Grocery Shopping Never Felt so Good

There was a time in the not too distant past, before I moved to our neighborhood and embraced community life, that I absolutely HATED entering a super market.

There were times when I would have preferred to have a tooth extracted than enter the crowded, pushy, fluorescent lighted aisles of my supermarket.

That was then. Now I love it! From a more exciting selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, to better lighting, music and displays – supermarket owners have caught on to the fact that if mom’s enjoying her time shopping, she will shop more. Even better–she’ll be a “happy” shopper (less complaints).

Today I had to run into one of our local grocery stores to pick up some butter and a few other things. I looked at my fellow shoppers and noticed how pleasantly happy everyone seemed. And no I wasn’t tipsy or on anything, I tell you these shoppers (mostly women) were happy to be where they were.

Whether it was the store’s environment or the spillover from living in a new urbanism community where everything just clicks, it just felt good to be there. And it isn’t just today, whenever I enter this grocery store it’s a positive experience.

The icing on the cake was what happened at checkout time. A lady in front of me with four items offered to let me go first because I had TWO items. How gracious is that? I know that this kind of thing happens all the time, but I couldn’t help comparing my shopping experience today to the dreary experiences of only a few years ago.

I have to plug our local grocery store – it’s fantastic. The picture in this posting features the owners of “The Village Grocer.”

So are poor shopping experiences forcing you to eat out more than you should or are you in “grocery shopping heaven” as well?