Big Y — Local services in Branford

I am a local pet sitter with clients in the area and I like to fill my time with the occasional brows and splurge at this Big Y. After todays experience, I am sure you will be happy to never see me or my money again. I have a client with a terminally ill cat who is having difficulty finding a specific flavor of cat food which you just happen to have in stock today. I didn’t plan on buying this cat food, but seeing as how it’s so difficult for my client to find, I figured I would try and do her a favor. In my rush, I looked all over the store, and there are absolutely no small baskets to be found which by the way, as a formal retail manager is horrible for your bottom line. You are literally losing out on hundreds if not, thousands of dollars of upsold and impulse items. I decided to grab a paper bag to carry the many cans of food I was purchasing. Upon going to self check out, the cashier proceeded to do the whole “I’m pretending to not look at you but am doing a really poor job of trying to make it look like I am not looking at you.” Then another worker proceeded to stand directly in front of me between me and the machine while furiously texting on her phone. This is no way to treat an customer who had an unplanned surge of item purchase. Is this how everyone who planned on buying lunch but decided to buy 10 extra items is treated? I myself. Will no longer be spending or treating myself to any of your items. And I will make sure to share my experience with my clients...

I had a much longer tangential rant, but I decided to give the shorter response.

I don't feel welcomed when I walk in. Out of the handful of times I have visited, my head nods/hello/smile/wave have been met with blank stares or seemingly glares. I expect that from other customers, but not from staff.

Trash cans are scarce in the store, except the one by the front door. I apparently need someone to help me see with my poor vision because I couldn't find any baskets. Things around the store are poorly located, hard to find, or not set up in a very strategical manner.

The reason I started this review was the absurdity that after checking the: 1) deli cheeses, 2) the sandwich meats/Lunchables section, and the 3) apparently vegan foods and cheeses section --- BTW these are all in distant sections from each other in the store --- that the Kraft Singles I was sent on an errand mission for, were like, next to the juices, on the opposite end of the milk aisle. Obviously, I don't expect the struggle slices to be with the premium cheeses but... Why was the store planned like this??

It's 3 stars because although I did see mold on some of the fruits during my trip today, it still is cleaner, has a decent selection, and better kept than other grocery stores in the area. Also, the times I've gone to self-checkout it wasn't problematic. If I could go to a better store...

I've been a patron of Big Y for many years since they opened in Branford and I have to say things have gone down hill. We don't mind paying for quality but it's just not there anymore. I used to look forward to so many things and now nothing seems to be acceptable. The rotisserie chicken is just awful. Soft, mushy, bitter and falls apart from over preserving. Doesn't smell good at all. The fresh fish is, for me, not edible. They coat their fish with something that goes through you or gives terrible cramps. I tried it a few times with the same reaction. If you look at a package of frozen fish lately even they're coated with preservative. This whole industry has gone to the dogs. I bought a package of meatloaf mix I used to really enjoy which is combined with Veal, Meat and Pork and it was full of fat. Not separated like it used to be so you could see the combination of the 3 meats. No more. I actually had to throw out what I prepared with it because it was so full of fat. We always went to Big Y because of the meat, fish and vegies. No more at least not for me. We love the stores for the people that work there because they're great but for the food not so much and I hope they will change what they are doing so I can feel good about going...