You Are What You Eat…Buy Your Garbage at the Ravena Shop’n Save!

Buy Your Garbage at the Ravena Shop’n Save and Keep Your Shopping Dollars Local

Shop’n Save Stores Are Supplied by Hannaford
Shop’Save Supermarkets are apparently the bottom-feeder option in one-horse towns.

We’ve received an interesting request from a local resident that deserves some comment. It’s not a story of corruption—or is it?—and not about Coeymanazis or psycho-cops or corrupt government. It’s about a resident keeping his dollars locally and made to regret it by a local business owner.

It explains why so many businesses are going out of business or leaving the area. It explains, at least in part, why people would rather go to Glenmont or to Delmar to shop, keep fit, or to bank.

Here’s what the reader has to say:

Save Time And Money;
Don’t Shop at Shop’n Save
Or at least do yourself a favor and avoid the
Ravena Shop’n Save

Dear Blog Editor:

I know this is not something really important or something you’d want to put on your blog, knowing you have bigger fish to fry, but I would like to let you know, and maybe you’ll find it interesting enough to put on your blog.Today is Sunday and I went out early to do pick up a couple of items to do a nice Sunday brunch.Now, I wanted to stay local and not make a world-tour of just getting a couple of items so I took the chance and went to the Ravena Shop’n Save (even though past experiences were not the best).I picked up eggs, orange juice, bacon, bread and a package of strawberries. I wanted some other items, including green peppers, but they were really garbage, soft and wrinkled, so I passed on items like that. But I did mention it to the produce person that they really shouldn’t be sold. He agreed (but didn’t do anything about it).

So I checked out and paid my $19.46 and headed home.We start to do the breakfast/brunch and open the strawberries. Many were rotten and several were actually moldy. If any of them could be used, they’d have to be cleaned up. It looked like only about 1/2 the package could be used.I was unhappy and decided to go back to Shop’n Save to give them a piece of my mind and get my money back, plus compensation for my time, fuel, and emotions.

Well, I got there and had to wait for someone to notice me at the “Customer Service” counter. An assistant manager, pleasant enough, came over and asked if she could help. I explained the problem and she asked if I had my receipt. I said No! But pointed out the cashier and reminded her that she, herself, had bagged the purchases. I remembered the exact items and the exact amount and told her the receipt is probably in the cashier’s waste bin. The Assistant Manager called across the store to the cashier that she “Needed to go through her garbage to find a receipt.” I told her that was disgusting and she replied that she couldn’t refund my money without the receipt or a store manager’s approval (Why was she an assistant manager?).

She fetched the garbage bag, went thru the contents and found the receipt! She then fills out a form, hands the book to me and asks me to provide a list of personal contact information. I found that bizarre and very complicated but I cooperated. She then asked me if I had a penny. By this time I tell her, “I’m really working too hard for this.” But I hand her a penny and she hands me four singles, turns to another customer and starts taking care of him. I’m standing there a bit stunned and ask her, “Is that all there is. Is that it?” She responds, “That’s your refund.” I return, “But what about my time, my gas, my trouble? Don’t you people care about that?” She replies, “Do you want to speak to a manager?” I answer, “Yes!”

Several minutes later some kid approaches the counter—I don’t even take notice because I’m waiting for a “manager,” someone who maybe looks like a manager—and the Assistant Manager announces this is the manager.Without introducing himself he looks at me and asks, “What’s the problem.” So I explain the problem and his problem with selling garbage (I explained to him the several items of produce I had earlier examined and found too far gone for human consumption.). I also mentioned that I expected a bit more consideration than $3.99 and I got not even an “I’m sorry.” I asked who exactly he was, what’s his name, he responded “Kyle Smith. My family owns this store.”

I then repeated that I expected some gesture that someone was concerned about my inconvenience and my unhappiness. Mr Smith simply responded with a strange look, “You want more?” I said “Yes. I do. I expect some customer care, customer service.” Mr Smith then invited me into one of the aisles so we had privacy. I told Mr Smith I didn’t need privacy that I wanted shoppers to hear my complaint.

Mr Smith had not even looked in the bag yet but when I mentioned rotten fruit he actually asked, “Strawberries?”

Eat them yourself, Smith! We don’t want them!

I asked, “How did you know that?” He responded, “They’re usually the first to go. [That’s why] They’re on sale.” So, I said, “You know you’re selling us garbage, so you put it on sale to get rid of it and get your money. We take it home and have to cut half of it off and throw it away. That means that we’re paying more than the regular price, considering what has to get thrown out. We might as well go to Hannaford in Delmar or PriceChopper in Glenmont, we’d save money by paying full price. We’d save gas by not having to make two trips. That’s robbery!”

With a dull look on his face, he responded, “You want more?” By that time I had had enough and could have kicked myself in the ass for having allowed myself to be victimized again by Shop’n Save in Ravena. Just thought I’d let you know.

Thank you!

Well, yes, Ravena-Coeymans is a one-horse town.

The Smith family who run the Shop’n Save know that and the treatment their customers receive shows that fact. Actually, they cater more to the social welfare crowd who don’t really care because they survive on high-calorie junk food and don’t really give a damn for fresh veggies or fruits.

I personally took a short ride to Shop’n Save myself just to see what was going on. Yes, the soft mushy green peppers, about 8 of them, were lonely and rotten in the baskets, several other items looked like they had seen better, much better days (perhaps even in another Hannaford store before the got to Shop’n Save), and the strawberries were still out and still fragrantly past their prime, and you could see the mold on the bottom of the clear plastic package. The were indeed on sale for $3.99. Cheap for garbage.

Hannaford’s Official Logo Actually Features Fresh-Looking Produce!

Most of the people who must shop at the Ravena Shop’n Save don’t have a choice of going to Delmar or Glenmont so they make their taxpayer-supported purchases there; why should they care, it’s not their money, it’s ours.

The problem I have with this entire scenario is that Kyle Smith and the Smith’s are actually taking taxpayer money for garbage, and profiting by that low-life scheme. It’s the whole story of the “captive audience.”

The Smith’s apparently don’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks about their customer service, which is nada, zero, zilch. Welfare customers don’t complain and the Ravena Shop’n Save apparently doesn’t get many more discerning customers to care about customer care.

This might seem like small potatoes to many readers but there are some very disturbing things going on here.  First of all, Ravena-Coeymans is a one-horse town. That’s all there is and no one cares, least of all the Smith family and “manager” Kyle Smith, who apparently has no management training and definitely no customer service training. They have their Oakbrook Manor clientele and in their small-town minds, that keeps them going.

Second, anyone who can will go outside of the area to do their major shopping. And one of the major expenses of any middle-class or even working class household is groceries and household items. Could run into the tens of thousands of dollars a week for even a small community like Ravena-Coeymans, and those dollars are going to Delmar, Albany, Glenmont, Colonie. Say bye-bye! Because under conditions like that, more businesses are going to fail and you’ll have more empty business property in Ravena-Coeymans.

Thirdly, running a business like the Smith family  apparently does is literally theft of taxpayer dollars. Or, even if we were to say that welfare shoppers don’t buy fruit or veggies, it’s still dishonest because they are knowingly selling sub-standard produce by deceptively marking it down, knowing that a good portion is unedible and must be thrown away. They’re selling us garbage to recoup their profits! How’s that make you feel?

Fourthly, it’s the attitude that really hurts the area. The very fact that shoppers and consumers in this Ravena-Coeymans area are treated like turds has far-reaching effects on everyone. The stupid attitude shown by Kyle Smith says it all. What he told our reader amounts to: “I don’t give a rat’s ass about your time, gas, or feelings. How dare you want more. You got your money back. Now get your sorry ass out of here.” How do you think the reader’s attitude would have changed dramatically if Smith simply said, “Gee, I’m really sorry you had this experience. Let me make it up to you. Would a $10.00 gift certificate help?” I believe Yes! It would have helped. The reader would have felt better and probably would have come back, spent his/her $10 and more. The reader would have left feeling like a valued customer instead of a door mat.

But that’s what Ravena-Coeymans is: A third-world community with third-world attitudes, and third-world services.

This explains a lot about Ravena-Coeymans: You are what you eat…or what Kyle Smith and the Ravena Shop’n Save want to sell you to eat.

Yes! Reader, this is important and it affects not only you, personally, but as you can see, affects the entire region in many ways. Thank you very much for sending in your story.

And YES! We’d Like to Hear from the Smith Family, the “Owners” of the Ravena Shop’n Save and from Hannaford Headquarters. Just Leave a Public Comment!

Is This the Next Step?
We’re Third World Already
The Editor