Meijer

[noodlematt]

I thought we could have a good discussion about Meijer. The one on Alping really is horrible. It is worst then the one on Norton in Muskegon. Take into consideration that it has been there a long time and probably does not make much money any more, why remodel it? A super Wal-mart will probably change their mind.

I work for Meijer so I am really curious about what it is going to do about the minimum wage increase. Those union workers are starting at 5.75 to 6.15 for basic jobs. You would not think that if they are paying the utility workers 6.95 that the cashiers should be making the same. Even more so is non-union jobs like Systems. If you are making 6.50, are you going to be stuck with utility workers at 6.95 or is the company going to bump you up even higher because you are non-union?

[snoogit]

I thought we could have a good discussion about Meijer. The one on Alping really is horrible. It is worst then the one on Norton in Muskegon. Take into consideration that it has been there a long time and probably does not make much money any more, why remodel it? A super Wal-mart will probably change their mind.

I work for Meijer so I am really curious about what it is going to do about the minimum wage increase. Those union workers are starting at 5.75 to 6.15 for basic jobs. You would not think that if they are paying the utility workers 6.95 that the cashiers should be making the same. Even more so is non-union jobs like Systems. If you are making 6.50, are you going to be stuck with utility workers at 6.95 or is the company going to bump you up even higher because you are non-union?

Working at Alpine I take it? how are things there, I havent been there in a while.

[grrwymg]

Working at Alpine I take it? how are things there, I havent been there in a while.

I haven't been there since I moved from the NW side to the SW side. That Meijer was in my 'hood. I loved going there w/ mom as a kid. When I was old enough to jump on my bike and be away w/ friends, we'd ride there and cause trouble like teenagers could.

Once I moved out, I continued to do my shopping there. I never once thought about this being a 'ghetto' Meijer. I like the layout of this particular Meijer better than the newer ones - maybe because I was used to it.

Sure the demographics of the area and the customer base changed from the time I was 5 til the time I was 25. Oddly enough, that happens. My folks still live on the NW side w/in a 5 minute drive of that Meijer. I think they still shop there.

Not sure where I'm going w/ this. Just thought I'd throw it out there though.

[snoogit]

I haven't been there since I moved from the NW side to the SW side. That Meijer was in my 'hood. I loved going there w/ mom as a kid. When I was old enough to jump on my bike and be away w/ friends, we'd ride there and cause trouble like teenagers could.

Once I moved out, I continued to do my shopping there. I never once thought about this being a 'ghetto' Meijer. I like the layout of this particular Meijer better than the newer ones - maybe because I was used to it.

Sure the demographics of the area and the customer base changed from the time I was 5 til the time I was 25. Oddly enough, that happens. My folks still live on the NW side w/in a 5 minute drive of that Meijer. I think they still shop there.

Not sure where I'm going w/ this. Just thought I'd throw it out there though.

I still live about a 10 minute drive from there, and it was a great store, until very recently.

[GR_Urbanist]

The Alpine store isnt bad at all. Maybe a little too cold but its clean and lets just say you get a good cross section of the west side when you go there. My wife, being a former west sider, calls it affectionately the "white trash" Meijer.

[noodlematt]

No I don't work at that one.

[MJLO]

I've gone to the Alpine Meijer alot, and while it's not real pretty, It doesn't bother me like some of the other locations, If I had to pick one, Id say I steer clear of the Plainfield location, I'll drive to the beltline or clear up to rockford first. There is more than one reason for it. Also I go to the 54th st. location, but more than once i've been amused by the people who work there.

Edited April 27, 2006 by MJLO

[Greedo]

I was at the Alpine Meijer last summer and have to say it is a dump. Quickly approaching scary, as in 28th/Kalamazoo scary.

I really enjoy the new building layouts--faux parquet floors, bright lighting, pharmacy near the front, lobby retail--it's smart and makes a better buying experience.

I hope they reinvest in that store, it's so close to the Corporate HQ, it seems you would want to showcase the goods as well as possible. Plus go tet-a-tet with the enemy.

[GR1]

Out of all the Meijer stores, I stay away from 28th/Kzoo the most. It's often referred to as the "ghetto" Meijer, while I can see where it gets it's nickname there are many other reasons for not shopping here. The layout of the store makes no sense, I can't ever find anything. It is a smaller location and they've crammed all they can into the store. Every time I go, someone near the shoes attempts to get me to buy a photo package, and they don't have the amenities that other Meijer stores have.

Once while shopping for last minute ice skates at the 28th/Cascade Meijer, an employee offered to call the "ghetto" Meijer to see if they had any of the skates left in my size. I found it humorous that even the employees refer to the 28th/kzoo location as "ghetto".

Also, the 54th/clyde park location, MJLO you're right! While I don't like this location the best, it usually makes for an entertaining trip, one time I had a very funny experience with an older man who worked in the shoe repair area. BTW, anyone notice that the shoe repair is gone from this Meijer?

[snoogit]

I was at the Alpine Meijer last summer and have to say it is a dump. Quickly approaching scary, as in 28th/Kalamazoo scary.

I really enjoy the new building layouts--faux parquet floors, bright lighting, pharmacy near the front, lobby retail--it's smart and makes a better buying experience.

I hope they reinvest in that store, it's so close to the Corporate HQ, it seems you would want to showcase the goods as well as possible. Plus go tet-a-tet with the enemy.

the problem is, its not thought of that way, its more a place to keep problem employees on close watch

[Occam]

I love the West Side meijer and wouldn't change all that much about it. Even though its one of the older style meijers, it doesn't seem to have become the dump that some of the others have. Sure, its not super-chic 'cascade meijers', but they still have a really good selection of foods, decent checkout lanes, and a nice close location for me and my fellow west siders. Sometimes I wonder if being on the west side gives us a better selection of ethic foods than the other locations.

Don't go screwing with my Meijers.. Its not chic, and the facade may not be a cheesy faux village, but its probably the closest thing GR has to a good solid downtown grocery store. I love my West Side Meijers. A little wear and tear on the building is nothing to be ashamed of; its still very functional and serves us west siders well. It hasn't become the 'scary' meijers that some locations seem to have decayed too.

[TheCityGuy]

I've said it in another thread and I'll say it again here.

I understand why people call K-zoo/28th st. "Ghetto Meijer" and it really upsets me. I love going to that Meijer as a way to escape the monotony of all the other Meijer's. Sure, it's a little more dirty, cramped, and disorganized than the others, but it was also the first of their stores (I think) to incorporate the all-in-one shopping expericence. I've never felt unsafe or out of my element while shopping there.

I've heard people make unpleasant remarks about the "diversity" of the people who shop there. I love the diversity. I've never seen so many different races/ethnicities/income groups in any other big box store as compared to the "Ghetto Meijer".

To me, the Meijer at K-zoo/28th st. is an example of what we want our urban experience to be like; the mixing of races and income groups, a little gritty but interesting as well.

I thought this was an urban forum, not a what Meijer is worse forum.

Ranting Done

[GRGyp]

I love the West Side meijer and wouldn't change all that much about it. Even though its one of the older style meijers, it doesn't seem to have become the dump that some of the others have.

This was years back that I worked as a merchy for Brooks Beveraging and worked those stores. I always remember Alpine is being and older store that was well maintained. Kind of like Jenison Meijer. It's old, you can tell it's old because it looks worn, but you can ignore it because it looks like the work on it.

Now Meijer 28th/Kalamazoo is ancient and doesn't have that same feel, and if you get into the backroom you'd call it ghetto Meijer as well. You feel like your in a back alley in the Bronx when working there. Other Meijer stores are much more spacious in their backroomm setups. Meijer Plainfield is similar. A very cramped building in both the aisles and backroom.

I like the old style Meijer stores with the shops on the balconies above the checkouts. Plainfield's balcony area, however, scares me. You have a hair salon on one end and right next door is a place that sells artificial limbs.

"Hi! I'd like a little off the top, trim it up over the ears, and lose the left leg please..."

[Beavis]

I have been back living in Heritage Hill for several years but still do my major grocery shopping at the Alpine Meijers. I can get in and out quickly because I know where everything is (due to living on the West Side many years while first in recovery from alcoholism - 12 years sober now). Of course, we have no good grocery stores in Heritage Hill.

I work in Cascade but every time I need more than a few things, the Cascade Meijer wastes my time because it's not laid out logically - I always have to backtrack across the store.

I hope they keep the Alpine Meijers going - it just needs a little spit and polish.

[MAU]

I don't think Ghetto has anything to do with the people who shop at the store. When i refer to Ghetto Meijer it's because the store is old and the food isn't the greatest. Ever noticed that Alpine and Plainfield don't exactly have the freshest produce? THAT is why i don't shop at those stores.

[Greedo]

It's the same produce. It's the presentation that sucks. Put some good lights, some clean signage and clean, wide aisles and it makes a HUGE difference in how the products look.

Point-of-purchase marketing people! It the final leg in affecting consumer behavior.

[grcitydog]

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it almost seems like the corporate management is setting up certain stores to fail, so that in a few years when they close them, they can say that nobody liked them anyways. It would not take that much money to reinvigorate these older stores, install new lighting, signage, presentation, etc. This would draw people back into them, with the exception of those who are truly afraid of diversity. I am sure that many people who currently live closer to the Kalamazoo/28th and Alpine stores who drive to the nicer ones farther away would come back if these stores were just a little cleaner, better organized and look like a store in 2006 instead of 1970.

[Greedo]

If you think Meijer's strategy is to work for failure, you are completely insane.

In the competitive landscape of big-box retail, with razor-thin margins, you don't try to fail, you try to squeeze as much cash out of each store as possible. You only replace stores when it starts affecting sales, or the profits allow it.

I just think the company is very expansion-minded, which makes them slower to refurbish current stores.

[Rizzo]

Everytime I shop at K'zoo and 28 its always busy, asthetics aside and peoples precived "grittyness" of the store it appears to be getting good and steady business.

[thefarside]

I've said it in another thread and I'll say it again here.

I understand why people call K-zoo/28th st. "Ghetto Meijer" and it really upsets me. I love going to that Meijer as a way to escape the monotony of all the other Meijer's. Sure, it's a little more dirty, cramped, and disorganized than the others, but it was also the first of their stores (I think) to incorporate the all-in-one shopping expericence. I've never felt unsafe or out of my element while shopping there.

I've heard people make unpleasant remarks about the "diversity" of the people who shop there. I love the diversity. I've never seen so many different races/ethnicities/income groups in any other big box store as compared to the "Ghetto Meijer".

To me, the Meijer at K-zoo/28th st. is an example of what we want our urban experience to be like; the mixing of races and income groups, a little gritty but interesting as well.

I thought this was an urban forum, not a what Meijer is worse forum.

Ranting Done

Wow, I totally agree. I shop there all the time, at all hours, and I have never, ever once felt the least bit threatened. I think the diversity is great.

It is sad though that everytime I shop there (which I do a lot since I live in Alger Heights) I get the feeling that the folks at the corporate HQ seems to have washed their hands of it... The average wait for checkout is 20 minutes (no joke!) because they only staff like three cashiers at the entire store. I once asked the employee at checkout what was going on and she explained that the union only allows a certain amount of hours total so those employees' hours are saved for the more, how shall we say, homogenous Meijer Stores.

It really makes me sad...

[GR8scott]

I don't think Ghetto has anything to do with the people who shop at the store. When i refer to Ghetto Meijer it's because the store is old and the food isn't the greatest. Ever noticed that Alpine and Plainfield don't exactly have the freshest produce? THAT is why i don't shop at those stores.

The westnage road meijer in portage is refered as the "ghetto meijer" in the kzoo area and IMO it is the ugliest i've been to. 28/kalamazoo is one of my favs and so is cascade (my usual store)

[snoogit]

the "ghetto" feeling of the Alpine and Kzoo stores (refered as Store 11 and store 20 from here on out)

Is not a matter ofd the people shopping there (there are still just as many white old dutch people at 20 as there is at the new Standale Meijer) What is disturbing isn't so much that the stores don't try to stay clean (believe me, they do, and the employees that work there have to work twice as hard to make the store look clean) Its the little things that could make a huge difference.

When I talked to a manager there the one thing he complained about was the store shelves (this was at 20) and he told me a sotry of how the cascade meijer was remodeled every 5-7 years or so, and how they would throw away large quantities of gondolas and shelves, instead of reusing those at the older stores. The reason corporate told him they wouldnt reuse them is that it would cost more to ship them to old stores then it would to just throw them away.

If anyone has seen any store in GR built before Knapps corner (which was the first major meijer opening in a long time in the area) You would notice that the shelves are downright disgusting. Many of them are rusted out, and since most are painted over and over to conceal this the paints they use collect gunk from product packaging because they arent protected from such elements so they turn from an ugly beige to a dingy black color. Also the shelves themselves range between 15-25 years old. many are warped, and peeling their paint.

One thing they did do which helped a little bit was change the lights in 20, which made the store just a hair whiter. before they used more efficient yellower lights in the store and it didnt help the dingy feeling. Another big problem is apathetic upper management, which trickles down to the employees who also become apathetic. Then you get a guy from upper management who has no clue about the situation the store is in, and thinks it can be fixed with "more paint" and has a slugging match with the upper management, which then gets translated down the chain again.

[GR8scott]

I know the cascade store is a test location thats why they change it around all time, their always changing the layout on the inside. but I go there because its close to home and my brother works there and its always nice

[eagle]

Does anybody remember the cool, funky, yellow lights they used to use in the parking lot at the kzoo/28th store? I grew up around there so that's where we did most our shopping. I always remember how cool certain

colors looked on my clothing in those yellow lights. Crazy the stuff you remember from childhood.

By the way, my claim to fame... My dad was one of the original cashiers there. He came up with the idea for the cart corral because they got sick of wandering all over the lot looking for carts. Wish he would have patented it

[NorthCoast]

I'm personally not a big fan of the Meijer style. I actually wouldn't mind it so much if it had remained local but now that they are looking to go Wal-Mart I find it less appeasing. They do have a few stores in need of work which have already been mentioned the one on 28th/Kalamazoo is the first one that comes to mind. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think that store was the original of the 'supercenters.'

The closest one to me is obviously the Jenison one, another one of the original supercenters. In the past few months Meijer has launched a major renovation at the Jenison store. Rumor has it that when they are done that it is going to be as nice and modern as the one in Grandville next to the mall. Its nice to see that the company is investing in the store especially with some of the new growth, albeit suburban, that has occured on the block yet it will be sad to lose some of the nostalgic history to it.

I was actually wondering if anyone on this board can recall far enough back if they could provide some of us young'ns some Meijer development history. I've seen the little slide show on their website but it isn't that in depth. Obviously, the location I'm most interested in is the Jenison but with Meijer being such a huge factor in Grand Rapids I thought it would nice to discuss in general.

Edited April 27, 2006 by j3shafer