Sparkle Market — Local services in Cortland

This Sparkle in particular is the worst grocery store I have ever shopped at. Unfortunately they are the only grocery store in Cortland, and the owner has taken steps to assure that will not change. This would be fine if the store was decent, but I wouldn't even give it that.

To start, the store is in rough shape, especially for the town it is in. There are broken tiles throughout the store, dirt and dust in the corners and you will have to fish through shopping carts to find one that is suitable for use. I have never seen an employee cleaning anything (I'll get to the employees in more detail later). The only exception to this is the deli, that department stays fairly clean and organized. The owner needs to put some money into this store to get it in better shape and clean.

Next are the employees. I have quite a few years of retail experience, if these employees worked anywhere else they would have been terminated a long time ago. There may be one or two friendly cashiers, the rest of them act as if they are being inconvenienced while ringing you out, especially if you're interrupting a conversation between them by making them do their job. The stock guys are just as bad, I have never seen staff look so unhappy at work, they will walk right in front of you to stock shelves, or let out a very audible sigh if you are in their way. I have never once been asked if I needed help finding something, even after pacing up and down an aisle for 15 minutes. The one time I did ask for assistance I again was treated as if I was inconveniencing them, and ultimately was told they did not carry the item, then proceeded to locate said item myself. Again, the only exception to this seems to be in the deli, where staff is friendly and efficient.

Now the prices. While all Sparkles tend to be more expensive than other stores, this one goes a step further. It is not an exaggeration to say I have found items at Cortland Sparkle that were double, even close to triple the price of other stores. I paid over $4 for a pack of hot dog buns last week, then found the same buns yesterday at Wal-Mart for a little over $1. Sparkle is of course a much smaller business than Wal-Mart, so a price difference is expected, but it is hard to "shop local" when you are paying 2-3 times more to do so. This is the one aspect of Sparkle where the deli is not their saving grace, prices are just as high over there. This may be understandable if the money appeared to be going somewhere, but with the shape of the store and the attitude of their staff, it appears to be going to the owners pocket and not renovations or pay raises.

The last issue I have is minor. Cortland Sparkle closes earlier than most grocery stores, especially on weekends. This again would be fine if I had other options for groceries, if I need something last minute on a Saturday or Sunday, I either have to hope one of the dollar stores have it or drive an extra 30 minutes to go to Wal-Mart or Giant Eagle.

All things considered, it is very unfortunate that this store is as bad as it is. Cortland has a high number of older residents who do not like change, so a majority of the shoppers here are okay with the store for that reason. It feels as if the owner is taking advantage of customers by preventing other stores from opening, cornering the market in Cortland, so they can set their prices as high as they would like and treat the customers as poorly as they'd like, but people will return because they have no other options. I personally have begun traveling the extra 10 miles to go to Giant Eagle where you will find a store that is well kept, has better prices, and a friendly staff. I wrote this review in hopes that it will be seen by someone who can make a change, though unfortunately chances are it will fall on deaf ears.

I would not recommend this store to anybody under any...

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