Libriomancer t1_iz50i9l wrote on December 6, 2022 at 3:09 PM

Reply to comment by Unique-Public-8594 in Anybody else hoping Market Basket comes to Vermont? by Unique-Public-8594

I feel like a lot of this is very store dependent which kind of defeats a single study. For instance, we live within driving distance of a Market Basket and don't shop there because their meat selection is really poor compared to an equal distance Price Chopper. It is better than the in-town Price Chopper but that isn't a high hurdle.

If we go to my hometown, Price Chopper has run just about every brand of grocery store out of town. Price Chopper has been there for years and there was a rotation through just about every other type of store as they would open then closed down within a few years. Near where my wife grew up, Hannafords and Price Chopper are on near equal footing. Town where my friends grew up, Shaws has reigned supreme for a couple decades with other stores closing.

So yeah.... this really feels like a Market Basket ad whereas the few Market Baskets I have not lived up that type of reputation. It really doesn't feel like the others have universal quality issues, but instead it is mostly centered around leadership and market positioning. The Price Chopper we primarily shop at? Got a really good location so it is the go-to for a good chunk of the area compared to the Hannafords and Shaws in the same town, the Market Basket is in a less trafficked town in the opposite direction. As long as management at the Price Chopper doesn't let quality slip... not likely Market Basket would make a dent in the established area.

syphax t1_iz5xyj4 wrote on December 6, 2022 at 6:48 PM

So to take the counter argument, though not all MB’s are universally great, I’d go to the worst MB I know of over the best Price Chopper I’ve ever been in. No contest. Better quality, selection, staff, ambiance.

Libriomancer t1_iz5zs3m wrote on December 6, 2022 at 6:59 PM

Right which is a bit proving my point that it’s based on the store. I don’t know the Price Choppers you’ve been in but the ones we’ve hit have ranged from “okay if you just need a jug of milk” to “where we get 90% of our food”. I’ve probably only been in a handful of Market Baskets but all of them have been subpar compared to the handful of Price Choppers I’ve consistently used over the years (but better than dozens of others I’ve been in for “grabbing milk”).

I’ve got 1 Market Basket in driving distance and I’d rate it a 6/10. I’ve got 4 Price Choppers and it’d be an 8, a 6, and a couple 5s. That being said, the “8” where we get the best experience is even just for 90% of the groceries only because they have a wider variety of stuff we are used to buying but we will do occasional meat/produce runs to the coop because it’s better still in those regards.