WinCo Foods Centralia — Local services in Centralia

So glad to have a WinCo now after previously shopping at one for the past 10 years here are a few tips:

There is no requirement for a phone number or membership card for store discounts (like Safeway).

Anything with a Green price tag is a discounted sale price. A Red tag is a "Managers Special" and is typically discounted to sell. Yellow tags are their everyday price.

This is a debit/cash/Check/WIC/EBT only chain. This is to avoid paying the higher processing fees stores normally pay on credit card transactions. If you really want to use a credit card you can purchase a gift card in store (with one of the aforementioned payment methods). You can then reload the card online at any time using a credit card. We do this before each trip to get the cash back/points from our credit card provider.

You do bag your groceries at checkout. I find it fastest to bag while the checker scans them through. They have a separate conveyor belt for bagging your groceries and you can push a button to bring them down to you so it's fairly quick and efficient.

Bulk bins can be a lifesaver for raw ingredients and spices. You can buy just a small amount if that's all your recipe needs. Some specialty ingredients (like sesame seeds or potato starch) are significantly cheaper from the bulk bins then in a prepackaged containers.

Bulk bins also have a great selection of candy, including individual jelly belly flavors.

WinCo does have a store brand of many products. A few of my favorites are: Any of their dairy products (their Greek yogurt is fantastic and so is their Ricotta). Their frozen whipped topping (cool whip) is better than the name brand. Their frozen fruit and vegetables are usually a bargain and they have a good selection of options. French Fried onions (they come in a resealable bag and are much cheaper than any other brand). Their mini pancake sausage bites from the frozen section are a great treat snack. Their seltzer is a good deal, not as many flavors as other brands but the ones they have...

I am autistic and buy the same things every time I shop. My bill is double here what it is at Walmart. Screw that. Also, I cam through at night with 16 cans of cat food, I was in a hurry and there were 3 cashiers working at a snails pace, with lines at least 3 deep of full carts, I tried to go through the completely empty self checkout, as i was in a hurry and just gettingcat food, but the cashier watching self checkout got her manager nd they refused to let me use the celf checkout because the cashiers will lose hours if they let anyone use the self checkout. So I had to wait in line behind 3 full carts for almost an hour and I said I won't be back, and they said good. Their logic of losing a customer that was spending $200-300 a week there is better for cashiers hours than letting said customer use the self checkout one time, when they only had cat food. Doesn't make sense, and I bet anything if Walmart hadn't ruined all the competition and winco had competition, they would not get any cashier hours or customers. I will never spend another dime towards that manager ad her cashier hours. Walmart is way cheaper anyhow. Why did they even spend the money for self checkout machines if they won't ever let anyone use them? Stupid logic, good luck with that. Too bad there's no competition to make you do better. Oh well. I get more for my dollar at Walmart anyhow....

For the most part, they are great.

Some of the produce is not always the freshest.

Some of the self-checkout folks are very rude & disrespectful. I've encountered this experience twice. Otherwise, I wouldn't say anything. The register dings & the staff go & help someone else, then go back to the main register while I stand there waiting for help. Yes, I asked if I could be helped but got an attitude when asked. The second time, the bigger white-haired fella helped everyone around me & went to the main register & just stood there looking at the lights, then proceeded to help again everyone else but me, this happened two more timed. I then spoke up and asked for help only to get an attitude about it & stomping feet.

Yesterday I went in & stood by deli to ask about clear containers & if I could buy 5 of them. Tell me why it took them a good 35-40 minutes to get an answer. Then, another 5-8 minutes to figure out the...