Near the end of last week, I decided to go out to the brand new Winco. Everyone here was really hyping up how great the new store would be.
After spending about 10 minutes in the store, let’s just say I was UNIMPRESSED!! From my short visit, I realized that most of the prices in the store were not competitive at all with the deals we find elsewhere.
Here are some of the CONS:
- WinCo does not advertise. You do not know what sales they have going on, unless you drive out and see. They say they do this to cut back on costs to us. Occasionally, they will send out a small one page ad with special deals. But who wants to waste gas money in case they MIGHT have a good sale going on.
- WinCo does not accept Credit Cards. They will take debit and any other form.
- Most of WinCo’s items are NOT on sale. I have never seen such expensive items.
- It was an absolute Mad House! There were no room for your carts and everyone was stocking up with food items that I knew they were paying WAY too much for. You could get items cheaper at a Smiths or Albertsons without coupons.
- One of the sales they did have was for a family size package of Chicken Breasts for $.99 a pound. That is really amazing! The cheapest I have ever seen Chicken Breast go is $1.22 a pound. So, I thought that might be my saving grace. However, when I got over to the chicken, I lost my appetite. I finally realized why it was so cheap…all bad and bloody cuts.
- The layout of the store is compacted and hard to maneuver through.
Now for some of the PROS
- They had a large parking lot.
- They had an AMAZING assortment of Pinatas.
You may think I am being pretty negative. And, maybe I am. Maybe I just had a really bad first experience?? But just because an item is labeled as “bulk” does not mean that it is a great deal. Price points really do matter. And in this case, WinCo did not impress me.
Anyone have any different experiences or thoughts about WinCo? I would love to hear them. Like I said, maybe I just had a bad first experience. I would probably try my luck again, if someone else had a good experience there. Let me know. 🙂
Ally Cox
All I have heard about WinCo is bad things. I don't plan on going there, EVER! I have heard stories about customers who rip carts right out of your hands! All I have heard is that you get what you pay for at WinCo, hence the nasty chicken story that totally makes me wanna puke! I plan on steering clear, I don't want to go and deal with ignorant people to get my groceries!!
Mikelle
That's too bad that your experiences were so bad! I LOVE WinCo! I feel that they have very competitive prices on a wide variety of items. I also love their produce department. They have a huge variety of fruits and veggies. I got a 20 lb. bag of potatoes for $0.50. And a couple weeks ago, I got strawberries (1 lb.) for $0.78!!! I also love their bulk department. Many stores no longer have bulk food and I love the fact that I can choose how much or how little to buy. For example, they have several grains that you can buy by the pound. So if I have a recipe that calls for 1/2 c. of wheat germ, I don't have to buy an entire bottle for that one recipe. I just buy what I need. I also buy freshly ground peanut and almond butter. (And when I say fresh, I mean you push the button and you watch it go from nuts to butter right in front of you! It's awesome.) I feel like it's much healthier for my family than processed peanut butter, and again, I can buy as much or as little as I want.I also love their deli and meat department. They often have deli turkey or ham for about $3/lb. which I think is a great deal. I also bought several pork roasts for $0.98/lb. I always feel like I get a lot of food for the amount of money I spend. As far as the story about people stealing carts from other people, I think that was only during the opening weeks. Every time I go there it seems relatively un-crowded. And the people working there have always been very friendly and helpful to me! Anyway, I would highly recommend that you give WinCo another try! Especially now that there are no crowds like there were back when it first opened! I hope this encourages others to try WinCo as well! 🙂
Anonymous
I love Winco. You can't base your opinion of a store because of the people that shop there. Look at Walmart that is REAL class and you still shop there, don't you?
Cindy
I've been to the new Ogden Winco a few times and it's great. Most, but not all prices, are quite a bit lower than I've seen at other grocery stores in our area. A lot of it is cheaper than Walmart, too. I avoided going during the first week or so, and I'll probably never go there on a Saturday, but it's close to my work, so it's quick to stop by for inexpensive stuff. I also probably won't be getting meat there. I'm pretty picky about meat.I'd definitely grocery shop there over Walmart.