Got coin? (on the opening of a new grocery store amid much hype and hoopla)

It is nearly impossible for anyone living in Jordan to have missed the fact that Carrefour recently opened it's first location here. The hype in advance was huge. And, much of it was viral marketing from those who had visited locations in other cities. Having recently visited one in Dubai, I was very optimistic. As a result, I forced El 3atal to go with me to do our weekly shopping last week. Their ads talked about selection and good prices, so I thought I'd put them to the test. This is especially important to me as our grocery costs doubled when we moved to Jordan (and I have to go to three stores). I have to admit our initial impression did not change for the better upon greater exposure. We pulled in to the parking garage (under the building) amongst the debris and hanging power lines of an active construction site. Not what I think of when I think of world-class openings. We noticed as we walked toward the doors that the carts were all in one location in the middle. El 3atal asked the attendant if there were carts inside as well. Seemingly not. We then discovered that you are, in effect, putting a deposit on the cart. You have to place a ten piaster coin in a slot to take the cart. If you return the cart to the corral (again one for the entire side of the garage), you get your ten piasters back. Well, I can see that this might eliminate paying someone to go out and collect carts. Oh, wait, but they're still paying that same guy to stand around and give change to those who don't have the change on them. Who knows what one would do if they didn't carry cash...

Next you go inside the mall and up an escalator (ala Safeway) with your cart to reach the store's entrance. Let me start by saying that I wholeheartedly agree with El 3atal's assessment that the entire experience is designed for the convenience of Carrefour, not the consumer. The supply issues that every store supplying Western products faces is apparent at Carrefour as well. Where in Dubai they had 3 or 4 brands of every product, here they had only one, if that. No Bisquik, No Campbell's Sirloin Burger Soup, and the list goes on... The unavailability that plagues Safeway, Cozmo, and to a lesser extent C Town were clear here as well. And they just opened! After looking all around the downstairs, I realized that to buy simple kitchen and bathroom cleaning products or diapers, I'd have to go upstairs. Go upstairs I did. They didn't have several cleaning products I needed. And, the search for diapers was ridiculous. El 3atal stopped one guy only to find out that, appearances to the contrary, he's not really an employee and doesn't know the layout of the store (then take the darn Carrefour badge hanger off!). We finally find that the diapers are literally buried as far across the store, past every other item, as they could be. Okay, I'm the already harried Mom to three, the last thing I need in a weekly grocery experience is to have to navigate all the way across two floors of junk. At either Safeway or Cozmo, I can do all of my shopping on one floor. I may have to go to both, but I'm still only on one floor. We finally found the diapers (no Pull-Ups, so a wasted adventure to find the section) and went back downstairs to complete the purchase of fresh fruits, veggies, and bread. The fruits and veggies were about the same as at Safeway and Cozmo although the section is much larger with the same number of pricing counters, so the mob effect was in force. And now, for the piece de resistance, they had NO ARABIC BREAD! With Western products, I get the supply issue. However, somehow Safeway, Cozmo, and C Town have managed to deal with the bread issue (they outsource, duh...). I mean, not to be obvious but, you are in the Middle East. What self-respecting store in the Middle East doesn't sell Arabic Bread? That's truly pitiful. While I expected I might have to go to another store to complete my shopping (I hoped not, but am realistic), I didn't expect to be going there for Arabic bread!

The check-out experience was as lackluster as the rest of the shopping experience. We had a huge cartful of groceries (as usual) and the bagger at the checkout line bagged everything and set it on the floor. Now, at Safeway they would simply have pulled up another cart and we would have ended up with two (like most weeks). But, here again the 10 piaster folly strikes. So, without another 10 piasters and the patience to go ALL THE WAY down and floor and OUTSIDE, we just overburdened the cart and left it at that. We got the groceries out to the car without too much falling off the cart in the process, loaded it down, and El 3atal returned the cart to get our stupid 10 piasters back. Meanwhile, the guy who waiting for our space gave up and kept driving because we were about as far from the carts as you can get. We then had to hunt and search for the exit (found after navigating the entire garage and following signs to exits that don't exist). Going up the ramp, El 3atal pointed out that this lane, which barely fit us alone, was intended for 2 way traffic as evidenced by the lane dividers.

In sum, instead of going to Safeway for my primary shopping, then Cozmo for the items I couldn't find, then C Town for Bisquick and Pull Ups, to shop at Carrefour, I would need to go to Carrefour, then Safeway, then Cozmo, then C Town. I think not. If your current shopping experience is C Town and you'd like a Super Wal-Mart feel, Carrefour will be a revelation. Otherwise, Carrefour won't solve any of your Safeway/Cozmo problems, it will just add a few more (got coin?). Oh, and the prices are comparable to Safeway, so you won't be saving anything by going, just spending the gas to get there and find your way out of the lot...

Happy shopping!