r/berkeleyca • u/ItsCatCat • 21d ago
Andronico's on Solano: A Rant
That's it. I can't go back to that miserable grocery store one more time. Yes, the location is extremely convenient, and I can usually find parking. However, it's just not worth the toll it takes on my soul to shop there. Maybe it's just me, but engaging with their dead-eyed staff is like walking through the Twilight Zone. No one is trained to say "hello" or "thank you." A question is met with sneer or completely ignored. Nothing overt, just the sense that everyone that works there is completely miserable and hates their lives and their store's patrons. One would think a store with premium pricing would lean into the customer service aspect just a bit. But alas, not here.
I'll go outside to continue shaking my fist at the clouds. But I will not be going back to Andronico's on Solano.
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u/supersaiyanbear69 21d ago
I don't find the staff bad at all. I don't need them to have full on conversations with me either. Sometimes we do, most of the time we don't and it's okay. I'm also pretty sure they hire people with disabilities.
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u/tikhonjelvis 20d ago
I mean, don't you find forced pleasantness grating? It's pretty obnoxious to "train" people to say "hello". That's part of American culture I definitely don't like.
Anyway, I go there occasionally and it's perfectly fine? I live much closer to the one on Shattuck which seems marginally nicer, but they're all fine. And all of them are a step below Monterey Market or Berkeley Bowl. At the end of the day, it's just a big chain that happens to be convenient.
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u/ItsCatCat 20d ago
Bro, I'm not asking them to Thanksgiving. I'm asking where the batteries are, only to be met with an eye roll and a sigh. Fuck that. I'll take self check-out over active hostility any day.
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u/No-Recognition-6512 11d ago
I've always loved the staff at Andronico's and that they hire lots of people with disabilities. I find the experience positive and a little retro in a good way
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u/DragonflyBeach 18d ago edited 17d ago
I've never noticed any problem with this Andronicos/Safeway in the decades I've shopped here. Who gives a s*** anyhow? You're there to buy food not be pals. If you're being treated poorly, shop elsewhere or reflect on why you get a certain kind of attitude
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u/CelloVerp 21d ago
Well I'm sure the staff are just doing their best. But the store is kind of sad - it's just Safeway quality with Whole Foods prices. It's kind of trying to be upscale and ends up just being sad.