WinCo Foods

The prices may be really great but the service in this place is not good at all there's eight people in every line only four lines open and nobody from the management team will come to help on the registers. People work in the registers are moving like molasses. Maybe that's how they keep the prices low.

Low prices for low quality.
Be careful of multiple ringups for one item. Check your receipts no really check them.
Be careful of expiration dates. Check the dates if you can. They can be out of date or possibly reworked or smudged out.
Asking for help or if help is offered turns out to be pointless. Customer service is problematic for the workers there. Being a step up from dollars stores doesn't justify their attitude.

Winco's website's search engine/platform is terrible. You can't find a thing you're searching for. I've tried to find stuff on their website since October of 2021, and even in February 2022. I still can't find anything I'm searching for.

So I spend $63 in groceries on April 30th 2020. And I have a cashier argue with me about whether I'll use to bag three bags or four bags for bag credit. Apparently they're told by management to decide how many bags the customer can use. I don't think a cashier should argue in about one bag. I've been in there before and I had an attitude from cashiers expressly the new cashiers what you seem to have a turnover on. And I had one episode I got overcharged for water and they gave me a hard time because I didn't like being overcharged to water. So apparently a management at the WinCo or waremart in Independence Oregon does not hire cashiers that have any sort of respect for the customers and don't seem to care if they have a job or not. Since the customer does support their job. So because this I go to the store less often, unless I really feel like I need to

Because the Winco in north Spokane is not far from my home and on a route I take frequently, I stop there 4-5 times per week for small purchases. Overall, I find the selection good, the stocking good, the prices generally lower than any other grocery in the area (even Walmart, and WAY lower than the Albertson's and Safeway stores). In particular, produce (packaged or in bulk) as well as most fresh meats and frozen vegetables are all generally less expensive here.

I also find the quality, yes including the produce to be good, although if the produce is bulk and not packaged, I do pick through it before it goes into my basket.

The best time to go is between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. After that, it gets crowded, but MOSTLY at checkout. Checkout here can be nightmarish, with unbelievably long lines. The cashiers are, for the most part, very courteous and pleasant, but there are way more checkout stands than employees manning them.

Which brings me to my biggest gripe and why I am beginning to hate going there. Their "self-checkout" is poorly designed and equipped. There are 4 checkouts for debit card only (no credit cards, no cash) and 3 checkouts that are cash OR (debit) card "only"). I and a lot of other people use only cash (some don't have or can't get bank accounts). Unfortunately, on any given day (remember, I stop there for SMALL purchases 4-5 times per week) at least 1 of the 3 cash machines is out of service, and generally, just while I am waiting, issues arise with the other 2, requiring an employee to help.

There are soooo many problems with that. First, having some but not complete knowledge about it, I assume the NCR equipment there is leased, that there is a maintenance and service contract attached, that the contract was "low bid," and that the servicing company is over-committed elsewhere or just doesn't care. After all, these are Winco's customers, not NCR's.

As a customer, it also appears to me that leadership in Winco couldn't give a hoot about their own employees, much less the customers. You can see it in their faces at self-checkout. They are stressed, unhappy, and have been the recipient of complaints (like mine) hundreds of times in a week.

They really need more "self-checkout" lanes (including for "cash only,") if they care about their customers AND their employees, and get a BETTER contractor.

I place the blame for every thing that is wrong in any company directly on the leaders/management. I was one for many years. Believed it then, believe it now.

I do shop a small amount here but only for certain things because of cost. I do like their product over Walmart it tends to be cheaper and I like their bulk for peanuts and sunflower seeds in the shell. Their dairy dept is not bad comparable. But for what I normally buy in the grocery dept most is more expensive. So I do the majority of my shopping elsewhere. I never recommend Winco to anyone only because I believe they are more expensive in the long run.

I have typically been shopping here for 10 years, but rethinking things as I went to my coupon account with Winco and they now want my cell # in order for the coupon download. I don't believe it was like that previously. I contacted the company a few times via their website/email, I have gotten a response indicating they are looking into it and that is it. I tried opening a new account, entered a land line, indicated I would skip the mobile phone entry, and then it mandates a cell phone for a code to be entered online. Really? Mandating a cell phone number for coupons? Why do they want that? Many people are not going to do that and many dont have cell phones and some don't text... so instead of sending a code to your email address which is your log in, they want your cell phone...

One negative I have found in the store is that one better check the dates for things like yougurt and other perishables. Sometimes the date is past or very close to the date of purchase - and I can't eat a quart of yogurt in a few days...