Reply
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,824
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

I love Wegmans. Unfortunately we don't have one in our area. The closest one is at least 45 minutes away. Recently I compared Wegmans prices with prices I pay for certain items in Stop & Shop ... and Wegmans was actually cheaper.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,954
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

On 2/8/2015 Boehm Collecter said:

I love Wegmans. Unfortunately we don't have one in our area. The closest one is at least 45 minutes away. Recently I compared Wegmans prices with prices I pay for certain items in Stop & Shop ... and Wegmans was actually cheaper.

Wegmans prices in Buffalo are often lower than Walmart.

Of course if you fill your cart with tasty, pre-made meals and imported olives and other goodies, the savings on peanut butter are more than offset on the delicacies!!!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,491
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

On 2/6/2015 millieshops said:

What criteria? I understand Wegman's is good for shoppers and employees and I think that's true for at least some of the rest on the list, but I really don't know about all 10.

I belong to an association of employers with some of the biggest commercial companies in the world. Some of them participate in these surveys and have explained at meetings how they work.

The way I understand how publication surveys work (like, say, "Working Mother Magazine" or something like that) is your company has to pay to submit the survey data in some cases. It's like a college application, there is a fee associated with it.

Your company also has to have the data, the resources (money, time and staff members) to collect all of the data points (of which there are hundreds).

You also have to have a company culture and incentives where your employees feel comfortable answering some of the demographic questions and other questions you ask them in order to collect the data.

Some surveys also survey your employees directly, so you have to have a company culture where the majority of your employees will actually answer the survey.

Not many companies participate in these surveys because of the time and cost that go into the submission.

I also know that some companies don't do them for the simple reason that one year you are #3 and the next year you end up being #5 and people and employees what to know what changed, why are you worse this year. It can be a PR problem.

===================================
QVC Shopper - 1993

# IAMTEAMWEN
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,491
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

On 2/7/2015 The Bird said:

My Wegmans is always running out of stock. I cook for many different dietary requirements. They have been out of chicken thighs, heavy cream, Goya navy beans (even though the other neighborhood market had TONS of them) and more, and, this is time after time. Going on for years now. I simply have to shop elsewhere when I really need items for a menu.

I have begun comparing prices too. For example, the fresh-squeezed OJ is 40% higher than Whole Foods. I just recently checked on a canned item. It was a prepared gravy that I'd never ever use, but I was testing a recipe in that new cookbook Qz was selling (turned out awful) and Harris Teeter had it for .10 less than Wegmans. Bunches of kale...I buy a lot in the winter for my chickens. $2.00 MORE per bunch at Wegmans. etc. etc.

Plus they are forever moving things around and it is so unpleasant to enter those doors knowing I might have to search for what I want. High prices and all, I'd shop there more often just cuz it's nice, but the searching for items is so frustrating. When there is no employee on the floor I have to go wait in line up front at the CS desk to ask. Once I had guests from overseas who were getting sick and I wanted to buy them a neti pot. I had gotten 4 at this particular Wegmans. We were in a hurry and I just wanted to run in and get it for them, as they were waiting in the car. But alas, MOVED! No one on the floor, the CS desk didn't know where to look.

There are employee problems there, too, and HR is not helpful.

Still I drop in there when it is convenient, but it is not my market of choice. I'm glad they are doing well as I do appreciate Wegmans as the nearby backup market, but I choose other options most of the time. - Bird

re running out stock all the time

I find this to be the case, too. I believe it is because I shop in one place, I shop for the week, and I pick my recipes out for the week to cook on the weekends. I do not buy what's on sale and work around it or buy what's in stock and make up meals. My mind doesn't work that way.

While I don't like to stock up on things as I have zero space for stock in my tiny townhouse, I find that I have to buy certain things in bulk when I see it so that I have it when I want to make something. For me it's Native Forrest Classic Coconut Milk, organic ground pork, organic ground lamb and any organic lamb really.

At one point, I kept my shopping list for 3 months and circled the one thing I could not find that week when I needed it. I sent the list to their comment section in the website as sort of an FYI and to show how certain items were constantly out of stock. It is so darned annoying when I go in with a list and I can find everything I need but one thing. Which means I have to go somewhere else for that one thing.

re moving things around

The only saving grace with this is the Wegmans phone app. If it's not where it was last Thursday, I look it up on the app and can find where they moved it. I agree, very annoying and they move stuff EVERY.SINGLE.WEEK. For example, they moved the Organic Valley dairy products one week to the dairy section instead of the natural foods section. WHY???? I was annoyed for 10 minutes that they were out of all Organic Valley stuff and tried to find something comparable (which took forever) until I saw the moved display.

re pricing

I have found a few of my staples cheaper elsewhere (Costco, Walmart), but I rarely go to Costco or Walmart, but when I do I stock up on those staples to save a few pennies. But I don't go out of my way to do it.

re employee problems

I can't speak to that. I'm in HR. You can't control people. It's a universal problem, not special to Wegmans. All you can do it train them, re-train them, counsel them and eventually terminate them if they can't get on board with your company's way of doing things.

I don't know what your experience has been in dealing with Wegmans HR, but I know the local HR who attend HR association meetings in my area and they have the same HR challenges as the rest of us. They do the best they can with the rules they have to work with. And some things are really not HR problems (or problems at all when you are dealing with the public). Sometimes, it's the public.

Anyway, with that homily over, I will say I love Wegmans and won't shop anywhere else for my regular weekly shopping.

===================================
QVC Shopper - 1993

# IAMTEAMWEN
Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,752
Registered: ‎03-15-2014

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

This poll was done by polling organization Nielsen (Harris Interactive). They "conducted an online survey in English of 27,278 U.S. respondents between Oct. 20 and Dec. 18."

And just a correction to the OP: Wegmans was determined to have the best corporate reputation among 100 highly visible U.S. companies - not quite the same as "best company in America."

Wegmans is a pleasant shopping experience, no doubt about it. Their private label goods are very good and reasonably priced. They use an "every-day low price" model, so sales are infrequent and, when they happen, are often on store brand items. Around here, name brand items can be had for less elsewhere, at regular supermarket sales, so I spread my grocery dollars around.

Valued Contributor
Posts: 716
Registered: ‎08-27-2013

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

Those of us living in the west have never heard of Wegmans or Publix supermarkets. Their stores must all be east of the Mississippi or something.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,178
Registered: ‎09-02-2010

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

On 2/6/2015 Hooty said:

I just don't know how they can say they are #1 in America, since They Are Not all over America! I have never been to one nor ever heard of it till these forums! Publix is #1 in our part of the country (south)!

Ditto for me. Of course I never heard of Publix either. And I have to drive an hour and a half to get to a Costco.

I often wonder who runs these polls or surveys.

~~
*Off The Deep End~A very short trip for some!*
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,402
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

On 2/7/2015 terrier3 said:
On 2/7/2015 roe1005 said:

Thank you for this!

I love Wegman's - none in my area. But when I'm at the Jersey shore or driving home from my cousins' in DE, I always stop at exit 98 of the Garden State Parkway and stock up at the Wegman's in Deal (I think that is the town).

In addition, I worked at #6 for 30 years (starting at General Foods). A little shocked it beat out Apple, LLBean or Google or that it is even on the list. But that's a whole another story.

Is that the Fairport store?

I'm not sure, not familiar with that area. There's a SteinMart in the next shopping center. I looked up their locations and I think it maybe Ocean, Route 35.

I've also been to the Edison Wegman's. But I always get lost coming home!

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,220
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Wegmans chosen as best business in America

On 2/8/2015 AspenGrove said:

Those of us living in the west have never heard of Wegmans or Publix supermarkets. Their stores must all be east of the Mississippi or something.

It is not where I live now, in southeastern VA. The closest one to me is 3 plus hours away in northern VA. I know of it because I was raised in western NY where it originated.