Stater Bros. Markets — Local services in La Quinta

I went in for some carne asada last night and it felt like a real grocery store experience. Flashback to 1955! I was minding my own business because thats what people in California grocery stores do. We turn around and stare at the cereal when someone else comes down the aisle (instead of smiling and saying hi) We suck as a society in this aspect As the nice butcher lady came through with some delicious carne asada a regular patron came up and exclaimed “hey little honey, I havent seen you in a month” excited to see her. The man and his son gave me a nod that said “enjoy” and I headed off to see if the mochi ice cream is on sale. If not I use the competitor across the street for my mochi lol Mochi unsuccessful I headed off to grab some ghetto toilet paper passing a polite senior citizen lady who nodded and said hi (a reminder that we can learn a lot about how to act from our elders) During checkout there were 3 registers open with only the person being checked out ahead in line. Amazing! The bagger came up and knocked things out of the park. He came up and asked how my day was. Probably perfectly trained. I was pretty awkward still surprised people were talking to me in a grocery store but dude held it down A grocery store should be like this. Good...

Clean, well-stocked and less expensive. That sums up the experience. The details.

Stater Bros in La Quinta is a pleasure to shop in. The shelves are well stocked, the aisles are wide, the produce is as good as you will find in the valley, and that includes Whole Foods and Sprouts. The meat is good with good variety and the counter help will take custom cut orders.

There are limitations. The aisles are stocked with the brands and selection they carry, which is not as broad as their competitors. For me that often means a second stop to pick up one or two items they don't carry. I can live with that, what they do have is fine. I find the selection of eggs and mild a little limited and sometimes I do stop at Ralphs which stocks more brands. But I save on what I buy and it is usually less at Staters.

The deli selection is light. Not a lot of brand choice or selection.

But the produce makes up for it. And they care. If you don't see it ask the produce guys. If they have it, they will get it for you.

One more gripe, they do not man the check out very well. If there are 2 open its a busy day for them. Can't have everything.

Did I mention they are...

We don't usually shop here but we were disappointed on 2 accounts. 1. They have signs throughout the store that say "Save $1 instantly" on certain items. Not being a regular customer, I did not know you have to sign up for a program on your phone to get those savings. Its a little late to find this out when you get to the checkout counter! So I am already at a higher priced store than I am used to, now I lose out on the coupons I thought I had. 2. To top it all off the checker "Adela" asked me "Do you need one bag?", and I said "yes one bag will do", but she charged me for 2! So overall, not a good experience. Its the little things that matter to me when finding a place to shop and getting nickle and dimed at the end doesn't make it worth it to me to...