Odd Notes from a Trip to Ralphs

OK, we must have been there at the same time! I also could not exit on Flower, had the wheels mysterious freeze up so I had to drag my cart by its back wheels to my car, and experienced service so slow at the deli counter that I finally left in disgust after observing at least 8 employees standing around, chatting about movies and other non-work-related stuff while customers waited in a long line for service with just two people helping them. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience, all-in-all. And my last complaint - couldn’t they validate for at least 2 hours instead of 90 minutes? Given the long lines and slow service, it’s actually not always easy to get out of there in 90 minutes, especially if you actually might want to buy a cup of coffee or lunch and sit for a little while!

that’s happened to me twice! the minute i roll the cart onto the elevator, the wheels lock and i’m spewing obscenities like a drunken sailor on shore leave, dragging the damn cart to the car.

i was in the meat section one night when i noticed i was standing in a pool of water. that whole corner of the store was flooded and no one answered the call for assistance for 20 minutes.

that said, that ralphs is still chock full of hot people.

I hate to admit it, but I’ve had one bad experience after another. If it’s not expired food, it’s an attitude from the parking attendant for going over the 90 minute parking limit-gimme a break after spending $300 on groceries. I have purchased items that weren’t put in my bags, and was even told by a manager that I couldn’t exchange bills for quarters because “they ran out” (excuse me-how could a store of this caliber run out of quarters?). On a positive note, it’s a market, and it’s in downtown (and it’s gorgeous inside).

I go back and forth between Whole Foods and TJ’s. In the meantime, I have heard rumors of a Whole Foods coming to downtown.

Penelope,

Whole Foods is “confirmed” for the LA Central project at 11th and Figueroa. I quote “confirmed” because nothing is ever set in stone. But that’s the plan…

Yeah, the service sucks at the deli, my cart froze up last week (that thing is a bitch to drag to your car), and to top it off, one box of prepared food was nasty expired. Nasty, folks.

That said, we have a MARKET downtown. Woooohoooooo!

Hopefully, someone from management is reading this and taking notice. The kinks will be worked out eventually, especially as more markets open downtown and there is competition (probably many years away, no?). They won’t be able to take the customers for granted when the others set up shop - Whole Foods, TJ’s, Erewon (please!!), Dean and Deluca (just kidding, but man, would that be great or what?).

And before someone goes off, I do like the markets that were already downtown like Grand Central. It’s just nice to have a market with prepared food (except when it’s nasty expired).

i really cant believe people drive there. every time a cashier asks me if i need a validation, i think they’re making fun of me. “yeah i REALLY actually drove here. i also took a helicopter to the bathroom”

I got stuck in that line in the parking garage on Sunday, too.

Also, I was the dope who took out the bamboo plants with my shopping cart. To contain the leaking water, a trash container was positioned to catch. Alas, this made the aisle quite tight. In my haste, I sideswiped the display. Massive damage with lots of smashed glass. Most embarassing.

Brian–we aren’t getting a Dean and Deluca (I’ve never been to one) but I understand we’re supposed to get something similar in the Brockman Building (DT News compared the new restaurant/market to a Dean and Deluca). That is, if they ever actually finish constructing the Brockman…

Luckily I haven’t had most of the problems talked about here but I have had my own set of “inconveniences”:

• Deli Service was slow

• Every time I ask them to toast the sandwich I get it back luke-warm on the outside and cold on the inside.

• The checkout lines in the evening are really long and move very slowly. Would it kill them to keep the self-checkout area open or open up a couple more checkout lanes?

And they close the Hope Street entrance early in the morning. It’s not fun backing the car up that steep ramp! The lot’s not THAT big….