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Is Hy-Vee a premier grocery chain?

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I think we're still a premium chain. There has been some decisions I have disagreed with but all I can do is continue on my goal to win a legendary customer service award.

The biggest mess ups they've done has been their food service. They tried to go upscale and flipped the finger to the guy that loved our meatloaf and cheesy potatoes.
That change was a big fail for me. It used to be a great place for breakfast and was on the regular lunch rotation with work buddies. That all came to an end.
 
My local HyVee is playing that trick where they completely overhauled the locations of everything in the store moving them to different aisles. Now I can't just walk in and buy, I have to go searching. They're starting to play that game of rotating stuff around. DO NOT LIKE.
Just wait until you learn where everything is. They will do it again.
 
they've gotten too big. When running to the grocery store, I don't want to go to a 100,000sqft warehouse that sells everything under the sun. The traffic, parking and congestion is also bothersome.

Safeway is the predominant chain in our Colorado market, its good enough but I hate that they've eliminated a lot of the brand name labels and replaced it all with safeway private label products. I suspect Hy-Vee is doing the same.
I hear you. I used to live close to a store in Cedar Rapids called Carousel, later became an Eagle store. It was a medium size store in those days, small relative to stores today. I used it like my panty and refrigerator. When I decided what I wanted to eat, I run to the store, park close to the door, run in directly the meat counter and whatever else I needed, checkout and be on my way home. They had good meat and produce and everything else I needed.

I hate going to these big stores. HyVee has figured out the checkout like pretty well, but it's just too much of a hassle for my use case.

Fareway held lots of promise to me. But I don't go there because I hate the way they route you all the way to the back corner of the store before you are free to shop the aisles. Marketing people think that's smart. I disagree. The obstacle course keeps me from going there at all, even though they have the closest store to my home.
 
Agree HyVee is expensive AF, but damn that place is always packed.

If I get out of there w/ 4 bags under $50 I feel lucky..........


As for being "premier"......I wouldn't call them nationally premier....regionally dominant......seems people are willing to pay the higher prices for convenience (check out the cost of cut fruits/veggies) compared to buying whole and cleaning yourself - probably 3x the cost.........
 
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It’s funny how different things are regionally. When I was shopping for Shipt we all hated doing HyVee shops because they were always out of stock for a large number of items and Target was always well stocked. I do most of my shopping at Target and seldom have to go elsewhere. Sometimes I go to Aldi, especially for produce. I never shop at Walmart but will do the Neighborhood Market across the street from Target for Skinny Girl dressings if I need them.
That’s the fault of the people who do the ordering. The Hy-Vee’s I shop in Johnston, Ankeny and Urbandale are out of stock on very few items.
 
Explain why aisle two (right at the main entrance to the store) is the supplement aisle (that nobody buys) and the bread aisle is at the far end of the store? Hy Vee doesn't make the shopping convenient, they run you through the gauntlet hoping you buy more stuff.

As for kitchens/diners, shout out to the GOAT grocery store diner the Sunshine grocery store diner at the Indian Hills location in Sioux City.
That store is an anomaly. I shop at 3 different Hy-Vee’s (mostly Ankeny, but sometimes Johnston or Urbandale). The bread aisle is towards the middle, and the supplements are off to the side. The first few aisles have the produce, canned goods, etc. The later aisles have the pet food, toilet paper, etc. Milk and frozen foods are at the end because most people prefer to pick up those things last.
 
Agree HyVee is expensive AF, but damn that place is always packed.

If I get out of there w/ 4 bags under $50 I feel lucky..........


As for being "premier"......I wouldn't call them nationally premier....regionally dominant......seems people are willing to pay the higher prices for convenience (check out the cost of cut fruits/veggies) compared to buying whole and cleaning yourself - probably 3x the cost.........
people who have any knowledge of industry know otherwise. Between sales and perception in the industry, they are considered premier by the people who know supermarkets.

Hy-Vee Named One of the Best Supermarkets in the Nation​




April 26, 2021 | News & Press Releases




WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (April 26, 2021) — Hy-Vee, Inc. announced today that it has made USA Today’s 10Best Supermarkets in the nation list in the 2021 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. Hy-Vee ranked No. 2 on the list among grocery retailers across the country.


Hy-Vee is a Midwestern grocery retailer with more than 275 stores across Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. It is known for quality, variety, convenience, healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service. It employs more than 88,000 employees with sales of more than $11 billion annually.


“We are honored to be recognized as one of the top grocers in the nation,” said Hy-Vee Chairman, CEO and President Randy Edeker. “We thank our customers for their loyalty and our dedicated employees for providing exceptional service.”


Since 2020, Hy-Vee has been on a mission to be the “Best Place to Work and Shop in America,” introducing new services, innovations and value to its customers such as its Hy-Vee Plus premium membership program, enhancements to its Aisles Online grocery ordering service and now offering COVID-19 vaccines at its retail pharmacies – all while continuing to provide the helpful customer service it is known for.


Over the past year, Hy-Vee has introduced new employee benefits such as a 10% employee discount on groceries, holiday pay, employee appreciation bonuses, an enhanced 401(k) plan, part-time insurance and tuition assistance.


A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial supermarket award nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. To learn more about USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice awards for best supermarkets, visit https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-supermarket/.
 
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That change was a big fail for me. It used to be a great place for breakfast and was on the regular lunch rotation with work buddies. That all came to an end.
It did for a lot of people. I was the kitchen manager when they switched to all smoked foods for a while. Pissed off almost all of my customers and cut my sales down to a quarter of what they were. They've been scrambling ever since.
 
It did for a lot of people. I was the kitchen manager when they switched to all smoked foods for a while. Pissed off almost all of my customers and cut my sales down to a quarter of what they were. They've been scrambling ever since.


In H.S., during all night summer "camping" trips, we would hit up HV for breakfast about 7 a.m. 25 years ago. They had great breakfast back then.
 
They still have great breakfast but I heard they're thinking of getting rid of hashbrowns and only having home fries. That would be another huge mistake. I'm not a kitchen manager anymore so I don't know for sure.
 
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people who have any knowledge of industry know otherwise. Between sales and perception in the industry, they are considered premier by the people who know supermarkets.

Hy-Vee Named One of the Best Supermarkets in the Nation​




April 26, 2021 | News & Press Releases




WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (April 26, 2021) — Hy-Vee, Inc. announced today that it has made USA Today’s 10Best Supermarkets in the nation list in the 2021 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. Hy-Vee ranked No. 2 on the list among grocery retailers across the country.


Hy-Vee is a Midwestern grocery retailer with more than 275 stores across Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. It is known for quality, variety, convenience, healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service. It employs more than 88,000 employees with sales of more than $11 billion annually.


“We are honored to be recognized as one of the top grocers in the nation,” said Hy-Vee Chairman, CEO and President Randy Edeker. “We thank our customers for their loyalty and our dedicated employees for providing exceptional service.”


Since 2020, Hy-Vee has been on a mission to be the “Best Place to Work and Shop in America,” introducing new services, innovations and value to its customers such as its Hy-Vee Plus premium membership program, enhancements to its Aisles Online grocery ordering service and now offering COVID-19 vaccines at its retail pharmacies – all while continuing to provide the helpful customer service it is known for.


Over the past year, Hy-Vee has introduced new employee benefits such as a 10% employee discount on groceries, holiday pay, employee appreciation bonuses, an enhanced 401(k) plan, part-time insurance and tuition assistance.


A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial supermarket award nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. To learn more about USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice awards for best supermarkets, visit https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-supermarket/.
Pube-Licks comes in 7th, 5 places behind runner up Hy-Vee.

Sounds about right.
 
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I think we're still a premium chain. There has been some decisions I have disagreed with but all I can do is continue on my goal to win a legendary customer service award.

The biggest mess ups they've done has been their food service. They tried to go upscale and flipped the finger to the guy that loved our meatloaf and cheesy potatoes.

yeah, the sit down Market Grille restaurant was a disaster.

they have some other concepts that I am not sure are working:

* Their Clothing section
* Their Juice Bar
* Their DSW shoe section
 
I just got smart.

In the five-state area we have Braum's which I guess is like a DQ, but mo betta.

Nice thing is they also have a small, lil market. SO convenient to get staples like meat, milk, eggs ... . Park, walk 25 feet and you're in the market. Good/fair prices too.
 
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I just got smart.

In the five-state area we have Braum's which I guess is like a DQ, but mo betta.

Nice thing is they also have a small, lil market. SO convenient to get staples like meat, milk, eggs ... . Park, walk 25 feet and you're in the market. Good/fair prices too.
I have been at a couple of Braum's. Wichita, southeast Kansas ( Independence or Coffeyville ) Perry, Oklahoma.
I wasn't grocery shopping but I was there for lunch. Great burgers and the ice cream is wonderful.

I have a couple of customers in southern Kansas. Ditchwitch is in Perry, Oklahoma. They are now owned by Toro.

Edit: If you ever get a chance try the family owned chain of restaurants in that area called Spangles. Great burgers there also.
 
Publix is highly thought of . I have always heard great things about Wegmans in the NE. Never have been in one though
My wife (no pic) was in Boston last week on business; checked out a Wegman’s one evening and was very impressed.
 
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TOO FUC$ING EXPENSIVE!!!! Guess I’m just a poor but a while back I picked up an 8 pack of Gatorade for $7. Same thing was at Walmart for $5. I never go there unless it’s Sunday and I can’t wait. People that go there consistently are apparently fine with throwing money away.
I think hy vee is going to price themselves right out of the market. Watermelons were $8.99 the other day.
 
I like the older laid back "home town" Hy-Vee better. The day after they dropped the "helpful smile in every isle" slogan, the smiling helpful produce guy I talked with for years said GFY when I greeted him.;)
They stuck a corncob up your ass. So it really wasn't a smile. More of a cringe.
 
I guess, objectively, it is one of the better regional chains. Clean stores, good customer service, relatively wide selection.

But I have complaints. It’s run out so many other stores, it’s prices are kind of ridiculous. It has also cornered the market on liquor, at least here in the Quad Cities, which sucks, because while they have some high end stuff, they still don’t carry anywhere near the selection a solid standalone independent liquor store does.

We need a Binny’s here. That would be a license to print money, especially if they had more rare stuff HyVee won’t carry.
I would love to see a Woodman's come into the QC market. There is one in Rockford now, and LaCrosse. Damn those stores are cheap and have great selection.
 
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