Local Market Food — Local services in Hyde Park Township

Abusive, Exploitative, and Harassment! Then they stole my money. I'll drive to Hyde Park, ALDI. Done with these people!

I sent an email to General Manager Eddie Roque as well as the owners Cesary & Eva Jakubowski and got no response after two weeks.

Here's what happened. I've just filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Bureau and BACP.

This is a very abbreviated summary of the incident my 83-year-old mother and I (58 years old) experienced.

After a series of eight phone calls to the store attempting to get deli sandwiches made, we drove 12 minutes to the store and were told we could not get what we initially called for so we picked up items from the grocery store.

At checkout, my mother had a bag of grapes and noticed we were charged $4.49/lb even though the sign outside and the display were marked $2.99/lb (see attached photo). The grapes came to $10.91. I requested a price check; a staff member returned saying the price was $4.49/lb.

Not wanting to hold up the line, I paid the amount — now $10.96 plus tax at 7:25 PM — and went to verify the signage. I took photos of the outdoor sign and the display; the grapes were indeed marked $2.99/lb.

I went to Customer Service to get a cash refund. There were four people ahead of me. When it was my turn, the woman ringing walked away and never returned. I waited nearly 7 minutes. At 7:32 PM, I called my mother to let her know I was still waiting, and asked several employees for help.

Interaction with Staff

Finally, the man in the attached video went behind the register and asked what I needed. I explained the overcharge and showed him the photos. A taller team member said mixed red and green grapes are $4.49/lb, while red or green alone are $2.99/lb. I said that didn’t make sense but replied, “I’ll just take what is on sale,” and removed the few red grapes from the bag so only green grapes remained.

There were three team members behind the customer service counter. One walked with me to produce and I showed him the $2.99/lb signs in front of the green and red grapes. Right next to the red grapes were the mixed bags with a $4.49/lb sign. I explained my mother had grabbed what she thought was on sale.

As we walked back to the counter, he said, “We’ll take care of you.” I thanked him and explained this had been stressful from the first phone call.

When we returned to the counter, the original employee said he would not give me a refund because he could no longer sell the grapes. I told him I was going to video record this; he said “OK.” On video, he confirmed he was not giving my money back because I touched the grapes and they could not be sold.

The bag was fully intact and sellable. I explained we wanted the grapes on sale and not to be overcharged. I asked him three separate times if he would resolve this, explaining I would have to pursue other means to get my money back. He refused each time. I left the overcharged grapes in the store and took no merchandise.

We left at 7:51 PM — still having not eaten.

The handling of this situation — walking away, long delays, conflicting explanations, and refusing a refund for grapes left behind — was abusive, exploitative, and harassing toward me and my elderly mother.

I'll be posting the video on Yelp shortly.

This could have been so easy. Reading all the other atrocious reviews of poor customer care could have saved me and my mother from this trauma.

To date I still have not gotten my $11.21 back...

It started out pleasant , the store looked very inviting ... The buffet food looked absolutely amazing and very tasty., So I decided to try the bread pudding ,and unfortunate for me it was some of the worst bread pudding I've ever tasted in my life... I immediately called back to the store and asked to speak to the bakery department manager.. I spoke with a lady named Yvonne and then she transfered me over to a lady named Raye. Raye was very pleasant I explained to her about the bread pudding I explained that it taste like it had been inside the refrigerator uncovered there were no raisins cinnamon or vanilla flavoring to it.. she apologized and told me to bring it back and she said she left at 3:00 I told her I would not be able to make it back before 3:00... She said okay just take it to the customer service in the front of the store , which is what I did..To my surprise when I arrived at the customer service counter I was told that it was closed . So I stood there in awe...And then a slender built lady came past and the cashier told her I needed some help , she was very pleasant I explained to her what was going on.. As we were talking a slender built man walked up and asked what was going on .She and I tried to explain it to him... However he seemed as though he was auditioning or doing a reality show. , Very aggressive .so I gave my story all over again I told him the bread pudding was nasty he told me he didn't do nasty , and whoever I spoke to didn't have any . authority because he was the store manager and everything had to be ran through him or his assistant.... I asked him was he having a bad evening and he said no quite the opposite , and I said I was unable to tell that he was having a bad evening... Because the conversation he was having with me he should have addressed that the next day with the bakery department manager ... Also for him to be the store manager he didn't even know that the lady Raye was the bakery manager ... So after he finished giving me a long speech they finally decided to return my money after having me standing there 10 to 15 minutes unnecessarily....

But I would definitely like to give shouts out to the two ladies in the bakery and also his assistant manager I'm sorry I didn't get her name but he needs to be retrained ok how to talk to customers especially being a store manager.. sorry this was so long but it needed to be...

Great produce!!! I go here for the produce alone. Good selection of hard to find items like dragonfruit, dandelion leaves, yucca, cactus on top of normal grocery items. Prices are reasonable. The hot buffet has really good items. I've only gotten a few hot pieces from there, but I'm always happy. Their deli is perfect for sliced meat. I buy a baguette bread a day with some fresh meat slices. The hot bar is great but, as usual, a bit pricy... There is a secret though. If you look they half price the hot bar food a day after it is prepared. I get those guys often but the fresh is better. The caribean chicken salad is amazing. They also have sections of the store devoted to Asian, African, Latin, and other nationalities. I mean, how many grocery stores can you get african, Mexican, Louisiana and Thai hot sauces at the same time. The only down side is that the lines can be a bit long. I've waited 20 to 25 minutes in line which can get frustrating. Overall, this is a great grocery store for me and I recommend it to everyone.

Oh and in terms of store made sushi, they are seriously good. I love sushi but most stores are lacking something. These guys make it right for an American palette. Always fresh, made daily and they cater. If you want to have a sushi even and you have a mix of nervous eaters who are unsure if sushi, this would be a great place to start. I get a dish Everytime I visit just to snack on.

In terms of the staff I have mostly had really good experiences. Everyone is always friendly and some are way more knowledgeable than others. For example, I've asked people in the meat department about recipe meats and sometimes I have to explain what an Italian meat is and what incurred means. On the other hand, I've had people in the same department that know their meat like they know their kids and give great recipe ideas. However, overall, even if a staff member is not able to help me, they are curtious, friendly and try to help or get help for you.

Oh and they always have local jewels, candle sellers, clothing sellers cookie sellers as you leave the store. Great for local artisans.

This is a jem in an area that really needs it. Our 3 local groceries really are perfect for the area. Jewel is Standard, save-a-lot is discount and Local Market is the unique mix of standard...