Raley's O-N-E Market — Local services in Reno

I never feel compelled to write a review about anything. Really, nothing at all as so much of it is canned or machine created. But then again, sometimes you get helped by a person, not just anybody, but really someone special that really changes your day. I had that experience recently at the Raley's ONE Market on Wedge Pkwy, Reno NV.

Just the other day I was helped by that someone special, Maybelline Sousa (please forgive me if I'm spelling your name incorrectly). I was having a rather rough day. Ok, it really sucked but that's not why I'm here and it's better left for another story. But I digress, I was having a bad day, I was down, couldn't find what I was looking for (wasn't available), and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and just disappear. Yes, a terrible day.

I finally settled on my purchase and entered Mrs. Sousa's line. I noted that she was VERY pleasant to every customer she greeted ahead of me. I also noticed that it seamed that some of the customers stood in her line because they genuinely liked her, repeat customers I guess, I say this because she greeted them by name! WHO does that anymore? No one cares to know who your are anymore. She does!

Anyway, as she rang up my purchase, Maybelline noted that I was having a bad day. She asked if I was ok, I started to loose it. What I got in return was some of the most genuine heartfelt words of support and encouragement that I had ever received in my life...ever!

I've gone back to that Raley's several times now since that day. On the days that I have seen Mrs. Sousa her lines were always full and she greeted and helped everyone like they were family. If the customer was looking for something in particular, she knew exactly where it was and directed them to where they could find it. On occasion, I even noted a repeat customer or two. And yes, she did remember my name!

I haven't seen service like this since I was a kid, and that was a very very long time ago. When people used to truly care about one another. It is nice to know that there are still a few people out there who truly care about...

I have been coming to this store religiously since 2000, no joke. I could go to several other stores and probably save some $$$ but the quality of the produce and cleanliness of the store was top level - until now. They used to have this wonderful produce aisle that you could find ANYTHING! Not anymore - it has been replaced with a few small stands with expensive organic produce. Today was the last straw. All I wanted was to get some salad fixings for dinner. I used to be able to pick up a bag of butter lettuce. It was no longer there. I walked up and down the cooler section and found none. There were plastic tubs of some fufu organic mixes of all sorts but no simple bag of cut butter lettuce. I asked the produce person working nearby where it was and he pointed me to the expensive tubs of whatever but said they didn't carry that package of butter lettuce anymore. I asked what happened - why the product mix of the entire store became so limited. He said that they got rid of most (but not all) of the products with artificial ingredients in them (for my benefit I presume). I pointed out that the butter lettuce they used to have was...lettuce, nothing else. He only said sorry and pointed to the tubs of fancy organic mixes. I pointed out that the tubs were small, very expensive and had more plastic than a simple bag like I used to be able to get. The irony of being all healthy for the body and all unhealthy for the planet. No answer... At this point, and I am sorry to say this after over 20 years, but that store is ruined. When shopping at WalMart or Winco becomes the only way to get the normal products you are used to, there is no reason to go back. They are trying to be the new Whole Foods but that is not going to work. I have no idea how they thought that this business model would work. Maybe that's fine in San Francisco, but in...

I was helped by a young female supervisor at the self serve checkout. In the photos I've provided you can see the shelf spot where I got the Tony's milk chocolate bars I was going to purchase. It says 2 for $5.00. When I got to the self checkout the candy bars rang up at $3.99 each. I went back to check the price and discovered that someone who was stocking shelves put that box in the wrong place. There were 6 bars in the box. It wasn't as if a customer put something back in the wrong spot. The supervisor wouldn't give me that price because she said it was clearly marked. I pointed out that if I have to put my reading glasses on to see it because an employee put it in a spot that it didn't belong - but that looked like where it belonged to a customer - and the price you do clearly see isn't right - then it isn't clearly marked. I thought that at the very least there should have been some minimal discount offered. I believe that's not in the interest of good customer relations. I'm from Northern California and our district and store managers for Rayley's and BelAir in our area treat customers better than that. I was a BelAir employee for years and we certainly had leeway to do something for a customer having to go back and forth to find out a price due to our mistake. In our area we are known for exceeding the standards of the customer service of the other comparable chain stores. This experience was disappointing and not up to the standards befitting the name and reputation of...