Earlier this
week on Twitter, I posted a series of helpful hints to make grocery
stores more user-friendly and logical. Some people felt I was ranting, and as a
friend pointed out, the rapid-fire tweets and occasional all-caps may have lead
to that characterization. Ahem.
However, I
think every point I made was valid. Here you’ll find what I hope all RVA
grocery stores (and I’m not picking on anyone in particular, I promise) will
see as a little gentle, constructive criticism.
1. Why
are canned tomatoes often grouped together with jarred tomato sauce and pasta? It’s
a canned vegetable and belongs with the rest of them.
2. Why
isn’t feta cheese with the plain old cheddar, swiss or Monterey Jack? Why is it
considered so special that you find it next to the brie? It’s not that special.
3. Let’s
end discrimination. Organic food should go on the shelves with its nonorganic
counterpart. Stop with the special section.
4. Where
is the bread? Why can’t I find it? Put the bread aisle near the bakery.
5. What’s
the difference between tortillas in the refrigerated section and the ones on
the shelf?
6. What’s
the deal with international food? Why can’t all that stuff be categorized with the
appropriate American version? (For instance, soy sauce belongs with the ketchup
— they’re both condiments).
7. Let’s all agree to just go ahead and put pet food, grilling
paraphernalia, light bulbs and office supplies on the same aisle. You never can
find charcoal or index cards when you need them. Might as well pick up a box of
dog biscuits and a light bulb at the same time.
8. How
well do those greeting cards sell? Do you really need a whole aisle of them?
9. Here’s what’s wrong with the South today: You can no
longer buy rhubarb in the frozen food section.
10. Raisins can be very hard to find. Are they a snack food or
a baking ingredient? We all need to make a decision and stick to it.
11. Is working behind the deli counter hell on earth? Those
folks never seem happy. Please pay them more so that when I ask for thin-cut, mesquite-smoked
turkey, they don’t sigh heavily and reduce the meat to crumbles.
12. The exception to every rule: Pepperidge Farm Goldfish
should be everywhere.
13. Things that are not juice don’t belong on the juice
shelves.
14. Wine. Stock it in the front. I forget to buy it when it’s
in the back. This makes me very unhappy.
15. If your store is so large that I lose the will to live
when I pick up the butter in the dairy section and remember I forgot to get garlic
in the produce section, please provide me with a Segway.
16. Where are the olives?
What do you think grocery
stores need to change to make your life easier?
