There was a point back in time where I wrote a flurry of reviews about the various supermarkets I…read moreshopped at, and I think my main focus tended to be on the service at the cash registers-- bored, indifferent, zombie-like, passive-aggressive, etc. Did they bag my groceries with at least a somewhat convincing imitation of professionalism and cheeriness, did they stare silently into space, or did they affix me with a look of unconcealed hostility as they tossed my groceries into a bag with all the delicacy and finesse of Sonny Liston hitting the heavy bag, or an opponent's face? Of course, with NJ banning single-use plastic and paper bags, that focus has obviously become academic and irrelevant. I currently have a stockpile of the re-usable $1 bags that these supermarkets now sell adding to the clutter of my "1-step-away-from-being-an-episode-of-Hoarders" abode because I invariably forget to bring any of them with me when I shop and have to buy another one at the cash register of whatever store I pick to buy my groceries at.
The 1st time I came to the Mansfield Shop Rite, which is a while ago now, I intended to write a more critical review because of their shopping cart situation. The carts are all chained together, you have to insert a quarter into a device attached to the cart, which releases the chain and allows you to shop. On my initial encounter with this heretofore unknown shopping innovation, I struggled with the cart for an embarrassingly long time like an enfeebled halfwit before finally figuring it out. One guy saw me, took his cart, and ran away with it to the store without a word, evidently figuring I was going to have a complete imbecile's meltdown. I finally figured it out, no thanks to him, but a tutorial might have helped. Was I the only one this was new to?
Obviously, writing that critical review slipped my mind. Until now, and...just as obviously, given my 5 star rating...it's not so critical.
(In reference to shopping carts, I recently helped my birth mother in north NJ with her laundry, as I do monthly, and she stopped at the CVS in Wallington before we went on to the laundromat. She needed a shopping cart, but they were nowhere to be found. An employee walked outside with me to unsuccessfully locate one, remarking that they get stolen constantly. "We were able to track one down at the Wal-Mart"-- several miles away. So, I've belatedly come to recognize that maybe there's a genuine need for such a theft deterring device-- although, a determined shopping cart thief probably would be willing to lose a quarter in exchange for a brand-new shopping cart...who knows?...)
Inside, the store is large and sprawling. The times I've been here, I can usually find what I need; no supply problems that I've encountered so far.
The check-out counter lines are long, unless you use the "self-check-out" counters. Given that I had trouble figuring out the quarter-a-cart situation, I leave the self-check-out counters alone (which I'm against in principle anyway-- nothing like paying to ring up your own groceries!). Still, the check-out process moves relatively fast. I've found service to be pretty friendly and helpful. When I went last week, the gentleman ringing up the groceries asked, "Can I help you bag those?" That's a first! It's also the reason for the 5 stars. I politely declined and finished the job myself (I've gotten used to it at this point) but I appreciated the offer.
Outside, confirming my status as a Luddite, I had trouble figuring out how to get my quarter back from the device on the cart (it's been a while since I last shopped here). Once you manually re-attach the chain, and secure the cart, the device spits out your quarter back to you.
If you're new to the area, the parking lot situation at this location can be potentially confusing, and tricky (what looks like an exit is actually an entrance; the exit for the direction I head home in is near the movie theater, just beyond the Dollar Store), but I've been here enough times in recent years to at least have that figured out. A police car is sometimes waiting near one of the exits to "get" those that haven't.
Objectively, this store probably rates only 4 stars, but the gentleman offering to help me bag my groceries brightened my day more than it probably should have, and I'm rating it an admittedly generous 5-stars.
Obviously, if you're a shopping cart thief, this probably isn't the store for you. Try the CVS in Wallington.
