Market On Yates — Local services in Victoria

Location and variety, but a lack of organics.

This particular marketplace is on a busy corner near the center of Victoria and is thus perfectly placed to meet most everyone's needs.

It has everything that a grocery store should: a big bakery, a deli, a large seafood section, florist area, fresh produce zone and even a small café-like sitting area at the front - plus tables all along the sidewalk outside to boot.

Prices aren't the greatest, but if you're careful shopper you can easily find the things here that both fit your budget and your palate. I tend to stop here on the way home from work for fresh-roasted chicken, as well as some vegetables or other odds and ends as needed.There's a good variety of foodstuffs here, with all the usual brands as well as some rarer things that you might not find in your typical big-box grocery store. As the organic selections are fairly limited and pricey, I have deducted a star from my overall rating, taking it down from a 4 to a 3, but that's only my own personal opinion of this place - I still shop here on a regular basis, just not for organics.

The Market does make some really excellent sandwich trays for reasonable prices. Just like cakes from their bakery, you should ensure that you order at least a day ahead of time, or longer, to be safe.

Speaking of bakeries, this location has a great selection of treats on a daily basis, most of which are excellent. I particularly like their peanut butter croissants covered in chocolate, which are a semi-regular thing that I can to stop him to look for... probably too often for my own good.

In addition to the regular checkout lanes, there's 4 self-checkout stations, so you'll never really have to wait all that long unless it's a holiday weekend or it's just plain old busy.. I'm usually in and out in less than 10 minutes, including the wait to check out.

The shelves are always well stocked and neat, and I Have yet to see any sort of mess in the aisles of any description. The staff seemed to be fairly happy with doing their jobs too, which is also...

Recent review (2021): Restored from 1 star to 4 🌟. There has been turnover of staff and it has been much better for customer service. Meat department has been wonderful, so has been deli & bakery. Bottle returns are on hold except for Avalon milk bottles during pandemic and there has been no issues since that particular incident. However hesitant to give full 5 due to past incidents.

Edit (2019): Demoted rating from 3 to 1 🌟 due to one particular staff member giving issues about Avalon milk bottle refunds; she still refused to accept claim bottles even when I got their own kind staff in the back to rinse the bottle thoroughly for me. Lugging around clean bottles in transit to my overtime graveyard shift even after buying another milk bottle is unacceptable! I've been shopping in the store for about 6 years (the store is near my boyfriend's place) and this person knows I am a regular and still gives a hard time.

Original review (2017; 3 🌟): I've bought bad crab meat that was selected from staff in their seafood department on Christmas Eve 2016; it was an essential ingredient for a dish my boyfriend needed to make. It was too late to return same day because I didn't know it was bad until I unwrapped it in the kitchen and the place closed early due to holiday. However, the supermarket declined to honor the transaction when I returned it unused first thing boxing day and asked for an exchange or refund of said product.

That's $15 I never got back, a pound of seafood that went straight into compost, and factoring in original Christmas dinner plans ruined as we had to scrounge an alternative dish to serve to family.

I still go there for basic need item only if I'm in the area and forgot to buy elsewhere in an earlier errand. The overall staff are alright but let me tell you if I ever see that person who swindled me in the seafood...

Overpriced. Compare against SaveOnFoods. Convenient downtown location. Helpful staff except:. I arrived @ 10:35 pm with 48 cans with my girlfriend I approached the store clerk (short,blonde, slightly chubby @ the self-serve checkout) & pointed to my girlfriend to indicate that the 48 can redemption was based on both her and me. My girlfriend waved to us to indicate to the attendant that she was with me.

The attendant noticed 2 dirty bottles & stated they weren't acceptable. She was merely following proper store policy. I don't fault her. I complied without hesitation. [BTW, the attendant saw all 46 good bottles & directed me to drop them in the appropriate bins.]

I approached her to get my $2.30 (less the 10 cents for the dirty bottles). She disrespectfully asked me a 2nd time whether I had put the 2 dirty bottles in the bin. I replied again, "No." She gave me only $1.00 for 46 of my and my girlfriend's bottles. (Just 24 bottles alone required her paying me $1.20!) I informed her that she still owed me money. She gave me only an additional 10 cents! Since I wasn't going to squabble over being shorted a trivial $1.20, I left. But not before being stared at by her. As I was leaving, I ensured that she could see that I was leaving with the 2 dirty bottles in my cardboard flat. On principle, I will visit the store to get the rest of my money or have my 22 bottles/cans returned to me @ approx. 10:30 pm .

Yet, overall, except for this instance, I consider Yates Market's customer service as good. All of the aforementioned is recorded and available to management thru its security...