Fareway ???

[CYdTracked]

I worked both at a local non-chain grocery store and multiple Hy-Vee stores through HS and college and both places had a policy that you were not to accept tips at all. Any service such as pushing a cart out and loading groceries into a car is just part of the customer service the store provides and was not intended as a way to gain tips.

 

[Clonedogg]

I do tip "barbettes" ladies at cost cutters. I don't tip for one beer either I usually wait till I get my 2nd. I never tip at dairy queen, they don't get less pay based on tips like a waitress. Yes I also think tip jars everywher are a racket, I'm gettn fired up just thinking about it!

 

[CYdTracked]

I also hate tip jars at wedding receptions. They had a tip jar at my wedding reception and I had them take it down. We had an open bar all night and we were already tipping them plenty. I didn't want my guests to pay anything.

I hear you on that, we already were getting nailed for 18% gratuity on the kegs which were already over priced so they cost us nearly $200 a keg by the time they added all the taxes and gratuity to the already inflated price. If someone wanted to tip for liquour which was cash bar, I didn't care but I made a point to tell people not to tip for the beer and wine we provided because they were already taking home a nice profit on that without additional tips.

 

[dmclone]

I worked in the grocery business for a long time and here are a few of my feelings.

Forget prices-They are so close on most things that it doesn't matter. If you really want to save money use coupons. It's more important to find a store you like and stick with it. What I found was that the grocery stores in DM were really close in prices but places like Target/Wal-mart were all over the map. On some things (loss leaders) they would be supper cheap while on other things they would be a lot more expensive.

Go to a store that's busy. They have good product turnover. You'd be surprised how long some of those items sit on the shelf and no they don't get rotated unless they are perishable.

Check your receipt. If it's wrong talk to the Assistant manager (aka shift manager) and get the item for free.

Meat dept.-Fareway's generally have good meat departments but you can get the same quality at Hy-Vee. The key is to shop during the day when there are meat cutters available if you want something special. After 4pm at Hy-Vee they usually have an idiot working that isn't allowed to cut meat. I think Fareway is more inclined to have an actual meat cutter at night.

You'll also see a range in prices between different stores in the same chain.

 

[bos]

I do tip occasionally at Coldstone and you better bet I make them sing to me.

 

[Frak]

My GF pretty much never shopped at Fareway until she began going with me. Now she doesn't want to shop anywhere else. The Fareway in Somerset is great.

Agree on the north Ames Fareway. Nice store and great addition to the area. Cub Foods can't be liking it much.

I can't wait to get that Casey's in there.

 

[CYdTracked]

Meat dept.-Fareway's generally have good meat departments but you can get the same quality at Hy-Vee. The key is to shop during the day when there are meat cutters available if you want something special. After 4pm at Hy-Vee they usually have an idiot working that isn't allowed to cut meat. I think Fareway is more inclined to have an actual meat cutter at night.

You'll also see a range in prices between different stores in the same chain.

I worked mainly in the meat dept. at every store I worked at and it depends on the store. Some of the busy Hy-Vee's would have a full time meat cutter there till 8 or 9pm usually for special requests and also in charge of the evening cleanup shift. Smaller stores may not though. I used to think Hy-Vee was just as good as Fareway for meat but unless you are going to one of the bigger busy stores their full service cases aren't as good anymore since all their self serve is all pre-pack now. Not a fan of the pre-pack for some things, the cutters just do a much better job and you have to pick and choose through the pre-pack to find some decent cuts sometimes. Fareway is all full service case so I lean towards them having the best meat in town now.

If you want a good way to save money, Fareway usually sells whole beef and pork loins at a discount and will usually cut it the way you like for no extra charge. Keep an eye on their ads but you can also just ask at the counter what a whole loin costs. Sometimes they are $1.00 or more less per pound than what the single cuts in the case are depending on what their costs for them are at the time since meat prices flucuate quite a bit. You can ask at the counter at Hy-Vee too but unless the manager is around you may not get as good of a discount. I think most meat departments will give you some kind of price break on a whole loin because they'd rather take the bulk sale over you just buying a couple of cuts out of the case. Since I have some expirience cutting, I usually just take the whole uncut loin home and cut it myself so I can cut it exactly how I want it and not waste some of the trimmings which I just use for stir fry meat.

 

[tman24]

I used to do price comparisons in the Des Moines area for Hy-Vee and if you stick in the aisles (not deli, bakery, etc) all the stores are VERY close in price overall. Were talking $1 or $2 per $100 and it can go either way. With that being said, Dahls was most expensive, then Hy-Vee, and Fareway was usually the cheapest but it really depended on what you bought. Also found that many of the the Fareways were also the dirtiest.

Thats part of the reason I dont like to go to Fareways.

 

[CykoAGR]

I worked mainly in the meat dept. at every store I worked at and it depends on the store. Some of the busy Hy-Vee's would have a full time meat cutter there till 8 or 9pm usually for special requests and also in charge of the evening cleanup shift. Smaller stores may not though. I used to think Hy-Vee was just as good as Fareway for meat but unless you are going to one of the bigger busy stores their full service cases aren't as good anymore since all their self serve is all pre-pack now. Not a fan of the pre-pack for some things, the cutters just do a much better job and you have to pick and choose through the pre-pack to find some decent cuts sometimes. Fareway is all full service case so I lean towards them having the best meat in town now.

If you want a good way to save money, Fareway usually sells whole beef and pork loins at a discount and will usually cut it the way you like for no extra charge. Keep an eye on their ads but you can also just ask at the counter what a whole loin costs. Sometimes they are $1.00 or more less per pound than what the single cuts in the case are depending on what their costs for them are at the time since meat prices flucuate quite a bit. You can ask at the counter at Hy-Vee too but unless the manager is around you may not get as good of a discount. I think most meat departments will give you some kind of price break on a whole loin because they'd rather take the bulk sale over you just buying a couple of cuts out of the case. Since I have some expirience cutting, I usually just take the whole uncut loin home and cut it myself so I can cut it exactly how I want it and not waste some of the trimmings which I just use for stir fry meat.

When I worked in the Meat Dept at Fareway we ALWAYS had a full-time person there during store hours. The full timers were experienced enough to cut you whatever you asked for.

I am biased but if I buy meat it is usually at Fareway. you can pick and choose every steak/chop/chicken boob to your liking at any hour, no worries about what the bottom steak looks like in a package of three. Again I am biased but I think overall Fareway has the best meat in town!

 

[clone52]

I'm a tight *** so I try to avoid tipping when possible. That said when I go to a restaraunt I tip very well if the service is ok.

I do not tip cabbies (on the rare occasion that I ride in one) much if any. Those shuttle bus drivers at the airport=no tip.
It pisses me off to see tip jars nearly everywhere you go anymore from subway to starbucks. I realize that these people dont make alot of money and the high prices for the products are not going in the employee's pockets (directly anyway) but c'mon if you are not making enough money go get a freakin hair cut, put down your cell phone for more than two seconds at a time and get a job somewhere else.

You sound like a gem.

 

[Wesley]

I worked mainly in the meat dept. at every store I worked at and it depends on the store. Some of the busy Hy-Vee's would have a full time meat cutter there till 8 or 9pm usually for special requests and also in charge of the evening cleanup shift. Smaller stores may not though. I used to think Hy-Vee was just as good as Fareway for meat but unless you are going to one of the bigger busy stores their full service cases aren't as good anymore since all their self serve is all pre-pack now. Not a fan of the pre-pack for some things, the cutters just do a much better job and you have to pick and choose through the pre-pack to find some decent cuts sometimes. Fareway is all full service case so I lean towards them having the best meat in town now.

If you want a good way to save money, Fareway usually sells whole beef and pork loins at a discount and will usually cut it the way you like for no extra charge. Keep an eye on their ads but you can also just ask at the counter what a whole loin costs. Sometimes they are $1.00 or more less per pound than what the single cuts in the case are depending on what their costs for them are at the time since meat prices flucuate quite a bit. You can ask at the counter at Hy-Vee too but unless the manager is around you may not get as good of a discount. I think most meat departments will give you some kind of price break on a whole loin because they'd rather take the bulk sale over you just buying a couple of cuts out of the case. Since I have some expirience cutting, I usually just take the whole uncut loin home and cut it myself so I can cut it exactly how I want it and not waste some of the trimmings which I just use for stir fry meat.

Glad to hear your comments. Can you confirm that the quality of meat is probably the best in a grocery store? One item that I have been buying lately is Amana Natural beef which uses the minimal amount of "additions" to get it to market.

 

[TxCycloneFan]

On a related note, who else do you tip? Do you tip your barber, dog groomer, things like that. I don't but my wife does. We have a service business and I don't expect tips. If I wanted more money I would change for it and that's my thought process on servie type jobs. I will tip waitress, bartender, etc

I tip my wife.

 

[brianhos]

Fareway is great if you want to buy expired food.

 

[brianhos]

Agree on the north Ames Fareway. Nice store and great addition to the area. Cub Foods can't be liking it much.

I can't wait to get that Casey's in there.

Cub foods has to be the most expensive grocery store in Iowa. We were there this last weekend, hotdogs that were $2.49 at the ankeny super target were $5.50 at cubs. I could not believe it.

 

[cyrevkah]

As far as meat departments go....

Due to a schedule chage I've been buying at HyVee lately. There are only two of us so I buy groceries weekly. I asked for a 1/2 pound of roast cut for me. The package he grabbed was close to two. I was expecting him to slice only a pound and package it for me, but he sliced the entire thing.....where as at Fareway they would only give me the amount I asked for and at least act happy to do it for me instead of grudingly do it.

 

[ddisu]

I tip my wife.

Me too, and my wife also.

 

[Ames]

I must be the only one that doesn't like Fareway. Fareway never seems to have what I want, HyVee has a liquor store with a good selection, HyVee takes AmEx, HyVee is open at midnight or Sunday or whatever weird time I feel like shopping.

 

[CYdTracked]

Glad to hear your comments. Can you confirm that the quality of meat is probably the best in a grocery store? One item that I have been buying lately is Amana Natural beef which uses the minimal amount of "additions" to get it to market.

The best meat you'll ever get is probably from a local meat locker but they all probably have their own practices of what they will actually sell you. Luckily my wife's family sends several home raised steers to the locker every year so every 2 years we buy a 1/4 of beef and usually wind up buying some extra steaks since you only get so much of each and I'd rather have more steaks than roasts. The ground beef is much better too, seems leaner and tastes better to me at least. The ground beef you get at the store is usually a mix of beef trimmings left over from what they cut and some pre-ground beef so their 80/85/90% lean etc. isn't usually that consistent based on what kind of trim they have in that tub.

As for pork, I don't really think there is much difference between stores, just have to be careful picking out stuff that looks fresh and is fairly lean.

One thing I will warn you on though are the seasoned "manager's special" deals you may see sometimes where they have usually some kind of BBQ or all purpose seasoning already on the meat usually at a discount price. A lot of times that is older meat about to go past shelf life and the season is covering up the color that shows that the meat is not exactly as fresh as the stuff that was just cut that day. Especially with pork, its covering up color that is looking more green than pink or with beef browning instead of red. It's not always that way, I know they sometimes season just for variety but take a close look before you buy something and look at the date on the price tag because usually if its seasoned and cheaper than the regular unseasoned cut it's older meat.

 

[dmclone]

Glad to hear your comments. Can you confirm that the quality of meat is probably the best in a grocery store? One item that I have been buying lately is Amana Natural beef which uses the minimal amount of "additions" to get it to market.

Last time I checked, Amana beef is choice which is the same stuff that Fareway uses.

 

[jay moe]

Greatest store ever.....but

Do you tip the kids who walk your groceries to the car?

I have always wanted to but never have. Need some help from my CF friends.

Thanks!

I love the meat counter, lots to choose from.