AUTHOR
Dean Allen

OCCUPATION
Industrialist

LOCATION
Bagnols ^s/Cèze, France

CONTACT
From here or

Supermarkets Nearby · 15 November 2002

A Comparative Survey

Legend
NEA: Nearest Outlet
POHO: Pointless Homepage
G AMB: General Ambiance
SELECT: Selection
MAISLE: Minimum Aisle Time
BWAF: Butcher With a Face
STOLI: Stolichnaya Vodka
CC: Cheddar Cheese
$!: Surprising Shelf Item
CASH: Cashiers
NOTES: Er, Notes

Cora
NEA: Alès
POHO:
G AMB: Clean, meticulously organized; birds fly in through cargo doors and hang around the produce section
SELECT: Pretty good
MAISLE: 1:00
BWAF: No
STOLI: Sometimes (17€)
CC: No
$!: American mustard
CASH: Indifferent
NOTES: Labels for house brands are printed in both French and Dutch

Carrefour
NEA: Montpellier
POHO:
G AMB: Clean, brightly lit, no personality whatsoever; aside from the occasional sweeper, there seems to be no staff
SELECT: About as complete as it gets
MAISLE: 1:15
BWAF: Yes
STOLI: No
CC: No
$!: Ride-on mower
CASH: Snippy, pious
NOTES: Very big on short-term, huge discounts on things you do not need

Champion
NEA: Sommières
POHO:
G AMB: Huge front windows, lots of light, wide aisles
SELECT: Average
MAISLE: 0:20
BWAF: No
STOLI: No
CC: No
$!: Hovis English Muffins
CASH: Bored
NOTES: Top marks for logo placement (massive) and window light

Inno/Monoprix
NEA: Montpellier
POHO:
G AMB: Bombarded with fluorescent light, lots of foreign students, mallrats and yuppies
SELECT: Light but interesting
MAISLE: 0:30
BWAF: No (charcuterie and fromagerie, though)
STOLI: Sometimes (12€)
CC: Yes!
$!: Chrome flour scoops
CASH: Sloooow
NOTES: Good wine section

Leclerc
NEA: Alès
POHO:
G AMB: Dingy, crammed, scattershot; every visit seems to be the expiry date for everything in the store; decay in the air
SELECT: Bizarre
MAISLE: 0:40
BWAF: No
STOLI: Usually (€13)
CC: No
$!: Masonry bits
CASH: Aging, lots of makeup, leopard tights
NOTES: It’s like a mom ’n pop store that octupled in size overnight with none of the charm or expertise

Lidl
NEA: Nîmes
POHO:
G AMB: Filthy exposed concrete; everything is a knockoff of something else in a German label; displays are ripped open cardboard boxes on pallets
SELECT: Fucking bizarre
MAISLE: 0:12
BWAF: Noooo
STOLI: No
CC: Who could tell?
$!: Fresh milk
CASH: On parole
NOTES: You want to take a shower afterward

Intermarché
NEA: Quissac
POHO:
G AMB: No one wants to be there
SELECT: Average to light; good cookie aisle, though
MAISLE: 0:30
BWAF: Yes
STOLI: No
CC: No
$!: Flour tortillas
CASH: Would rather you weren’t there; extremely stingy with the shopping bags
NOTES: In-house radio complete with ads and jingle will make you want to tear your liver out

Super U
NEA: St Hippolyte du Fort
POHO:
G AMB: Hostile
SELECT: Crappy
MAISLE: 0:20
BWAF: Yes
STOLI: No
CC: No
$!: Cranberries
CASH: Somehow both hostile and indifferent
NOTES: Expensive, poor selection, greying produce; once saw a woman put her groceries in her car, pull down her sweatpants, squat, pee, and drive off.

*   *   *

← Servicing | Home | Some Computing →