[nabs-l] Problems with grocery shopping

Tue Feb 10 01:15:21 UTC 2015

Hi all,

Cindy, those are great suggestions I will try as well.  In my family's
experiences "M Perks" haven't been that great in most sales, as they
are primarily for those 2 for 5 deals which can sometimes sell you too
much for only pennies less than the sale price, but the pictures would
be nice to have.

I did get the names of the two people I shopped with; thankfully I
always make a point of knowing the person's name in case I need to get
their attention.

I would prefer to at least get my fresh produce at this particular
store unless I find a farmer's market nearby.  I do like the customer
service at the Kroger and I know a guy from my local NFB chapter also
shops there, but their produce just isn't as good.

On the plus side, buying some things online would certainly reduce my
grocery trips, which can be hard to fit in some weekends as I'm sure
they can be for everyone.

I make sure to put things in the cart as well, even if the shopping
assistant gets them off the shelf for me (I'm also short, so they
usually have to do this at least once in a grocery trip), but I agree
that handling the items is really important.

One thing that I may do even if the coupons don't jazz me is take
pictures of things I have already.  E.G, the specific brand of rice
milk, and the Oatnut bread that most assistants have never seen
before.  I could just keep them on my IPhone and pull them up whenever
I'm out.

On 2/9/15, Cindy Bennett via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I can certainly sympathize with all of those frustrations.
> Unfortunately, money does result in better customer service whether it
> is with clothes shopping at Nordstrom versus Ross or a local grocery
> store versus a chain.
>
> Admittedly, I have resorted to mostly online shopping and buying
> perishable foods at a nicer grocery store. But my partner and I
> continuously battle over who is going to do the shopping, and half the
> time, it resorts in us going out because neither of us feels like
> going to the store after work.
>
> Amazon has a Pantry option. It is only useful if you need a lot of
> stuff, but it is a lot more widely available than Fresh and contains a
> ton of nonperishable items at very low prices.
>
> You could try calling ahead to the store although I have never done this.
>
> I agree that you should ask when a good shopping assistant works.
> However, you should also ask the bad shopping assistants for their
> name and when they work. If you have an opportunity to come at a
> different time, do so. If not, you could potentially tell the customer
> service agent that it did not work out well with that employee
> although I would use that as a last resort.
>
> I have learned the shape, size, and approximate location of most foods
> that I buy. If a shopping assistant is not finding what I want, I find
> something of similar shape and size and show it to them. I also
> sometimes point out the area of shelf that it is typically on. I am
> very persistent as often shopping assistants will say they don't have
> something when they don't find it right away. I will say something
> like, "I bought this here before," or "This is a really common item.
> I'm sure you have it." 99% of the time, they do have it. I also insist
> that I touch everything before it goes into the cart. I have pointed
> out a lot of incorrectly-sized containers that have been picked out
> and occasionally the wrong product.
>
> Sometimes, bringing the list in print helps, but I always have the
> list in braille.
>
> If you are very concerned about the service at a particular store, you
> might try calling the manager. Explain that you want to do business at
> that particular store and ask if they have recommendations of an
> employee who would be a good communicator and who knows the store.
>
> Also, if the store has accessible sales ads online, I have found that
> shopping according to those not only saves me money, but these items
> are often on display and easier to find. If the sales ads are not
> accessible, you might call the manager. One store manager sent us
> spreadsheets of the sales ads for the particular store. She was not
> persistent, and we did not ask again since we don't shop there often,
> but if you get the ads once, you will always have an email address to
> contact should the ads discontinue. If the ads are not accessible,
> this would be a good use of a reader. They could either clip coupons
> or ads. You could label them in braille. Often, coupons and ads have
> pictures of the food which could help the shopping assistant. If it is
> just a sales ad, save the picture if you plan to buy the product again
> regardless of whether it is on sale.
>
> I am sorry to hear about your difficulties. I think that poor customer
> service is a chronic problem. I don't want to think about the money I
> have spent just because I am tired and don't feel like dealing with an
> incompetent person, or a person at all in the case of online shopping.
> One way I justify this is by choosing to buy healthier foods and local
> foods. I receive excellent customer service at a local grocery store
> that prepares all of their meat in house and sources it from
> Washington farms. Since I shop according to the sales ads, I feel like
> I spend about the same amount of money that I would buying mass
> sourced meat at the cheaper grocery store. Similar with produce, in
> season fruit is often what is on sale and is often what will taste
> better anyway. But I have definitely been in college and buying
> freshly ground beef was definitely not an option. The good thing about
> being in college though is that it is often easier to find someone who
> is willing to do a menial task for not too much money. So I definitely
> recommend using a reader if you have one or in trading favors.
>
> Cindy
>
>
>
> On 2/9/15, Mikayla Gephart via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Hi,
>> I am in high school, so do not go through this. I have a comment about
>> asking the manager to educate their employees on disabilities. Instead,
>> maybe you or someone from your NFB chapter could come in and talk to the
>> employees and maybe even teach the manager. My consern is that thc
>> manager
>> might not know how to guide a blind person, and might reteach negative
>> attitudes.
>> Best,
>> Mikayla
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>>> On Feb 9, 2015, at 4:04 PM, Kaiti Shelton via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi, NABSters,
>>>
>>> Lately I've been having some problems when I've been grocery shopping,
>>> and I'm wondering if any of you who independently shop for your food
>>> have had similar situations and/or know how to work around them.
>>>
>>> I'm a very detailed shopper.  I make my lists in advance, plan out a
>>> rough budget, and also organize all the other logistics like
>>> para-transit in advance.  All last semester I had great success going
>>> through my local Kroger and found the staff there to be very helpful
>>> and friendly.  However, over Christmas break I found out that we had a
>>> Meijer nearby, and I decided to start going there instead for better
>>> produce and lower prices on some things I was finding pretty expensive
>>> at Kroger.
>>>
>>> I've been to the Meijer twice now (I go shopping every other weekend)
>>> and ping on Saturdays at the times of day that I know the store won't
>>> be as busy, like before 9:00 in the morning or after 7:00 PM.  The
>>> first time the shopping assistant I had seemed to have very little
>>> clue as to how to actually help me.  He did not listen to what I
>>> wanted, sometimes just took off and left me to look for things I said
>>> I had on my list, and often had to stop other employees and other
>>> shoppers to ask questions.  He was very confusing to follow, as he
>>> would just read off everything instead of specifically look for what I
>>> said I needed.  For example, we came up to the wall of bagged
>>> vegitables and the dialog went something like this:
>>> "Okay, now I need chopped salads.  The kind I usually get are by Dole."
>>> "Okay... chopped salad.  I see carrots, romaine, Spinach..." (he's at
>>> least a good 4 feet away from me and moving away down the wall.  I
>>> have enough vision to see more orange from top to bottom, so I know
>>> he's going towards the bagged carrot sticks and away from the green,
>>> leafy things.
>>> "I think it's somewhere around here."
>>> "Okay" (he comes toward me."  "Dole Romaine, Dole Spinach lettuce."
>>> "I don't see it."
>>> Fellow shopper. "The chopped salad is right there.  (Just to his right).
>>>
>>> This happened at the cheese section as well.  He kept talking about 2
>>> for 5 deals and such randomly, but since he wasn't just looking at the
>>> types of cheese I needed it was hard to tell what he was talking about
>>> and gauge what the best value would be.    At one point he assumed
>>> that I didn't know how to open my box of Oreos I asked for, so when he
>>> said to give him my hand and I offered it palm up, he flipped it over
>>> and gave me unsolicited instruction in the art of opening the
>>> packaging.
>>>
>>> I wasn't rude to this guy, and I assumed that he was a bit off
>>> probably due to an intellectual disability.  I chalked it up to that,
>>> and thought that at worst I might want to talk to the manager about
>>> educating employees on how to properly and politely work with shoppers
>>> with disabilities (he was also super grabby and wanted me to hold onto
>>> him even though I repeatedly assured him I could follow behind).
>>>
>>> I went back to the same Meijer on Saturday and got a different
>>> assistant.  This lady definitely had some disability.  I think it is
>>> probably Down Syndrome because she had some of the facial features,
>>> but I can't be sure.  She presented a different host of challenges;
>>> she definitely knew her way around the store and politely offered her
>>> arm but did not continue insistently once I declined, and she
>>> definitely knew her brands.  She also had a much better handle on
>>> helping me shop efficiently because she knew, "Dairy is a bit off, do
>>> you have anything like bread on your list we could get on our way?,"
>>> that the other guy did not.  Instead of taking double the usual time,
>>> she got me done in half my usual time.  The only problems with her
>>> were that sometimes she'd get distracted by items I didn't need and I
>>> would have to redirect her in order to get the information I really
>>> needed.  When I asked the question out right, not only based on price
>>> but also size of package which value was better, she had trouble
>>> answering that question.  Then in checkout she provided unsolicited
>>> information that wasn't necessarily socially acceptable.  A lady with
>>> a wheelchair cart was paying for her food in front of us, and the
>>> shopping assistant turned and said, not all too quietly, "She's paying
>>> with WIC, and she's got about the whole store on the conveyor belt."
>>> I felt myself go red because I didn't know what that other woman's
>>> reaction would be.  Of course I didn't ask her for this information,
>>> but I really felt bad for the other lady who was probably buying in
>>> bulk because it was harder for her to get out to shop for a family.  I
>>> didn't really know how to respond to the shopping assistant, and when
>>> I was silent for a few seconds she just repeated herself as if I
>>> didn't hear her.  Then I asked her to take me to a specific bench I
>>> knew was there while I waited for my ride to come back for pickup, and
>>> she stuck me in another location which I was less familiar with to
>>> wait.
>>>
>>> I am all for placing people with any disability in a job, and I
>>> understand that positions like greeters (like the lady I worked with
>>> was before she started helping me) are the positions most likely to be
>>> pulled by customer service to assist shoppers, but how do you work out
>>> that situation.  The first guy was particularly frustrating because he
>>> took so long to find simple things and popular brands like Tyson,
>>> Sargento, and Dole, but on the flip side you had the other lady who
>>> wasn't a good judge of value and sometimes would talk my ear off as we
>>> walked and realize some ways off that we missed what we were going
>>> for.  I applaud Meijer for employing people who can really use the
>>> work, but I think they need to consider the needs of customers who ask
>>> for shopping assistance when pairing them up with employees.  If
>>> people like the first guy are unable to read the expiration dates on
>>> meats, that's a problem for me.  If I'm trying to save money and I
>>> can't get a good judge of value, that's also a problem for me.
>>>
>>> Being a major in a field where I'll eventually have clients with all
>>> sorts of disabilities, I have learned to be very accepting and patient
>>> in these situations, but when I only have so long to shop before
>>> para-transit comes back or am trying to stick to a budget the matter
>>> can be a bit complicated.  When I went shopping with the Oreo guy I
>>> had to skip a few items on my list in order to check out and be ready
>>> on time, and I'll confess my patience was wearing a little thin after
>>> an hour and a half because he was constantly trying to be custodial.
>>> I just was a little worried about keeping my budget and a little
>>> socially uncomfortable with the second employee, although I do know
>>> she tried to be helpful and was for most of the trip.
>>>
>>> I have never had these issues at the other store, so I'm a little
>>> unsure of how to best proceed should I have this happen again,
>>> especially with the first guy.  Thoughts?
>>>
>>> It's a tricky situation because
>>> --
>>> Kaiti
>>>
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>>
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>
>
> --
> Cindy Bennett
> 1st Year Ph.D. Student, University of Washington
> Human Centered Design and Engineering
>
> Treasurer of the National Federation of the Blind of Washington
> an Affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind
>
> clb5590 at gmail.com
>
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-- 
Kaiti