Too Many Choices

[Tom Winship]

I know it is another sign of my age, but does anyone else get frustrated with all the choices you have to make in buying groceries. It's not so much making the choice, as I know what I want, it is about finding it among the 100's of other items of the same category.
Let's take coffee for instance. I worked in a grocery store in high school and the choices were two brands, Admiration and Folgers. In each you chose between regular or drip grind. Now there are 8 or 10 brands with at least 5 grinds and flavors so that instead of the coffee being on "Aisle 14", coffee is "Aisle 14"
I don't mind all the other choices if I knew where the item I want is located. From week to week they move the location so that you get to hunt for another 5 minutes to find it's new location.

The same is true of all other products. It can't be cost effective to maintain all the brands and sub-brands. However, I guess it keeps people employed so that we can come out at the end of each month/quarter and talk about how great the economy is.

My rant for the week.

[David Weaver]

I don't mind the choices so much, but I don't like having to walk past 8 times as many things now to get to the stuff I want, and I don't like the idea that I pay higher prices for groceries because the grocer has found out that most people will pay more for the same thing if they can pick it from more items.

I'd take fewer items for a lower price no problem - and a shorter distance to walk from the front to the back of the store. I live half a mile from target. It takes almost 20 minutes for me to get milk at our super huge target because it's as far as possible from the door. I never get anything else along the walk when I go for milk. I understand the organic thing, it would be nice to have close access to a place that basically had organic milk and non organic milk. In our target, even, there are something like four or five different brands of milk. The grocery store is the same.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Tom, if you want to really get into the coffee choices, get a Keurig.

David, how can milk be organic or not? I can't think of any way to differentiate the two...

[Tom Winship]

Steve, we do have a Keurig. Just didn't want to open that box.

[Mike Henderson]

There's a saying that:

"Everything in existence when you are born is normal and natural. Everything invented after you're about 35 years old is the work of the devil."

In my humble opinion, it's important to continue embracing the new things (choices) that are available to us.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

David, how can milk be organic or not? I can't think of any way to differentiate the two...

Organic is a strange term because milk, by it's nature, is organic, rather than inorganic. I think it has to do with limiting the type of feed and treatments that are given to the cows that produce the milk. Some group has produced a criteria for what's required to call milk "organic". Whether is makes any difference in the nutrition or safety of the product is open for discussion.

Mike

[phil harold]

Drink Tea
there is still choices, just less
and the the ones you dont like are "not your cup of tea"

[Biff Johnson]

How about taking a great product and twisting it? Like the Ritz cracker. Beautiful, simple and perfect. Now I have to spend 5 minutes sorting through the array of flavored Ritz, dip-size Ritz, cookie Ritz, etc. Yes I understand the desire to make a profit but usually I just get tired of hunting and move on to another food item.

[Bonnie Campbell]

Try finding maraschino cherries in a grocery store The aisles that need checking are: canned fruit, fruit juices, baking, ice cream condiments.... And eventually you'll find the jar as high up as they could possibly put it. I have figured out why fruit salad is a diet food (sort of lol) It's running around the store looking for the cherries.

[Tom Winship]

Bonnie, you reminded me of a story from my childhood. My mother used to make a holiday salad using green gage plums (whatever they are). The grocery store in my small town didn't carry them and couldn't afford to buy a case to sell 2 cans to us. So my Dad's holiday quest every year was finding 2 cans of green gage plums. Much harder than finding the Christmas tree.

[Jim Matthews]

"Everything in existence when you are born is normal and natural. Everything invented after you're about 35 years old is the work of the devil." Mike

Sort of explains the generational divide on spray cheese, right there.
I'm beginning to reject "improvements" that are just "adding value" that I don't want.

How many kitchen time savers can be replaced with one good set of knives and a little skill?

I reject the entire GPS navigation scheme for mapped areas. I can't get a mental image
of my route from the section displayed onscreen. When did GPS roll out for all of us?

I had just turned 35...

[Myk Rian]

My Wife buys coffee at Costco. Easy choice.
If not that, then we'll get Folgers. Easy to find on the shelf. And I use the cans for parts, and other junk.

I keep my GPSs and phone set for North up. Easier than watching the map flip all over the place.

[Pat Barry]

Hello people, this is America. We are blessed to have the choices we do. Is it really a hardship to us to be able to choose?

[Charles McKinley]

Find an Aldi near you. Fewer choices. most of the stuff isn't bad and it is considerably cheaper that most other stores.

Option two: Sam's Club click-n-pull- go on line pick out your list, walk into Sams and get your pre filled basket, pay and put it in your car. No searching involved.

Pat: I believe every American should spend at least 6 month living in a third world country. Preferably in a part of it with few modern amenities and a store with a dirt floor where you do your daily shopping. Maybe a monthly 4+ hour trip to visit a nicer store. This would give a certain reference for how blessed this country is. For those that think elsewhere is superior I suggest an indefinite stay if it suits them.

[ray hampton]

I don't mind the choices so much, but I don't like having to walk past 8 times as many things now to get to the stuff I want, and I don't like the idea that I pay higher prices for groceries because the grocer has found out that most people will pay more for the same thing if they can pick it from more items.

I'd take fewer items for a lower price no problem - and a shorter distance to walk from the front to the back of the store. I live half a mile from target. It takes almost 20 minutes for me to get milk at our super huge target because it's as far as possible from the door. I never get anything else along the walk when I go for milk. I understand the organic thing, it would be nice to have close access to a place that basically had organic milk and non organic milk. In our target, even, there are something like four or five different brands of milk. The grocery store is the same.

four or five different milk brands, we got non-organic and organic ,goat milk, soy milk , if someone did not know which milk they wanted then they would be in trouble