Grocery Store

[Kisa the tea]

Like others I also don't do well with talking to grocery store staff. I will actively pull out my phone and search "what aisle is blank commonly in" instead of speak to someone. Both because I don't want to bother them and also because of not being comfortable with it myself. I much prefer self checkout because of this reason too. The person at the register usually asks "how are you" and I'm not sure how to answer, especially to someone I don't even know the name of so I just give a blank "fine" and move on to paying. I'm not good in situations like that.

I just want to buy food and leave.

 

[Princess Viola]

I will literally leave the store empty handed if I can't find what I want to get.

 

[Aspychata]

Aldi is easy to shop at. I can get in and out fast. Actually how fast l can park, how fast l can navigate the store, and how fast l can check out, and the amount of choices and quality of the food dictate my shopping habits. I started shopping at a India goods store, love the choices. Lots of things l have never seen before. Asian stores are great to shop at, and l am quite at home there. I also like some Hispanic stores, lots of great produce choices.

 

[Luca]

Thank you for understanding! This one seems to be especially friendly. I’ve been asked multiple times, “so what are you up to today?” This was always a hard question for me when I was depressed, on drugs, and suicidal. “Ummm…,” I would say, “not much today.”

That’s an odd question for a grocery cashier to ask. The ones here tend to just chatter about the products (“These are so good, you will love them,” “We just got a big shipment of these yesterday” etc.)
I’m sure they don’t mean it to be weird or offensive, that’s just how NTs make small talk, but it can definitely seem invasive (and it is.)

I don’t like being asked personal questions by strangers either, it makes me very nervous. If I lived in an urban area or something where I likely wouldn’t see the same people all the time, it might bother me less. But I do see the same people every day and I have kind of a “history” with the education system in my town so I would prefer to just never see these people again.

I lived here in high school, moved far away, and came back a few years ago. I think the people I went to school with have moved on, like I said, but it’s more their parents and my former teachers I’m worried about. Their parents being people that frequently called the school with complaints about me. I was not aware that I was doing anything wrong and it was a huge misunderstanding.

I love my house and I love the spacious open land and forest that I live on so I want to stay. But I don’t trust my neighbors or the townspeople whatsoever.

 

[Metalhead]

It is hard for me to go to my local Fred Meyer without smelling the deli fried chicken and getting an incurable craving.

 

[Princess Viola]

Grocery store clerk: Did you find everything you were looking for.

Me: (Internally) No I didn't I was looking for X, Y, Z and I didn't find them and I have serious trouble asking for help with finding something even though I really wanted to get these things but I'm not going to get them since I could not find them even though I wanted to them.

Me (Externally, aware that my internal thoughts are not how NTs act in this situation): Yes.

 

[AutistAcolyte]

floridian in los angeles, i miss publix (i used to get whatever pub sub was on sale for work and have half for lunch and half for dinner) but i've found a nice cheap chain here called grocery outlet bargain market.

 

[SusanLR]

Another Floridian here with a Publix close to home.
I try to shop late night, just before closing.
Where I'm moving to in a few weeks has a Publix just down the street.
So, it will still be Publix.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I like the products and the prices at Trader Joe’s, but I’m certain that the staff there are trained to be excessively friendly. They are very invasive and I think they are required to ask at least one personal question per transaction. Across the board, they make comments about what’s going into the bag and then ask a question about something personal. I stopped going there. Too much.

I hate when companies assume everyone likes things like this. Same with playing games at work trainings.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

I want to learn about other places people like to shop for their groceries around the world. Leave your favorite places to shop in the comments below!

I have no favourite; where I live, it's a monopoly and I work and shop at the same chain.

 

[Forest Cat]

I like the products and the prices at Trader Joe’s, but I’m certain that the staff there are trained to be excessively friendly. They are very invasive and I think they are required to ask at least one personal question per transaction. Across the board, they make comments about what’s going into the bag and then ask a question about something personal. I stopped going there. Too much.

That's one thing about stores here that is nice, people are usually quiet. The employees might say "Hi" as you walk past them but that's all they say. The other day I was at a store, there was maybe 15-20 people there and no one said anything. The store was very quiet and nice. When you get to the checkout to pay, they just say hi and ask if you want a bag and that's usually all they say.

 

[Outdated]

That's one thing about stores here that is nice, people are usually quiet. The employees might say "Hi" as you walk past them but that's all

It's the same here, most don't even speak, it's just a smile and a nod. We don't like being harassed by salespeople here, it's the quickest way to drive customers away.

 

[Mary Terry]

I'm not loyal to any particular store but I do have preferences.

I shop at Kroger most of the time. They have good quality meats and discounts on many things if you're a member, including gasoline. I buy fish and organic produce at Whole Foods (also known as Whole Paycheck) and buy whole coffee beans at The Fresh Market.

I also shop at the Asian store (bulk rice, noodles, produce, and intriguing Asian condiments), the local Mexican store (Mexican ingredients, dried beans, Mexican cheeses, and great produce), and local farm stands (in-season, fresh produce). I rarely go to Walmart unless I want to buy cheap plastic stuff made in China. If I run out of some small thing, I'll go to the local Dollar General just because it is closer than Kroger.

 

[Storm Hess]

Anywhere that delivers.

 

[Nervous Rex]

We shop at Smith's (also branded as Kroger's in some places).

I used to like shopping at Walmart, but since they got rid of cashiers and make everyone do their own checkout, I go less and less. If I only need a few items, I might go, but if I'm doing a major grocery run, I won't go to Walmart.

 

[Judge]

We shop at Smith's (also branded as Kroger's in some places).

I used to like shopping at Walmart, but since they got rid of cashiers and make everyone do their own checkout, I go less and less. If I only need a few items, I might go, but if I'm doing a major grocery run, I won't go to Walmart.

Rex! What's the deal about Smith's ? Do you simply walk in and sign up to become a "member" ? Are their prices relatively comparable to Walmart or Winco ?

I just saw one can sign up online. Haven't given Smith's any thought in years, but it's closer to me than Walmart.

Walmart becomes ever more stressful for me each year.

 

[autism-and-autotune]

That's one thing about stores here that is nice, people are usually quiet. The employees might say "Hi" as you walk past them but that's all they say. The other day I was at a store, there was maybe 15-20 people there and no one said anything. The store was very quiet and nice. When you get to the checkout to pay, they just say hi and ask if you want a bag and that's usually all they say.

Ah, this sounds relatively like heaven to me! Especially if I was the one cashing people out.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Rex! What's the deal about Smith's ? Do you simply walk in and sign up to become a "member" ? Are their prices relatively comparable to Walmart or Winco ?

Walmart becomes ever more stressful for me each year.

Smith's has loyalty cards like everywhere else. When you're at the register, either they'll ask if you want to get a card or you can ask them how to sign up. We did it right at the register (it takes a few minutes), but I bet you could do it at the customer service desk, too.

Prices are pretty reasonable - cheaper than Albertson's and comparable to Raley's and Safeway. One feature that I really like is their periodic "Case Lot Sale", where they sell entire cases of something (beans, corn, sugar - usually staples like that). We get large quantities of food for very cheap during the Case Lot Sales.

Money saving tricks with loyalty cards:

The card gets you a discount on gas at the Smith's gas pumps. It's usually in increments of 10 cents per gallon and it's limited to something like 50 gallons at a time, so if we have a large discount built up (like 30, 40 or 50 cents off), my wife and I will fill both of our cars up in the same transaction.

Our neighbors use another trick: They buy $100 gift cards at Smith's and use them to put gas in their cars. It doesn't save them any money on gas, but buying the cards through Smith's gets them free loyalty points and discounts later.

 

[Judge]

Smith's has loyalty cards like everywhere else. When you're at the register, either they'll ask if you want to get a card or you can ask them how to sign up. We did it right at the register (it takes a few minutes), but I bet you could do it at the customer service desk, too.

Prices are pretty reasonable - cheaper than Albertson's and comparable to Raley's and Safeway. One feature that I really like is their periodic "Case Lot Sale", where they sell entire cases of something (beans, corn, sugar - usually staples like that). We get large quantities of food for very cheap during the Case Lot Sales.

Money saving tricks with loyalty cards:

The card gets you a discount on gas at the Smith's gas pumps. It's usually in increments of 10 cents per gallon and it's limited to something like 50 gallons at a time, so if we have a large discount built up (like 30, 40 or 50 cents off), my wife and I will fill both of our cars up in the same transaction.

Our neighbors use another trick: They buy $100 gift cards at Smith's and use them to put gas in their cars. It doesn't save them any money on gas, but buying the cards through Smith's gets them free loyalty points and discounts later.

Thanks. Already there to see that it works identically to Safeway. A big "ouch" though if their prices are comparable to Safeway and Raley's. Which remain absurdly expensive compared to Walmart. Still, they may carry different food products than other places.

By chance do you know who refines their gasoline? I know with Safeway it's Tesoro.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Thanks. Already there to see that it works identically to Safeway. A big "ouch" though if their prices are comparable to Safeway and Raley's. Which remain absurdly expensive compared to Walmart.

By chance do you know who refines their gasoline? I know with Safeway it's Tesoro.

I don't know who refines their gasoline. I found this answer on the Google: Smith's Gas Supplier
It basically says that different Smith's stores may use different suppliers, many use Shell, and Smith's can change suppliers every year.

If you want cheaper groceries, Grocery Outlet and WinCo are the best.

We stopped going to WinCo when our kids were small because it's hard to bag your own groceries while tending toddlers, but our kids are older now and we recently rediscovered WinCo. I was blown away by how cheap stuff is there. Also, I love all WinCo's bulk foods.