Thursday, November 08, 2007

A World of Possibilities

Being the good daughter that I am, when my mother called to say that she was sick and had no food in her house, I said 'of course' when she asked me to pick up some groceries. I usually shop at The Winco, which for those of your who are not local is a big, nasty grocery store where food costs about 40% less than a normal store. Because my mom has some food allergies, I needed to go to a Regular store that has specialty foods, which in this instance was Fred Meyers (Kroger for non Oregonians). I noticed some important differences besides the price of the food:

  • There were no fights in the parking lot
  • I did not step on any gum in the store
  • No children with sippy cups full of soda
  • All patrons were sporting both shirts AND shoes
  • There was not a traffic jam in the beer cooler
  • No urine smell (Bonus!)
  • I did not spot one dirty diaper tucked into the shelves behind the Jiffy mix
  • There were no visible attempts at bartering at the registers
  • No sense that the meat had somehow been repackaged from another store before arriving.

Whoa! It was like a whole new world! I think that after having lived in Mexico for too long I have set the bar really low for food procurement. In fact, the checker told me to have a nice day rather than offering to kick me in the teeth or telling me to duck so as to avoid involvement in a domestic dispute.

A girl could really get used to this.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You must not shop at my Freddy's :)

9:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I had to comment and tell you that your description of WinCo is PERFECT! Although shopping there makes me feel like I've truly earned those bulk noodles and repackaged meat.

9:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can honestly say I have NEVER had a bad experience at Winco. OK the staff aren't exactly friendly but at least they get on with the job. I've never had a problem in the beer cooler, usually I'm the only one in there. At least I've seen them cleaning the floors which is more than I can say about Freddies. And fights in the parking lot? Never seen one. I use the Gresham Winco and sometimes the one on 122nd, where do you go? I also shop Safeway and really get fed up being asked if I'm finding everything! It isn't as bad as it used to be but still enough to be annoying. I only shop weekday mornings, would that be the difference? Sorry for long post.

10:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Now I am jealous that I don't have a Winco near me!

7:09 AM  
Blogger Kirsten said...

ok, ok, wow, you guys have the same strong love for El Winco that I do! I thought I was the only one! I was exaggerating, of course. However, if you have ever seen the stores on either 82nd or 102nd in Gateway, those are pretty close to my description! That is why I also go to the 122nd or Gresham store.

You guys are awesome.

7:57 AM  
Blogger Sabrina said...

I must be missing out on the Winco experiences by living here in Kansas. Sounds like fun! lol

8:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's funny - we pass two on our way to the 122nd store as well. It's just worth it.

1:06 PM  

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home