Thursday, April 21, 2011

Dear Hyvee...

...your store sucks.

Now I don't say that to be mean or rude, but as constructive criticism.  I'm not perfect, and I don't expect my grocery store to be either.  But I do expect for it to be better than what you have created.  My wife and I discovered you last spring and we were tempted by the glowing reviews of friends and family who told us of how nice you were.  Then we were lulled in by a sale you were having when we finally moved to the area in august.

We grabbed the items of interest and went through the checkout and we were happy until the total price rang up about twice as much as we expected.  We stopped by the front desk and talked to the manager who walked us around the store and showed us how every item we had grabbed hadn't been the one on sale.  Then he did a half smile and said sorry.  Okay so we were idiots and thought since one sign was placed directly below the product, that meant it was on sale for that price.  It wasn't.  The product a shelf above it was.  I've been to stores who apologize for sloppy labeling and offer the lower price.  This didn't happen but that's not a deal breaker.  The other items weren't mislabeled.  They were just poorly labeled in my opinion.  The manager just shrugged at us as if there was nothing he could do as we left the store.

That was my first experience with you and today was my second and possibly last.  My wife sent to me to grab some things while I was in town and I did so on my lunch break.  Since I'm still considered a noob when it comes to your store, I have no idea where most things are.  I walked around the fruit section looking for bananas until I decided I was fed up and wanted to leave.  As I turned towards the door there was a shelf of them that are hidden from view when you enter.  I don't know how you could fix that, but I know when I went after diapers it was easy to see the huge sign saying 'baby'.  Maybe make the bananas visible for either side of the stand they are on.

Then I was in search of some $0.99 fresh baked rolls my wife saw in your ad.  I walked around.  I looked lost.  Six employees walked by as I looked lost and I was neither helped nor found what I was looking for.  Maybe my wife imagined the sale, or you advertised it and did follow through.  Either way, I went to your competition to get some.

Then I went in pursuit of some marshmallow creme.  I looked above the aisles for the signs telling me the contents of each aisle so I wouldn't have to walk up and down each one. The only problem is that I had to crane my neck quite a bit in order to look directly up at the signs placed high above my head.  I got tired of looking straight up while nearly running over a couple older ladies and just started walking up and down aisles.  This put me behind schedule but saved my neck.

Next I went in search of a frozen pizza.  I don't know if there are signs above the frozen food section, but the stores I frequent have tiny signs just above the sections for veggies, pizza, burritos and what not.  You have conserved resources  by refraining from such a practice and tried my patience.

Then I saw that I had to get some canned veggies on my list so I had to walk back across the store and started looking for the canned veggies that were on sale.  It was like going to the circus with all the large postcards telling me what was on sale.  I had to search for what exactly I wanted, and then once I did I had to double check the product with the price as the manager informed me at my last visit.

I was tired and ready to leave.  I went to the first available checkout and realized that when the cashier gave me my total, it was the first time they had spoken to me.  I go to your competitors and sometimes I hear an entire life story in the the few minutes it takes to buy my groceries.  At your store all I get are the grand totals and shrugs.  Then as I leave the store, I'm finally greeted by someone. Only it was the guy washing the windows above the exit with a power washer.  The spray of water that hit the top of my head was a little refreshing and I felt good to be released from the store.

I don't write all this in the hope of spiting you.  I'm hoping that you will hear me and make changes so that your store can thrive in my area.  Customer service and the ability to quickly find what I'm looking for are all I'm looking for in an ideal store.  I'll be back someday in the hopes that you will have bettered yourself.  I look forward to that!
Sincerely,
Bill

***Update***  I got an email from Hyvee.  Kinda surprised they responded.  I've made suggestions a couple times in the past about poor experiences to other places.  Only one time did I get a response and that was for a free treat from the restaurant, even though nothing had changed at the restaurant.  Hopefully this will be different!

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