Giant Food — Attraction in Arlington

DO NOT BUY FROM THEIR MEAT DEPARTMENT!!!

Today was the third strike for me buying from their meat department. I bought a steak and when I opened it, it had a strange white residue on it here and there. They were like little flakes and when I gathered them up they felt like chap stick and melted on my finger. And no, it wasn't just excess fat from the steak, it was a foreign substance. Most of the steaks are vacuum-sealed which probably means they aren't cut up and packaged in-store like they should be. And the residue probably accidentally got on there during the packaging process at a food plant.

The other two instances I bought ground pork and lamb chops and when I opened the packages at home they were rancid. And I opened them well before their expiry date. Specifically, the lamb chops were labeled with a sell-by date two weeks in advance of when I opened it.

On 2 out of 3 of these instances I returned the item and was given a refund. However, the clerk at the customer service desk did not seem to care in the slightest both times and I am almost completely certain they didn't bother informing the butchers about these issues.

Also, today when I was sorting through the wrinkly bell peppers looking for one of decent freshness I noticed they had a sticky substance on them. I don't know if that's unintentional or intentionally there to preserve the produce. Either way I won't be getting it.

I would generally recommend staying away from "fresh" food at this store. I would bet that quality issues like these is what caused the location a mile away on Route 29 to close...

Got towed. Apparently this happens to lots of people. The store does nothing to prevent it. The towing agency charges predatory rates. Food Giant encourages it and has staff to enable it. Please do not shop here.

June 2022. Thought I would run some errands in the shopping area before grabbing groceries. I was gone for 7-10 min and my car was already being towed. I saw it happen and ran over, but the tow truck zoomed off. The parking attendant approached and said this is what happens when people break the parking rules. He would not say where to retrieve my car. A man walked up and engaged the attendant because his car was towed as well, I started looking at the signs and calling the phone number to find my car.

I was gone for only 7-10 min so the attendant must have called it in when he saw me walk off the lot to run my errand before getting groceries. The lot was not even half full, it was a Wednesday around 1:00 pm.

Don’t worry, the towing lot is a brief 15 min sprint to the north west, so if you have other things like work, taking care of children, or both, you can pay your $135 fee to food giant’s enforcer and be on your way.

Reviews on Google show that this is not a new problem, others have had a similar experience.

I broke the rules by leaving the premises for 7-10 min and returned in time to watch as the tow truck hauled my car away. I am not saying that I parked, got out, read all the signs, and followed them. I am saying not to shop here because food giant screwed me when it didn’t have to and will likely do the same to you for parking or any other...

Fix the deli staff - they hate people. They choose who they serve. 100% attitude. They despise having to help you. Should not be working in a deli. They should not be in customer facing jobs.

Oct 30, 2022 Update - store has been redone and looks better. But there is a problem at the deli. the manager is great, but an older woman there appears to dislike customers or at least us. We spend over $10 to $20 per week. She always makes us wait, she often just walks behind the counter when we get to the front. She sighs when we place an order. She never acknowledges us. Something is definitely wrong in her attitude.

UPDATE: The number below is bogus - I got accounting. Why not a food safety line. DO NOT BUY THE MEAT!

See bloated pictures below. This is now the norm (both turkey and hamburger meat). UPDATE: I called the number below and it is a generic number and after many menu prompts I was routed to accounting(?), who gave me a new number which had 4 more prompts but none made sense (all about ordering). A direct line to food safety would be more helpful. I'm posting pictures below of the bloated packages, these taken on 12/8/2020 one week after my original post. This meat is going bad.

ORIGINAL: Don't buy the meat! Many packages are now bloated which means the meat is spoiling and gasses are being emitted. Some are very dangerous. They are not controlling the temperature well enough. We had to return meat that was supposedly ok by date, but rancid when...