The first ever time I grocery shopped in YK, it was absolutely scary. The cashier wildly scanned each item and then flung it down the conveyor belt. Hubby and I stood there waiting for her to bag our groceries (as that is what happens at every other grocery store I have ever shopped at in my life...) while she continued the wild scanning and flinging. When she was done she stared blandly at us and announced the HUGE price. (First grocery trips are always so expensive, I hate having to re buy everything that was once in your cupboard.) While she smacked away on her gum she completed the transaction and then, as she handed us our bill told us to bag our own groceries.
I hate grocery shopping in YK. However, nine months down the road I feel I have become a marathon grocery shopper, I have learned to ALWAYS bring Hubby to the grocery store, he loads up the front end of the conveyor belt while I run to the end part of the conveyor belt and start bagging. It works well, and I am contemplating applying to the Northern Olympics to see if we can start it up Northern Grocery shopping as a new Northern Olympic event.
Having boycotted EF and I have now returned as the high prices as Co op became far too expensive to continue to exclusively shop there. The last trip to EF grocery store illuminated exactly why I cannot handle shopping there.
Hubby and I set up for the unloading and packing of the groceries. His mother was even there to help me pack. As I filled a bag with groceries I sat it at the end of the conveyor belt as Hubby was still unloading the cart. That same cashier was practicing her expert scan and fling technique. Soon the end portion of the conveyor belt was jam packed with bagged groceries and groceries still requiring bagging. MIL and I worked at top notch speeds. As the cashier was in her happy place, scanning and flinging away (while smacking loudly on her gum) she did not notice that the groceries were piled high and there was no more room for more bagged groceries. (No, putting bagged groceries on their filthy floor was not an option!) I loudly yet politely called out for her to stop for a second until Hubby could push the cart down so we could start loading up the cart and finish bagging the groceries. She ignored me and within these few seconds the influx on new groceries caused all the bagged groceries to squash together at once. I heard a huge crunch as the bags of chips crushed together and the bread bag was flattened to a pancake like state.
So here’s my problem. I am sick and tired of the dingy half empty store filled with half spoiled produce and often empty shelves. I KNOW there are people on this earth who don’t even have the luxury of a grocer or even food while others are stuck paying $20 for a litre of milk. I SHOULD probably not complain.
But here in YK, it’s almost like a tease. We have produce, but it half rotted. There is a grocery store (Three to be exact) but the shelves are half filled. The bread is set to expire in four days. The milk goes bad after two... and then there is the often times poor service at that certain grocery store. My grocery order is ALWAYS between $300ish to $400ish every 3ish weeks. I hate paying all that money to a national grocery chain to consistently have these bizarre and stressful shopping experiences.
And NO, I really don’t buy into the whole, “We have a hard time finding good workers here in YK” thing. The difference in customer service and overall store quality between Co op and EF proves that is not the case.
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6 comments:
The CO-OP's prices are so high, because it's a CO-OP, so any of the profits go back to the membership holders anyways.
And I think the whole ferry issue is the reason for the half-filled shelves, and the old produce, etc. I've never known anything else, so I'm probably not really the best person to say it.
I remember when I went to Cuba a couple years ago, and actually didn't eat any of the fruits because they tasted "funny". I had never tasted fresh fruit before. That's how ridiculously sheltered from the real world I was.
I think that shitty service comes from the idea with teenagers that they can get a job anywhere. It's so easy to find a part-time job, that we don't really care if we have to work hard or not. It's like that mostly anywhere where teenagers work. It's stupid that it works that way, but I guess-such as life.
I think that people are just used to only having crap to buy. So no one really complains because they have settled for crap for so long that like you say, it just seems normal. Grocers realize they can "get away with" selling crap, so they do, because they can and always have.
I don't get what happens once the stuff gets on the ferry that it goes bad. It is only what, 18ish hours to drive to Edmonton where they have an abundance of beautiful, fresh products.
When I shop at Co op where I consistently seem to have "good" experiences, then go to EF where there is consistently "not good" experiences, it leads me to believe that the core issue lies with the store itself, not the workers. (Management? Not sure what is going on there.)
I am starting a letter writing campaign because I cannot handle paying thousands of dollars a year to a company that provides such crap products and bad service. That's the bottom line for me!
Can you believe it`s even worse in smaller communities?
It's all perspective I suppose, but I looove shopping in Yk!
Come to Inuvik when the road it out for a real eye-opening experience. Last month we were paying $9.00 for two litres of milk.
It's much better now that we have three stores to choose from, but still half the selection you have at either EF or Coop.
Count your blessings and don't forget about that big fat tax refund.
Trying to keep that in mind as I just paid $1,500 for a flight to Edm. Yk to Edm flight costs drop by half and ours increase 20%.
I would agree with you Natalie. Your post hit home to me. Coming from Newfoundland, I find it hard to understand why the groceries always go bad so quickly up here. In Newfoundland the majority of our groceries were shipped just as far, if not further, then they have to be shipped here in YK. Doesn't compute... And the comments about the Olympics, hilarious! I hate going for groceries... it's torcherous thinking about that final sprint to get the groceries packed without holding up 10 other people, breaking the eggs, crushing the bread, or dropping everything on the floor and just plain 'ol losing it right there in the store! Oh well... that's life up yonder I guess. :-)
When I moved to Yellowknife from Inuvik, I walked around the grocery store and almost cried. Everything seemed so fresh and cheap, and there were so many different choices.
And this was the downtown Extra store.
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