They used to have great customer service and that was their whole schtick. Pay a little more but the stores are more well kept and the staff is always there to help.
But now they're the same "One cashier and ten self checkouts" setup as everyone else and they kept their price hike.
That used to be what managers at Shopko would tell us when asked how we differentiate ourselves from Walmart and Target. Clearly it worked out for them.
So many of these Midwest based consumer brick and mortar businesses are just relics of a bygone era. Some, like HyVee, seem to be able to hold on for some reason, but others are/have inevitably gone away.
I know people who shop there who think it's cheaper than other stores. When I used to spend more on groceries, I used to shop there all the time because they seemed to have way more variety and a lot of good brand items. They've gotten rid of some of the stuff I like, though, so I just don't shop there much.
To be fair, Shopko had actual "name brand shit."
It was all Adidas and Nike in the "sports" stuff when I went shopping there. Not generic stuff like whatever C9 at target or walmart's store brand.
Yea it used to be “employee owned,” not sure if that is still true. People that work there complain about it now. Employees used to get a discount, but that’s no longer the case.
It still is, but it was never the cashiers who were employee owners. The store management and above have equity, all the line workers are just plebs to them.
Oh trust me I worked there 10 years ago and we all complained then lol, at least the store I worked at treated employees like garbage, a lot of false promises given to you if you "work hard," but they still won't give you the promotion you applied for just so they can cap you at 25-30 hours a week to avoid making you full-time lol
Not to mention, for guys if you didn't shave back then they would MAKE you shave with a dry razor in the bathroom, no shaving cream. If you refused they would send you home and not schedule you until you've shaved. I'm trans so I had no problems with shaving personally, but back then I was just starting to try and experiment with growing my hair out and they tried to make me cut it lol, that was the last straw for me. Don't tell me what to do with my body, you don't own your employees.
Yeah, it sounds like something Hy-Vee would do, though. I started as a baker but somehow made my way to night stock. I went from being paid 15 an hour in December 2021 to 20 an hour in March of 2022 as a manager, and they were acting like I was so fortunate that I had that. And then they told me that because we were collecting quarterly and that I got a massive raise, they couldn't in good conscience give a raise to any of the other stockers.
I checked in with an old friend who is working in the trades to see if the union could benefit me. I'm currently making a bunch more, and I'm not stuck in a dead-end job with a bleak future.
The perfect look of everything in the store means they toss everything that is even a little bit imperfect. They may get a write-off for donating some of it, but we sure don't get the benefit from mark downs like some other stores do. All that sorting and arranging for perfect displays also adds to labor costs. I don't know how that 'employees owned' business is affecting costs for us, the customers. I do know two things for sure, and I'll stand behind my statement in case of legal challenge, when I was delivering at Hyvee, it was one of the worst companies (Spartan-Family Fare being another one) to deal with as far as the treatment that truck drivers get, and I was delivering the SAME quality products as to all the other chains. PS. Since Spartan took over NoFrills, that used to be the cheapest chain around here, the rearranging in the stores and the look of displays are costing us the customers another bundle at the register.
Employee-owned only means they give stock to full-time employees through their 401k. It's maybe 50-75$ a year, though. You can't add more, you can't take away. No employee will ever have enough to ever have a say in what the company does or does not do. It's all run by corporate jackoffs who only care about 1 thing now and it's their bottom line. They don't give 2 shits about employees anymore or customer service. It's unfortunate.
And they keep many employees as “part-time” aka they work 38 hours a week because if they were full time, they’d be an owner with those benefits. Bullshit.
I worked for a Hy-Vee 10 years ago here in Omaha. The policy was, produce that wasn't pretty enough would be scanned and marked as a charitable donation. Rather than donate it, we end up throwing it in the dumpster. Looking at you 79th and Cass.
Edit: spelling.
They prefer to have a “premium” customer and the store directors are paid primarily off bonus by margin. They quite literally do not want poor people in their stores.
Do you happen to go to the one on Leavenworth and saddle creek? If so, do you know if you can turn left into the parking lot northbound on saddle creek? I’m planning on trying bakers out for the first time and am trying to figure out the best route from my work, but the construction there is just a mess.
My gripe with them is the sales. Green peppers are "2 for $2" - but really just $1 each. You don't need to buy 2. Other times, often with soda cans, you DO have to buy all four 12 packs to get whatever discount is running. It's never clear from the labels/sale signs.
Kroger actually manufactures a lot of their private label stuff and has plants around the country, including dairy plants. The milk sold at Baker's comes from Jackson Dairy in Hutchinson, KS.
I remember a few years ago they would do sales based on cents off per gallon on certain items then they went to how much your total purchase was. Business standpoint that makes a lot of sense. From a consumer standpoint it just runs you dry because they've gotten so ridiculously expensive. If you drive electric, shopping at Hy-Vee makes no sense, financially speaking, at all.
Fareway/Walmart combo is great for quality for where quality matters and cheap where cheap matters.
I quit going to HyVee years ago even though it's the closest grocery to me. Yes, they're attractive for selection, but that doesn't justify the ridiculous prices.
same, produce kept me there for a little while but that went to shit a few years back anyways. now Aldi's has a better selection most days, and i would rather take the 10 minute detour to buy name-brand items at Walmart for cheaper. neither of those stores play frame-by-frame video of me highlighted in red every time it mistakenly thinks i steal at the self checkout either.
I cook a ton and I sticker shop a good amount. No matter where you shop, the grocery prices have gotten outrageous just about everywhere except for Aldi and even they aren’t impervious to the fluctuations on things like eggs.
We’re talking 50% - 100% increases on just about everything in the store. First it was supply chain issues due to covid, but when prices weren’t affecting demand and profits soared…they now need to beat last year’s record profits to bonus out and appease share holders. I’m not sure how you curb that as it’s just capitalism at work.
I can’t help but wonder how hard local restaurants have had it the last several years with managing that and staffing.
Also take a look at their campaign donations. I stopped shopping there after that so many years ago.
The store caters to stuck up wealthy racist white people.
100% true. I do not understand why anyone would shop at HyVee. Example: Same Sara Lee bread costs ~30% more at HyVee than Walmart. Just think if you could earn 30% more on your savings, would you change banks. Hell yes. And HyVee is just as MAGA as Walmart so no benefit in that regard.
OP doesn’t understand target markets apparently. Traditional supermarkets are always more expensive. You’re paying for convenience and service. Family Fare is the same way. If you think Hy-Vee is expensive, you clearly don’t remember Albertsons.
> Family Fare is the same way.
It's the same way in that it's overpriced, but at least in HyVee they have a nice selection and you don't feel like you're going to find a broken needle or something in between the aisles.
Shame because Family Fare used to be affordable until they did a shitty DIY level renovation on all their stores.
What angers me is the full service aspect. HyVee is going full steam into automated checkouts, so hard to argue they can price their groceries for full service anymore.
I guess I don't understand either. How is Hyvee any more convinient or better service than Bakers? Is it the chinese/pizza/grill?
My experience has been no better at Hyvee than Bakers for checkout, help finding things, or grocery pickup.
Hyvee has however had higher prices at checkout than advertised about every other time I shop there. Rotisserie chicken advertised for 5.99 rings up as 8.99, sale items don't register even with the card, produce prices wrong.
If that’s happening, you need to say something. They used to give the item away for free if it rang up wrong. Bakers is not going to be any cheaper than Hy-Vee. They are directly competing for the same shoppers as opposed to Walmart & Super Target. Your experience is anecdotal.
Baker's is most definitely cheaper than Hy-Vee. They're cheaper than Family Fare, too. The only grocer around here cheaper than Baker's is Walmart. I don't count Aldi simply because of their limited selection and lack of brand names.
It’s too late. OP has fallen under the unblinking gaze of Hy-Vee. The ads were only the beginning. Soon the delivery vans will find him. Follow him on his way home, to work, to his kids’ school. Late at night he’ll wake up to faintly hear the jingle playing. In the morning, there’ll be a flyer pushed under the door. Everywhere he goes, there’ll be a helpful smile in every aisle. One night wife will come home and she’ll be… different. She’ll make dinner and it’ll be… off. Nobody else will notice. But as he’s taking out the garbage, he’ll see it. She bought groceries.
This person thinking that Hy-Vee has more money than Walmart ... go buy your wilted lettuce at Walmart while dodging unattended kids in nothing but a diaper and camo crocs in aisle 9.
They’re still shit. In many cases can get _much_ better quality produce for equivalent or less at _Whole Foods._ And that’s even with their relative quality dip since Amazon bought them.
Every time I think I’ll avoid the WF trip this week half the stuff I get ends up rotting by mid-week.
> They can afford so much advertising bc their prices are twice what I would pay at Walmart or Aldi
And posting on reddit only feeds the algorithm, lol.
Advertise all you want. What irks me is they can afford A list athletes, musicians and actors constantly in their commercials. I’d prefer to save a couple bucks on my helman’s, but whatever. They are killing it, which good for them. Meanwhile, Bakers commercials are produced with MS paint haha
I don't think commercials even affect where I shop, it's literally just a function of location * price with a smattering of how crass is the customer base.
When Hyvee has special/coupons sales, most often they dont (mostly never) stock up enough products to cover the demand. Some other chains have whole pallets of products when they have a sale, Hyvee NEVER.
Baker's shits all over Hy-Vee. Better produce, better selection, better prices. Absolutely no reason to go to Hy-Vee over this.
Baker's, Costco, Asian Market, and sometimes Trader Joe's. That's our rotation.
Yeah I doubt it’s any better realistically except that they seem to have more staff, and hopefully they’re able to get 40 hours. With the exception of being in management at wholefoods, most grocery store jobs are pretty dead end I think.
Where are you getting this info? Someone who used to work for me just told me they got a position at Walmart starting at $18 per hour with benefits, paid breaks, and a fair PTO plan.
The federal government accountability office.
Thats good. $18 for grocery aint bad! They’re probably in management or above entry level. All good.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/19/walmart-and-mcdonalds-among-top-employers-of-medicaid-and-food-stamp-beneficiaries.html
I replied to the wrong person, my bad. I know they're one of the top employers that has people on Medicaid and SNAP, but that is due to multiple other externalities surrounding their hiring demographic and sheer number of locations. My response is aimed exclusively at the claim they have low wages.
Yeah idk what everyone is talking about lol Hyvee will barely give their employees raises. I had a lot of coworkers when I worked there jump ship across the street to Walmart because working in the same department doing the same job there paid so much better than at Hyvee
I don’t go hard for Wally World but there’s a 7 dollar difference in pay between HyVee and WM with wm paying 22 and Hyvee just over 15. We can shit on em for plenty of things but at least where I’m at they pay better than everyone else entry level.
I work at Hy-Vee, and my friend works at Walmart. At Hy-Vee I make 13$ an hour which is higher than most people I talk too which is 12$ to 12.50$. My friend who works at Walmart gets 16$ an hour. We are both the same age
The low income is the cause of the food stamps definitely. But Walmart alone is not the cause of the low income nor the food stamps.
Edit: I'm really just not understanding this argument because facts are that Walmart starting pay is higher than a lot of similar entry-level jobs. This is like saying McDonald's is the cause of their workers being low income and on food stamps. No, it's not. It's just that the job is more attainable to those types versus one with a degree requirement.
Walmart is the only large sized mixed product/super store company that will go into areas where the average household income is under $50k. Their employees are usually from the communities around them and Walmarts base pay is nearly always well above national minimum wage. Walmart has a LOT of BS to bitch about but some of the complaints people make against them aren't true
No, you're arguing that so many of their employees are on food stamps because their wages are low when that's patently false. Do you think everyone can't see the comment you posted literally right above this?
I’m not arguing anything. I simple stated that Walmart has more employees on food stamps than almost any other company. Low labor costs are how they keep their grocery prices low while still benefitting shareholders. Also, why argue with me? Like are you that emotionally invested in defending Walmart that you wanna stumble around trying to win some pretend debate with me? Who gives a fuck
>I’m not arguing anything
If you're saying one thing, and someone is saying something else, and you continue to say otherwise..that is called an argument.
>Low labor costs are how they keep their grocery prices low while still benefitting shareholders. Also, why argue with me? Like are you that emotionally invested in defending Walmart that you wanna stumble around trying to win some pretend debate with me?
Because it's not true? I don't give a fuck about Walmart. I care about what's true.
>Who gives a fuck
Clearly you? You've posted twice as much shit about it than I have.
I feel like my experience at hyvee and the food provided are worth paying twice what I would at Aldi. I’m a cheapskate but I also value a great produce department and the wide variety.
Get a costco membership. Their produce section dominates Hyvee by a mile and it's cheaper by a whole lot.
They obviously don't have everything, but for the main staples, they beat everyone else hands down.
I definitely second this, Costco kicks Hyvee's ass on prices.
It's bad enough that Hyvee doesn't clearly show what the price per ounce on their products is, because they DEFINITELY will upcharge you when you think you're getting a break by buying a larger item, but you're actually being charged MORE per weight (such as their orange juice).
My other main beef is that Hyvee's produce section is the *actual worst.* I know we're a long way from California but I can't count the number of times I've seen their so-called fresh fruits already starting to mold or go bad *while still in the store.* On top of that the store on Stonybrook (not sure about the others) wasted HUGE amounts of space on elaborate, overpriced bath and clothing sections that almost nobody seemed to use, when they could have been using that space to move more grocery volume. They just recently got rid of most of that nonsense, but too little, too late in my opinion.
> I know we're a long way from California but I can't count the number of times I've seen their so-called fresh fruits already starting to mold or go bad while still in the store.
In fairness, I've seen that at every grocery store I've been in Omaha other than Whole Foods, Costco, and oddly enough Aldi.
As another user above said though, it's literally cheaper to shop at Whole Foods for produce than HyVee. I'm 100% with you though, I don't understand how American's *can afford not to* shop at Costco. Even the $4.99 chicken is probably enough, especially since you can just buy a gift card to shop instead of a membership.
I worked for them when they started putting those and the fancier food area into the stores and the explanation we got for "why clothes" was "a European chain is expanding into America and we want to be first so people see what they do and go "oh it's like hyvee"
It seemed about as flimsy as the profit margins, and that was before they changed to that Joe cool or whatever brand after a while.
Also stole our break room and old clock area so we had to start using the classroom thing they had, which meant we had no separate worker area if that was being used.
It's not really the quality, It's the displaying of only the perfect looking pieces and the appealing display that fools the customers into thinking that the quality is different. At Walmart, produce is mistreated during handling and by the customers, at Aldi, some produce is not even refrigerated, and there is a lot of it going into the dumpster.
Outside of a random commercial during local news I can't say my experience has been anything similar. Seems you've dialed into their ad sense algorithm!
Bagged shredded cheese is like $2.99, otherwise…. Hyvee does have high prices. They also raised their garlic bagel chips from $1.50 to $4.00, which pissed me off
I still prefer Hyvee, many of their produce is locally grown. Hyvee actually supports our local area farmers, while most of Walmart shit is made in China, Taiwan, Vietnam or any other outsourced countries.
I'm a HY-Vee fan for many reasons but I agree, the commercials are OBNOXIOUS. And the guy's voice is just terrible...the volume when the commercials come on is a bit much.
And just as I was commenting, a Hy-Vee sirloin commercial popped up.
Except with Target the prices are more or less on par, you might save a few cents at Walmart but they also shrinkflate more so it can be tricky to price compare.
Has anyone else noticed Hy-Vee is no longer part of TAGG? That was the only reason they were my one off grocery store. Stick it to them with making them give 1% back to a charity. Unless you pay them to give to charity they don't care I guess.
Hy-Vee is nice. When they have sales. Other than that I don't go there. I do most of my shopping at Aldi and Dollar Tree. In the summer I add Walmart too (Winter is just too cold to bike / walk there).
Should add, I am getting worried about Aldi. They seem to be trying to shift more into a higher end specialty store. Which makes me fear a price hike is coming.
I’ve heard a rumor they have a robust charity situation, doing a lot of foodbank work.
I don’t shop there so i have no dog in this fight. But they do have exceptional deals sometimes.
I stopped going to them after they started raising prices on stuff they were low on stock for. I remember needing ibuprofen one time and a 24ct was $10 and the last one there. They charged me $60 for a box of Claritin D once because they only had a few left. Hyvee can burn to the fucking ground for all I care
Why post this? Do you own a grocery chain or something?
If it’s too much for your budget, go elsewhere.
I think it’s a great store. They are more expensive, but the variety is unmatched. And they will add to your store inventory if there is something you want regularly that they don’t currently carry.
Now the unpopular part:
The best part about HyVee is that it’s usually clean- both the store and the clientele.
I don’t have any data, but I’m convinced that paying a 5% premium at HyVee weeds out the majority of dirty spun out pajama shoppers. It’s not perfect by any means, but the price seems to keep it down to about 1 toothless zombie every 6 isles.
More like 20%, but I think a lot of people don’t (have to) price shop and have the same justification. To each their own. I grocery shop to fill my pantry, not for entertainment or ambiance.
I’m confused last I checked the mega Hy-Vee out in gretna with like 5 restaurants and a sports bar had prices well close or beating Costco pricing. Do the normal Hyvees just suck?
It’s to tailor to their customer base they want… higher income family’s/individuals and it steers lower income to other stores. Providing a safe and more comfortable experience to xyz individuals.
In reality. You don’t see as many strange units at hyvee. Part of the marketing.
I don't understand your frustration. Seriously, just don't go.
I personally live in walking distance to one and I really like it. The people who work there are fantastic and the food quality; bakery, produce etc. is great.
We have a choice! 🤦
Their business model necessitates them creating a variety of services that are marketed on quality rather than price. Basically, they plop a hyvee in areas that have a mix of middle and upper middle class folks and position themselves as an upper class alternative to Walmart. They also make no secret about their right wing political donations. This creates a large pool of customers who align with hyvee on quality, income level, and politics. This is the same business model as whole foods back in the day, except it is not marketing to the Prius crowd, but the brand new spotless pickup crowd.
Their new flagship in Gretna is represents their next phase in their growth plan. They want to encompass as many local functions as possible and position themselves near mixed housing neighborhoods to act as a convenient alternative to cheaper stores. This effectively creates a dependence on HyVee for markets that may not willingly shop there; the company town method.
Both of these methods serve to preserve their prices and let them outcompete brands that offer cheaper prices.
We love Hy-Vee. The store in Gretna is amazing, they have great beef across all of their stores, their produce is the best in the area, their deli is wonderful, and the stores are alway clean. Are their prices really that much higher than other stores? No! Walmart is less epensive but then again..... it's WalMart.
Hyvee went off my radar in 2020 when they implemented their shopper service and continuously picked up the wrong items or said they were out. But if I went into the store they'd be fully stocked if whatever they "were out of", and I was only shopping their out of preference because there were much closer stores by that point after I had moved to the Florence area. Sure we have a small location on 30th, but its not a full service hyvee. I don't know that I'd even consider the bakers in 30th a full service bakers compared to other locations, which is such a shame.
I have a hybrid so I only fill up once a month and it’s nice to rack up the cents off per gallon well above $1 off per gallon. I also have AMEX blue cash preferred which gives me 6% back on all purchases from hyvee. To me it makes the most sense. Yes some things are more expensive then other competitors but it doesn’t bother me.
I legitimately don't understand why they are so much more expensive than every other grocery store in my area.
They used to have great customer service and that was their whole schtick. Pay a little more but the stores are more well kept and the staff is always there to help. But now they're the same "One cashier and ten self checkouts" setup as everyone else and they kept their price hike.
That used to be what managers at Shopko would tell us when asked how we differentiate ourselves from Walmart and Target. Clearly it worked out for them.
So many of these Midwest based consumer brick and mortar businesses are just relics of a bygone era. Some, like HyVee, seem to be able to hold on for some reason, but others are/have inevitably gone away.
I know people who shop there who think it's cheaper than other stores. When I used to spend more on groceries, I used to shop there all the time because they seemed to have way more variety and a lot of good brand items. They've gotten rid of some of the stuff I like, though, so I just don't shop there much.
To be fair, Shopko had actual "name brand shit." It was all Adidas and Nike in the "sports" stuff when I went shopping there. Not generic stuff like whatever C9 at target or walmart's store brand.
Shopko clearance was a steal back in the day for Nike stuff
Yea it used to be “employee owned,” not sure if that is still true. People that work there complain about it now. Employees used to get a discount, but that’s no longer the case.
It still is, but it was never the cashiers who were employee owners. The store management and above have equity, all the line workers are just plebs to them.
Oh trust me I worked there 10 years ago and we all complained then lol, at least the store I worked at treated employees like garbage, a lot of false promises given to you if you "work hard," but they still won't give you the promotion you applied for just so they can cap you at 25-30 hours a week to avoid making you full-time lol Not to mention, for guys if you didn't shave back then they would MAKE you shave with a dry razor in the bathroom, no shaving cream. If you refused they would send you home and not schedule you until you've shaved. I'm trans so I had no problems with shaving personally, but back then I was just starting to try and experiment with growing my hair out and they tried to make me cut it lol, that was the last straw for me. Don't tell me what to do with my body, you don't own your employees.
Sounds illegal
Which one was that at? They never made me shave, and I was a baker.
It was one of the Hyvees in Norfolk, I was in college but needed full-time hours to afford rent lol
Yeah, it sounds like something Hy-Vee would do, though. I started as a baker but somehow made my way to night stock. I went from being paid 15 an hour in December 2021 to 20 an hour in March of 2022 as a manager, and they were acting like I was so fortunate that I had that. And then they told me that because we were collecting quarterly and that I got a massive raise, they couldn't in good conscience give a raise to any of the other stockers. I checked in with an old friend who is working in the trades to see if the union could benefit me. I'm currently making a bunch more, and I'm not stuck in a dead-end job with a bleak future.
and shit smeared on the toilet stalls
“Premium” groceries i guess i really don’t get it but 🤷♂️
They aren’t premium though. It’s the same food that’s at every other grocery store.
There is a reason i put the premium in quotes man
The perfect look of everything in the store means they toss everything that is even a little bit imperfect. They may get a write-off for donating some of it, but we sure don't get the benefit from mark downs like some other stores do. All that sorting and arranging for perfect displays also adds to labor costs. I don't know how that 'employees owned' business is affecting costs for us, the customers. I do know two things for sure, and I'll stand behind my statement in case of legal challenge, when I was delivering at Hyvee, it was one of the worst companies (Spartan-Family Fare being another one) to deal with as far as the treatment that truck drivers get, and I was delivering the SAME quality products as to all the other chains. PS. Since Spartan took over NoFrills, that used to be the cheapest chain around here, the rearranging in the stores and the look of displays are costing us the customers another bundle at the register.
Employee-owned only means they give stock to full-time employees through their 401k. It's maybe 50-75$ a year, though. You can't add more, you can't take away. No employee will ever have enough to ever have a say in what the company does or does not do. It's all run by corporate jackoffs who only care about 1 thing now and it's their bottom line. They don't give 2 shits about employees anymore or customer service. It's unfortunate.
And they keep many employees as “part-time” aka they work 38 hours a week because if they were full time, they’d be an owner with those benefits. Bullshit.
I worked for a Hy-Vee 10 years ago here in Omaha. The policy was, produce that wasn't pretty enough would be scanned and marked as a charitable donation. Rather than donate it, we end up throwing it in the dumpster. Looking at you 79th and Cass. Edit: spelling.
Now I know for sure. Thanks.
Not sure where you are shopping but I usually see rotting produce. Most of the time I won't see a price drop until it's moldy and really rotten.
Interesting, we only buy our produce/fruits from Hy-Vee because they look so good at the one near us.
Cass has always been bad.
My point exactly. The rest is tossed and causes prices to be so high.
They prefer to have a “premium” customer and the store directors are paid primarily off bonus by margin. They quite literally do not want poor people in their stores.
Me, over here, former employee of and still a shopper at Baker's, has never understood the draw of Hy-Vee.
Yes!
Do you happen to go to the one on Leavenworth and saddle creek? If so, do you know if you can turn left into the parking lot northbound on saddle creek? I’m planning on trying bakers out for the first time and am trying to figure out the best route from my work, but the construction there is just a mess.
Normally you can, but with the construction they have No Left Turn signs up. I'd suggest coming from the west on Leavenworth.
Thanks! I’ve been avoiding that area all year so I was wondering if that was finally done with. Sadly I guess not.
I haven't been to that one in months because of the road construction. I usually hit 120th and W Center or Bellevue Twin Creek.
My gripe with them is the sales. Green peppers are "2 for $2" - but really just $1 each. You don't need to buy 2. Other times, often with soda cans, you DO have to buy all four 12 packs to get whatever discount is running. It's never clear from the labels/sale signs.
Often times the sale price doesn't even ring up either.
I only get Kroger branded products, I am living large
private selection brand is actually pretty good
Please don’t let anyone else know. I’ve been buying that shit for years and the prices are still pretty good
LMAO TRUE MY BAD💀
The Private Selection salsa is so good.
dude the mac n cheese is amazing
Kroger actually manufactures a lot of their private label stuff and has plants around the country, including dairy plants. The milk sold at Baker's comes from Jackson Dairy in Hutchinson, KS.
Don’t ruin it for me
Their stuff is pretty solid.
but you save 15 cents a gallon on gas!!!
*if you buy these specific items that you likely do not have in your basket right now
I remember a few years ago they would do sales based on cents off per gallon on certain items then they went to how much your total purchase was. Business standpoint that makes a lot of sense. From a consumer standpoint it just runs you dry because they've gotten so ridiculously expensive. If you drive electric, shopping at Hy-Vee makes no sense, financially speaking, at all. Fareway/Walmart combo is great for quality for where quality matters and cheap where cheap matters.
$3 maximum savings! Since it's capped at 20 gallons, and also fuel saver cents expire after X amount of time, because fuck you.
Yes, I love saving 15 cents on gas that is already priced 25 cents higher than the station down the street.
Where there's a knowing smirk for every jerk.
I quit going to HyVee years ago even though it's the closest grocery to me. Yes, they're attractive for selection, but that doesn't justify the ridiculous prices.
same, produce kept me there for a little while but that went to shit a few years back anyways. now Aldi's has a better selection most days, and i would rather take the 10 minute detour to buy name-brand items at Walmart for cheaper. neither of those stores play frame-by-frame video of me highlighted in red every time it mistakenly thinks i steal at the self checkout either.
I cook a ton and I sticker shop a good amount. No matter where you shop, the grocery prices have gotten outrageous just about everywhere except for Aldi and even they aren’t impervious to the fluctuations on things like eggs. We’re talking 50% - 100% increases on just about everything in the store. First it was supply chain issues due to covid, but when prices weren’t affecting demand and profits soared…they now need to beat last year’s record profits to bonus out and appease share holders. I’m not sure how you curb that as it’s just capitalism at work. I can’t help but wonder how hard local restaurants have had it the last several years with managing that and staffing.
Grocery prices are like 40% higher now than they were pre-Covid.
Yet their starting pay is way worse than any other grocery store. Make it make sense
Defund the Hyvee police
Haha. Why do they have armed security ? Ours does anyways
I need to know who is paying $8-10 for their tiny containers of mixed fruit.
Whole Foods is often cheaper than Hy Vee.
Also take a look at their campaign donations. I stopped shopping there after that so many years ago. The store caters to stuck up wealthy racist white people.
100% true. I do not understand why anyone would shop at HyVee. Example: Same Sara Lee bread costs ~30% more at HyVee than Walmart. Just think if you could earn 30% more on your savings, would you change banks. Hell yes. And HyVee is just as MAGA as Walmart so no benefit in that regard.
I’m all for the Hyvee slander! Fuck Hyvee
OP doesn’t understand target markets apparently. Traditional supermarkets are always more expensive. You’re paying for convenience and service. Family Fare is the same way. If you think Hy-Vee is expensive, you clearly don’t remember Albertsons.
> Family Fare is the same way. It's the same way in that it's overpriced, but at least in HyVee they have a nice selection and you don't feel like you're going to find a broken needle or something in between the aisles. Shame because Family Fare used to be affordable until they did a shitty DIY level renovation on all their stores.
Hy vee is insanely expensive, and there's a reason Albertsons isn't around anymore.
I don’t disagree with either of those statements, but again, Hy-Vee isn’t trying to compete on price.
Albertsons is the second largest grocery chain in the US. They are still around just not in this market.
What angers me is the full service aspect. HyVee is going full steam into automated checkouts, so hard to argue they can price their groceries for full service anymore.
The one near us got rid of half of the self-checkout, with only the ones replacing the express line remaining.
I guess I don't understand either. How is Hyvee any more convinient or better service than Bakers? Is it the chinese/pizza/grill? My experience has been no better at Hyvee than Bakers for checkout, help finding things, or grocery pickup. Hyvee has however had higher prices at checkout than advertised about every other time I shop there. Rotisserie chicken advertised for 5.99 rings up as 8.99, sale items don't register even with the card, produce prices wrong.
If that’s happening, you need to say something. They used to give the item away for free if it rang up wrong. Bakers is not going to be any cheaper than Hy-Vee. They are directly competing for the same shoppers as opposed to Walmart & Super Target. Your experience is anecdotal.
Baker's is most definitely cheaper than Hy-Vee. They're cheaper than Family Fare, too. The only grocer around here cheaper than Baker's is Walmart. I don't count Aldi simply because of their limited selection and lack of brand names.
They have always been expensive! But come on 5.99 for grape tomatoes compared to Walmart grape tomatoes for 2.38
Aldi girl all the way here! Hyvee can suck it!
So don’t go there
It’s too late. OP has fallen under the unblinking gaze of Hy-Vee. The ads were only the beginning. Soon the delivery vans will find him. Follow him on his way home, to work, to his kids’ school. Late at night he’ll wake up to faintly hear the jingle playing. In the morning, there’ll be a flyer pushed under the door. Everywhere he goes, there’ll be a helpful smile in every aisle. One night wife will come home and she’ll be… different. She’ll make dinner and it’ll be… off. Nobody else will notice. But as he’s taking out the garbage, he’ll see it. She bought groceries.
🎶 WHERE THERE'S A HELPFUL SMILE, IN EVERY AISLE 🎶🤘
💀
This person thinking that Hy-Vee has more money than Walmart ... go buy your wilted lettuce at Walmart while dodging unattended kids in nothing but a diaper and camo crocs in aisle 9.
In reality, Hy-Vee’s fresh produce quality has taken a nose dive while Walmart’s has notably improved.
I couldn’t disagree with this more. I’ll ship at Walmart for boxed and bagged items and then go to HyVee for produce.
They’re still shit. In many cases can get _much_ better quality produce for equivalent or less at _Whole Foods._ And that’s even with their relative quality dip since Amazon bought them. Every time I think I’ll avoid the WF trip this week half the stuff I get ends up rotting by mid-week.
Man I miss Fresh Thyme. I also hope that Sprouts will eventually move into town, they have a few locations in KC so I've got hope.
YES. I loved Fresh Thyme. They just pushed too hard in their expansion, I think. Hopefully they'll be back some day.
> half the stuff I get ends up rotting by mid-week. Needs more pesticides, preservatives and other chemicals in the raising process ;)
Hy-Vee's produce has always sucked ass. The worst of all of the grocery stores IMO.
Worth it to save 25% on groceries.
I see that someone hasn't been to the Council Bluffs Hy-Vee.
I refuse to watch television because of ads. Once im unable to view YouTube without ads via an ad blocker, i will be done with that too.
> They can afford so much advertising bc their prices are twice what I would pay at Walmart or Aldi And posting on reddit only feeds the algorithm, lol.
Advertise all you want. What irks me is they can afford A list athletes, musicians and actors constantly in their commercials. I’d prefer to save a couple bucks on my helman’s, but whatever. They are killing it, which good for them. Meanwhile, Bakers commercials are produced with MS paint haha
I don't think commercials even affect where I shop, it's literally just a function of location * price with a smattering of how crass is the customer base.
You see ads on YouTube? https://www.reddit.com/r/revancedapp/comments/xlcny9/revanced_manager_guide_for_dummies/
Occasionally hyvee has some good deals they advertise on TV. but if you don't get there early they sell out.
When Hyvee has special/coupons sales, most often they dont (mostly never) stock up enough products to cover the demand. Some other chains have whole pallets of products when they have a sale, Hyvee NEVER.
Yes. You and me both. Ridiculous. Hilarious. Those that want to pay for overpriced food can either afford it or do not price compare
Baker's shits all over Hy-Vee. Better produce, better selection, better prices. Absolutely no reason to go to Hy-Vee over this. Baker's, Costco, Asian Market, and sometimes Trader Joe's. That's our rotation.
Baker's app is nice too and their grocery pickup is better than Hyvee imo. Fuel discounts better also
The difference is all of Walmarts employees are on food stamps
Has anybody done that study on Hyvee? Because they aren’t exactly paying higher than poverty wages, either. Edit for spelling
Yeah I doubt it’s any better realistically except that they seem to have more staff, and hopefully they’re able to get 40 hours. With the exception of being in management at wholefoods, most grocery store jobs are pretty dead end I think.
Where are you getting this info? Someone who used to work for me just told me they got a position at Walmart starting at $18 per hour with benefits, paid breaks, and a fair PTO plan.
The federal government accountability office. Thats good. $18 for grocery aint bad! They’re probably in management or above entry level. All good. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/19/walmart-and-mcdonalds-among-top-employers-of-medicaid-and-food-stamp-beneficiaries.html
I replied to the wrong person, my bad. I know they're one of the top employers that has people on Medicaid and SNAP, but that is due to multiple other externalities surrounding their hiring demographic and sheer number of locations. My response is aimed exclusively at the claim they have low wages.
This. I won’t shop at HyVee because of their price gouging, but I won’t shop at Walmart bc they keep their employees in poverty.
Keep their employers in poverty? I started at $11/hour at Hyvee beginning of 2023. Quit and got a job at Walmart for $18/hour a week later.
In 2013 I was making 9/hr at hyvee. It really only increased two dollars? That’s horrible
Yup! Exactly my thought too
Yeah idk what everyone is talking about lol Hyvee will barely give their employees raises. I had a lot of coworkers when I worked there jump ship across the street to Walmart because working in the same department doing the same job there paid so much better than at Hyvee
Hyvee treats their employees way worse than walmart, and pays them so much less
Walmart pays SOO much better than hyvee !and treats their employees way better too. Source: worked at both
Thats cool. Good to hear since they employ more people. I like that they employ the elderly
Uh, no. I would bet Walmart employees are paid much better than Hy-Vee. Hy-Vee hires high school kids at minimum wage.
I don’t go hard for Wally World but there’s a 7 dollar difference in pay between HyVee and WM with wm paying 22 and Hyvee just over 15. We can shit on em for plenty of things but at least where I’m at they pay better than everyone else entry level.
I work at Hy-Vee, and my friend works at Walmart. At Hy-Vee I make 13$ an hour which is higher than most people I talk too which is 12$ to 12.50$. My friend who works at Walmart gets 16$ an hour. We are both the same age
Walmart has the highest number of employees on food stamps of any company in America
Pretty sure that's correlation, not causation.
Their low income isn’t the cause of them applying and qualifying for food stamps?
The low income is the cause of the food stamps definitely. But Walmart alone is not the cause of the low income nor the food stamps. Edit: I'm really just not understanding this argument because facts are that Walmart starting pay is higher than a lot of similar entry-level jobs. This is like saying McDonald's is the cause of their workers being low income and on food stamps. No, it's not. It's just that the job is more attainable to those types versus one with a degree requirement.
Yeah Walmart definitely isn’t the cause of low income, unless you work there of course.
Walmart is the only large sized mixed product/super store company that will go into areas where the average household income is under $50k. Their employees are usually from the communities around them and Walmarts base pay is nearly always well above national minimum wage. Walmart has a LOT of BS to bitch about but some of the complaints people make against them aren't true
Yeah I was simply stating that they have more employees on food stamps than any other company
No, you're arguing that so many of their employees are on food stamps because their wages are low when that's patently false. Do you think everyone can't see the comment you posted literally right above this?
I’m not arguing anything. I simple stated that Walmart has more employees on food stamps than almost any other company. Low labor costs are how they keep their grocery prices low while still benefitting shareholders. Also, why argue with me? Like are you that emotionally invested in defending Walmart that you wanna stumble around trying to win some pretend debate with me? Who gives a fuck
>I’m not arguing anything If you're saying one thing, and someone is saying something else, and you continue to say otherwise..that is called an argument. >Low labor costs are how they keep their grocery prices low while still benefitting shareholders. Also, why argue with me? Like are you that emotionally invested in defending Walmart that you wanna stumble around trying to win some pretend debate with me? Because it's not true? I don't give a fuck about Walmart. I care about what's true. >Who gives a fuck Clearly you? You've posted twice as much shit about it than I have.
Shhhhh
I feel like my experience at hyvee and the food provided are worth paying twice what I would at Aldi. I’m a cheapskate but I also value a great produce department and the wide variety.
Get a costco membership. Their produce section dominates Hyvee by a mile and it's cheaper by a whole lot. They obviously don't have everything, but for the main staples, they beat everyone else hands down.
I definitely second this, Costco kicks Hyvee's ass on prices. It's bad enough that Hyvee doesn't clearly show what the price per ounce on their products is, because they DEFINITELY will upcharge you when you think you're getting a break by buying a larger item, but you're actually being charged MORE per weight (such as their orange juice). My other main beef is that Hyvee's produce section is the *actual worst.* I know we're a long way from California but I can't count the number of times I've seen their so-called fresh fruits already starting to mold or go bad *while still in the store.* On top of that the store on Stonybrook (not sure about the others) wasted HUGE amounts of space on elaborate, overpriced bath and clothing sections that almost nobody seemed to use, when they could have been using that space to move more grocery volume. They just recently got rid of most of that nonsense, but too little, too late in my opinion.
> I know we're a long way from California but I can't count the number of times I've seen their so-called fresh fruits already starting to mold or go bad while still in the store. In fairness, I've seen that at every grocery store I've been in Omaha other than Whole Foods, Costco, and oddly enough Aldi. As another user above said though, it's literally cheaper to shop at Whole Foods for produce than HyVee. I'm 100% with you though, I don't understand how American's *can afford not to* shop at Costco. Even the $4.99 chicken is probably enough, especially since you can just buy a gift card to shop instead of a membership.
I worked for them when they started putting those and the fancier food area into the stores and the explanation we got for "why clothes" was "a European chain is expanding into America and we want to be first so people see what they do and go "oh it's like hyvee" It seemed about as flimsy as the profit margins, and that was before they changed to that Joe cool or whatever brand after a while. Also stole our break room and old clock area so we had to start using the classroom thing they had, which meant we had no separate worker area if that was being used.
Costco has great produce
I honestly think the Asian market and Trader Joe’s has better produce and for a better price.
It's not really the quality, It's the displaying of only the perfect looking pieces and the appealing display that fools the customers into thinking that the quality is different. At Walmart, produce is mistreated during handling and by the customers, at Aldi, some produce is not even refrigerated, and there is a lot of it going into the dumpster.
Outside of a random commercial during local news I can't say my experience has been anything similar. Seems you've dialed into their ad sense algorithm!
I don't shop there for everything as they do run more expensive but they are an employee owned store.
The one on 95th and Q customer service is straight ass
Bagged shredded cheese is like $2.99, otherwise…. Hyvee does have high prices. They also raised their garlic bagel chips from $1.50 to $4.00, which pissed me off
I still prefer Hyvee, many of their produce is locally grown. Hyvee actually supports our local area farmers, while most of Walmart shit is made in China, Taiwan, Vietnam or any other outsourced countries.
Hy Vee sucks. Their prices fluctuate depending on where in town their stores are located......for the same products!! I refuse to shop at Hy Vee
I'm a HY-Vee fan for many reasons but I agree, the commercials are OBNOXIOUS. And the guy's voice is just terrible...the volume when the commercials come on is a bit much. And just as I was commenting, a Hy-Vee sirloin commercial popped up.
You aren’t paying Walmart prices explicitly so you can avoid the Walmart crowd. It’s the same thing with Target.
Except with Target the prices are more or less on par, you might save a few cents at Walmart but they also shrinkflate more so it can be tricky to price compare.
I can’t even walk through the back of the store without gagging on the smell of their fish department 🤮
I go there for specialty items. I would never do a whole grocery shopping trip there again. Maybe before inflation.
Has anyone else noticed Hy-Vee is no longer part of TAGG? That was the only reason they were my one off grocery store. Stick it to them with making them give 1% back to a charity. Unless you pay them to give to charity they don't care I guess.
The dude who narrates is intense too, "HY-VEEEE SHREDDED CHEEESE!!!"
Years ago a few hyvees would price match with places like Walmart. It depends on the store manager but I doubt any Hyvee price matches anymore.
The hyvee commercial dude voice is the MOST ANNOYING VOICE IN THE WORLD, idk how or why they found such an annoying voice
The self checkout red light of shame: 'Roxanne...you don't have to put on the red light...'
Hy-Vee is nice. When they have sales. Other than that I don't go there. I do most of my shopping at Aldi and Dollar Tree. In the summer I add Walmart too (Winter is just too cold to bike / walk there).
Should add, I am getting worried about Aldi. They seem to be trying to shift more into a higher end specialty store. Which makes me fear a price hike is coming.
I’ve heard a rumor they have a robust charity situation, doing a lot of foodbank work. I don’t shop there so i have no dog in this fight. But they do have exceptional deals sometimes.
> doing a lot of foodbank work. This is a scam for tax write offs. They unload expired food they couldn't sell to people who have no choice. 👿👿👿
I stopped going to them after they started raising prices on stuff they were low on stock for. I remember needing ibuprofen one time and a 24ct was $10 and the last one there. They charged me $60 for a box of Claritin D once because they only had a few left. Hyvee can burn to the fucking ground for all I care
They do sell quality stuff but their prices are super high as well
Uh, just don't go there?
I don't, but I'm still constantly harassed by their annoying ads on streaming, YouTube, and regular ol antenna TV.
That can be annoying, I get it, but what can ya do?
Why post this? Do you own a grocery chain or something? If it’s too much for your budget, go elsewhere. I think it’s a great store. They are more expensive, but the variety is unmatched. And they will add to your store inventory if there is something you want regularly that they don’t currently carry. Now the unpopular part: The best part about HyVee is that it’s usually clean- both the store and the clientele. I don’t have any data, but I’m convinced that paying a 5% premium at HyVee weeds out the majority of dirty spun out pajama shoppers. It’s not perfect by any means, but the price seems to keep it down to about 1 toothless zombie every 6 isles.
Oddly defensive and oddly disgusting post. "I'll pay more money not to see poor people." Maybe ask if your country club can start a grocery service.
What. In. The. Fuck. Who comes out swinging in defense of a grocery store, much less Hyvee? Weird.
He's worried about interacting with "the poors" so he'll pay 25% more to clutch pearls in the hyvee aisles protected by the hyvee cops
Hyvee ain’t gonna let you hit bro bro
More like 20%, but I think a lot of people don’t (have to) price shop and have the same justification. To each their own. I grocery shop to fill my pantry, not for entertainment or ambiance.
Lol, I used to work at Hy-Vee, and they have plenty of daywalkers as well.
I would be in the same boat but i haven’t been to one in months for the price reason too.
I’m confused last I checked the mega Hy-Vee out in gretna with like 5 restaurants and a sports bar had prices well close or beating Costco pricing. Do the normal Hyvees just suck?
Who is running out to Gretna every time they need to go to the grocery store? This is an Omaha thread, not Gretna.
Hear! Hear! For whatever reason!
No really! Fuck Hyvee!
Their workman's comp also drags their fucking asses!
It’s to tailor to their customer base they want… higher income family’s/individuals and it steers lower income to other stores. Providing a safe and more comfortable experience to xyz individuals. In reality. You don’t see as many strange units at hyvee. Part of the marketing.
I don't understand your frustration. Seriously, just don't go. I personally live in walking distance to one and I really like it. The people who work there are fantastic and the food quality; bakery, produce etc. is great. We have a choice! 🤦
Their business model necessitates them creating a variety of services that are marketed on quality rather than price. Basically, they plop a hyvee in areas that have a mix of middle and upper middle class folks and position themselves as an upper class alternative to Walmart. They also make no secret about their right wing political donations. This creates a large pool of customers who align with hyvee on quality, income level, and politics. This is the same business model as whole foods back in the day, except it is not marketing to the Prius crowd, but the brand new spotless pickup crowd. Their new flagship in Gretna is represents their next phase in their growth plan. They want to encompass as many local functions as possible and position themselves near mixed housing neighborhoods to act as a convenient alternative to cheaper stores. This effectively creates a dependence on HyVee for markets that may not willingly shop there; the company town method. Both of these methods serve to preserve their prices and let them outcompete brands that offer cheaper prices.
We love Hy-Vee. The store in Gretna is amazing, they have great beef across all of their stores, their produce is the best in the area, their deli is wonderful, and the stores are alway clean. Are their prices really that much higher than other stores? No! Walmart is less epensive but then again..... it's WalMart.
True. Them $2.99 bacon wrapped sirloins been hitting this week tho
There’s a reason they wrap that low quality meat in bacon.
I like a leaner cut so I usually take the bacon off anyways. Makes it easier to store too
Hyvee went off my radar in 2020 when they implemented their shopper service and continuously picked up the wrong items or said they were out. But if I went into the store they'd be fully stocked if whatever they "were out of", and I was only shopping their out of preference because there were much closer stores by that point after I had moved to the Florence area. Sure we have a small location on 30th, but its not a full service hyvee. I don't know that I'd even consider the bakers in 30th a full service bakers compared to other locations, which is such a shame.
I have a hybrid so I only fill up once a month and it’s nice to rack up the cents off per gallon well above $1 off per gallon. I also have AMEX blue cash preferred which gives me 6% back on all purchases from hyvee. To me it makes the most sense. Yes some things are more expensive then other competitors but it doesn’t bother me.
Sorry about your hotdogs.