Loblaws & Grocery Shopping [General]

2008 Feb 14
The postings about Loblaws have gotten interesting, so I thought we might continue here.

I shop at Loblaws primarily because it is convenient and has a lot of selection.

It looks like others here have encountered different issues than I have had with Loblaws. (I'm talking just Loblaws here, not other stores that are part of the Loblaws chain such as Real Canadian SuperStore).

My biggest gripe has been freshness, not selection / stocking issues. (If one is comparing freshness to say my local Farm Boy).

In the burbs the Loblaws stores that I frequent seem to have a better selection than say the local Independent or Sobeys. Part of that is because of the Presidents Choice line. And certainly better freshness than the latest arrival of discount stores such as Food Basics, Price Chopper etc. So for me it is the best choice for me out of all the chains.

I can't say I've found issue with things being out of stock, although I can't comment on the "weekly specials" because I'm at a point in my life with the kids gone, that I don't watch the flyers as closely as I once did. I generally now just go in and get whatever it is I need or want.

As I said I shop at Loblaws mostly out of convenience and overall price. I know I make some trade-offs for this convenience. And I have to be alert about freshness (because you can find items that are past dated) so I check expiry dates on dairy, fresh packed goods like cheese and bread, and am very picky about the pre-packed meats in the butchery area. And since the "sushi incident" I avoid fresh fish & seafood at Loblaws, because I know that these items are more prone to being off by being mishandled / stored. Picking thru produce is fairly easy (although I'm amazed how many people just take the first thing and put it in their shopping cart... hence I don't end up with those pasty white tomatoes that Marno mentioned, and yes I have see them. To me they just seem to be part of the large chain grocery experience... I figure that is because so much of our produce is shipped here by truck from the southern USA, Mexico and South America). That said, though I haven't encountered any mouldy or rotting produce (perhaps the staff at my store does a good job sorting... or perhaps the food doesn't have time to sit on the shelf very long... they seem to be restocking all day long, and the store is always busy). Only occasionally have I seen outages... most often around a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas, when say they may sold-out of fresh cranberries in the day or two before the holiday.

Could it be possible that the Loblaws stores in the suburbs (Barrhaven, Kanata, Orleans) get more attention than say the urban ones? Has anyone enough experience at both to see a difference? Are their differences between the small, medium and large stores (large ones like College Square, Barrhaven, etc). I personally know there are enough differences between Loblaws and the Real Canadian Superstore, that in my opinion, they are indeed two different retailers.

2008 Feb 14
We shop there for convenience since we live near the one in Westboro, but we're getting ever less stuff there.

For meat, we get all of our beef from 2 different local farmers.
Most of our pork from 1. And looking for chicken (actually, our CSA guy is going to start up chicken soon).

In season, we are members of a CSA and shop at the Parkdale Market since we live right next to it. In the fall we also can a lot of veggies to get through the winter.

For many items we shop through a buying club of the Ontario Natural Foods Coop. They actually supply most of the local health food stores so you can get most of the stuff at much cheaper prices (if you are willing to put up with the royal PITA which is the ONFC). Many natural and organic items can be bought through them for cheaper than the non-organic equivalent at Loblaws.

Veggies - the wife goes to Produce Depot.

For prices on general groceries, we shop at Costco for whatever we can get that does not fit into the above.

So we end up at Loblaw's these days (I don't notice a big difference between them and Superstore other than all the extra crap at the Superstore) for not much. It seems mainly rolled oats, and other things that we realise last-minute that we are out of and don't feel like going further away. Juice, veggies, whatever.

Though tomorrow we are heading out to www.mountainpath.com/ and will be buying huge sack (25kg or so) of rolled oats and maybe flour and a few other things like that. We already get great flour through the ONFC but it should be cheaper here, and it's local.

Oh, speaking of all the extra crap at the Superstore, and since someone mentioned in the 'buzz' about ethnic stuff, my wife mentioned last night that the selection of ethnic stuff at the Westboro superstore went way down when they renovated a while back and put in those extra aisles of non-food stuff in the middle. She said she can no longer get her Indian spices there for one, and now gets them in Chinatown.

2008 Feb 14
Does anyone remember the Greening of Bla-Bla's and the Great Canadian Stuporstore rant;

ottawafoodies.com

I very ocasionally go to the StuperStore in Westboro. Probably because I'm having to pick up my booze at the new Big Box LCBO. The one that replaced my neigbourhood LCBO in Hintonburg.

The last time I was there, I remember the 4.7 Km hike from the parking lot to the milk showcase. Past all the kids underwear, past the snowshovels, past the home decor stuff etc. etc..... just to get to the milk.

Bla-blas' is slipping ..... big time.... Their performace as a company is falling. $75 per share in Oct 2005 to $30 now. And I didn't even look at their earnings.

stocks.us.reuters.com

They even are introdung their own line of clothing.

www.retailwire.com

They are to name the clothing line, 'Joe Fresh' ... Huh ?? Sounds like a pair of clean boxer shorts to me.

I guess thay had to have an answer for the Board Members question: "What are you going to do about Wal-Mart getting into the grocery business in Canada?"

Bring back Dave Nicols.... that's what I say.

I get my meat mostly at LOEB. I noticed that the meat deals at the StuperStore are usually USDA inspected Cryo-Vac meat, dumped from those mega-feed lots in the US. mmmmm growth hormones, steroids, and antibotics mmmmm



PS: When I finally got my milk, I decided to try the new PC Butter Chicken.

What a disappointment. Super-processed pre-cooked chicken chunks (that were fluffy?) in a frozen sauce (That is to say the meat was not even cooked in the sauce).

Even with all the thickeners, and not much much real cream, the sauce was still thin and soupy. Poor chicken to sauce ratio. Even the customer feedback on the Loblaws website, clearly stated that there was way more sauce than chicken.

The taste was almost OK. I dared not read the ingredients list... I was scared to see if there was artificial flavours. Yeeesh.




2008 Feb 14
I've never been impressed with Loblaws too much. The focus on good, fresh food has been lost, and now they focus on... well... lots of non-food stuff! I mean, they sell motor oil and children's clothes now.

That said, I'm a major fan of Produce Depot for veg & fruit. They get surprisingly good fish there from time to time as well.

For meat, I buy direct from local farmers when possible. I don't have a deep freezer so buying wholesale isn't a possibility for me.

2008 Feb 15
I sent Inge van den Berg, Vice President, Investor Relations at Blah-Blah's an email through the Loblaw (not Loblaw's) corporate website.

I basically asked why should I invest in Blah-Blah's, given the fact their share price went from 75 bucks to 30 (now) in 2.5 years. Let alone bring up their earnings. I also passed on some comments from the forums found on Ottawa Foodies, to let him/her know what customers are saying about Laoblaw's. I told him these are comments from 'the street'.

I'll let you know if he/she responds.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wow just look at them with their PC Food , PC Home, PC Finacial, PC Mobile, and PC Points.

The PC Food includes the following lines of products: Great Food , Blue Menu, Mini Chefs, and PC Organics.

Are they not stretching themselves a bit thin ? Even Wal-Mart doesn't offer Financial services.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oh yes, one more thing, I looked at a recent PC flyer, and found a new Mini Chefs product. DEEP FRIED MACARONI AND CHEESE, aimed at kids.

www.presidentschoice.ca

Go figure. There is only one customer review from a mom, and she states that the nutritional information on the website does not agree with the product box. The website says 180 calories and 2g fat, while the box says 220 calories and 8g fat (per 4 'nuggets'/100g). Is over 0.5g sodium per 100g high ? I don't know.

But what I do know is that marketing fat,salt and sugar (the website suggests dipping the nuggets in sugar ladden ketchup)to kids works ... look at McDonald's etc.

The name 'MiniChefs' .... does that imply that we can turn our children into mini-chefs by teaching them how to reheat PC products?

Oh Boy...








2008 Feb 15
75 to 30 in 2.5 years eh?

Hmmmm, sounds like PRECISELY the time to buy, to be honest :-) Of course their PE is 26 which is not so great - sounds like they could have further to fall.

2008 Feb 15
I used to frequent the Loblaws on Eagleson before they closed and opened the big Superstore down the road. The problem I found the most was the inconsistency of what I could and could not find. The issue is still there with the superstore. The worst example I can give of this is herbs. I can go one week and get basil, thyme, mint, chives, etc, and the next not be able to find any of them, or merely one or two limp packages of chives that are well past their prime.

While I do enjoy several of the PC brand products, and find it convenient to do nearly one-stop shopping, the unavailability of regular products was driving me nuts. I decided to make it two-stop shopping now, I get everything I can at my local Farm Boy, then stop by the Superstore later and get whatever I can't get at Farm Boy, such as diapers, and various non-food items. I have to say I've been much happier with both the availability and freshness at FB, and I'd much rather give my money to a locally owned and run company.

2008 Feb 15
Hmmm, I'll have to drop into Farm Boy sometime - especially since it's on the way to Costco. Maybe I can cut Loblaw's out completely.

2008 Feb 15
My wife said that the price at Loblaws is normally higher (exept for the on sale items). We do most of our grocery at Farm Boy and bascially we are not frequent customers of Loblaws or Sobeyes. We can always get fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, good quality meat from Farm Boy.

2008 Feb 15
I'm not a fan of the Loblaws either....the stores are too big! It takes too long to find things when I'm just in to pick up a few things, and if I'm buying a lot of groceries I feel tired and overwhelmed by the time I'm done.

For basic groceries I usually go to Beechwood Loeb. Selection and quality is good and the prices are good for most things. I buy fruits and vegetables in the Byward market in the summer, at Ontario Fruit and also get a weekly delivery from Ottawa Organics. For Asian foods I go to Uni Mart at Montreal and Selkirk. I get Middle eastern foods from the same plaza (don't remember the name of the store) or the big Middle eastern food store on St Laurent if I'm near there. Latin groceries I get from Mercado Latino. My neighbourhood is pretty well covered for shopping, and since I work in the market I am in and out of the cheese shops and the Bottega as well.


2008 Feb 15
Hmm.. people talk about 'selection' at Loblaws as a singular reason for going, but I think that is a misnomer. The stores are big, and if you rate not total selection but rather selection per square metre of floor space, I'd argue it's way way less than many other smaller stores. I can only assume that part of the reason is to save $$$ on labour. I can guarantee the 'selection density' of a small asian grocery is at least 10x that of Loblaws (more types of items per linear foot of shelf space). What that means for the small grocery, is that you need labour... real people to watch the shelves, and CONSTANTLY update the stock. It seems to me, Loblaws wants to be like Costco, and just throw a few palettes of product out, and be able to wait until the end of the day (or even week) before worrying about restocking. I think I can say the general concensus (from those posts above) that if they didn't at least have the innovation of the PC products, the place would already have been out of business. I'm not sure if the executive at Loblaws thinks that means they should focus more on PC products at the expense of being a good grocery experience.... but it certainly seems that way. I remember when I was a kid (yes.. another Peter as a child story...) that the grocery stores that were successful in my hometown (Bowmanville) only marginally had to do with the 'brand' of the store, and had mostly to do with how good the local manager of the store was. I have several stories of successful stores becoming unsucessful when the manager left, as well as the dog stores turning around simply with the addition of new local management.

2008 Feb 15
My needs for groceries are, for the most part, simple and few. This means that I can find most anything I want at Hartman's, since it's the closest one to my apartment. That having been said, I often do have trouble finding the fresh herbs that I need there. It'll always be three rows of savory, and one row of chives. Thanks, guys.

For meat that isn't going to go into a curry, I'll often go to Nicastro's, or Saslove's, or The Butchery, or whatnot.


2008 Feb 15
I live downtown and have to give a shout-out for Hartman's at Bank & Somerset that, like the other Your Independent Grocers, I believe is owned by Loblaw. I haven't been to the Isabella Street Loblaw in many years as it was always the same - Seriously? No bananas or romaine lettuce? - stock issues that have been mentioned in previous comments. We (beyond) needed a decent grocery store in the area.
Since Hartman's renovation, I have to say, they do a pretty fine job. The store is spacious but not ginormous. I eat a lot of fresh fruit & vegetables (both organic and not) and I give them an A for quality. There's ALWAYS staff stocking there (they must miss the herb section Momomoto - I recommend the Herb & Spice three blocks away). If I don't feel like hiking it to the Byward market shops, this YIG's deli/meat & seafood sections are also very good AND for all those comments on Loblaw sushi, well, I've never had a problem here. Quite the opposite. They have a sushi chef and with the high-turnover from the lunch and after-work crowds downtown, I've always found it fresh.
And the piano up-front, with the motley assortment of virtuosos, is interesting.
Overall, I give this store high marks.

2008 Feb 15
Yes Hartmans has certainly improved alot since the renovations and you are not missing anything in bypassing the Loblaws on Isabella. I used to go there when I had my kitty since I would tie in a trip to the vet nearby for his food but when they run out of stuff it seems to take weeks to restock. I also had a minor beef about not being able to get my grocery cart through the aisles. The cashier once told me strollers and wheelchairs would often get stuck since the aisles are so narrow. I will have to try the sushi at Hartman's the next time I am there. In the meantime if you are looking for herbs you can try Manphong grocery store on Somerset near Booth. They sell mostly Asian herbs but their Thai basil is really good and their herbs are always fresh. The rest of their products look a little dubious but their herbs are nice.

2008 Feb 15
I shop at loblaws only because it is convenient - if I have the time, I will go to Farmboy instead because the quality and selection of produce, deli, bakery, meat and poultry is better - I find that the Farmboy in Barhaven has good quality salmon too - better and cheaper than Lapoints (which is just down the road from me in Bells Corners). Also the dairy tends to be better at Farmboy - expiry dates on the products are much further off than on the products at Loblaws - on several occasions I have seen dairy products on the shelves that have already expired and mouldy cheese. A lot of time they are selling mouldy produce and the washed and bagged lettuce tends to be past its prime a day or two after purchase - regardless of the expiry date. I have also have had milk and dairy products and meat/poultry go bad before the expiry date, so I seriously question the storage practices at the Loblaws that I frequent (Robertson and Moodie). I usually leave pissed off and without something that I need because they didn't have it or what they had was crap. I have made my displeasure known to management on several occasions, but they don't really care - basically because they don't have too and because I am a lazy idiot and I do go back. Each time I do results in feelings of self loathing cause I know I should take the extra time to shop elsewhere (Farmboy, Bulk Barn, Zellers, etc...)

What Loblaws is good for is packaged and canned items, paper products, laundry and cleaning products, bulk products (granola bars etc...), PC products (some are good), and pharmacy items (soap, deodorant, toothpaste, moisturizer, shampoo, etc seem to be cheaper than the regular prices shoppper drug mart - also cheaper drug dispensing fees than shoppers). Also, the PC Points Master Card - free groceries are a good thing - I just need to find a better Loblaws to use them at....

2008 Feb 15
I buy my fresh produce/meat/deli meat/baked goods from Farm Boy, and all of my non-perishables from Loblaws. I live in Nepean so there's an abundance of grocery stores including some smaller places like the European Deli that I frequent as well.

I don't really notice any stock issues with my local College Square Loblaws, but my gripe is their produce can be suspect at times (head lettuce/romaine/herbs especially) and their deli counter is terrible. On the plus side, their Kosher Dept is huge and stocks Ottawa Bagelshop bagels and Rideau Bakery products.

They're on the wrong track trying to compete with Wal-Mart with all that extra crap in my opinion...

2008 Feb 15
I've long had issues with my Loblaws at Southkeys. I need to vent so if you have better things to do, probably worth skipping the rest of this post by me!

1. The produce is deplorable at times. I have seen outright rotting fruit several times, sometimes at the top of the pile and I regularly see fruit and vegetables that really should not be for sale given the condition they are in. This is especially true of strawberries.

2. Seafood counter: I have seen the fish starting to be put away 2 and 1/2 hours before closing and no one ever seems to thrilled to get something that's been put away when I ask for it.

3. Cashiers. The store is receiving money from me. There's a word called thank-you that is rarely used by chashiers when I pay. I will say that this true of other stores as well but it is especially bad at this Loblaws. Some of the cashiers are having prolonged conversations with the cashier next to them and don't seemed focussed at all on me and my groceries.

4.In 8 years of shopping there, I have seen the store manager twice and in both circumstances it was pretty clear to me from body language he did not want to talk with customers.

I still shop there because it is so convenient and I do like some of the president's choice stuff, but I have been making a concerted effort to go to either Loeb or Farm Boy as much as possible. I also get my weekly order of organics fruit and vegetables from the Byward Fruit market.

Sorry for venting.... Maybe Bruce the Chef will share his Loblaws story about the time a manager told him that there were to be some new stores opening in Toronto where they would be trying a radical new concept - just selling food and nothing else.

2008 Feb 15
I boycotted the Barrhaven Loblaws for awhile after the (now former) manager outright lied to me about a product he claimed was discontinued, instead of just out of stock.

But for a really brutal shopping experience try the Barrhaven Sobeys. If it's on sale, they'll be out of it. The produce is worse then Loblaws. Their bakery has flies all over it. And today when I was in the store, half their frozen foods section was gone. No sign about where about what happened to it or where the products might be located. I asked a grocery clerk where the disappearing product I was looking for had gone. He went to the back and returned with a cart full of the product, let me take what I wanted and proceeded to return the cart to the back.


2008 Feb 16
"I very ocasionally go to the StuperStore in Westboro. Probably because I'm having to pick up my booze at the new Big Box LCBO. The one that replaced my neigbourhood LCBO in Hintonburg."

What a horrible decision that was. The suggestion that the Hintonburg community can be serviced by the new location is ridiculous -- they are two entirely different neighbourhoods. Not to mention the close proximity of the LCBO at Hampton Park. That should have been the location to close.

I'll echo the majority sentiment here re: Loblaws/Superstore -- too big and regularly out of one staple item or another. The Westboro location is a dreary monolith of a building. I've been going to the Island Park Loeb as an alternative and it's a much better overall experience.



2008 Feb 16
We can't stand the Westboro Stupidstore. The produce is rotten, the aisles are a mess, and the shelves more often that not are half empty. I find the staff utterly useless. Prices are high, despite their advertising to the contrary (our average shop at Superstore is $300, whereas it's $200 at Food Basics).

And after walking through an enormous store to find half the stuff I came for isn't available, or has been moved to an illogical location...after 1 hour of walking...why should I wait 20 minutes to cash out? Holy geez!

This is a repeat problem, and I finally had to swear off the store.

I think what really did it for me, besides the above stuff, was that they're now stickering produce like mini potatoes -- I kid you not, each mini potato has a produce sticker on it -- because, get this, it helps the people doing self-check out. Of course, the idiocy of having to peel stickers off mini potatoes by the dozens when I get home doesn't matter to them...

We frequent Food Basics at Hampton Park, which has VASTLY improved over the last three years. And Misto, the Italian shop in the same plaza for specialty items. Other than that, it's Produce Depot. NO MORE STUPIDSTORE/LOBLAWS!

2008 Feb 16
Glad to hear the Food Basics has cleaned up their act... last I was there, rotten and damaged produce was all over the place, I found frozen meat products sitting around in the aisles, and generally, it was just dirty. I think they were acquired by Metro (Super C, A&P, etc), and the store quality started turning around after the ownership changed.

2008 Feb 16
Interesting feedback. Thanks everyone for taking the time to participate. I have a few comments to add to specific posters:

X-13D -- I totally agree about the Barrhaven Loblaws it is the lesser of several evils when it comes to the "chain" stores in the neighbourhood. The local Sobeys is awful! I think the only reason they attract any clientelle is they are open 24 Hours. The Sobeys in Kanata is much much better. What I can't understand for a growing community (and one of the hottest in Ottawa), how did Barrhaven end up being so underserved when it comes to grocery stores? It's like someone has the mentality, who cares if we throw it on a shelf they'll still come.

Chimichimi -- Perhaps Food Basics has made a change in your neighbourhood, but my experience in general has been the same as others... ok for dry goods horrible for fresh. The produce in particular was just down right scary! (That said maybe though based on the comments here, I should go back and take a second look and see if there has indeed been a change).

Ollie, Tre and McMarshal -- The so called SuperStores are a joke! They are more of a Walmart than a grocery store. I agree some of the worst things I can think of about the Loblaws chain is seen in these stores. Poor cleanliness, bad selection and stocking and freshness issues. Although I've only been to the Eagleson store (supposed to be one of their prime locations in Ottawa) it should be an embarassement. I found myself wandering the aisles (a real mismash) looking for stuff. It's like being in a maze, and essentially every aisle leads to the same dead-end thing.... clothes, electronics, furniture... UGH! The experience was super alright... super inconvenient. I don't plan on going back. And as Ollie said non-sensible... for this they closed a perfectly functioning Loblaws in Bridlewood which was open for years and served an already established community. Instead they've chosen to open this stupidstore a couple of blocks south of the former one (is this one even served by a busline anymore?). Now if one wants a "real" Loblaws they have to travel north a considerable distance to either Centrum or Bells Corners. As I said before these Real Canadian SuperStores are an entity onto themselves!


2008 Feb 16
F&T - Actually, I was just commenting on McMarshal's recent experience with the Hampton Park Food Basics, admittedly I do not shop there anymore. Like you, the produce dept was brutal last I was there (~3 years ago).

2008 Feb 19
X13-D Just to support the manager who lied to you at Loblaws, (Im not partial to them either BTW) but quite often an item will fall onto their discontinued list due to a change in the store set, a supplier problem, or a UPC change, the head office system will not give the details of why an item is discontinued, or if it will be brought back. So he may not have lied to you, just been misinformed, of course there still is the possibility he just lied to make you go away, I dont know this store, so have no opinion on that.

2008 Feb 20
Strangely enough...harder grocery store chains try to be all things to all people, the more stores I seem to split up my shopping between. I don't have a go-to store for everything.


2008 Feb 23
Regarding the Superstore in Westboro: I totally agree that it's stupidly organized. I can find ethnic foods in three different aisles. I remember seeing Indian sauces in at least two different places the last time I was there. I do like their selection when I go on a weeknight. I won't go there on the weekend again.

Hartman's: I shop here because it's the most convinient - I can walk and get some exercise. That's the only thing that keeps me going there. Everytime I try to buy items that on sale, at least one isn't available. If you happen to go on a Sunday in the afternoon or later, everything is picked over and there's practically nothing left. As for non-sale items, oftentimes the produce is rotten or of poor quality, like how almost all the granny smith apples were bruised on Thursday night. The selection is limited (due to space, obviously), but I have a hard time shopping there because chances are if I need anything outside of bread/bananas/eggs/milk, there's a chance they either don't have it or it's not in stock. When I made a trifle a few weeks back I had to go to three places to get the ingredients because Hartman's didn't have: ladyfingers, quality white chocolate or lemon juice. I also love going there between 5-6 only to find the meat counter EMPTY: no boneless skinless chicken or lean ground beef. Needless to say, I'm quite thankful to get a ride out to the Superstore or to the Loblaws on Rideau. I keep hoping that something else like a Farmboy will open up in Centretown.

There's my Hartman's rant... end of story. Poor Mr. Nanook's had to put up with it on a few different occasions.

2008 Feb 23
Well, my wife and I ventured out to Farm Boy today as we had never been (!!), and I can honestly say that they will see my business as far as produce and meats go. Far and away superior quality and freshness, and it was cheaper to boot.

It also appears that Farm Boy actually has butchers on staff, as opposed to the Superstore where everything is prepackaged trash.

2008 Feb 23
I'm pretty sure I've seen butchers at work in the superstore many times.

That having been said, I do want to hit Farm Boy tomorrow!

2008 Feb 23
I like the low prices at Food Basics but refuse to buy most produce there, there is literally no reason to have the place such a mess, it's like they really just dont' care (the new one on merivale/clyde area). Regarding Loblaws, makes you wonder if it's due to the Unions, people know they can hardly get fired unless they murder a customer so they don't work as hard as they should? perhaps...

2011 Jun 1
I know this is a very old thread. But, that being said, I;'m an 8 year veteran at the Isabella location, and although I turned in my two weeks, I still feel compelled to reply to somethings said in this thread.

The produce, I would have agreed with you guys two-three years ago. But since then, we have gotten a better supplier, and better staff in.

I apologize about any problems you had with rude employees. I know we are encouraged to be polite, friendly, and try to help whenever we can.

I also apologize about stocking issues, but we are on the bottom of the supply chain and get the last of the orders.

Yes, oftentimes head office tells us to get rid of a product, and never tell us why. If they do, we would tell you. A good way to find out why your product isn't there anymore is contact PC customer support.

I hope I've given you people a better view of the loblaws. In my experience, most of the staff are hard working, and do like to help people, but to be fair, most fo the time I've seen rude staff, or been rude myself (and I'll admit it has happened sometimes) it's because the customer was rude to us first, including interrupting us when we were speaking to another customer, treating us like we are children, or being outright unreasonable (Such as demanding we give the sale price on an item that has not been on sale for 2 months.)

I do understand some of the frustration felt, and yes, some of your complaints are perfectly valid. However, we have tried to take steps to correct most of the problems, and we hope that you can give us another chance. If Loblaws fails to satisfy you again, by all means, take your buisness elsewhere. Just give us a chance.

I wouldn't be defending it so much after I quit if I didn't feel that it was a good store after all.

2011 Jun 1
I finally found "liquid smoke". It was on sale at the IGA on St. Joseph, just up from the car dealerships. I was hesitant to try it before, because I thought, well "that can't be good for you" . . . but it's actually made very naturally by bubbling hickory smoke through water, and afterwards filtering out any carcinogens. Because of the that, it's actually safer than real smoke.