Heng Fa Food Market — Local services in Philadelphia

For those who want to get straight to the point: Customer service is bad as it can get (They should just add a self-service and a self-checkout it will make the shopping experience more enjoying) Products aren't always in the best conditions (It seems like every "fresh" product is kept in the fridge of the freezer until they almost go bad or they are sold in a way that makes it seem "fresh") Some places aren't as sanitary as expected (This wasn't a problem when the shop was new. Nowadays, during the summer there are fruit flies and flies flying around on the fruit products and the meat/poultry and seafood section doesn't seem to be cleaned)

For those who want more detail: Let me keep this as short as possible. The customer service overall is really bad. The cashiers have most of the blame. The meat/poultry and seafood services aren't always good but they still get the job done if you give them enough time (that is if you can wait for a good 5-10 minutes). These opinions are based on events that I have experienced so you shouldn't believe everything I say as the "one and only" since everyone has different experiences. One of the worst experiences came from a recent visit during the checkout line. An elderly woman went to the front of the line. The cashier told the elderly woman to go to the end of the line and the elderly didn't respond. The cashier continued to press on the issue when no one in the line seemed to really mind the line cutting conducted by that elderly. It got to the point where the cashier was yelling at the elderly for her action (I wonder what happened to respect your elders). The cashier also said to the elderly that she wouldn't serve anyone who doesn't respect the rule with an attitude and confiscated the shopping basket of the elderly. The elderly continued to stand in front for the cash register and the cashier just when on and on yelling at the elderly while not minding the line (Could have just check out the elder and not hold up the line in the name of "enforcing the rule for the line waiters"). Although what the elderly did was wrong, I believe that what the cashier did wasn't done correctly in the professional sense. There could have been many other ways to solve the problem without harassing the elderly in front of everyone. Also if you understand the mandarin you will notice that the cashiers are professionals at bad mouthing people. In most of the visits, I find them talking about co-workers or in some cases "rude" customers.

Okay... that took longer than I expected. I should just keep things short for the other problems. The products (mostly the fruits) are usually sold in a not so good condition when sold to the public. Just check the "fresh" products before you buy them and if you do buy them eat it in 2 days at the maximum (I bought an apple that looks fresh outside and in the inside the entire core was rotten. Don't know how that happened but at least it looked pretty). I'm not a big stickler for the quality of food since not much of the food is really fresh after the long transport, but don't sell me rotten things along with the fresh ones. Also if you don't know how to spot the difference between a fish that is dead recently and a fish that has been dead for a while just buy the ones that are alive.

Last problem, the sanitation during the summer is a problem. There isn't really anything to separate the seafood section from the fruit and vegetable section and during the summer there are some fruit flies and flies (Not always) so basically they can fly all over the place (I take it back. The only separation is the distance between each section. A good 7-9 yard). Also, the meat/poultry and seafood section don't seem really clean there are traces of stains all over the glass if you look. When you go to the seafood section watch out for the floor...

I went looking for a geoduck because I saw it on the television. 6ABC featured this market on their "Visions" show. I must say, I didn't have a good first experience in this place. First of all, there are no geoducks but the have a nice selection of seafood and fish ( my favorites). So I asked the woman in the seafood section did she have any in the back. She looked passed me and helped the person who came in after me. Now granted, I'm the only black guy there and I couldn't understand and only speak English. And I'm sure she couldn't understand me, but she wasn't even trying to address or help me. After trying to get her attention for five minutes, I moved doing to a little guy standing near the fishtanks. I asked him the same question and he brushed me off and told me to ask the same woman I just finished trying to talk to. If it wasn't for a nice Asian customer who saw the trouble that I was having, I would've been there all day trying to get someone to pay attention to me. She let me know that they usually have geoduck but they probably were out at that point in time. Chances are I would try to visit again because the prices and selections are great, but I hope my next experience is not as bad as my...

So, the prices are fine. But one of the cashiers was really rude or not properly trained.firstly I brought my food to the counter to get them ringed up, then I go pay and the cashier then takes one of my items back and says "you didn't pay for that". I was confused, did you not scan everything? the item was right in front of you?? Looking directly at it, SERIOUSLY. WHY WOULDN'T YOU RING IT UP??

Secondly I know I probably shouldn't expect this,it may be a personal preference to some but shouldn't some of these cashers bag some of groceries?? I don't get it. Like if you want the line to move faster why should I have to sit there stacking items one by one while the cashier gets irritated (at something THEY should be doing????)

Thirdly, my friend dropped change in one of the aisles, the employees are looking at her like she did something wrong??

This place is a little to weird for me,there are like three others on the block that Ill just take my business to else I think I might have to shop somewhere else because it seems some of the employees are a bit hostile or are...