Shop N Save

I was a dedicated shopper of the S&S in Arnold. I can say their store is always clean and well lit; the people range from friendly to just pleasant; no one has ever been rude or out of line. I appreciated their pricing and felt I was spending my pension wisely using their store — for decades. I’ve been let down on several occasions by this store in about the past six months. First their bakery; you cannot get just regular size donuts any longer; they are massive, and the 2 times I tried a fritter — both times they were very undercooked in the center; they now have larger RED signs saying ‘reduced!; or ‘sale’!, and now those have been joined by the latest large yellow and black signs proclaiming ‘PRICE CUT!’. Price cut my b*t. For well over a year I paid $ 5.84 for cat litter, then about 5 – 6 months ago, a red sign was stuck to it saying ‘Sale! Save 50 cents’! (and it stayed the same $ 5.84. Right before Christmas 2013, a new bright larger yellow/​black tab was attached proclaiming ‘PRICE CUT!’ and the price was $ 6.87! The store is now filled w/​these various signs and they are noticeable. I was informed recently when I complained about their ‘truth in pricing’ to the Manager (who was nice, but also not even 30 years old) that everyone in Minneapolis (apparently their headquarters) had been replaced and a new crew had replaced them. I calmly told the young man about the various LIES that have been posted all over their store and I knew my complaints were valid because of my years of shopping there. I also told him if I saw anything that had one of their new little pricing signs on it, I would go across the street to Walmart and to Aldi’s, because I wouldn’t believe their ‘signs’ any longer. The only thing that I will continue to purchase is my meats at this S&S for the most part. They are always good. The new route this store is taking now? Sorry, my major grocery spending will not be at this store any longer.

In my effort to find the best grocery shopping experience in my local area —I am frequenting all the locals and this was the most recent experience. I am in search of unique gourmet items, some natural and organic, clean store, friendly staff, good sales, and all around good prices with adequate parking and not a «super-​sized store» …I am still on my quest. I went on a Saturday afternoon and wow — I was not expecting that many people to be at this one store mid-​afternoon. I think the threat of an ice storm got people all worked up or something. I was really hoping to save $$$ on some basic staples that should be in my pantry at all times. I am just not so sure I did… AND seriously why do I have to bag my own groceries. I will if you are going to cut the prices more but really I don’t think I saved anything to merit having to do my own bagging. The employees were not rude but they were not overly friendly or chatty either. Just Meh as the rating states…

Great prices. Fresh fruit. Clean and organized well for quick in and out.

Oh… meh…Shop n Save… why do I keep going back to you? Why are you like some ex boyfriend I can’t seem to give up fully and end up returning to only to be reminded why I avoided you for months?
Shop n Save… it’s the lowest quality grocery chain in this city in my humble opinion. Their prepared foods are awful, (I have especially bad memories of their seafood salad) their bakery items are highly sub par (don’t even bother with their bakery «fresh» cookies) and they make you bag your own groceries. I don’t really mind this all that much, but seriously, sometimes I am in a rush.
I also find that Shop n Save is just kind of grubby. Even the newer ones are grubby. They are organized in such an odd way, nothing seems to make sense, and I often end up meandering the aisles aimlessly trying to find something simple like ketchup or cream cheese. Why is this place so poorly organized… I have no idea… it’s just… poor.
Now, they are cheaper than the other chains, I will give them that. And they probably have the best liquor selection of any grocery store in the St. Louis area. The beer selection alone (both cold and warm) seems to be never ending. However, having to put up with all the other things at Shop n Save almost makes this not worth being an attraction. However, like I said, I do keep going back, I just don’t know why.
But they do have a red box, and some pretty amazing fake tattoo machines… I guess that’s almost a good enough reason.