Giant Food — Local services in Washington

This location is nicer than lots of the Giants around — although I’m a little puzzled by the inclusion of a bar in a grocery store, but if that’s your thing, hey, have a beer ten feet from a checkout line!

My issue is that they do not make it clear anywhere that you can validate your ticket for the downstairs parking garage (which is managed by an outside company, in spite of the store logo being posted everywhere). Unfortunately, I didn’t discover this until I was sandwiched between cars and slapped with a $10 fee while I was in a hurry. As an Instacart driver, that was a tough pill to swallow, as that was nearly half of my order total for the hour-plus time I spent shopping on other people’s behalf!

Staff was friendly enough when I went back to see if I could get my money back, but customer service couldn’t help me, nor could the guy posted in the parking garage. Still waiting to hear back from the management company for the parking garage who I tracked down a phone number for, but I’m doubtful I will ever see that money again…

Better signage and communication from staff would solve this issue for future guests, and I implore you to make this clearer. Perhaps I’m just not used to city life and this is an unspoken thing, but I can’t be the only one surprised by a fee like this while out shopping...

Plenty of good things about the updated grocery. New Giant is a huge improvement over the complete pile that it replaced.

The produce seems pretty good so far, the store is easy to navigate, and it has has all the requisite sections with the only exception being a bulk food dispenser section (grains, granola, quinoa, rice, stuff like that). There's a bar that you can grab a beer or wine at before shopping. Glazed donuts from the bakery are actually good.

The self scanners are great and I now use them all the time. So much better than having a slow checkout/lines. Even weighing/scanning produce isn't bad if you practice at it. It's definitely an improvement vs the self-checkout. That said, the number of clerks seems to be adequate for the population using the store. It's not nearly as crowded checking out as the social safeway.

I live about a block away, so I can't speak to the parking situation, but it seems convenient enough and easy to get in and out. It's validated with a purchase, which should cut down on overly busy parking lots given that there are some restaurants nearby and some opening up soon.

Only qualms are lack of NFC payment (like Whole Foods), lack of bulk food section, and.......

One goes grocery shopping once a week. One buys the same items every time. Perhaps they’re all in stock, but it’s unlikely they’ll all be there, even less likely from the same supplier.

Brand marketing makes us think we want the same thing every time, but do we really?

I would argue no. Why would we go on vacation otherwise? Is it really to post pictures to social media, as we might claim, or is it that we actually are seeking novelty? A novel spin on the familiar routine of walking, talking and looking around.

Giant Food defies the laws of late period capitalism and shows us that while we may have few options in terms of what we buy, while corporate America may have standardized what we see, hear and smell from sea to shining sea, and shows us that novelty can exist behind the guise of a brand name.

Fact: I have never seen exactly the same combination of people shopping at this Giant, even though I usually go on Tuesday evenings.

Fact: Sometimes the Anjou pears have a different texture than the ones I purchased weeks earlier.

Fact: Sometimes they have Runts in the candy aisle, sometimes they don’t.

To quote Meredith Brooks, matron saint of the produce section, ‘would you really want it...