Discussions

I was in superstore today and counted roughly 150 people standing in line starting from the bakery waiting to pay for groceries . So what exactly is the reason for this as some person told me it was even worse yesterday. They have 13 available tils to take your money five of them were not operating . It’s getting close to Christmas time you would think the staff or management would know ahead of time that it could be very busy. People in some of these lines were complaining loudly some of them even arguing where the line originated . I finally just set my basket with 11 items down and left and went shopping somewhere else. This is not the first time I have encountered this situation in Superstore. I don’t mind shopping here because they have a lot of variety but I won’t anymore with all these lineups .

On the weekends, ALL lanes have to be open as per store policy. That's your best bet.  
 
As to the lineups, management is trying to get people to use the self-checkouts. Leaving tills empty is a deliberate thing to save money and cut jobs and hours.  
 
If you have an issue with the lineups, the best thing to do is complain to management. The cashiers and customer service people have no say in this and are just as frustrated.  
 
FWIW, my spouse works cash/customer service at Superstore, so I'm not just guessing here.

If you go at seven in the morning, they "might" have one till open, so again with a cart full of groceries you have to use self checkout, even when it is not busy.

The self check out line up was just as bad!

artsylikes said "The self check out line up was just as bad! "

Yes it was as I was there...so it doesn't make a difference as they are just as usy

I think self-bagging has a lot to do with it. That is the most annoying part for me, particularly with a big haul. How many bags ones needs (usually turns out to be 4 more than I do lol), and how to pack it all quickly. Cause the whole city all decided to pay at the same time.  
 
Yes, you bag you own at the self checkout too. But those transactions are almost always WAY smaller. A basket full VS a whole cart.  
 
I''m curious as to the point of not bagging the groceries, anyway. It''s certainly dosen''t help efficiency or consumer mindset. Particularly when everything goes 24 hours, the lineup is all way to the dairy, and another Christmas song will make you want to stuff that french bread into your ears.  
 
Cookie cutter retail music annoys me lol. I hear it 8 hours a day.  
 
Edited by Simonwalcal, 2018-12-07 19:27:28

I was there too this morning around 930. It was lined up. It is always pretty busy there unless you go in the mornings. I keep hoping Brandon will get a second store....to take the pressure off this one, offer more stock, and provide better parking. Even the gas station is busy and could expand or offer a second location. Up on the highway would be a great spot like other cities.

Superstore is an Awesome store the people are friendly and very helpful. The staff on the tills are overworked, cold and are standing for hours. They work constantly to make your visit enjoyable. Meanwhile you will notice too many full time mangers standing around and in customer service that could open a til and help more during rush periods. I will not ever use a self checkout as self checkouts do nothing for our economy they don''t pay or contribute to any social programs in Canada. And always remember never shoplift at Superstore their security is amazing. They do an awesome job. That is my Opinion. Thank You  
 
Edited by Dave Geo, 2018-12-08 07:43:39

Instead of bagging your items at the till, put it all back in your trolley and bag it at your vehicle.  
My big gripe is that they do not automatically run the conveyor, it is so irritating to have to try and hold the button in at the same time as getting items off.  
If I use a self checkout why do I have to put items on the platform, rather than back in the cart, when all I want to do is get out of the store as soon as possible.  
The whole system, in all the stores needs a drastic overhaul, small wonder people are shopping more on the web.

2 tills open right now lined up

My choice. Worth the extra $3-5 to not have to deal with the inside of SS.  
Small purchases? Go elsewhere.

to avoid the frustration at SStore is to shop elsewhere.  
 
While y'all were lined up Friday morning I went to another store,parked 3 stalls from the door,faced no lineups & even bought half my items at sale prices. This unnamed grocery store has no self checkouts & will even open more tills when necessary.  
Gofiggerit.

One thing that helps immediately is click and collect. Well worth the time saved at that store.  
 
Second, bigger and better solution, enter Costco.  
 
Brandon and surrounding community's are a huge population to serve. Costco should be here already in my opinion.

Dave Geo said "Superstore is an Awesome store the people are friendly and very helpful. The staff on the tills are overworked, cold and are standing for hours. They work constantly to make your visit enjoyable. Meanwhile you will notice too many full time mangers standing around and in customer service that could open a til and help more during rush periods. I will not ever use a self checkout as self checkouts do nothing for our economy they don''t pay or contribute to any social programs in Canada. And always remember never shoplift at Superstore their security is amazing. They do an awesome job. That is my Opinion. Thank You     Edited by Dave Geo, 2018-12-08 07:43:39"

My Superstore employee wife says thank you very much. She says it's nice to hear compliments instead of complaints for a change. Make sure that if someone goes out of their way to help you, tell a manager about it so that employee can be recognized.

happynana said "    artsylikes said "The self check out line up was just as bad! " Yes it was as I was there...so it doesn't make a difference as they are just as usy "

I was there around 1:45pm yesterday. Went through self checkout & only one ahead of me being used. By the time I was finished, people were lining up but that's because an awesome staff person was going to the line-ups & offering to people that there were self checkout's open.

IMO loblaws needs to open another store in Brandon to help with the increase in demand.  
 
We have 3 Sobeys/Safeway, that this city supports. We can support another supermarket no problem.

There are never enough tills open and the self checkouts are overloaded and very inefficient. Produce availability has been terrible. It's too bad because I love their points program but even that has been problematic lately.

It could be an awesome store, but I stopped going there because the parking lot is a nightmare, also their shopping carts. If Walmart, after customer complaints, can provide the small carts, why can't SS?  
Have started using the self-checkouts at Walmart and love them!

Is to stop shopping there. Yeah the prices are marginally better on most items but if you factor in the time it takes you to get through the store then wait in the checkout line, and finally trek all the way back to your car, Not to mention the insane parking lot traffic, dismal customer service. Unless your going in for a massive amount of groceries it doesn’t pay to set foot in the place. Same thing at wal-mart. There isn’t anything i need in there that I can’t find at sobeys or giant tiger in 1/10th of the time.

I do not like using self checkouts. All the stores in brandon have self checkouts now and i think it takes up more space than a regular checkout. I am no economist but if these stores keep going to self checkouts, people will be unemployed and have no money to spend in any store. Jobs will be hard to find and crime rates may go up and our taxes will go up because people will leave the city to find work. Let's stop using self checkouts and support the workers and not the pocketbooks of president's and CEO's of these companies. If the lineup at the checkout line is long maybe the manager will clue in or not. Canadian tire do not put self checkouts in maybe I can save one store from self checkouts.

I’m sure people do figure it out when they get there!! That time of year, busy busy !!

Iceman14 said "IMO loblaws needs to open another store in Brandon to help with the increase in demand.     We have 3 Sobeys/Safeway, that this city supports. We can support another supermarket no problem. "

Not another Superstore, was nosing around online and the average seems to be one for about every 100K people in the metropolitan area, not including outlying trading areas. For example, Winnipeg has roughly 800K people, and 8 Superstores. Saskatoon as ~250K, and 2 Superstores. Calgary, at 1.2 million, has 13 I believe it was.  
 
Now, if they could insert a No Frills or something similar, that might take off some of the demand. We spent a week in Saskatoon this summer, and while we did go to Superstore there we also went to the local No Frills close to where we were staying. Small, basic grocery store at Superstore prices. Where in Brandon I have no idea, but if something like that were around I would probably do at least some of my shopping there and save Superstore for those big stock up trips.

The Safeway in the corral centre is never busy and they have tellers. I actually drive from the south end to shop there because they have great produce and no lineups.

Abbysmum said "    Iceman14 said "IMO loblaws needs to open another store in Brandon to help with the increase in demand.     We have 3 Sobeys/Safeway, that this city supports. We can support another supermarket no problem. " Not another Superstore, was nosing around online and the average seems to be one for about every 100K people in the metropolitan area, not including outlying trading areas. For example, Winnipeg has roughly 800K people, and 8 Superstores. Saskatoon as ~250K, and 2 Superstores. Calgary, at 1.2 million, has 13 I believe it was.     Now, if they could insert a No Frills or something similar, that might take off some of the demand. We spent a week in Saskatoon this summer, and while we did go to Superstore there we also went to the local No Frills close to where we were staying. Small, basic grocery store at Superstore prices. Where in Brandon I have no idea, but if something like that were around I would probably do at least some of my shopping there and save Superstore for those big stock up trips. "

I agree NO Frills is needed in Brandon, and not another Superstore. Having said that No Frills is a franchise. So someone to cough up some serious cash in unlikely.  
 
The way I see it, if No Frills were to come to Brandon. It's a guarantee that it is going to do well.  
 
The former Sobeys location would be an excellent fit.

Online shopping is the way to go. I can buy all my weekly groceries without setting foot in the store. Takes me all of 10 minutes to drive there, park, and have my order brought out. Saves me an hour's worth of shopping/checkout.

The woman in the line-up ahead of us counted 53 people lined up, 3 check-outs open, self-check-out full and 16 people lined up for it. A tiny, elderly couple were in the line-up behind us and we had been standing in line for well over 20-minutes while we watched people come out of the aisles and cut into the lines ahead of us. The check-out that is for small items was closed and this couple only had 2 things in their basket. This is not right. If Superstore is going to treat their customers this way then they should put a barrier down that aisle next to the checkouts and make customers get into that area at one end, just like at the bank - stand in line, wait your turn. Not only that, but customers going from aisle to aisle couldn't because all these people with carts were in the way waiting to check-out.

A No Frills addition to Brandon may help to take some pressure off as someone said. Or how about a new location with more space to expand and park. Also on the current location it is the only place I feel unsafe as constantly bothered by panhandlers. I would and do shift my shopping to other places as a result of it being crazy busy and the safety aspect. I do like the stores offerings which keeps me coming back. I can see why click and collect popular for many but I like to browse things around the store.

I was in Superstore Friday at 4pm to about 5pm. The parking lot was busy, took my time, found a good space.  
The store was pretty busy, I''ve seen it worse, took my time, ambled through, looked at all the Christmas stuff, bought a pointsettia. I spoke to a few people, laughed about the romaine, had a few people speak to me. One nice man even heaved those heavy water bottle packages into my cart for me. There was lineups at the tills, picked one I thought would move, looked at all the headlines on the trashy magazines, people watched, and then it was my turn. The lady was nice and efficient, and I tried to bag my groceries as quickly and efficiently as possible. I pulled out of the way to bag my pointsettia, and away I went. I sold my cart for a loonie, so I didn''t even need to put it away.  
Everything is attitude. Decide to have a good day and you will.  
 
Edited by frivolouspink, 2018-12-09 12:20:26

that people can't be more thankful for what we have. There are millions of starving people in this world that would be so thankful to wait for hours and even days to get food for themselves and their starving children. All we seem to be able to do is complain and take things for granted.

The sooner they get rid of at least half of the regular chechouts the better. Just like parking lots where they are jammed seasonally or during the rest of the year full on weekends they are not a great use of space. If the manned tils are used occasionally fine. Use some more and double up on self check outs. Throw some stuff at them to bring the non users of these up from the dark ages. Just close a few tils that occasionally get used. Use the space during all hours the store is opened.Not just some.