VALLEY FOODS SUPERMARKET — Local services in Atwater

I went to R-N Market in Atwater this evening to purchase a few things for dinner, and I have to say I was very disappointed. There was a young man outside collecting shopping carts, I asked him what time they closed (it was about 8:10) and he said 8:30. I only needed a few things so I grabbed a cart and went inside. I'd been in the store before, but I didn't remember it being so cramped or dirty looking. I could barely find an aisle wide enough to get my cart down to get into the main shopping area. There was a young woman mopping the floor near the registers. She had a very filthy wrag hanging from her back pocket. She ignored the customers around her (including me) and just kept slopping the mop around. I'm not sure how she was getting the floor clean- she had no bucket or wringer. Perhaps just pushing the dirt around? One of the items I was after was cheese- scary! at least one package marked "Special Today" had mold growing on it. Then, as I was at the checkout for my grocieries (most of it fortunately frozen), the same young woman was muttering about people being in her way. There were two registers open. As I was being rung up I glanced at my phone. It was 8:23. About 7 employees were at the front of the store. The employees were shutting down the automatic doors on both entrances. A white customer tried to enter and was stopped. He was told by several employees that the store was closed, and as he complained that it wasn't yet 8:30 the woman in their vault asked what he wanted. He wanted Tombstone Pizza that was on ad (all of the employees in the vicinity hollered "We're Out!) and the customer said "You're OUT??" and they chorused "YES!" and mayonnaise (Again the same reply from all of the employees). The woman in the vault yelled "Will you shut that door?!" and then said "Welcome to Tuesday Nights" loud enough that I could hear her at the register. I paid for my items and began to exit the store. A male employee opened the doors for me and closed them behind me. He actually thanked me and told me to have a nice evening. As I gathered my purchase from my cart, an elderly hispanic woman tried to enter the store. I told her they were closed. She grabbed my now-empty cart, pushed open the doors, and went inside. I kept watching as I loaded my groceries, and she was NOT escorted outside. I normally like to patronize the local small businesses in my area, but this was ridiculous. I've been in retail almost all of my working career- and the way that customers were treated and the way this store is run, is totally NOT the way it should be done. I understand wanting to get out of work on time, but closing the doors early, refusing entry to one customer but allowing another inside, and yelling across the store that you are out of a product is totally against any type of professionalism I've ever been taught. I went in (ironically) for a frozen pizza (decided on lasagna on a whim instead) and ice cream, and ended up spending almost $40. Who knows how much money this guy would have spent? It's said about retail that a person who enjoys their shopping experience will maybe tell a few friends, but one that has a BAD experience will definitely tell a LOT of people. Guess what? After posting this review, I'm going to post it again on another site. And then I am going to call and tell the manager of R-N Market in Atwater to read up. Maybe they will change...

I find R & N Market to be one of the best stores in Atwater. It maintained it reputation to cater to all for over 40 years that I know of and shopped there. The previous person that attempted to write a review only managed to show how shallow people can be. If you are going to judge a "mom & pop" store, shop in the morning before hundreds of people have trampled all over the store. If they had people cleaning all the time, the "small" isles would not accommodate as many shoppers as they do already. I feel sorry for people that expect all stores to look like Target or Raley's do so and use a comparison system, i.e. how old is the store, what are the prices, how friendly are the employees, and most of all, DON'T GO IN 7 MINUTES BEFORE CLOSING WHEN CLEANING HAS JUST BEGUN AND MAINLY, LEAVE THE BIGOTRY OUT OF YOUR EVALUATION, WHO CARES IF A PERSON SNEAKS INTO A CLOSING STORE BECAUSE THE DOOR WASN'T IMMEDIATELY LOCKED = DON'T JUDGE BY COLOR, WHO CARES? KEEP YOUR PETTY UNPLEASANTNESS TO YOURSELF AND OUT OF A REVIEW OF A LONG-STANDING GROCERY STORE THAT i WILL CONTINUE TO PATRONIZE AS THEY ARE THERE! THANK YOU FOR READING MY RANT, ONE AND ALL = AND CONTINUE...

Its a small family style market. Easy to get in & out. The people are friendly and helpful. They have a very good meat department. The prices are better than most places in the meat dept.The butcher's are always available for assist with all of your needs. Even though they are under new ownership, most of the older employees are still working there. They have updated the refrigerator system. Thing's are behind glass doors and they have a nice assortment of juices, cheeses and lunch meats just to name a few. The only problem that I found was the isle are more narrow. BUT they have good size carts. So I like that. The prices have gone up quite a bit on other things. BUT I guess that's to...