http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Media/Sli ... px?index=8

Consumer Reports ranks Jewel-Osco, along with Walmart, as among the twelve worst supermarkets in America, so the dissatisfaction seems to be fairly widespread. Or at least vociferous.

A few days ago, I went to the Evanston Jewel for a bag of green split peas and a jar of couscous. They were out of both.

Hopped Up wrote:Given the title of the thread, I thought it was going to be about produce quality at Jewel.

Yes, I suppose the actual quality of the produce matters, too.

Tom wrote:A few days ago, I went to the Evanston Jewel for a bag of green split peas and a jar of couscous. They were out of both.

I went to that Jewel once (assuming the Chicago Ave. Store, not the Howard St store), and they were completely out of butter. It was a Sunday evening, but still ...

I long since gave up produce bags a while ago. Why does my broccoli need to be in it's own individual plastic bag before being put into another bag to be carried home. Does the broccoli go bad if it touches the cucumber during the five minute drive home?

Maestroken wrote:I long since gave up produce bags a while ago. Why does my broccoli need to be in it's own individual plastic bag before being put into another bag to be carried home. Does the broccoli go bad if it touches the cucumber during the five minute drive home?

My problem is not with the broccoli touching the cucumber...it's with the broccoli touching the weathered, old piece of tape inexplicably wrapped around the bars of the shopping cart, or the mysterious sticky puddle on the checkout conveyor.

I'll eschew the produce bag for stuff I'll peel & eat - bananas, avocados, and the like - but for the broccoli, cucumber, apples, etc. (and even citrus fruit, if I plan on using the peel for zest or squeezing oils over cocktails or something), I always go for the bag.

Maestroken wrote:I long since gave up produce bags a while ago. Why does my broccoli need to be in it's own individual plastic bag before being put into another bag to be carried home. Does the broccoli go bad if it touches the cucumber during the five minute drive home?

Maestroken,

If the person in front of you in the checkout line purchased chicken or meat, chances are the conveyor belt is teeming with bacteria from a dripping wet plastic wrapped tray. . Salmonella...you name it. I'd rather have my broccoli or bananas in a bag, thank you.

Evil Ronnie wrote:

Maestroken wrote:I long since gave up produce bags a while ago. Why does my broccoli need to be in it's own individual plastic bag before being put into another bag to be carried home. Does the broccoli go bad if it touches the cucumber during the five minute drive home?

Maestroken,

If the person in front of you in the checkout line purchased chicken or meat, chances are the conveyor belt is teeming with bacteria from a dripping wet plastic wrapped tray. . Salmonella...you name it. I'd rather have my broccoli or bananas in a bag, thank you.

I almost never use plastic bags for produce, and I've never gotten salmonella from the conveyor belt -- but then, I avoid putting my food down on wet spots. I just can't bring myself to waste even more plastic.

Cynthia wrote:

Evil Ronnie wrote:

Maestroken wrote:I long since gave up produce bags a while ago.  Why does my broccoli need to be in it's own individual plastic bag before being put into another bag to be carried home.  Does the broccoli go bad if it touches the cucumber during the five minute drive home?

Maestroken,

If the person in front of you in the checkout line purchased chicken or meat, chances are the conveyor belt is teeming with bacteria from a dripping wet plastic wrapped tray. . Salmonella...you name it. I'd rather have my broccoli or bananas in a bag, thank you.

I almost never use plastic bags for produce, and I've never gotten salmonella from the conveyor belt -- but then, I avoid putting my food down on wet spots. I just can't bring myself to waste even more plastic.

Cynthia,
How do you know that you (or your friends & family) have never gotten sick from a conveyer belt or a shopping cart that your groceries have been in contact with? How also do you know that the dry spots are safe?

This article from Snopes is enough for me.

Snopes wrote:According to a four-year study conducted by the University of Arizona's Environmental Research Lab and sponsored by Clorox, grocery carts are veritable petri dishes teeming with human saliva, mucus, urine, fecal matter, as well as the blood and juices from raw meat. Swabs taken from the handles and child seats of 36 grocery carts in San Francisco, Chicago, Tucson, and Tampa showed these common surfaces to rank third on the list of nastiest public items to touch, with only playground equipment and the armrests on public transportation producing more disgusting results. In terms of playing host to germs and bacteria, the carts are far worse than public bathrooms, which at least are cleaned more often. Bacteria and viruses such as E.coli, staphylococcus, salmonella, and influenza can live on grocery carts, a sorry fact most shoppers are blissfully unaware of. 

I'll continue to use produce bags, thank you very much.

I do get frustrated trying to open those bags, especially the Jewel bags, however. Wetting my fingers is not as effective with the Jewel bags as it is with others. I end up destroying several of them until I finally get air inside the bag. Maybe someday someone will invent a way to open them easily. Until then maybe they should supply pine tar.

Went to my loco DG location last week.....upon arriving I watched an employee open some crackers and dip for (I thought) customers to sample.....whereupon three jewel employees crowded around and in about three minutes devoured about two thirds of it all. Then, one of the three languidly adjourned to the produce section, where he worked quite hard at juggling some baking potatoes....unbelievable, really!

imsscott wrote:I do get frustrated trying to open those bags, especially the Jewel bags, however. Wetting my fingers is not as effective with the Jewel bags as it is with others. I end up destroying several of them until I finally get air inside the bag. Maybe someday someone will invent a way to open them easily. Until then maybe they should supply pine tar.

I rub the "open" end between my hands to warm it up, flatten it tightly between both hands and blow. This seems to work.

Hi- When I was in the Jewel in Skokie yesterday with somebody else, my friend got some bagels from the deli, and I opened up the bag for her. It was not super easy to open it up, but it was not impossible either. It was just a mild pain in the butt.

When the farmer's market is open, I rarely buy any produce in the stores, and I bring my own bags to put the stuff in. The only additional bags I come home with, are paper bags when I buy mushrooms, and plastic bags, that my mesclan and lettuce already comes in. I do buy some greens from Michols when they are reduced to $1 too, and those always come prepackaged. One ofo the organic growers there that I buy a lot from, actually charges you if you use one of his bags.

At Aldi's everything is already in a bag or container, so they do not have any plastic produce bags in the store. I just bought some strawberries and bananas there this morning, and spent a whole $2.81. The quality of Aldi's produce has gone up considerably in the last few years, although I am still selective about what I buy there. Hope this helps, Nancy

I was taking advantage of Jewel's double coupon coupons today. I handed the cashier three $1 coupons plus two $1.50 coupons along with the doubles (which was good up to $1, though I didn't remember this). In my pocket, I had a coupon for eggs worth 50 cents. She took off all the coupons I gave her with a worried remark, "oh, all the big ones" like they didn't expect people to come in with those. Then I gave her the egg coupon, saying I hoped I'd purchased the right type. Looking flustered, she said, "that one is already in there." Bull! But since it was only for 50 cents, I didn't push it. But come on, who are you trying to fool? Maybe it's my comeuppance for attempting to screw them in the first place.

Hi- I've taken advantage of Jewel's double coupons at both the Skokie store and the Chicago avenue store in Evanston, and I have not run into any prob;ems with cashiers. All the coupons I used were at least $1 too. I think it depends on the store. Some Jewel stores are coupon friendly, and some are not. I saved 70% the first time, and 80% the second visit.. I love it when they have double coupons, but I am surprised that the majority of the customers do not participate in it. It is more work than usual though, because you have to present both your coupon you want doubled, and a store coupon that doubles your coupon. Hope this helps, Nancy

Just for the record, I was in my Jewel yesterday, and of course the produce bags were the same near-impossible-to-open ones as before. I didn't expect different, despite the boilerplate "thank you for your input; we value all our customers' comments" that I received on Jewel Osco's Facebook page back in mid-April in response to my complaint. I truly am not naive enough to have expected different, so I am posting this update not because it contains a surprise in any way, but just for the sake of information.

I did eventually succeed in opening the micron-thin bag, but lost a good five minutes of my life in the process. If I had seen anyone working in the produce department, I would have done what I did before, which is to turn the task over to her, but no one was there this time. My new policy, if there's any produce I need when at the Jewel for other items, will be to first scope out if there is anyone working the department; if there is, I will take several bags over to the person, and ask him or her to open all of them up for me. Opening several Jewel produce bags myself, as needed, could easily consume a half hour of my day. If there is not a person working the produce department, I will wait till I'm in some other chain to buy the produce.

Speaking of produce in general, unless one is in a rush, lives in far, far suburbia or has these Jewel coupons of which Pie Lady speaks, there is not much reason to buy fruits & vegetables at EITHER Jewel or Dominick's from a price standpoint. The 'ethnic' stores, the Caputo's and Valli's and Marketplaces of Chicagoland (among many others), are on the average 30%-50% less expensive, with not much if any degradation in quality.

I've been looking at this phenomenon for many years as I am in the business (but with no real axe to grind against either side), and it certainly appears that this price gap has widened rather than narrowed recently. One reason for this is the overabundance of certain commodities, causing cheaper prices in the growing areas. And with the ethnic stores purchasing daily off the Chicago produce market rather than long-term contracts with growers, they can take advantage of the competitive nature there, pass it on to the consumer immediately, and still make good money. These shrewd operators know when they can fill a niche, and they do it well.

Certainly, I think at some of these places the shopper has to eyeball the merchandise a little better, and the shelf life on the whole is a little shorter, but on the other hand it is easier to purchase riper fruit with theoretically more taste. The turnover is incredible at a place like Marketplace/Skokie in particular, where the patrons routinely shop 3-4 times a week. Killer business there.

Pie Lady wrote:I was taking advantage of Jewel's double coupon coupons today. I handed the cashier three $1 coupons plus two $1.50 coupons along with the doubles (which was good up to $1, though I didn't remember this). In my pocket, I had a coupon for eggs worth 50 cents. She took off all the coupons I gave her with a worried remark, "oh, all the big ones" like they didn't expect people to come in with those. Then I gave her the egg coupon, saying I hoped I'd purchased the right type. Looking flustered, she said, "that one is already in there." Bull! But since it was only for 50 cents, I didn't push it. But come on, who are you trying to fool? Maybe it's my comeuppance for attempting to screw them in the first place.

I think you're reading too much into this. I doubt that the cashier is a spokesperson for company policy and she doesn't really have a vested interest in what coupons you use. They wouldn't offer doubling if they didn't believe there was a benefit to business overall (and they're compensated for the coupons by the manufacturers (including a small amount for "processing", so they don't lose money). I think you just encountered another low-paid employee who was having an off day.

riddlemay wrote:Just for the record, I was in my Jewel yesterday, and of course the produce bags were the same near-impossible-to-open ones as before. I didn't expect different, despite the boilerplate "thank you for your input; we value all our customers' comments" that I received on Jewel Osco's Facebook page back in mid-April in response to my complaint. I truly am not naive enough to have expected different, so I am posting this update not because it contains a surprise in any way, but just for the sake of information.

I did eventually succeed in opening the micron-thin bag, but lost a good five minutes of my life in the process. If I had seen anyone working in the produce department, I would have done what I did before, which is to turn the task over to her, but no one was there this time. My new policy, if there's any produce I need when at the Jewel for other items, will be to first scope out if there is anyone working the department; if there is, I will take several bags over to the person, and ask him or her to open all of them up for me. Opening several Jewel produce bags myself, as needed, could easily consume a half hour of my day. If there is not a person working the produce department, I will wait till I'm in some other chain to buy the produce.

Why don't you just bring your own bag(s)???

jnm123 wrote:Speaking of produce in general, unless one is in a rush, lives in far, far suburbia or has these Jewel coupons of which Pie Lady speaks, there is not much reason to buy fruits & vegetables at EITHER Jewel or Dominick's from a price standpoint. The 'ethnic' stores, the Caputo's and Valli's and Marketplaces of Chicagoland (among many others), are on the average 30%-50% less expensive, with not much if any degradation in quality.

I don't actually shop there for produce/meat/dairy/bakery; I only go for housewares and toiletries that they don't carry at Fresh Farms and stopped carrying at CVS.

boudreaulicious wrote:Why don't you just bring your own bag(s)???

Well, for one, I don't own any produce bags and don't want to have to save my old ones. For another, when I go to the Jewel, I don't always know that I'm going to be buying produce (I may be going for other items), but may decide once there that I want to. For that matter, when I leave the house in the morning, I may not even know that I'm going to be going to the Jewel later in the day, but then may have need to. Solving the problem by having my own bags, therefore, would mean having my own bags on my person at all times. But also: If bringing your own is now the standard, why do all other grocery store chains provide produce bags for their customers--produce bags which are, by and large, easy to open and use, as they always have been and ought to be? Jewel is the outlier here.

I haven't shopped in a Jewel for years, but had to stop into the one in Lakeview the other day. I needed ground pork for meatballs and asked for it at the meat counter. They told me they no longer ground pork and had, for several years, only carried ground pork in a tube.

Never again.

First of all, it should be referred to as Jewels. Second of all, there's good Jewels and there's bad Jewels. Like the Jewels in Andersonville inbetween Clark and Ashland is probably one of the worst supermarkets I've ever been to. But the Jewels in Wrigleyville on Southport is really good. Anyways, just sayin, there is a high variance in the quality of a Jewels.

"Goin to the Jewels on Kedzie,
My favorite Jackson is Jessie"

Riddlemay, just curious, what neighborhood Jewel do you shop at? I am only a few minutes away from the Addison/Elston Jewel and usually pop in for last minute booze and snacks. Otherwsie I don't much shop there. I ask because a few weeks back I needed some lemons and was not in the mood to go anywhere else and upon looking at what they had I was astounded by not just high prices (per usual so it never surprises me) but just the overall not so good quality. I was completely turned off.

I have to echo jnm's sentiment. Years ago my father and mother would always get their produce at local fruit markets (better quality and lower prices) and just do their other grocery staples at Dominick's (which when I was growing up had some good quality produce) and sometimes Jewel, though they never cared much for Jewel. My dad was always amazed at how independents charged so much less. I also usually get my produce at Caputo's, always the best quality but the location closest to city is in Elmwood Park so it may be a hike for others not close enough. But there are still a ton of local neighborhood options.

KajmacJohnson wrote:Riddlemay, just curious, what neighborhood Jewel do you shop at?

The one at Ashland and Wellington.

Mrs. riddlemay and I don't do all our shopping for the week on one day or one occasion. We may pick up a few items to get us through the next two or three days, visiting one place or another from our "constellation of places" maybe three times a week. These can include this Jewel, the Dominick's on Fullerton and Sheffield, the Whole Foods on Halsted, the Treasure Island on Broadway, The Marketplace on Diversey, and the Trader Joe's on Diversey. Whatever we need for the next few days, we buy in whatever store we happen to find ourselves in. (E.g., we don't get all our produce at one place and all our meat at another.) Therefore, when I find myself in this Jewel (because it's on my rounds, or because we need a twelve-pack of Bounty or something), I'm often in the market for a few items of produce along with whatever else brought me there. It would be nicer if they made that more possible.

nr706 wrote:The difference in bag costs is easy to quantify; sales lost due to having difficult bags is much harder to put a number to.

Time wasted by the employees helping customers open bags instead of stocking, cleaning, or completing other responsibilities is, however, easy to quantify!

I don't bag my Veggies at Jewel, when I buy them there. I bring a reuseable bag and put them in (from Whole foods). The cashers don't like it but I tell them to put the poduce in seperate bags as they check me out.

scott E. wrote:I don't bag my Veggies at Jewel, when I buy them there. I bring a reuseable bag and put them in (from Whole foods). The cashers don't like it but I tell them to put the poduce in seperate bags as they check me out.

Exactly...one bag kept in your car at all times to throw all of your stuff in as you shop, then let them bag it up separately at check out for you if you want the bags for home. Problem solved. Or you can keep sending in complaints that will never be addressed or resolved...

riddlemay wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Why don't you just bring your own bag(s)???

Well, for one, I don't own any produce bags and don't want to have to save my old ones. For another, when I go to the Jewel, I don't always know that I'm going to be buying produce (I may be going for other items), but may decide once there that I want to. For that matter, when I leave the house in the morning, I may not even know that I'm going to be going to the Jewel later in the day, but then may have need to. Solving the problem by having my own bags, therefore, would mean having my own bags on my person at all times. But also: If bringing your own is now the standard, why do all other grocery store chains provide produce bags for their customers--produce bags which are, by and large, easy to open and use, as they always have been and ought to be? Jewel is the outlier here.

Here's what I would do,assuming that I had a gun to my head and was being forced to buy produce at Jewel . When you enter the store walk over to the self-serve checkout or an unattended regular one and grab a few grocery bags to use.

Artie wrote:Here's what I would do,assuming that I had a gun to my head and was being forced to buy produce at Jewel . When you enter the store walk over to the self-serve checkout or an unattended regular one and grab a few grocery bags to use.

That's not a bad idea. Thanks. (I envy your problem-solving abilities.)

riddlemay wrote:

KajmacJohnson wrote:Riddlemay, just curious, what neighborhood Jewel do you shop at?

The one at Ashland and Wellington.

Mrs. riddlemay and I don't do all our shopping for the week on one day or one occasion. We may pick up a few items to get us through the next two or three days, visiting one place or another from our "constellation of places" maybe three times a week. These can include this Jewel, the Dominick's on Fullerton and Sheffield, the Whole Foods on Halsted, the Treasure Island on Broadway, The Marketplace on Diversey, and the Trader Joe's on Diversey. Whatever we need for the next few days, we buy in whatever store we happen to find ourselves in. (E.g., we don't get all our produce at one place and all our meat at another.) Therefore, when I find myself in this Jewel (because it's on my rounds, or because we need a twelve-pack of Bounty or something), I'm often in the market for a few items of produce along with whatever else brought me there. It would be nicer if they made that more possible.

My husband and I are pretty much the same way, we don't do all our shopping at once. We buy things weekly to get us thru until the next time. Like I said, I learned long ago better produce can be bought at other places but I am very flexible of driving a bit further to get to a better grocery store. However, if I lived in your area, it might be a little easier said than done.

Article in yesterday's Trib business section says Supervalu is considering selling off Jewel-Osco, and that a logical buyer is Kroger's, since they are the nation's largest and most successful grocery chain yet have currently next to no presence in the Chicagoland area.

I wonder how Kroger's produce bags are?