back like you can with a credit card, and that is why some people hate debit cards. Stores do not get charged a fee though when somebody uses their debit card like they do with a credit card. Until recently Aldi's would not take credit cards, but they were fine with debit cards.

A few months ago in Consumer Reports they reported on the results of a survey they did with their readers concerning grocery stores, and Mariano's scored much higher than Jewel did. As I remember, Wegman's, Trader Joe's, and I believe Publix came out on top, but Mariano's was in the top quarter of all the stores. I don't know how long ago they did the survey though. I was in the Northbrook Mariano's on Tuesday around 3:00, and they had quite a few customers, but they had nobody working in the produce section. They only had two regular lanes open, but they had all of the self checkout lanes open

NFriday wrote:A few months ago in Consumer Reports they reported on the results of a survey they did with their readers concerning grocery stores, and Mariano's scored much higher than Jewel did...I don't know how long ago they did the survey though.

My last couple years experience at various Mariano's has...made me appreciate Jewel. Good old Jewel! They always have what you're looking for, the layout is largely intuitive, and there are actually people to ask who actually have the answer when you have a question. (I should say that I know Jewels can vary, so I'm talking about the one on Ashland near Wellington.)

I think the pastry counter at the Mariano's in New City has some decent offerings, though, based on a cookie I had.

Pork & Mindy’s closes locations, files for bankruptcy
Led by celebrity chef Jeff Mauro, the company had a deal to open stalls in 20 Mariano’s by the end of 2019.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/restaur ... bankruptcy

--------------------------------

It's already gone from the Westmont location of Mariano's. There's a sign saying "Mariano's Smokehouse" will be replacing it soon.

----------------

A buddy of mine who works at Mariano's predicted early on that Pork and Mindy's wouldn't last. Said that after the first few locations opened they were getting lots of complaints from customers about the prices, which were often double what Todd's BBQ had charged for similar items. Chalk it up to yet another bad decision by Kroger.

I'm generally pleased with Marianos except for their produce, which is typically hot garbage.

But whenever I go out of town and hit up a Kroger or a Fred Meyer, they seem to be in much better shape than marianos. Maybe it's the novelty of not being in them as frequently, but feels like a common occurrence for me

WCIBN wrote: There's a sign saying "Mariano's Smokehouse" will be replacing it soon.

Same sign in Westchester.
I'm just hoping for something near same quality and pricepoint of Todd's. For the price, I thought the brisket, spares and chicken parts were better than ok. Never cared for their cutesy rib rub, but for the price of a full slab, I could deal. I loved having the option of very affordable real bbq readily available for a weeknight dinner when the urge struck. I'd also use it for stir fries, ramen night, taco night, etc.

My fingers are crossed for, "Mariano's Smokehouse."

NFriday wrote:Concerning debit cards, if you order something online, and you never receive it, you can not get your money back like you can with a credit card, and that is why some people hate debit cards. Stores do not get charged a fee though when somebody uses their debit card like they do with a credit card.

These are both false. Merchants are charged fees to process debit card transactions, though not as much as a credit card transaction. This is why payment devices default to debit and make you cancel out if you want to process the transaction as a credit charge.

If you process your charge as a credit card transaction, you will receive all the same consumer protections as if you were using a standard credit card. I've had this work to my advantage for a few online retail transactions where the retailer was either uncooperative with merchandise exchange/refunds or just plain fraudulent.

From store remodels to more grab-and-go, Mariano’s under Kroger strives to stay special while adapting to shifting tastes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

Dave148 wrote:From store remodels to more grab-and-go, Mariano’s under Kroger strives to stay special while adapting to shifting tastes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

For the tl;dr crowd: It's basically become a Kroger with a food court, but Kroger is applying some of the "fresh" concepts to other Kroger brands.

WhyBeeSea wrote:But whenever I go out of town and hit up a Kroger or a Fred Meyer, they seem to be in much better shape than marianos. Maybe it's the novelty of not being in them as frequently, but feels like a common occurrence for me

Oh, come to my local Fred Meyer, you will be disabused of that notion right quick. (SE Hawthorne and Cezar E Chavez in Portland OR)

leek wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:But whenever I go out of town and hit up a Kroger or a Fred Meyer, they seem to be in much better shape than marianos. Maybe it's the novelty of not being in them as frequently, but feels like a common occurrence for me

Oh, come to my local Fred Meyer, you will be disabused of that notion right quick. (SE Hawthorne and Cezar E Chavez in Portland OR)

Hahaha. I know I'm jaded bc me being in Portland is usually vacation and so everything feels incrementally better!

WhyBeeSea wrote:

leek wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:But whenever I go out of town and hit up a Kroger or a Fred Meyer, they seem to be in much better shape than marianos. Maybe it's the novelty of not being in them as frequently, but feels like a common occurrence for me

Oh, come to my local Fred Meyer, you will be disabused of that notion right quick. (SE Hawthorne and Cezar E Chavez in Portland OR)

Hahaha. I know I'm jaded bc me being in Portland is usually vacation and so everything feels incrementally better!

Freddy was, back in the day, a good store. Now it's trying to become just another Kroger.