whiskey tango foxtrot, over?

[swan_tower]

I don't know if this is a California thing or what, but I've come across some appallingly ill-organized stores since moving out here. The Blockbuster within walking distance is so bad I've pretty much vowed never to set foot in it again: not only are 3/4 of the DVDs stacked in haphazard piles rather than laid face-out for ease of browsing, but there are L's in with the A's and C's among the S's, to the point where I had to search the entire section to be sure that if the movie I wanted was anywhere in the store, it was too thoroughly lost to be worth my while.

And the grocery store! I thought for a while they didn't carry Near East couscous, because it's shelved two or three aisles over from the rest of the couscous. (Which is in the aisle labeled "natural foods," including such natural foods as Powerade.) Hunting for taco seasoning, did I find it among the Hispanic foods? Among the spices? No, it's in with the stuffing and gravy packets. Or at least some of it is; either Safeway doesn't stock the most stereotypical brands of such things, or they've hidden the Old El Paso god knows where. In with the pet food, maybe. The cheese, sour cream, and yogurt aren't in with the milk, eggs, and butter -- no dairy section for you! -- they're clear across the store, along with the lunch meats, which are likewise nowhere near the rest of the meat.

Srsly. Is the state of California too busy being hippies in the sunshine to think about how they set up their stores?

Maybe I should hire myself out as a consultant.

Comments

[clodfobble.livejournal.com]

While I can't explain the "natural foods" or seasoning debacles, there is sometimes a slight justification for splitting up the various dairy products. (This comes from my short stint working in a grocery store which, being brand new, was giving crazy informative tours on its high-tech equipment.)

See, those refrigerated cases are really, really, really expensive. What's more, they suck a lot of electricity, and can't just be thrown on any old circuit. So when a store starts expanding its selection, and cramming more and more products in the same building, the new refrigerated case they have to add can't just be put in anywhere. Sometimes it has to be put on the other side of the store for electrical purposes. (You may also notice a significant preference for the open-style cases to be around the entire perimeter, while the kind with doors can go anywhere just like normal aisles.) Ideally, you can neatly break it up, with meat on one side and dairy on the other, but, well, sometimes it doesn't always work that way. Or, sometimes you just have a retarded General Manager who has no sense of logical product layout. :)

[kurayami-hime.livejournal.com]

I think the latter might explain why the milk, cheese, and butter were in three different places at a Safeway I went to not too long ago. The cheese and the yogurt were together, and the milk was along the wall. The butter? The butter was with the wine. No, I don't know why. I only found it because I was trying to find the cheese.

I never thought anything could make me miss HEB. Safeway does. Did I mention that I went to another one that had NO CHEESE. The case was there, but the cheese...wasn't.

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

I had figured they couldn't just rearrange, since obviously the cold cases were in a variety of locations. I hadn't thought about the wiring requirements.

I still think it's dumb. <g>