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| - First, the good. Compared to the most likely alternative for me -- Albertson's -- Fry's has good prices. Not just the sale stuff either -- the base prices are decent too.
Often, you can even score a good deal in their kitchen wares section as well. Plus, they have one of those add-on areas, where they sell furniture, and all sorts of other non-grocery whatnot. I scored some sweet lawn chairs there for a song.
However, so many things about this store drive me crazy, more often than not, I am willing to pay more elsewhere, than shop here.
It starts when you enter the parking lot. No matter what time of day, it's jammed. Every time, I have to navigate through crowds of moseying pedestrians and speeding tuners to get some spot a mile from the entrance.
When you eventually park and walk in, you find the carts are stored on the exit side. You can either enter through the wrong door, or wait for the throngs to exit so you can cross over and go get your cart.
Then, you are greeted with a gigantic seasonal display in the center of the foyer. This, combined with people entering and exiting, the completely uninhabited floral area, and the line of people waiting to send moneygrams and buy lottery tickets, puts a stranglehold on the doorway. Let's just say I just hope there is never a fire here.
The display is just a sign of things to come. There are about 30 smaller displays in each aisle, narrowing them down to one cart width. Since the store is always mobbed, these peninsulas of products only increase the traffic jams, which makes everyone cranky, and thus, heighten the stress of shopping there.
And so, to save the remains of my sanity, I only shop at this Fry's when I am truly hard up for cash.
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