Community Chat

[Deb1010again]

Is anyone here keeping up with the MarketBasket grocery store chain and all the trouble they're going thru after firing their CEO?

It's a family owned chain based in Mass and it's known for low prices, great customer service and treating employees really well. Part of the family didn't like how things were being run so they removed the CEO and caused an employee rebellion resulting in 8 of their top execs being fired. The customers revolted and other line employees went on strike, so now the shelves are bare (drivers on strike) and revenue is down 70+%.

It sounds like a real mess. Does anyone here regularly shop there or know anything about the brewhaha? Personally, I hope it works out for the employees and they reinstate the former CEO.

[Cats3000]

We live in NH and have shopped at Market Basket for the past few years. Their prices are lower than the other supermarket chains. I've never really been impressed with their customer service. We stopped shopping there when the brewhaha began. I doubt that we'll go back when it ends, if it does. We're using Hannaford and Price Chopper supermarkets now. While the prices are higher, the customer service at those stores appears to be equal or slightly better.

This is a decades-old family dispute between the two grandsons of the company's founder. One of the grandsons (the fired CEO) has now offered to buy out the other one in an attempt to return the business to doing business. No one really knows where this will end up.

[Linders Back]

Sadly, there is no Market Basket near me. If there was, I would shop there regularly. I actually make "pilgrimages" to the nearest one when I want to stock up as the prices and quality of the food items (their own Deli, rotisserie chicken, bakery) etc. surpasses others. I have always found the employees very helpful, too, and they have special "Customer Appreciation" programs.

This is a perfect example of what my Grandmother would call "cutting off your nose to spite your face". It's a lose-lose for everyone involved.

[biancardi]

On 7/28/2014 Linders Back said:

Sadly, there is no Market Basket near me. If there was, I would shop there regularly. I actually make "pilgrimages" to the nearest one when I want to stock up as the prices and quality of the food items (their own Deli, rotisserie chicken, bakery) etc. surpasses others. I have always found the employees very helpful, too, and they have special "Customer Appreciation" programs.

This is a perfect example of what my Grandmother would call "cutting off your nose to spite your face". It's a lose-lose for everyone involved.

I have to wonder how bad is the current CEO that the employees are striking. I hope that the fired brother can get back in - I guess he treated both the employees & customers properly and the existing CEO does not.

That is a lot of loyalty towards their ex-boss and for that, I do have a lot of respect for the workers

[Deb1010again]

On 7/28/2014 Linders Back said:

Sadly, there is no Market Basket near me. If there was, I would shop there regularly. I actually make "pilgrimages" to the nearest one when I want to stock up as the prices and quality of the food items (their own Deli, rotisserie chicken, bakery) etc. surpasses others. I have always found the employees very helpful, too, and they have special "Customer Appreciation" programs.

This is a perfect example of what my Grandmother would call "cutting off your nose to spite your face". It's a lose-lose for everyone involved.

My sister shops at a Market Basket in a suburb of Boston and has always had good experiences. I go with her when I visit at Christmas and have always been impressed with the employees, selection and prices.

[SydneyH]

The closest MB is about 10 miles away so I don't shop there often. Once the grandfather died, the boardroom disputes were frequent and very public. Not sure what may be the best course of action for the chain.

[bells4me]

Wow, I didn't even know the chain was still around. They closed it in So Cal years & years ago.

[moonstone dunes]

Market Basket has brought in two new CEOs, one from Albertsons and the other from Radio Shack. The employees are concerned that the new regime will change MB and the firing of Arthur T. DeMoulas is the final nail.

It is very unusual that a non-union shop would strike but you would have to know the customers and the employees and why they feel this way.

I used to shop at store #1 in Lowell MA and every other store I have shopped in caters to the particular customer in that area, with food choices and selections. Their prices are lower than any other store except maybe WM SuperCenter but there aren't a ton of those. The employees do stay with the stores and work up the ranks. No longer live near a MB, there is a $top&$hop and a Shaws, neither store offers great prices and friendly CS.

[tansy]

On 7/28/2014 pupcakes said:

Wow, I didn't even know the chain was still around. They closed it in So Cal years & years ago.

I was wondering if it was the same market. There was one near where I lived in southern CA decades ago.

[Topaz Gem]

On 7/28/2014 pupcakes said:

Wow, I didn't even know the chain was still around. They closed it in So Cal years & years ago.

I don't think it's the same chain as the California one. This one was originally called Demoulas which is the family name. It was later changed to Demoulas Market Basket, but locals just refer to it as Market Basket.