NetCost Market — Local services in New York

So I’ve been shopping here regularly for couple of years already, I guess a big deal was that I’m from Eastern Europe myself, that’s why all those weird urkainian foods I’ve ever needed I could find only here. But now, bias aside: Fresh and cold cut meats are always the best, (while Trader Joe’s or stop and shop ones start smelling bad right after the first time you defrost it, like whaaaat) as well as the bread section, sometimes it is so fresh they can’t even cut it, but isn’t it a good thing? Never had a complaint about grocery either, nobody shops blindfolded, you are free to check and pick the stuff you think is more better looking, you can find a wrinkled tomato on the bottom of a crate in any store anyways, it doesn’t happen just here. Buffet with ready made food - again, it’s a sure thing a salad with mayo will stay fresh much longer if you were to make it yourself, rather than buying a prepared one, keeping it in a fridge for 3 days and then crying it went bad. Well, duh, nobody buys Chick-fil-A sandwich to eat it the next day, right? Its a common sense. However I still never got sick neither from blinchiki, nor from olivie salad (if you could make it with pickles please one day, maybe))), beef stroganoff was delicious, even tho tasting is always up to your own preferences, so no one can judge it) Nothing crazy about the prices. 100-200$ average for a huge two week supply. Ground beef 5.75 here, TJ - 5.99, sometimes more, sometimes visa versa, chicken cutlets 5.40, other stores - below 4. Ok, you got me here, but for some “unknown” reason my cat won’t even touch the cheaper meat :) “A store for rich people only” - wow, thanks then, I ll think much better of my 10$/hour now) Overall, the stuff is really friendly, will always take their time to find what you need, even if you don’t speak russian. Great store, keep it up, maybe do a little renovation for those with fancy preferences, and big thanks for dried calamari, baby pickles, pelmeni and best pork подчерёвок! P.s. If the ladies behind the counter don’t smile with their 32 at you, it doesn’t mean they are rude, it’s more of a...

Downgrading my rating from 4 to 2 due to the following:

Granted, they are undergoing some renovations without closing the store, but the place have been looking less than presentable for a few months now.

Far too many times, prices on the shelf sticker are lower than those coming up at the register. Lengthy review process ensues when I decide to challenge, but the price is always adjusted. This is obviously annoying as every time one has to decide whether the time is worth the money.

Before the renovations the store used to have very decent selection of bread varieties from multiple Brooklyn bakeries. Now shelf space allocated for bread has been reduced by at least a factor of two, and even what's left looks sparsely populated. Getting my favorites Borodinsky (by NY Bread) or Nezhinsky became low odds lottery

A few times bread branded "Brooklyn" went moldy within 3-4 days after the purchase, but before Sell By date when stored at room temperature.

Not giving 1 star rating, for admittedly I still shop there albeit with far less enthusiasm and spending not as much as I used to.

To put it in perspective, this is by far my least favorite NetCost Market now, having shopped at most of them in PA, NJ, and NY.

Update 3 months later (going back to 4 stars):

Item 1: Resolved

Item 2: Despite obvious food inflation, the discrepancies are hardly the case anymore.

Item 3: I can score my favorites pretty much every time.

Item 4: I don't recall that bread seeing it lately. Not a big loss.

The improvements are obvious.

Update - after a long while: happily revising the rating...

My fiancé and I, have been customers at NetCost Market, himself more than 16 years and myself about 3 and a half years, but I am extremely disappointed with how I am consistently treated at the deli counter when I go alone. Every time I try to order deli meat, the staff either pretends not to understand me or claims they don’t have the item I’m requesting, despite it sometimes being clearly available. However, every time I happen to go with my fiancé since he is Russian the attitude changes.

I speak perfect English, so there is no reason for this kind of treatment other than apparent bias. I’ve observed that other customers of a specific race are treated politely and served without issue, while anyone outside of that group, including myself, is ignored, dismissed, or treated rudely.

This behavior is unacceptable and has left me feeling unwelcome and disrespected. Businesses like NetCost Market should be a space of where everyone is treated equally and respectfully, regardless of their background. I urge management to take action by addressing this issue with their staff and implementing diversity and sensitivity training to create a more inclusive environment for all customers.

Until I see meaningful change, we will be rethinking our decision to shop at NetCost Market and will be sharing my experience with others because they clearly only like their people...