I would like to get peoples feedback on the local Albertsons store here in Miles City. I have a few gripes and comendations but I want to here other peoples views.

We are lucky to have an Albertsons. They have great produce, employ many wonderful people, has a nice clean atmosphere and gives us another choice of places to grocery shop. I think we all need to support our 3 grocery stores and be thankful we have them! Also they hire high school and college students, have a dedicated personal in their pharmacy, etc. etc.

Nikki,
If you have problems with Albertsons, go to the store manager and let them know directly. Albertsons has fought a tough economy to stay in Miles City, along with Reynolds. I commend them for persisting. I would hate to think that Walmart would be my only choice for groceries in Miles City.

At one time, I was very unhappy with Albertson's practice of putting so many displays in the aisles that sometimes with the displays and shoppers in the way, you couldn't even get into the store or to some of the products. I spoke to the local management, and sent a letter to their corporate office. I am happy to say that since their recent remodel, these problems are not problems for me anymore. I am very pleased with the store now.

We are lucky to have Albertson's here. They have the largest selection, most SKU numbers (most products) of any of the grocers, and still carry things that are not just bread and butter products. Meat and potatoes and Wonder-bread are fine most of the time, but my family does a LOT of ethnic and "fusion" cooking. We buy many of the ingredients at Albertson's and Great Grains (spices and specialty ingredients). The other grocers have fewer choices, some items I consider commodities are absent, and the prices are vary from store to store so they average out about the same in the end.

One thing I do despise about nearly all major grocery chains is the absolutely stupid practice of joining some dumb club to get the best price- it's actually how they track what you're buying individually. I really don't care if they want to know what I buy, but the price should be the same for everyone regardless of them having a club number or not. That really ticks me off when I'm out of town and get hit for that. It's stupid.

I absolutely LOVE the bakery!!!! Their cakes with the whip cream frosting and their donuts are to die for!!!!!! I shop wherever I can get the best prices--the cashiers are more friendly now than they were since, oh for example, before the remodel. I complained to management and corporate headquarters a few times regarding cashiers attitudes--seems to be working!

I always enjoyed the Albertson's in Miles City when I lived there? Have there been complaints?

Albertson's is like a lot of places, they hire the staff available. I think some of their people, especially the long time folks, are the greatest!

I am biased, I do some vendor work out there, but I also understand that as long as as a business has to hire human beings, there will be some mistakes made, some problems will exist, and some people will just plain have a bad day. And corporate head offices are often clueless as well. That's life. But, in general, I like the Albertson's folks, I like the selection, although I miss a few things since the redecorating, and I will shop there because it is close to my house.

Having moved from Miles City to Billings in this last year, I can compare the 2 stores from these 2 cities. Albertson's in Miles City by far exceeds the stores in Billings. The Miles City store is cleaner, there is more lighting, more room in the aisles, and friendlier workers. Pharmacy services in Miles City Albertson's are superior to here in Billings. Here in Billings, it took approximately 8 months for the Albertson's pharmacy to finally decide that I was a regular customer, getting regular monthly refills of a prescription and that they needed to keep the drug in stock. I would call in the Rx Monday, pick up the Rx on Tuesday when they would tell me that it was only partially filled (didn't have enough on hand to fill the entire order)and tell me to come back for the rest of the Rx on Friday when their order came in. I no longer get my scripts at the Albertson's in Billings.
I miss the Miles City Albertson's.

I am like Amorette, I am a little biased. Not only do I do merchandising work there but I also used to work there. There are a lot of ups to the store. For the most part the employees are great and the service deli and bakery are to die for...have you tried the deli's new asian line? I just wanted to see what the consensus was, and I think that it is good, although I disagree. But, like I said I used to work there and that kind of tarnished me to the store.

My only complaint about Albertsons, would be the same complaint for most all grocery stores that I have happened to be in at 5 or 6 p.m.

For cryin' out loud, open more then 2 lanes!!! Is it some sort of marketing, or do they really not get that a LOT of people stop at the store on their way home from work?!?

Albertsons is far better than our other 2 options in town for groceries. Reynolds is OK, but WALMART SUCKS. Their service sucks, they don't have half the grocery items albertsons does.
let's boycott Walmart.

The Albertson's near where I live makes their club prices available to anyone. The first time I shopped there I pulled out my nifty card (which BTW I still had from when I used for those big ranch shopping sprees in Miles), and the checker said that I didn't need one. Great for me. I can take their value card off my key chain and be down to about 15 others.

I love Albertsons. Nowhere else in town can I buy Indian naan bread, decent Thai ingredients (lemongrass paste - wow!), saffron rice for paella, or special order daikon for kimchi (you can special order just about anything!) I also love that they know my name and carry my groceries to my car. I love the check-out ladies and the teenaged baggers.

I hate WalMart, but I do go there for the ready-to-bake tortillas, "Alternative Bagels" (high fiber, low fat bagels), generally cheaper berries, and Mahatma Basmati rice.

My other "grocery store" is Great Grains. Tahini for hummus, yummy granolas, and spices you can't find anywhere else - perfect!

The way that I look at this is all of you that replied have been really lucky at Albertsons. The checkers and carry outs in the morning are awesome but after about 4 in the afternoon things start to slide. I have seen checkers call for carryouts 4 times when the carryout is at another checkstand talking to another checker doing nothing.
Another thing is when you are out on the floor there is not a lot of the employees that will go out of their way to ask you if you need help finding anything. There are only two that I can think of. granted Walmart is not any better in that aspect but I am not going to, and I don't think anyone else will either, boycott Walmart. Granted Walmart opening here has hurt some businesses in Miles City, but I think that the fire on Monday hurt more then Walmart did.
A closing thought...have you ever seen the store manager out on the floor helping customers or helping to stock shelves or pitching in where ever he is needed?

Another thing is when you are out on the floor there is not a lot of the employees that will go out of their way to ask you if you need help finding anything.

It's a grocery store, not Nordstrom. My experience is that during the day most grocery stores have staff at the checkstands, the courtesy counter, the deli, the bakery, the meat dept., and the pharmacy if there is one. Even in the "big city" you don't have staff walking the floor asking customers if they need help (99% of whom do not need help). You go to the courtesy counter and ask for help if you need it.

In the late evening and through the night (at 24 hour grocery stores) you'll find maybe just one checker (who may be spending his/her time stocking/facing shelves when not checking) and a couple other employees who are stocking. The courtesy counter, bakery, deli, meat dept, and pharmacy are not staffed.


A closing thought...have you ever seen the store manager out on the floor helping customers or helping to stock shelves or pitching in where ever he is needed?

Have you had a significant problem with Albertsons being out of stock?

Nikki, it sounds like you have a personal beef with the manager of Albertsons.

- Dave

"have you ever seen the store manager out on the floor helping customers or helping to stock shelves or pitching in where ever he is needed?"

Are you sure that those activities are part of his/her job description? Maybe he has other responsibilities?

I know for a fact that there are almost always employees out on the floor because this is not a 24 hour store and there are not people there all of the time. And as a past employee I did not ask every person that I passed if they needed help but I usually looked up and smiled and if they had that deer in the headlight look on their face then I would ask them if they needed help.
8 out of ten people that work there are wonderful individuals and I love that store. When I worked there one of the jobs that I had was as a front end manager and there were things that would go on that I would try to correct by following the chain of command but after being shot down so many times a person just gives up. To answer your question...yes I have a beef with the store manager!!! But if you were repremanded for something that you had done and you knew that you were right because you had talked to an individual that the head of the division and that person said it was right, but you direct manager thought that he was the know it all what would you feel like. Not only was I repremanded but it was done in the middle of the office with other people around how would you feel.
I think that I store manager should be willing to get his or her hands just as dirty as their employees if needed. I know that they have a lot of other things that concern them but they should also be at the disposal of the employees.
Like I said before I like the store and most of the people in it but I am not going to put it up on a pedistal like everyone else is!

I too am a previous employee of Albertsons. As far as the company itself goes, Albertsons offered great benefits and decent pay, and was a terrific company to work for. Most of the other employees were awesome and I considered them great friends. The issue that I had was mainly with management. Some showed favortism toward certain employees and others just did'nt care...about anything or anyone. I left Albertsons when Wal-Mart opened their supercenter. I lost hours at Albertsons and I had a family to feed. So off to Wal-Mart I went....And I do have to say, I am much happier for it. I work 40 hours a week and my wage is over 2.00 an hour more than what I got at Albertsons. I feel appreciated more and I have less stress.
I do want to add to the person that thinks we should Boycott Wal-mart....Wal-Mart employs around 200 hard working Miles City citizens trying to make it in a lagging economy, trying to put food on the table for their families, and just trying to live life the best they can...so what good would come out of "Boycotting Wal-mart"? On a final note....Wal-Mart donates approximately $25,000.00 per year to schools, charities, non-profit organizations, fire departments, relay for life, and Childrens Miracle Network to name a few.( and thats locally) Also, did you know that during this weeks devastating fire, Wal-Mart donated water, food, snacks, gloves,and ice melt for our courageous firefighters? Well they did. I am darn proud to work for a company with so much heart and who cares so much for the folks that live in our community.

I too worked at Albertson's and they the employees are a great bunch of folks. I enjoyed my job at the courtesy counter and also have made a few friends with who I associate with. I know the other manager Mark Richardson did get his hands dirty and it is too bad that he moved away. Mark was a great manager and I don't personally know the new manager but have heard nothing but bad things about Joe. It is from former employees. Now I know that it is here say but I don't think that I would want to work for him. I still shop at Albertson's, Wal-mart and Reynolds. I go where the sales are and it depends on who has the best sale. I am just trying to save a dime and it is worth it (thanks goodness my car gets great gas mileage). So all in all I am greatful for all the stores that we have beacuse we could have not at all then where would we be?

When I visit Miles City I am generally impressed with the service at Albertson's. I live in a bigger city and I swear the grocery stores here have about half the staff of the store in MC, which means you hardly ever see someone to ask for help. In Miles City I generally see someone working in each section and not only get pointed to the item I want, but often have a nice conversation to boot.

I like the Walmart in Miles City too, and I always feel that the store is well staffed and the people are pleasant and helpful. The store is pretty clean and well stocked when I am in there once a year or so. Still, I rarely shop for groceries there as I like the selection in the "real" grocery stores better.

I never shop at Walmart out here on the East Coast as I have many other choices and I suspect there might be only 3 or 4 people in the entire Superstore in my town as I can only find workers in the checkout (with a long line waiting) when I need help. Also, the store out here isn't as clean and sometimes the shelves have big empty spaces where I am looking for stuff. So you should be proud of your Miles City Store and the people working there (despite whatever unpopular corporate policies the main company has)!

I have to moved from Miles City to Billings, and as I highly dislike pretty much all aspects of Billings, the Albertsons here is...acceptable. I Live about a block away from one and it is fairly good. I think here it just depends on which one you go to and what your closest to. As for Miles Citys Alberstons I agree that it is better, however I just love Albertsons altogether so I might not be a great person to give input.haha

T Brown, Horray for you! Can I print your post and hang it by the time clock?

heck yeah!!!!

I'm not a lover of Walmart. Especially in a small town landscape like Miles City. Any jobs created have been eliminated elsewhere within the city. The dollars leave the local economy. Prices are manipulated just enough to eliminate competition, and increase when the job is done.

Family Business Shut Their Doors When Wal-Mart Comes to Town

http://www.aflcio.org/cor...mart_4.cfm

However, it's really not all the fault of the corporate giant when ready shoppers flock to the stores to save a few cents. I just prefer the small business atmosphere.


FH

Who doesn't. Doesn't Wal-mart give back to our community. I just posted on another site about old time things. It would be nice if some things stayed the same but it doesn't. We have all have to go with the flow unfortunatly.

If you take percentage of income into account, Wal-Mart does give a tiny fraction of its income back to the community while Mom and Pop stores give much larger percentages of their income back to the community, plus Mom and Pop stores advertise locally, live locally and spend locally more than big box stores, who send the vast majority of their money to corporate headquarters.

Wal-Mart loves the free advertising they get for the tax deductible donations but refuses to spend a penny supporting local businesses that sell advertising. That counts, too.

What counts right now is this.....Everyone that has a job, whether it be at Wal-mart, Albertsons, Holy Rosary, Ace , Reynolds, or the small local stores should be eternally greatful that they have the means to put food on the table and pay their bills. Its really unfortunate that we have people putting down businesses that employ so many in our community. I work at A Huge conglomerate of a store. So What????? It just so happens that I live in Miles City and there are'nt that many jobs to choose from. When it means that you have to survive anyway you can, you work where there are jobs. Again I will say it...I love my Job at Wal-Mart, and I am Darn Proud to work for a company that gives so much and cares so much. For those who have never worked at Wal-Mart, think about this.....You listen to what other people say, or what is said on the news and you ASSume that its all fact. If you don't know for sure, how can you judge? How can you make comments &/or remarks on something you know nothing about? I still shop at Albertsons & Reynolds for certain things that I need....I still spend my money locally just like all of my associates that I work with, Just like everyother person that lives and works in Miles City. Wal-Mart does'nt make a cappucino like I can get at Unique Creations, and I can't buy a new door or lumber at Wal-Mart like I can at Bloedorns. Wal-Mart can't fix my car like Cliff can at Silvas Garage or Jacks Body shop. Come on people, We are A Community trying to survive in a lagging ecomomy, We work where we work, we shop where we shop, we live where we live.
It chaps my hide when people put down the place that gives me a pay check to make ends meet...I would feel the same way now matter where I worked.

I have to agree with Terry. Even though I did not like some of the things that went on when I worked there I am still going to shop there. Almost everybody today is looking for a good deal and if you are like me you shop the ads or even do the foot work. For example I know that Reynolds usually has the greatest buys on potatoes and some of the conglomerate sales that Albertsons have are wonderful and Walmart has "Low Prices Everyday" on a lot of items.

As a current employee of Albertsons in a land far-far away...
You might be interested to know that there are two Albertsons. The company started in Boise and expanded to much of the western US. However, several years ago, they sold off most of the stores south of Wyoming to a group whose sole purpose is to sell those stores off in pieces or to close the less profitable stores and sell the assets (like Richard Gere in "Pretty Woman"). I was amazed to see that Albertsons has virtually taken over Billings in the last few years.

Aisle stacks. Here's some background. Corporate bargains with the vendors to feature their items in upcoming sales. Evey week each store receives (in addition to the items they order to refill the shelves) several pallets of sale items, some ordered by the store itself, some ordered by corporate for the store. Corporate specifies how/where the sales items are displayed, in the interest of consistency from store to store, and to fulfill contract terms made with the vendors. This often results in too much merchandise to display. Also, stores are under pressure to minimize the amount of merchandis stored in their backrooms. Aisle stacks are one tool that staff can use to placate corporate demands. I've seen corporate occasionally dictate that aisle stacks are forbidden and then reverse their orders in a few weeks. And sometimes they are helpful (for bulky items like water that is being sold below cost) for items that sell quickly. But everyone knows that they are hated.

Sorry to hear about your problem with the manager. At the two stores that I've worked at, the manager's are very hands on, walking the floor whenever they aren't busy with something critical, interacting with the customers, monitoring the condition of the store. I'm sure that it's pretty universal for all corporate chain grocery stores that the store managers are caught in impossible to perform expectations by their district management. They are never allowed the resources/manpower to do everything that is demanded. I was offered an asst. mgt position once and hurt their feelings by laughing out loud before I had a chance to catch myself. Every week, some snot-nosed college grad in corporate comes out with some new "plan" to improve operations, all of which are ridiculous.

I'm not impressed with most of the mgt I've met, but I am amazed at how much they do with the little they have to work with. They must just enjoy the challenge...that's the only reward they'll get.

I agree wholeheartedly Jim. It's the same at Wal-Mart as well. The Albertsons in Miles City is one that was bought by Supervalu. The Manager at this store is just a jerk. So many people that have worked there for years have left because he's just a big JERK. But I guess no matter where you work, there are "fresh out of college snot nosed brats" trying to assert there "little to NO" knowledge on us all...when really all we need is to be able to just do business the way we always have...to have the product stocked and give good customer service. May I add though....the customer service thing gets harder and harder...ecspecially when personel hires people, but those people would rather call in 3 out of 5 times per week, which causes the store to have less people to work to give good customer service...which in turn causes customers to get upset because the wait in the check out lines are long, all because we had 4 or 5 people call in sick....its a vicious circle. Those of us that have great work ethic, who are at work everyday, who come to work everyday on time are the ones who hear all the flack...it sucks, but its just the way it is these days...unfortunately!!!

I called there and talked to one of the "snot nosed college brats". He told me one of his great ideas was to get rid of some of the dead weight employees and try to drive them over to Walmart which would create an increase in the Albertson's bottom line while at the same time driving customers away from Walmart.

Oops!


FH

Thats funny...not too many ex Albertsons employees have come over to Walmart, and the ones who have, have been there for 2 or more years now...imagine that...so the dead weights that the snot nosed college brat says they got rid of did'nt go to work at Wal Mart!!!!! OOOOOO and believe me...Albertsons could NEVER take anything, including the bottom line, away from Wal-Mart