Grrr! Argentine Supermarkets

[goodbooy]

You might be going to a really cheap supermarket like DIA%

If you are so unhappy here with groceries and driving I recommend you to go back home where you will find peace, potatoes and beautiful cebollas

 

[thorsten]

I just wanted to say that I really enjoy the dog poo on the side walks here like everyone else. Because if one would not appreciate it, I'm sure one should just go back home...

 

[GreenLeaf]

Ah, the supermarkets! One of the things I do NOT miss! People back home used to think it was very odd when I answered the question 'what do you miss from home?' with 'Tescos'. They all thought that doing the weekly shop was a chore that had to be endured. Ha! I mastered my zen zone out abilities during many hours spent queuing in Argentinian supermarkets. I think the record was 1.5 hours IN LINE at the Disco in Palermo - it was get a discount if you pay with a card day, and all the card transactions were taking 20 minutes to go through. How I wished I'd taken a book that day...

And yes I did indeed leave, not solely due to the horrors of Jumbo, but now I bask in the glory of not even having to go to the supermarket at all, just browse the extensive selection available on my retailer of choice's website, and lo and behold it all turns up within 24 hours, frozen food frozen, beer cold and nary a single item out of stock. I've truly never been so Zen.

 

[nlaruccia]

My electricity cuts out every night, and I haven't had water since yesterday. Some A-hole robbed cables form the Sarmiento train line on Monday causing a three block line all afternoon with people waiting to take a bus to get home to their family. I don't particularly care for the service in the supermarkets, but there are other things that really need to be solved first. You can choose not to go to that supermarket, but at least you can get home to your family.

 

[estebandepraga]

Sorry for your bad luck too often and too much!

 

[Girino]

I too hate going to supermarkets, it looks like they have forever. And that thing with 20 plastic bags for a bunch of stuff is revolting! Plus the bags always break by the time you are home, so hey cannot be reused. I get stared at because I take my own bags when going grocery shopping, I think that's the most Un-argentine thing in the world.

 

[ghost]

I wish i could understand supermarket mentality here, i really do. Like the driving I`ll never get used to it.

For example today I went at a quiet period, arrived to an near empty car park and someone had decided to park across one of the lanes of the car park in a big 4x4 toyota truck right in front of the entrance. They must have thought the wide grey area between the white lines wasnt where cars drive but in fact where 4x4 owners can park their big trucks and egos. Quality!

So anyway, went in to do our weekly shop. Tried to find carrots and potatoes, none on the shelves!? Went to get onions, they looked like theyd been run over on the route somewhere. Went to get some blue cheese nothing, terma - none, cornflakes - nada,Thoughts of Venezuela were creeping in.

Finished shop and went to the checkouts. 20+ tills and only two were staffed. About 6 people queuing, I check their trolleys to work out which might go faster. First 2 people in our queue went quite fast and then , theres always one, the guy in front of me with the full trolley. The cashier started putting all his goods through and he was just watching. Then when the Kilimanjaro mountain of food in front of his face got too much and things started to fall off , he decided he`d start bagging up, as slow as is possible. The cashier then started to help him, I was thinking of helping him aswell, she filled 5 bags whilst he was still confused about what he should put in his first empty bag, the big bag of cheesy puffs or his brains that had dribbled out of his ears earlier. So he gave up, confused, still holding the cheesy puffs and went back to watching the cashier fill the rest of his shopping into bags.

Meanwhile, I was putting the contents of my trolley onto the conveyor belt, I was taking it slow as it seemed we`d have all day, so the guy behind me thought he`d try it on and start putting his shopping on the belt as well even though I still had half a trolley full to unload. So I had to ask him to push back his shopping to get all of mine on the belt.

Then once the guy in front had all his shopping bagged up, he realised he`d forgotten some toilet rolls. So off he went . A minute later he came back with the toilet rolls and 3 women. These women and their 20 items of shopping all came past me , not a word was said, and then the penny drops, they were all one family. Its the good old Argentinan trick of getting someone to queue up and then when they get to the front of the queue, in come the rest of the family for a cheeky shopping drop at the last second. Its like the "hand of god" for supermarkets/banks/post offices/airports/delete as applicable.

Then to add to my disbelief ,a couple of items of the wifes part of the shop didnt have bar codes on. So the shop staff had to go and find replacements. They paid , partly with a credit card, partly in cash , just to speed up the process and left. Again not a word, no gracias, no disculpas, nada. I mumbled "de nada" under my breath as they left.
The staff didnt say a word neither , 45 f*@king minutes I was in the queue! Not a single apology, not a comment, nothing!
Today was the extreme but its not the first time and it does seem like inter-human pleasantries and customer service havent arrived here yet.

I left to go back to the car with my defrosted shopping, and who did I see getting in the 4x4 pickup. You guessed it. I had to laugh/cry.

This should be a permanent sticky in the newcomers forum

 

[RichardP]

Though not a supermarket experience, I took a flight on Lan Chile to Santiago and then onto La Serena once. I returned via Lan Argentina from Mendoza. The difference was like night and day. Lan Chile folks were appreciative of my business and made me feel welcome. Lan Argentina employees were rude and seemed bothered that I chose their airline.
There are many more stories like this.

Customer service or retention is not part of the mindset in this country. You are just creating more work and trouble for them by using the service for which you paid.
In my 24 years of experience here, the only thing that is somewhat efficient is collecting your money. After that, forget about it.

An important part of survival here is having very low expectations and then being pleasantly surprised when something actually works out.

 

[Jaredberryman]

I wish i could understand supermarket mentality here, i really do. Like the driving I`ll never get used to it.

For example today I went at a quiet period, arrived to an near empty car park and someone had decided to park across one of the lanes of the car park in a big 4x4 toyota truck right in front of the entrance. They must have thought the wide grey area between the white lines wasnt where cars drive but in fact where 4x4 owners can park their big trucks and egos. Quality!

So anyway, went in to do our weekly shop. Tried to find carrots and potatoes, none on the shelves!? Went to get onions, they looked like theyd been run over on the route somewhere. Went to get some blue cheese nothing, terma - none, cornflakes - nada,Thoughts of Venezuela were creeping in.

Finished shop and went to the checkouts. 20+ tills and only two were staffed. About 6 people queuing, I check their trolleys to work out which might go faster. First 2 people in our queue went quite fast and then , theres always one, the guy in front of me with the full trolley. The cashier started putting all his goods through and he was just watching. Then when the Kilimanjaro mountain of food in front of his face got too much and things started to fall off , he decided he`d start bagging up, as slow as is possible. The cashier then started to help him, I was thinking of helping him aswell, she filled 5 bags whilst he was still confused about what he should put in his first empty bag, the big bag of cheesy puffs or his brains that had dribbled out of his ears earlier. So he gave up, confused, still holding the cheesy puffs and went back to watching the cashier fill the rest of his shopping into bags.

Meanwhile, I was putting the contents of my trolley onto the conveyor belt, I was taking it slow as it seemed we`d have all day, so the guy behind me thought he`d try it on and start putting his shopping on the belt as well even though I still had half a trolley full to unload. So I had to ask him to push back his shopping to get all of mine on the belt.

Then once the guy in front had all his shopping bagged up, he realised he`d forgotten some toilet rolls. So off he went . A minute later he came back with the toilet rolls and 3 women. These women and their 20 items of shopping all came past me , not a word was said, and then the penny drops, they were all one family. Its the good old Argentinan trick of getting someone to queue up and then when they get to the front of the queue, in come the rest of the family for a cheeky shopping drop at the last second. Its like the "hand of god" for supermarkets/banks/post offices/airports/delete as applicable.

Then to add to my disbelief ,a couple of items of the wifes part of the shop didnt have bar codes on. So the shop staff had to go and find replacements. They paid , partly with a credit card, partly in cash , just to speed up the process and left. Again not a word, no gracias, no disculpas, nada. I mumbled "de nada" under my breath as they left.
The staff didnt say a word neither , 45 f*@king minutes I was in the queue! Not a single apology, not a comment, nothing!
Today was the extreme but its not the first time and it does seem like inter-human pleasantries and customer service havent arrived here yet.

I left to go back to the car with my defrosted shopping, and who did I see getting in the 4x4 pickup. You guessed it. I had to laugh/cry.

You have to learn to accept that these stupidities will just never change. I mean, even the way the whole setup is arranged is silly. It's like they want you to go slowly so they can lose money. Any normal supermarket somewhere else is going to have a system that gets the client through quickly. This is why Chinese supermarkets are so popular--you get in and out so quickly. You'll be happier though, when you come to accept that none of this is ever going to change. Things will be inefficient and that is the end of the story. It sucks, but the sooner you accept it, the better off you'll be. Welcome to Argentina, where people somehow purposely find how to do things in the least efficient way possible. And no one cares.

Enjoy the other parts of the culture that are a plus. Try to avoid supermarkets when you can. We feel your frustration.

 

[argsteve]

yes I feel your pain.....I go into a Coto with about the same joy as I go to the dentist for a root canal...