Thread: Avanza Shoppers BEWARE!

I'm half hispanic-puerto rican and unfortunetly there are no puerto rican grocery markets here in Denver where I live, so I frequent the mexican markets for my ingredients. Today I went into the well known Avanza market, usually the market is pretty clean and a nice shopping experience. Today was a bit different...I got alot of hateful stares today while shopping for groceries...I feel more and more like I'm not welcome because I'm very light skinned [ of coarse! I'm half irish..] I do know how to speak spanish fluently because it was spoken in my home but I choose not too, simply because I personally dont feel the need to. Anyways, today was the first time ever that I overheard alot of people in Avanza say racial marks about me while grocery shopping, I dont think they knew I spoke spanish, they obviously think all white skinned people are white and nothing more. Usually people have always been very nice to me but I'm noticing alot more lately that they are being more hateful.

I also noticed alot of people coughing in Avanza, and the produce guys had to wear latex gloves and face masks, but the butchers didnt...um is that sanitary?? I never noticed this before, because I never buy produce or meat from the market, just because it always looks so ..unfresh and not very well cared for and there is always a big line of people at the butchers and the products are always being touched and put back, and touched and put back, over and over so ..I just simply wont buy it lol. Anyways, when I left the store I noticed more people outside and it looked like there was something going on in the parking lot, well there was an illegal vender that pulled his truck up and alot of people were flocking to it, now I'll have you know this mexican grocery store is in a very shady part of town, off a very trashy busy street and the area is very illegal alien rampant...with both hispanics and vietnamese. So anyways, [ sorry for derailing what im trying to get at!] after standing there for a moment, watching the vender in the truck he came out, and vomited right on the sidewalk, I was so disgusted. He just came right out of the truck he was selling food from and vomited right there on the asphalt and went back in to sell food. THIS HAS GOT TO STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP for all we know that guy could have swine flu or something else!!! I noticed more of the people in the Avanza market that were coughing were the day laborer type, not the chicano's that shop there. While I was shopping I also came upon a puddle of vomit on the floor of one of the aisle's and it was sitting there for over 20 minutes before someone came and cleaned it!

This is so unhealthy, I feel so upset because I dont ever want to go back to Avanza again after seeing this but I dont know where else to get my hispanic groceries, and Avanza is the cleanest mexican grocer around...most of the time! I ended up putting half my groceries back and only buying the factory sealed/packaged foods like cookies..and here's something funny for you guys: there is a mexican cookie brand called NAPOLITANO lol. They are probably very fattening and high in calories like janet is.

So I'm posting this to warn all of you american hispanics that shop at Avanza to keep an eye out, if any of you here do shop there. Because Avanza as well as other mexican grocers might be passing around swine flu, so if you go in there to buy some tortilla flour or ect. please watch your step and look at all the food extra carefully, and stay away from produce, infact I think right now it would be wise for us all to stay away from produce because we know who works on farms here and we dont know who touches it, or wash it EXTRA well!

City of Denver

Report a Food Safety or Public Health Concern

The Public Health Division investigates complaints about hazards to public health including food safety, disease, housing-related health problems, and other public health concerns.

http://www.denvergov.org/TabId/37910/To ... fault.aspx

Director of Public Health Inspection Division:
720-913-1311

Nasty! Maybe time to stop shopping at that "taco stand". Here is an article about them that came right up on a Google search:

(CHECK OUT COMMENTS AT SOURCE LINK!)


http://consumerist.com/5061786/supermar ... ome-stores

Consumerist
« next » Avanza
Supermarket Chain Adds 10% At Register, But Only In Some Stores
By Chris Walters, 2:44 PM on Fri Oct 10 2008, 14,283 views Nash Finch, a Minneapolis-based supermarket chain, adds a 10% fee to the bill at its stores catering to Hispanic shoppers in Colorado, reports 9News in Denver:


The Nash Finch stores Avanza, Food Bonanza and Wholesale Food Outlets add the 10 percent charge to food at the register and specialize in serving Hispanics, according to store workers.

However, the Nash Finch stores Sun Mart Foods, Econo Foods, Family Fresh Market, Pick N Save and Prairie Market stores do not charge extra at the register and do not cater to Hispanics, according to the store workers.


"Jim," a store manager, told the news station that the fee is to offset other costs, but it's clear that the 10% charge is at least partly a way to offer steeper "discounts" throughout the store that are effectively removed when you pay.

Nash Finch denies it's doing anything skeevy or illegal with its unclear pricing, but 9News points out their attempt at full disclosure is confusingly worded, perhaps deliberately so:


"The 'shelf-plus' pricing program is only used in certain store formats. These stores tend to be located where consumers are more price-conscious, as compared to our more conventional supermarkets," said Brian Numainville, Public Relations for Nash Finch Company. "The pricing policy is explained, not just in English, but also in Spanish, so that no customer is caught unaware at the cash register."

The stores do advertise that they are going to add a 10 percent fee in signs posted across the store, on the store shelves below the price of a food item on the store shelf and in flyers and circulars. However, the wording is confusing to many. For example, the flyers read, "A great way to save - Plus 10 % at the Register."

What do you think—is this an acceptable way to price groceries? In a series of questions Nash Finch answered for 9News' story, they claim that they're not the only chain to do this, and that it's not just Hispanic markets. Here's their final justifaction for the practice:

Question 9: Wouldn’t it be more honest/up front to just add 10 percent to the price of all of the products—so that people can see the actual price on the shelf and on the sticker?

Answer: The grocery industry is extremely competitive. Stores vie for customers. Customer loyalty is highly valued. Given the need to attract and retain customers, our stores cannot afford to alienate its customers by charging unexplained fees or unanticipated mark-ups. Our pricing is attracting customers—rather than losing them—demonstrating that the pricing policy is in fact fair, obvious, and well-understood by our shoppers.

"Some grocery stores add 10 percent fee" [9News.com] (Thanks to Randy!)


Read More: Avanza, Nash Finch, Supermarkets, Groceries, grocery stores, Colorado, Spanish, Hispanic, Pricing, confusing, misleading, Discounts, Ethics, ethical, Investigations, Preferential, Food Bonanza, Wholesale Food Outlets, Sun Mart Foods, Econo Foods, Family Fresh Market, Pick N Save, Prairie Market, Hidden, Top

Oh my, that is terrible! Where are the state inspectors??!!

Originally Posted by SicNTiredInSoCal

Nasty! Maybe time to stop shopping at that "taco stand". Here is an article about them that came right up on a Google search:

(CHECK OUT COMMENTS AT SOURCE LINK!)


http://consumerist.com/5061786/supermar ... ome-stores

Consumerist
« next » Avanza
Supermarket Chain Adds 10% At Register, But Only In Some Stores
By Chris Walters, 2:44 PM on Fri Oct 10 2008, 14,283 views Nash Finch, a Minneapolis-based supermarket chain, adds a 10% fee to the bill at its stores catering to Hispanic shoppers in Colorado, reports 9News in Denver:


The Nash Finch stores Avanza, Food Bonanza and Wholesale Food Outlets add the 10 percent charge to food at the register and specialize in serving Hispanics, according to store workers.

However, the Nash Finch stores Sun Mart Foods, Econo Foods, Family Fresh Market, Pick N Save and Prairie Market stores do not charge extra at the register and do not cater to Hispanics, according to the store workers.


"Jim," a store manager, told the news station that the fee is to offset other costs, but it's clear that the 10% charge is at least partly a way to offer steeper "discounts" throughout the store that are effectively removed when you pay.

Nash Finch denies it's doing anything skeevy or illegal with its unclear pricing, but 9News points out their attempt at full disclosure is confusingly worded, perhaps deliberately so:


"The 'shelf-plus' pricing program is only used in certain store formats. These stores tend to be located where consumers are more price-conscious, as compared to our more conventional supermarkets," said Brian Numainville, Public Relations for Nash Finch Company. "The pricing policy is explained, not just in English, but also in Spanish, so that no customer is caught unaware at the cash register."

The stores do advertise that they are going to add a 10 percent fee in signs posted across the store, on the store shelves below the price of a food item on the store shelf and in flyers and circulars. However, the wording is confusing to many. For example, the flyers read, "A great way to save - Plus 10 % at the Register."

What do you think—is this an acceptable way to price groceries? In a series of questions Nash Finch answered for 9News' story, they claim that they're not the only chain to do this, and that it's not just Hispanic markets. Here's their final justifaction for the practice:

Question 9: Wouldn’t it be more honest/up front to just add 10 percent to the price of all of the products—so that people can see the actual price on the shelf and on the sticker?

Answer: The grocery industry is extremely competitive. Stores vie for customers. Customer loyalty is highly valued. Given the need to attract and retain customers, our stores cannot afford to alienate its customers by charging unexplained fees or unanticipated mark-ups. Our pricing is attracting customers—rather than losing them—demonstrating that the pricing policy is in fact fair, obvious, and well-understood by our shoppers.

"Some grocery stores add 10 percent fee" [9News.com] (Thanks to Randy!)


Read More: Avanza, Nash Finch, Supermarkets, Groceries, grocery stores, Colorado, Spanish, Hispanic, Pricing, confusing, misleading, Discounts, Ethics, ethical, Investigations, Preferential, Food Bonanza, Wholesale Food Outlets, Sun Mart Foods, Econo Foods, Family Fresh Market, Pick N Save, Prairie Market, Hidden, Top

Store workers said they dont cater to hispanics?! That is a down right lie, Avanza is a well known hispanic market and there are only a few here now since alot of them went out of bussiness in the suburbs and the only ones left are in very dominant illegal alien/mexican communities. I can't recall being charged and extra 10% or seeing signs about that up front, its rather questionable!...As for their competition thats a flat out lie aswell, Avanza is the ONLY hispanic supermarket that actually is kept up as well as a safeway is, and it gets alot of bussiness here, but I notice more and more lately that the store is getting more scummier, more dirtier, catering to illegals more and not just your average hispanic. The workers there arent so rude, and actually speak english and spanish and are quite nice, but the customers in that store are obviously both american hispanics and illegals, and they obviously dont give a crap about their cleanliness anymore. The first time I ever went into an Avanza it was not this bad, its gotten very bad, like its almost as if they dont even care about the american hispanics/chicano customers and theyre turning into a 3rd world grocery market like all the rest of em are.

The other hispanic markets around are complete TRASH, lol. first time I ever went in a mexican only market I saw a rat glue trap laid out right on the floor with a dead vermen in it in the cereal aisle and got the heck out of there, thats when I found Avanza, now that Avanza is getting all nasty where am I gonna go? And if youre wondering, yeah Avanza market is always closed when they do pro illegal, amnesty marches...IT's obvious who this market caters too, sad too because it used to be a great market for hispanic groceries. There are alot of really stinky, dirty vietnamese grocers in the same area.

The disease could also be Escherizia coli or Salmonella.





I think the +10% at Avanza is for non members

littleirishgirl,

Denver Director of Public Health Inspection Division:
720-913-1311

Dang littleirishgirl that is scary stuff. I am reading Stephen King's The Stand right now. For YEARS I have avoided seeing the movie, or even knowing anything about the story. I have had the book for years, but I never picked it up. I am halfway through it, so all of this flu stuff kinda brings the book to life in a weird creepy way. Please, no one spoil it for me!

Originally Posted by jshhmr

Dang littleirishgirl that is scary stuff. I am reading Stephen King's The Stand right now. For YEARS I have avoided seeing the movie, or even knowing anything about the story. I have had the book for years, but I never picked it up. I am halfway through it, so all of this flu stuff kinda brings the book to life in a weird creepy way. Please, no one spoil it for me!

I only got about half way through The Stand and this was about 8 years ago. That is one LOOOONG book! It was the only Stephen King novel I couldn't get in to, and some say it was his best.

Oh my gosh littleirishgirl, that is so vile!! Vomiting while working with food and then continuing on working after that? Then the worst part is the customers didn't leave!!!! EEWWWWW!!!! I feel like I'm gonna vomit now too!!! UGH!