Wegmans — Attraction in Montvale

As for being a grocery store, I think they rank among the best in having mostly high quality inventory and it is mostly arranged in an orderly layout. The question is at what price? On a few items they beat Shoprite and Walmart grocery prices on brand name items. But I am mostly a meat eater and during the holidays their Ribeye went from 14.99lb to 19.99lb. That is not even grass fed beef. When I tried to find some disaster in the beef industry, there was none to explain the $5 jump. Stew Leonards while always more expensive in Ribeye, didn't raise their price $5. Wegmans simply did it because they can. And so their 4 packs (club pack) of Ribeye just still sits there. Now if you go to buy the cheaper cut of Chuck roast steak (which they use several different creative terminologies for), on January 2, I bought 3 separate small packages @ $7.99lb. I again went in there on January 25th for a few other items and to see if they had these on the shelf again...and they did...@ 10.99lb! Outrageous. A $3 increase. They do this because they want to micromanage demand...since a lot of Ribeye was still sitting there and many smart consumers know how good Chuck can actually be with a little extra preparation. So I wound up buying a couple of nice Chuck Roasts cut to the same size from Shoprite @ $5.99lb. Perfectly delicious! There are some things, too many to itemize in this review, that they rob you on...and yet there are some very good prices on Helman's and Gerolsteiner and BelGioioso Ricotta. Quality Bacon and certain cuts of pork are usually very favorably priced too. Of course this helps draw you in to save $0.75 on an item here and an item there. But the best thing the consumer can do is not pay this kings ransom, since Wegmans is also very greedy. And let the perishable products rot on the shelf when they jack the price up like a company of thieves. BTW...I have also been to the Wegmans in Harrison, Westchester County NY and they charge even more for the same item I buy in their Montvale, NJ store. I guess they kindly estimate the average income of the local residents before taking them to the cleaners. And I must travel 20 miles X 2 to go to Wegmans Montvale. So I can only go when I am traveling to or from work! Then I just stop in to hand over...

Horrible customer service experience.  Where I come from in Florida if they get the price wrong on an item for making you wait they give it to you.

Today may 21, 2024 i went in there to buy a few grocery items.

The watermelon and customer rang the wrong price.  Some of their items were misplaced and had wrong price displayed.

I was at the self checkout and the cashier at the front that smells like cigarettes (which im allergic to came over to help me out).

But she couldn't do anything to adjust the price, had me wait with her for a few minutes and then finally she called over the produce guy while making me wait.

Then he confirmed the watermelon and cucumber rang wrong.

But then they had me wait some more until the person that can adjust the price properly came over.

But the problem is, the person that came to adjust the price had me wait again and went on to check the prices again.  Which now she said the cucumbers were priced right (which wasn't true from where they were displayed and placed which again the produce guy has confirmed)

If you ask me its a waste of time.   But her attitude also pissed me off.

When she came back all she did is adjust the price that rang wrong to what it is suppose to be and not compensated me for waiting and for my inconvenience.

Where I come from in Florida a well known grocery chain gives you the item they got wrong for making you wait.

This store has a ridiculous approach with a person that adjusted the price going to check the item prices AGAIN wasting your time and then argues with you.

I didn't even want the items after the argument.

I'll be buying them elsewhere.

The reason for 2 stars instead of one is because I like some of the items prices, that they open early and nice restrooms.

But the customer service experience makes a 2...

I drove 35 minutes and paid a $2 toll for this adventure—an investment I will never make again. The produce? Oh, absolutely gorgeous. The kind of fruits and veggies that make you rethink your life choices and consider a plant-based diet… for about five minutes. But everything else? Let’s just say my local, slightly dystopian ShopRite somehow feels more inviting.

The sushi counter was emptier than my bank account after grocery shopping, and at 10 AM no less—prime sushi time, obviously. The tuna tataki? Mediocre at best, offensive at worst, and priced like it came with a side of personal chef service (spoiler: it did not). The cake section was also tragically underwhelming, especially compared to the Manhattan location, which apparently hoards all the joy.

Now, let’s talk about the vibe. Imagine a store where the employees are operating at 150% capacity, desperately trying to appease a mix of oligarchs and aggressive suburbanites. I had a guy hover behind me while I picked out vegetables, internally combusting in rage until he dramatically sighed an "EXCUSE ME"—as if that wasn't an option 30 seconds ago. Meanwhile, every aisle was an Olympic event in cart maneuvering, with people attempting to run me over or push me out of the way like I was an NPC in their real-life shopping speedrun.

The whole place had this eerie Stepford Wives meets dystopian survival game energy. Everyone seemed miserable but was trying really, really hard to smile through it. I’ve never felt more like an unwelcome outsider—like I accidentally wandered into a “You Came to the Wrong Grocery Store” horror movie. And this was Saturday morning.

Bottom line? I’ll miss the photogenic produce, but not enough to justify another trek. At least my chaotic ShopRite feels...