Some of the good old standards like Walmart and Pathmark were rated extremely low in almost every category (other than price, where they are notoriously tough to beat), while across the board Trader Joe’s, Publix, and Wegmans were found to have some of the highest overall customer approval of any chains throughout the country. Even large superstores like Costco scored extremely high, lagging only slightly in the “service category” – but in a huge megastore like that, it’s no big shock that customer service might be lacking a bit.

The article, fair and comprehensive, made it clear that with all of the options available to us nowadays as far as where we can go to shop, it’s in our best interest to explore multiple venues instead of blindly going to the same store week in and week out and spending far more than we should or having a less-than-enjoyable shopping experience.

Some of the most common complaints mentioned in the article have to do with inattentive or ultra-slow checkout clerks and mistakes made at the checkout counter…although often these mistakes can work in your favor if, say, the scanner overcharges you for an item: just complain to the clerk and oftentimes they will give you the item for free! Other customers complained about confusing store layouts, crummy selection, large crowds, and far and away the biggest gripe: not enough open checkout lanes.

All of this is not to say, however, that store loyalty is futile and should be discouraged. The store loyalty programs mentioned in the article are real bargains in many cases, and as the economy worsens, the deals only sweeten for the modern-day shopper! Besides email notifications from the store for bargains and coupons, loyalty cards can earn you points towards cash rebates and double-value on certain manufacturers’ coupons. Bottom line: loyalty can pay off – just make sure you’re exploring all the options!

The article was helpful in a myriad of other ways too, from comparing types of “shoppers” (the impulsive/non-savvy shopper spent almost double compared to the smart shopper or the shopper who bought store brands or in bulk from warehouses/clubs) to doling out helpful shopping tips both in and out of the store. An interesting read – pick up the issue if you haven’t already!

• First this is a compilation for many different retailers. For example today I found Home Depot, HP, Macy’s Eddie Bauer and more.
• Almost daily new retailers are added.
• The featured retailers generally offer double back. Today’s savings ranged from 5 to 12%. This is in addition to any savings you find on the retailer’s site. I decided to buy moisturizer from Lancome, they too had double ebate savings. Free shipping was included, and 7 free sample items. Two of the items were ½ oz. samples of the same moisturizer.
• Sign up is very easy. And after each purchase, you get an email confirmation with your savings.
• You must go through ebates first to get this extra discount. I expected it to be very cumbersome, but it was so simple, I was amazed.

One of the most interesting things that came from the survey was that the number of checkout lanes and the time it takes to checkout was the single biggest complaint with supermarkets that got low scores.

Here are the supermarket rankings.

The stores with the five highest ratings were:

Wegmans
Trader Joe’s
Publix
Fareway Stores
Costco

The stores that received the lowest ratings were:

Pathmark
Walmart Supercenter
Shaw’s
A&P
Jewel-Osco

Here is the link to the entire article: http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/03/10986115-best-and-worst-supermarkets-shoppers-tell-all

What do you think? What are the most important things you look for in a supermarket?

Cleanliness? Selection? Prices? Checkout Speed? Proximity to your house? Coupon Policies?

However, recently Virginia Ann Senyk has been sending me lots of deals from ebates.com. One of these was double cash back at drugstore.com. My Omron pedometer stopped working and I thought this would be a good time to give online shopping a try.

I reviewed the models available, and chose one that was $22.99. Drugstore.com offered free shipping with a $25 purchase so I looked for diapers for Ava which brought my total over $30. With a $30 purchase I’d get $5 off my total.

In addition, I got 12% back from ebates. I was thrilled at being able to combine all these savings. My choices arrived a few days later, and inside was a FREE sample of Allegra Allergy relief.

• First, they accept the AARP card which often prints an extra $5 off a future shopping trip.
• Second, they have no loyalty card. So if they have a great special, I can split my orders at the checkout and get more than 1. For example, my son loves Schick Hydra blades. They were on sale for $9.99 with $4 in Register Rewards. I also had 2-$2 coupons. I got the first one for $7.99. But the next one I paid $3.99 and still got another $4 Register Reward.
• They offer their own monthly coupon book that can be combined with traditional manufacturer’s coupons.
• Other retail coupons print at the time of checkout. I got a 20% off deal at Sports Authority.

On a recent shopping trip my savings was more than my total bill. I paid $14.18 and saved $20.70 of the almost $35.00 cost. I’m hooked. But I still like CVS and Rite Aid. Savings determine my shopping.