This will be my final update.
Pros
- Certain staff members are friendly and upbeat.
- The drive-thru, though oddly angled, is finally open.
- Late hours for night owls like me and they don't do that weird thing that some stores do - close 5 or 10 minutes early if they had a slow night.
- Food trucks certain days of the week / weekends, though the dates are fixed, but that's not their fault.
- Glass recycling bin in the parking lot. This makes my treehugger heart sing. Now, they just need to get a Primo water dispenser and they'll be batting 1,000.
Five stars total*******************
Cons
- Certain staff members are surly and rude
- Sometimes the register can't / won't print a receipt and they don't tell you the receipt printer is acting up until AFTER you've paid. The last time it happened, the two staff members trying to get it to print acted as though I was being unreasonable because I wanted a receipt for my $60+ purchase. Lol. I take advantage of the rebate offers and most companies want the 'old fashioned receipts' because apparently the online receipts are too easy to fake.
- Prices / discounts not consistent. When questioned about it, I'm told it's an employee turnover issue. But this could easily be resolved by simply printing and posting the policy at the register.
I buy 'cheap' red wine, by the case. I have a specific brand that I stick with it because I know the nutritional info / sugar content and I know it won't leave me hungover or fuzzy headed the next day. I was told, by the owner, that the you get a 10% discount on 6 large (1.5 L) bottles or 12 small (170 ml) bottles.
Other than that, I'm picking up the occasional bottle of vodka or case of beer for guests.
Pretty much 1 out of 4 visits, I'm going to encounter a staff member who knows the discount policy and charges me the correct price.
BUT ... the other 3 visits, I'm going to get argued with and told that a) there is no discount on or b) the discount is only 5% or c) I need to buy 12 bottles small bottles to get 10%. When I reached out to the owner, initially, he was apologetic and helpful. Now, he just blows me off now. And what's odd is that this is pretty much an industry standard. In my entire lifetime of purchasing alcohol, I have only ever encountered TWO stores that did not automatically just offer a flat 10% discount on all cases.
I understand that $9.99 for a bottle is a good price. But Walmart and Kroger charge the same price for this item. In fact, last month, Kroger had it for $8.99 all month. and this month Publix has it for $9.49. In an effort to show support to my small mom & pop businesses, I try to purchase it here, even when Kroger or Publix are running sales because the trade-off should be that I'm getting a consistent discount at each purchase when I shop here.. But that's not happening.. Several times, I've deliberately declined to purchase while doing my grocery store shopping - only to come here later and wind up paying more because an associate tells me that the 1.5 L bottle doesn't qualify for discount.
1 star total or inconsistency and pricing. *******************
I've given this spot MONTHS to work through this issue - and as I stated previously, this could absolutely be resolved by printing and posting signage (detailing discount policy) somewhere the staff members can access it.
So I'm giving up. I'll go back to purchasing it the grocery store and reserve them for the occasional 'emergency.' I wish them the best though. read more
