Ivy_Twin said:

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H.E. Butt's(it's just more fun to say) WAS the cheap Waco store. I remember them having generic beer that was simply a white can with "BEER" written on it in black, block letters. Now that Skaggs and others have left, H.E.Butts has become an over-priced buffoon of a store that I can't for the life of me know why so many of you people idolize. It's expensive but not THAT great. Get over HEB, my fellow bears. Quit giving the Butt family rent-free space in your heads(and wallets).

Geesh!

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I cannot speak for anyone else, although I doubt anyone idolizes the place, but I go to HEB because they have a lot of good products at good prices, especially their branded items. It's that simple.

I will say this: I do not usually buy produce there because I can go to Kroger or Aldi in usually get better sale prices. It helps that all are close by and convenient.

If I dont shop at HEB in waco, where do I shop? Walmart? Target?

There will never be an option VS HEB because it is so much better than any competition in the country.

Or at least in Texas

I absolutely loath the HEBs in Waco. I am a much bigger fan of the smaller, neighborhood style grocery stores rather than the sprawling montoliths that are the HEB Plus types. Getting in and out of the Woodway and/or Valley Mills HEB is an enormous pain in the keister. I'd rather do the Ghetto HEB 10 times out of town in comparison. Easy parking, get in, get out.,

I don't need to have a store where I can buy both beef ribs AND a new OLED TV.

Let me park in under an hour, damnit.

It is amazing how often people seem to do that at lots of places! Just take the next available parking space & walk an extra 20-30 feet already. What really gets me is when people stop in the middle of an aisle weighing for a car to leave & there is no car leaving! They are just taking up space blocking those of us who don't care if we park next to the door.

historian said:

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It is amazing how often people seem to do that at lots of places! Just take the next available parking space & walk an extra 20-30 feet already. What really gets me is when people stop in the middle of an aisle weighing for a car to leave & there is no car leaving! They are just taking up space blocking those of us who don't care if we park next to the door.

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I park at the very end of the aisle, typically in the middle. By the time the people waiting/driving around for a spot get parked, I've already gone through the fruit/veggie section. It's maddening.

I get to HEB Wooded Acres now about 3 times a week. For 15 years , I went every morning for coffee with my eclectic group of Geezers..Pandemic put a stop to that, sadly. Several of the regulars have died over the past year..not from Covid, but just old age.. Anyway, I still go at 6:30 AM, and park basically in the same place I have been parking for all that time. No hassles, no crowds, just a perfect time to go if your schedule allows. The remodel now going on is a needed one, and the little inconvenience it may occasionally cause is nothing to write home about. Best dayum store that I could ever hope for.

Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

CorsicanaBear said:

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Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

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Well I hate to tell you you're gonna be SOL in about 10-15 years as more and more grocers abandon traditional check lanes for SCO whether it's 2/3 bag type SCO machines or belted SCO machines it's coming.

trey3216 said:

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TrapIt4Life said:

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I absolutely loath the HEBs in Waco. I am a much bigger fan of the smaller, neighborhood style grocery stores rather than the sprawling montoliths that are the HEB Plus types. Getting in and out of the Woodway and/or Valley Mills HEB is an enormous pain in the keister. I'd rather do the Ghetto HEB 10 times out of town in comparison. Easy parking, get in, get out.,

I don't need to have a store where I can buy both beef ribs AND a new OLED TV.

Let me park in under an hour, damnit.

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I rarely spend more than 20 minutes combined parking and shopping at the HEB in Woodway. You just have to know when to go, and stop driving around for 27 minutes to find a spot. By the time you're done driving around, I'm getting back into my truck.

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Haha I have timed it...I can get from twin rivers and back in 25-28 minutes round trip and get beer and food to grill and do self checkout.

How it could take that long is beyond reasonable

1outawayBear said:

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trey3216 said:

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TrapIt4Life said:

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I absolutely loath the HEBs in Waco. I am a much bigger fan of the smaller, neighborhood style grocery stores rather than the sprawling montoliths that are the HEB Plus types. Getting in and out of the Woodway and/or Valley Mills HEB is an enormous pain in the keister. I'd rather do the Ghetto HEB 10 times out of town in comparison. Easy parking, get in, get out.,

I don't need to have a store where I can buy both beef ribs AND a new OLED TV.

Let me park in under an hour, damnit.

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I rarely spend more than 20 minutes combined parking and shopping at the HEB in Woodway. You just have to know when to go, and stop driving around for 27 minutes to find a spot. By the time you're done driving around, I'm getting back into my truck.

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Haha I have timed it...I can get from twin rivers and back in 25-28 minutes round trip and get beer and food to grill and do self checkout.

How it could take that long is beyond reasonable

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I just don't understand it. The only time I've ever gone for more than 30 minutes is when the wife texts me when I'm pulling up to the checkout line that she needs some other trivial ordeal, or if I have to find some obscure item for the baby that takes me more than 5 minutes to find on the cluttered ass baby aisle. Other than that, I'm gone and back in 20 minutes.

Weston Rogers said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

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Well I hate to tell you you're gonna be SOL in about 10-15 years as more and more grocers abandon traditional check lanes for SCO whether it's 2/3 bag type SCO machines or belted SCO machines it's coming.

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I think you're spot on. Margins, margins, margins. Happened in the fuel business, except when they "weaned" customers off full service, they discounted their gas for self serve. I look at all the employees now in the big food stores, and wonder how many jobs will be lost to automation. I hear that unloading trucks and stocking shelves will be automated in a short number of years. I hope that possibly some jobs will be created for those "on the bubble."

CorsicanaBear said:

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Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

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the wife was at walmart and the manager closed the lane my wife had waited in and was next in line with 2 carts of groceries and stuff. When the manager told her she would have to go get in another line, she politely told the manager no she would not and then She left both carts with the manager and said to the manager on the way out that we would not be back to grocery shop in their store. That was over 5 years ago, still no grocery shopping at that Walmart in Waco.

That's funny: I'm almost the opposite. I rarely buy more than a half dozen items when I go to the store. I try to keep the pantry & freezer well stocked & only buy when something is getting low.

Weston Rogers said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

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Well I hate to tell you you're gonna be SOL in about 10-15 years as more and more grocers abandon traditional check lanes for SCO whether it's 2/3 bag type SCO machines or belted SCO machines it's coming.

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It's all about labor costs. If Biden gets his way & the feds impose a $15 minimum wage nationally, then lots of retail places will have even fewer workers. Notice how restaurants & grocery stores are still pushing online & shopping even though the pandemic is all but over? Same with kiosks at fast food places.

Quote:

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Well I hate to tell you you're gonna be SOL in about 10-15 years as more and more grocers abandon traditional check lanes for SCO whether it's 2/3 bag type SCO machines or belted SCO machines it's coming.

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I would be totally happy with walking in, putting my stuff in bags and walking out the door and having my card automatically charged. The friction now in the process is what irritates me. Here's the stuff I want, take my money and let me go without wasting time. Don't care how its done.

I would shop online for home delivery, but the process is too clumsy. I have to know the brands I want and what size and I don't trust them to pick meat and veggies. And on top of that HEB's app is really bad. Amazon is likely to destabilize the grocery market in a few years.

CorsicanaBear said:

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I have to know the brands I want and what size and I don't trust them to pick meat and veggies. And on top of that HEB's app is really bad.

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That's why I don't buy groceries online.

historian said:

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Weston Rogers said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

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Well I hate to tell you you're gonna be SOL in about 10-15 years as more and more grocers abandon traditional check lanes for SCO whether it's 2/3 bag type SCO machines or belted SCO machines it's coming.

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It's all about labor costs. If Biden gets his way & the feds impose a $15 minimum wage nationally, then lots of retail places will have even fewer workers. Notice how restaurants & grocery stores are still pushing online & shopping even though the pandemic is all but over? Same with kiosks at fast food places.

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Most of H-E-B's employees are already making north of $15/hr

trey3216 said:

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historian said:

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Weston Rogers said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

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Well I hate to tell you you're gonna be SOL in about 10-15 years as more and more grocers abandon traditional check lanes for SCO whether it's 2/3 bag type SCO machines or belted SCO machines it's coming.

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It's all about labor costs. If Biden gets his way & the feds impose a $15 minimum wage nationally, then lots of retail places will have even fewer workers. Notice how restaurants & grocery stores are still pushing online & shopping even though the pandemic is all but over? Same with kiosks at fast food places.

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Most of H-E-B's employees are already making north of $15/hr

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I believe you're correct, trey. And they are making their personal budgets based on current income...that's what concerns me about the grocery giant possibly shedding as much as 25-30% of current employees as automation becomes more and more prevalent in bigger stores..I hope these youngsters have other fields that they can enter into without a drastic income drop.

trey3216 said:

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historian said:

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It's all about labor costs. If Biden gets his way & the feds impose a $15 minimum wage nationally, then lots of retail places will have even fewer workers. Notice how restaurants & grocery stores are still pushing online & shopping even though the pandemic is all but over? Same with kiosks at fast food places.

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Most of H-E-B's employees are already making north of $15/hr

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Which helps to explain why there are not more of them.

historian said:

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trey3216 said:

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historian said:

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It's all about labor costs. If Biden gets his way & the feds impose a $15 minimum wage nationally, then lots of retail places will have even fewer workers. Notice how restaurants & grocery stores are still pushing online & shopping even though the pandemic is all but over? Same with kiosks at fast food places.

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Most of H-E-B's employees are already making north of $15/hr

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Which helps to explain why there are not more of them.

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the now hiring signs at HEB and most other retailers/restaurants in town are a better indicator of why there are not more of them...

4th and Inches said:

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historian said:

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trey3216 said:

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historian said:

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It's all about labor costs. If Biden gets his way & the feds impose a $15 minimum wage nationally, then lots of retail places will have even fewer workers. Notice how restaurants & grocery stores are still pushing online & shopping even though the pandemic is all but over? Same with kiosks at fast food places.

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Most of H-E-B's employees are already making north of $15/hr

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Which helps to explain why there are not more of them.

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the now hiring signs at HEB and most other retailers/restaurants in town are a better indicator of why there are not more of them...

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Just ran in for something at Tom Thumb. They had signs for help wanted for 7 positions on each register.

4th and Inches said:

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CorsicanaBear said:

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Time spent parking is not as much an issue as safety. When leaving church one Sunday morning, I overheard a young mom tell her children "Put on your helmets, we're going to HEB". And she was right, its a war out there. But even that I can overcome.

My time problem is with the checkout lanes. I think they have done a study to find out how long a line people will stand without rioting and open just enough lanes to keep that from happening. They should open lanes generously, not parsimoniously opening the minimum they can get by with. Nothing hacks me off more than being made to wait to give someone my money.

They also don't have sackers on every lane they have open. A decent grocery sacker can speed up the process enormously. Better contactless pay options like Apple pay would speed things up too.

Self check lanes won't really help me because I try to never go to the store if I have 10 or fewer items to buy. S

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the wife was at walmart and the manager closed the lane my wife had waited in and was next in line with 2 carts of groceries and stuff. When the manager told her she would have to go get in another line, she politely told the manager no she would not and then She left both carts with the manager and said to the manager on the way out that we would not be back to grocery shop in their store. That was over 5 years ago, still no grocery shopping at that Walmart in Waco.

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Not only do I not shop for groceries at Walmart, I haven't been in ours for over 5 years - I absolutely hate it.

lrwells50 said:

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joseywales said:

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Does anyone know why with Waco's growth we don't have more options for grocery shopping etc, like a Kroger etc..HEB has been slowly but surely eliminating great products and brands and replacing them with their brand....not their central market brand which is good but HEB..I can't find hardly any of the items I used to buy reguraly there...It is obvious they have quite the choke hold on Waco except for Walmart which really sucks....I refuse to buy the replacement HEB brand crap...who would I talk to to get information to get more legit competition into Waco and stop the HEB monopoly?

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I would LOVE to have an HEB. We have what my daughter would call a ghetto Kroger, a Brookshires, and a Walmart. Brookshires selection is limited, and I haven't been inside Walmart in 5+years and don't intend to start, so I shop at Kroger. Forgot Aldis, which is fine if you want to go several times a week to see what they've got, but it's not what I would call a full service grocery store here.

Grass is always greener.

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This is exactly what we have where we live. My wife and I have often said we wished there was an HEB near us.

EnglishBear said:

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The only private/regional grocer I've found that compares with HEB is Wegmans, which started in upstate New York and is now 100+ stores down into Virginia and NC. Very similar story--family owned and run, tremendous to their employees, etc.

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No doubt, old buddy. H-E-B serves Texas and Mexico in 155 networks, with in excess of 340 stores and more than 100,000 workers. Be that as it may, I have been to Wegmans and on the off chance that we look at the nature of the food they have with HEB, it doesn't coordinate. Be that as it may, Wegmans is the most loved supermarket in America. Incidentally, H-E-B is outshone by New York's most loved Wegmans, which took the No. 1 in general spot interestingly with a 76 percent composite dependability score in research goliath Market Force's yearly rankings.

hodedofome said:

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This thread is funny. The future (and generally the present) is delivery. Amazon will win, H-E-B will have to find a way to stay relevant. Will be difficult when you get free delivery with your Prime subscription you already pay for. H-E-B will have to ask for an additional subscription, which will be a tough sell. And H-E-B will never be able to deliver ask quickly as Amazon.

Kroger, Albertsons, Brookshire's and all the other grocers will be in the same boat. Walmart will survive, but Amazon is a beast.

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I am probably different than most. I love going grocery shopping. The Central Market experience is hard to beat.

First world problems.

I live in Waco and our grocery shopping. I go to HEB about once every 3 to 4 weeks, takes me an hour each trip. I find generally all major brands although I might have to look for a moment or two. I shop at either Wooded Acres or Woodway depending if I am going from work or home.

A interesting story, one of my daughters lives in Little Rock. She came home one weekend and brought some friends with her and took them to HEB as one of highlights of the trip. They all came home raving about the HEB experience.

Walmart is a no-no, unless no other choice.

I also shop at Waco Meat for a lot of our beef and other meats.

I am from a small West Texas town. When I came to Baylor 1965, Waco was great, it had 5 indoor theatres and 2 or 3 drive in theatres not the mention the eating places. It's all in the perspective.lol

I just go where it is least expensive and most convenient.

I doubt Kroger or Randall's would be able to outduel Walmart or HEB.

historian said:

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Leander HEB gave food for free when power went out. You can choose which source you want:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/02/19/texas-heb-lost-power/wegmans grocery

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/trending/texas-grocery-store-loses-power-lets-customers-leave-without-paying/MC4UE6BSWVGBZALJGFAEN4BBJU/

https://www.austin360.com/story/lifestyle/food/2021/02/19/h-e-b-gave-away-free-groceries-after-store-lost-power-in-texas/4498735001/

https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending/texas-grocery-store-loses-power-lets-customers-leave-without-paying/MC4UE6BSWVGBZALJGFAEN4BBJU/

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Great thanks for sharing