Giant and Safeway dominate the area's supermarket scene. Unfortunately, our recent price shopping reveals neither is a standout for price, and our customer surveys show neither particularly wows its customers when it comes to quality or service. On the bright side, many area shoppers live near stores that at least beat the big chains either for price or for quality, and there is one chain that beats them soundly for both.

Read our article and findings (available exclusively to CHECKBOOK subscribers)

Back to Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK Table of Contents.

Sample Subscriber Comments/Reviews About Supermarkets

CHECKBOOK provides subscriber comments on their experiences with the firms they use. Please remember that individual subscriber comments are informal. Subscriber comments may give you insight into the types of features and problems that exist in a service field, but are not the best basis for selecting or rejecting a specific firm. To assess the quality of a firm's performance, we recommend that you give more weight to the percentages of favorable ratings. Those percentages are generally based on much larger numbers of consumers' ratings (the number of consumer ratings is noted above).

As You Can See Below, Some Supermarkets Get High Praise from Their Customers. Some Others Don't. So Choose Carefully.
Here Are a Few Samples of the Thousands of Comments CHECKBOOK Has Collected on Hundreds of Different Supermarkets.

• Subscriber from BURKE, VA wrote Another Store: Good.......
• Subscriber from FAIRFAX, VA wrote Another Store: This is where I do almost all of my shopping. It's really a great store,..........
• Subscriber from POTOMAC, MD wrote Another Store: The Harris Teeter on Route 28 in Darnestown is a wonderful store and is always..........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Store: always delays due to crowding........
• Subscriber from LORTON, VA wrote Another Store: Safeway's meats, at least at the store we use, are far superior to the meat..........
• Subscriber from MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD wrote Another Store: Items are frequently scanned incorrectly. The scanned prices frequently differ from the advertised sale price...........
• Subscriber from HERNDON, VA wrote Another Store: Excellent natural / organic / innovative product choices.......
• Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote Another Store: For cheese, nuts, some wines, and specialty items, particularly frozen goods, excellent variety and prices........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Store: Bel Pre Wheaton store.......
• Subscriber from KENSINGTON, MD wrote Another Store: Great for fresh vegetables, deli products........
• Subscriber from MC LEAN, VA wrote Another Store: Price charged at checkout frequently higher than what is posted. On one trip, I was..........
• Subscriber from ANNANDALE, VA wrote Another Store: My response was to the Backlick Rd. Giant in Annandale, VA........
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Store: Wegman's has the best variety and prices of any other local grocery store, hands down...........
• Subscriber from NORTH POTOMAC, MD wrote Another Store: Has gotten horrible and pathetic!!!.......
• Subscriber from HERNDON, VA wrote Another Store: Harris Teeter is a nice, upscale store. We go to the one in Ashburn, VA...........
• Subscriber from NORTH BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Store: giant is expensive. the staff seem to hate working there. the produce is rarily of..........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Store: NOT for your complete grocery shopping trip, but a great place to shop for so..........
• Subscriber from FT WASHINGTON, MD wrote Another Store: Waited FAR too long in a checkout line on a Friday evening.......
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Store: Ever since Royal dutch took over, the quality has been declining. Now, what is advertised..........
• Subscriber from OAK HILL, VA wrote Another Store: The staff are very friendly and helpful........
• Subscriber from COLLEGE PARK, MD wrote Another Store: Prices -- hard ot beat. Quality of meats -- among the best in area. Other..........
• Subscriber from BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Store: The best organic market around. Very competitive prices, Baggers pack and take goods to your..........
• Subscriber from BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Store: Since Ahold took over I am having increasing trouble finding the things I always need,..........
• Subscriber from TAKOMA PARK, MD wrote Another Store: Used to shop exclusively at Safeway, but quality of store nearest to me has gone..........
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Store: My favorite store because the produce is superior to the other ones (variety, prices) and..........
• Subscriber from ROCKVILLE, MD wrote Another Store: I can tell by the store personnel that customer service is important at Safeway --..........
• Subscriber from DAMASCUS, MD wrote Another Store: Prices seem higher than Weis........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Store: Nice neighborhood store, but small footprint limits the variety of products, and the cars trying..........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Store: Excellent stock at reasonable prices. Wonderful produce. Meat is just so so. Don't have enough..........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Store: Significantly higher prices for common groceries than Safeway, let alone Aldi or Trader Joe's.......
• Subscriber from MC LEAN, VA wrote Another Store: McLean Safeway needs better management........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Store: Frequently understaffed, especially on the floor when looking for something........
• Subscriber from MC LEAN, VA wrote Another Store: Almost everything you need at fair prices, and courteous service.......
• Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote Another Store: They could learn some lessons about having sufficient carts and ease of getting in and..........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Store: Trader Joe's is a specialty store, so variety is not exactly what you're there for........
• Subscriber from HERNDON, VA wrote Another Store: Giant's customer service is non-existent. They run out of bread, milk, and eggs on Sundays...........
• Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote Another Store: But who can afford it regularly. THe produce is so beautiful, it inspires you to..........
• Subscriber from LORTON, VA wrote Another Store: Small but special. Always interesting. Inexpensive but quality wine........
• Subscriber from CHANTILLY, VA wrote Another Store: Expensive and way over rated!.......
• Subscriber from GREENBELT, MD wrote Another Store: The staff is good, but the management tries to have as little staff on hand..........
• Subscriber from FALLS CHURCH, VA wrote Another Store: The speed of checkout varies by store........
• Subscriber from SPRINGFIELD, VA wrote Another Store: What can I say - - Trader Joe's is a religion for me. They carry..........
• Subscriber from MCLEAN, VA wrote Another Store: TJ's has better prices; WF has a wider selection of healthier options.......
• Subscriber from HAMILTON, VA wrote Another Store: We shop there for certain items 9mostly from Latin America and the Caribbean) that are..........
• Subscriber from BETHESDA, MD wrote Another Store: Not all Safeways are equal. I am rating the Safeway in Potomac, MD. Other Safeways..........
• Subscriber from ROCKVILLE, MD wrote Another Store: I use the Rockshire Giant - it is too small to carry much. They should..........
• Subscriber from POTOMAC, MD wrote Another Store: Since the remodeled the Potomac Safeway it is VERY hard to maneuver through the store..........
• Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote Another Store: Accept their limitations (small size, focused stock) and you'll be very happy here. SUPERFAST checkout........
• Subscriber from ROCKVILLE, MD wrote Another Store: Great place to shop..But the packaged veggies and fruits sometimes are either moldy or get..........
• Subscriber from FALLS CHURCH, VA wrote Another Store: It's your average american grocery store. It's clean and has the basics, as well as..........