Testing out FreshCo

A few weeks ago, I noticed that we started getting a new grocery store flyer, just as we stopped getting another one. Price Chopper is apparently out, and has been replaced by FreshCo. They make a big deal out of being a better discount grocery store, and heavily advertise their price matching policy, so I gave them a try this shopping week. It's in the same location as the former Price Chopper, which is a little further away than our usual Food Basics. However, I figured if their price matching meant I didn't have to go to multiple stores (not that I do unless there's a really good sale to be had), then it would be worth it.

For starters, they do the thing with the carts where you have to put in a quarter when you take one and get a quarter back when you return the cart. I am not a fan. Particularly when it's raining. They had no carts in the store, and apparently no one employed to return the used carts inside. Some man who was leaving saw me carrying D and three empty shopping bins, and he took pity on me and gave us his cart, which had a car seat built in. It sounds great, and it was for the first 20 minutes or so. Then D didn't want to stay in her seat, and kept trying to move around or get down.

The store is very strangely organized, and they hide their specials really well. I had to ask a manager where the 2.99$/lb chicken breasts were, and they were tucked away in a far-off freezer section. Even though it was only midday on Friday (the first day of the sale), they were almost out of their 1.44$/dozen eggs. It took me ages to navigate the aisles, with the usual adjustments to where a particular store places particular items. They do stick to the general format of essentials being around the perimeter and convenience items in the aisles. Their produce section is much better than the one I'm used to, also.

As for the price matching, they only do it for name brand items, which we don't purchase often, as home brand prices are generally better. They did price match one produce item for me (cucumber), but refused to match a chicken, claiming that it was Food Basics' own brand of chicken. Here are the prices they did match for me:
-Tostitos multigrain chips
-Cucumber
-Ragu pasta sauce

I'll have to compare their regular prices to those on my latest grocery receipts to see if it's actually worth it to keep shopping there. I'd also like to find out their policy on rain checks (FB doesn't do them). It was a lot busier than I'd like, and the store layout lends itself to congestion. The parking lot was really crowded, too.