QFC Quality Food Center

Like I said in my other reviews I moved to Portland last week and I am trying to find all my regular spots.
QFC is within walking distance of my apartment so I decided to give it a shot.
Compared to most supermarkets it is small and a small supermarket means a smaller selection of items.
Random examples I needed kosher bread crumbs and a kosher loaf of bread of which there were none.
I must have picked up every loaf of bread on the shelf to check its kosher status.
It’s a little more expensive than the larger supermarket chains,
I also don’t think I get their pricing system of buy 4 of each product to get the lower price. Do I really need to buy four sugars or can I buy 4 of any item that has that tag? I guess I have to figure it out.
The big pluses of this place.
1. It’s open 24 hours
2. It’s really close to my apartment, so it’s easy to grab a couple things as I need them.
3. They sell stamps
4. The employees are super friendly and always ask if I need help with anything.
Overall this will work for my smaller grocery trips that I need to make but i’ll have to find a bigger supermarket to meet all my shopping needs.

Nice store. It has small parking. Lots of bread. Fresh veggies are good. Always good quality keylime there. I wonder why they do not sell liver? Not big so limited amount selection. Friendly stuff.

QFC=IDENTITY CRISIS
I believe QFC on Milwaukie is suffering from an identity crisis… This little neighborhood market is under the false assumption that it is a high end, «boutique» style food market with wonderful fresh organic produce, meats, cheeses etc., well thought out store design, personable yet professional staff all this and more you will find at Zupans or New Seasons markets and I willingly pay the price when I shop at those establishments, but really QFC? Reality check: you are an over-​priced 82^nd Avenue Fred Meyer you are not New Seasons, so please accept who and what you are and have the prices that reflect that!
THE STAFF
During the day, long term middle age employees that are nice over-​all citizens seem would be ideal neighbors, at night all the grownups go home and the store is staffed seemly by high school seniors and community college kids. The store managers seem a defeated lot, dead looking eyes, like they all have sold their souls or something? Example have a problem, all they say is «Sorry» «Really» «Too Bad» «Have a Nice Day» «Welcome to QFC» then just walk away…
MY FAV STAFF MEMBER!
That has to be Tiffany! The babe wearing the manager in training red vest, FYI Miss Tiffany LUVS the fellas, so be warned if she is in the checker and a male is ahead of you be prepared for a very long wait, (bring a book to read) because flirting, heckling, chit-​chat, hair flinging has to be done to perfection girl friend! If you are female shopper please avoid her in self check out or at her aisle because you will receive snarky attitude in one form or another just like the mean girls in HS
MONKEY CLIMBER
If you have a kid, preferable between the ages of 6 – 12 please bring them along for assistance, because a lot of the popular items such as Cascade Sparkling water is out of reach and you will need a kid (or monkey) to climb up and get a bottle or two because the two employees on the floor are either at the check– out or chatting up the guys at self service check out
THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
If you shop after 9PM beware NO PARKING in the QFC parking lot in back, the residents near the store in their over-​priced half million dollar cottages have strictly prohibited it, and that means you peasant! Scrounge around out front for street parking. Please be mindful of the homeless folks with carts, bikes, dogs camped out front and the large wet puddles and hoses. Please bring protective ear muffs, and an oxygen tank because this is the time QFC decides to do full scale floor cleaning and polishing with old and ear deafening floor cleaners that spew the lovely scent of gasoline as you shop, makes it impossible to communicate to your trained monkey to fetch items off the high shelves, and best of all the floor polishing crew trail right behind you for your shopping enjoyment! And better hold on to someone or a cart, especially if wearing flip flops because those floors are slippery and your going down sister!

This is a decent grocery store. It’s open 24hrs, the employees are helpful, the prices are low, there’s a redbox and there are a lot of Organics and locally grown produce… and did I mention it’s open 24hrs?!
I just wish there was a better selection of personal hygiene products. We use Tom’s toothpaste & deodorant and we buy shampoo that only contains natural ingredients. They don’t have that stuff here so we have to go to NS for that, which I don’t mind.

The store itself is great, excellent quality fish, meat and produce. Friendly helpful staff. However the wireless phones dept is incredibly inept. I’ve had a problem with billing for many months now even though I have auto pay. I’m forced to be put on hold for 20 min to an hour each month and can’t use my phone. I’ve complained to supervisors to absolutely no avail. Their customer service is the worst ever. Unless you love nightmares don’t get a phone through this store.

Just a quick FYI the privet parking lot and back entrance CLOSES AT 9:00pm (they do this to keep noise down at night for the people in the community). So if you see cones blocking the parking lot, don’t park there.

Worst deli. Never have anything made. I just drove all the way over here and all they had was mac and cheese. Ok.

I’m not quite sure how a Kroger owned franchise can get away with such ridiculously high prices, but it is what it is for Sellwood. I usually end up driving over to the Woodstock Safeway because of its huge selection and lower prices.
When I do have to go here, I know one thing is certain: I will have an anxiety attack trying to navigate the incredibly touchy self-​checkout station. I don’t know why it happens everytime I come here, I never seem to have a problem with self-​checkout anywhere else. It doesn’t matter what method I use, the machine will start beeping and telling me that I have an extra item in the bagging area, calling over troops of QFC staff to deal with my ineptitudes. I wish they had more cashier lines open to spare me the melodrama of the moody self-​checkout.

The only reason this store gets two stars is because they do make a good effort to keep this rather small store stocked with fresh items. That, and it’s the only store close to me, and I don’t own a car. The only other store is New Seasons, and while that is fantastic, I cannot afford to shop there all the time.
But, the same can be said of QFC. Very spendy here, and the prices continue to climb almost every time I visit, no exaggeration. Why Kroger/​QFC brand white bread or hamburger buns, for example, are over a dollar, is beyond me. Winco and even Safeway are cheaper for the house brand.
That alone can be forgiven, I’m willing to pay a little extra just for the ‘novelty’ of living in Sellwood, I guess. That, and I can’t walk to Winco to grocery shop. My real complaint here is the staff. At least FOUR different times, I’ve been accosted by staff while using their freakin’ «U-​Scan,» descending on me like vultures, because THEIR machine has seized up.
Oh. It must have been something that I, the customer, did wrong. Hey! You didn’t scan this package of ramen, sir! The hell I didn’t. Your machine sucks. It says I scanned it right there on the receipt. The third time this happened, my wife was with me, who was waiting semi-​patiently in a wheelchair. It took several minutes to get things straightened out, this time AGAIN, I was accused of attempting to ‘shoplift’ something by not scanning it. This time, I got angry, I pretty much asked why they had this machine if it didn’t work properly. «I think you’re not doing it right,» was the answer from this teenage twerp.
Anyway, I don’t use the U-​Scan anymore if I HAVE to come to this store, I try to avoid it like the plague. Re-​living terrible moments like this always brings out the kindly British person in me, so… QFC, kindly go fuck yourself, yes? :(

QFC, which is owned by Kroger, has a class action suit filed against them because their so-​called «humane» and organic Simple Truth chickens are from Purdue Farms.
Purdue Farms is known for having very inhumane treatment of chickens (no food or water in the trucks; if their necks miss the blades, they are drowned in tubs of boiling water, too many confined in one room, shackled, and electrocuted).
What they’re calling humane is that the chickens not caged; however, the USDA does not permit companies to put chickens in cages. So, it’s not like Simple Truth is doing anything especially humane.
Reading about it has been enough to make me go almost-​vegetarian.
This is cruelty at its worst, and, I never enjoy hypocrisy! Honestly, why have a line devoted to organic and humane if you’re not?
QFC’s Simple Truth = Lies!

So I bought «designer whey» here 2 weeks ago, it turned out to be gross so I called he store yesterday and was told I could bring it back and get my money back this morning 12÷6÷13, went into the store and the manager told me he has never sold that there and that I was lying. His name is Ron, he wouldn’t even help me after calling me a lier, he walked away and threw his hands up. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. All I have to say is Ron, watch your back.

I’ve never been wild about the prices, but there are juuuust enough reasonably priced products here that I don’t feel completely gouged with each visit. Check outs are usually very efficient (more than I can say for Safeway). The location is oh-​so-​convenient, too.

I live smack in the middle of this QFC and the Sellwood New Seasons. I always choose New Seasons over QFC. The only two reasons I might end up coming here is if New Seasons didn’t have what I was looking for (which makes for a good chance QFC won’t have it either) or because New Seasons isn’t open. QFC being open 24 hours is the biggest reason they have that second star.
Their organic produce is more expensive and of poorer quality than New Seasons and most other grocery stores in Portland. It’s difficult to find anyone to help you. Once time I bought fish there and the deli person told me it would be one price but weighed it for a more expensive price.
Another time I had to buy a birthday balloon for someone and had to spend a significant amount of time hunting someone down to help me. The kid (literally not an adult person… I’m all for giving high schoolers jobs, but it would be nice it they were competent) blew up the balloon and then handed it to me without a ribbon. (Why would anyone want a birthday balloon without a ribbon?) I asked for a ribbon but he had a very hard time tying it on so after he left I had to fix it and make it look decent. Weird.

I don’t understand why service people here are so rude!!! If you don’t like taking care of people nor WORKING at all… QUIT!!!

Great store, very easily accessible to me on my way home from work. My socks were knocked off when i saw their decent wine selection and they even had a lady that very knowledgeable with her wine that offered up suggestions for my romantical Italian dinner that I would be making later.
Oh and so far this is the only grocery store where I have been able to score some decent manager special items.
Hell yeah, extra savings!!!

Thank you QFC.
You’re open 24 hours.
There have been more evenings that I can count where I have strolled in at 3am after work and you have had exactly what I need for my family.
While the variety here is not as great as some of the larger OFC markets, they tend to stock the shelves with a decent array of items that appeal to a large audience.
One thing that is tricky though is the alcohol sales cutting off at 2am.
If you are needing to grab a six pack, or a bottle of wine you will need to hit the 7 – 11 or the Plaid Pantry nearby (both will sell up to 2:30am).

Such a love/​hate relationship with this QFC… it has a parking is right up the street and [usually] has the basics: love. Totally overpriced for mediocrely fresh produce and all other everyday items and lack of non-​run of the mill products: hate.
In a pinch or for a quick dinner list I would totally recommend otherwise TJ’s or New Season’s.

Nothing I hate more is getting off work, only to do some one else’s job.
I do my shopping after work 10– 11ish.
QFC only has self check out at this time, even though they have enough staff to open a register.
50 items, 10 «please wait for attendant» notifications, and 15 min. later I got done doing their job of checking me out.
Maybe if you give me a discount for doing your job ok, but you aren’t are you.

This QFC had what I needed when I needed it:
6 bags of ice
1 case of TAB (Thanks Ligaya!)
1 case of real sugar Dr. Pepper
1 case of Diet Coke
Ninkasi
Based on this alone, 4 stars.

You know. I’ve been shopping here for almost 8 years. ever since I moved into the «hood.
I’ve had a love/​hate relationship with it ever since.
Love:
The staff. Sue Jinn (spelling). best checker in the world… kevin from the seafood dept. all super nice people. and of course:
Marianne Ohura — Wine Steward Extraordinaire. Any wine that want, she can order (even special order wines exclusively carried by Trader Joes). Any special ordered wine is cost plus 10%. that means that $ 26 bottle of Willakenzie Pinot will only run you about $ 19 bucks or so when you order a case. I’ve been buying by the case for years and it’s the only way to buy wine.
Other than that. the only pros are convenience. I can walk up in 5 mins and get anything I need (except for special tampons like the crazy cat/​tampon reviewer who didn’t like the selection. who knew there was more than one type? and tempeh? is that even a real thing?)
Cons. Price… This drives me crazy. QFC is owned by Kroger. same company that owns Freddies. so why do I pay 20−40% more for the exact same things? I know QFC is higher up in the food chain, but our store sure doesn’t feel like it.
Selection is mediocre, Produce is HORRIBLE… (I should give them one star for that. but everything else makes up for it). but for a quick shopping trip, and of course, my wine.
Summary: Friendly staff. high prices, mediocre selection… I don’t normally do my regular grocery shopping there. but still find myself in there once or twice a week.