US: Military Commissary Better Than Supermarket

[fake name]

I don't know whether to be sad or glad... but US Military Commissaries
are generally better than the national Supermarkets (Safeway, Giant,
etc).

Yes.. there is the fact that the commissary is subsidized, but that
doesn't account for the entire difference. There is somekind of
difference that the corporate supermarkets have that I can't pin my
finger on...

Characteristics of the commissary:

1. Freak'in crowded... but that is due primarily to the low prices,
secondarily because they dust any supermarket in the area.

2. Checkout is FAST! It isn't like your corporate place with the
slow employees and constant errors at the checkout that need price
checks, managers etc.

3. DIVERSITY in food. There is food from all over the world. I
think this is since the military is very diverse overall.

4. CHEAP. Somewhat due to subsidy... but there is a stunning amount
of volume in a commissary. I think the volume keeps prices down.

5. Freindly employees. It seems that most of them are career
employees, not short timers.

6. One way aisles... god I hate that. I went against the flow once
and was almost kicked out.

I believe in small govt, so I am disappointed that the private sector
can't hold a candle to the commissary. On the other hand, it's nice
to see the govt be better than the private sector at something.

Yes... the sibsidy is disappointing. But, studies suggest that for
the military compensation package: each dollar subsidized into the
commissary, military pay is reduced by 2 dollars. As a taxpayer, I
can live with that. No gripes here. Military as killers... go whine
in some other newsgroup sweetie.

In my travels, the best supermarkets are hands down: Wegmans (Upstate
NY) and Harris Teeter (South). A bit pricy.. but well run.

All the other places stink. In fact, I'd rather get my groceries at
Sam's Club than the supermarkets around here. Sam's meat (abuse that
phrase if desired;) is pretty good.

The worst is Food Lion... what a bunch of crooks.

Walmart is merely OK, if you have a Supercenter around. Prices are
decent, but selection is limited.

Safeway... sucks overall. But I love the Sour Dough and the Foccacia.
Do they still mail the coupon books... they were pretty decent.

Farm Fresh... nice, but $$$.

Giant... mediocre all around. You gotta love the name of the
corporate parent. Royal Dutch A-Hole, or something to that effect. I
like the Giant brand Sugar Cookies, and Green Onion Dip mix.

End of rant. My prescription is kicking in.

[jmcquown]

Post by fake name
I don't know whether to be sad or glad... but US Military Commissaries
are generally better than the national Supermarkets (Safeway, Giant,
etc).

(snip)

Really? My father, a retired Col. USMC, and Mom might beg to differ.
Perhaps it depends upon where you live and which commissary you shop in.
Yes, they have diversified foods but I find it to be no more than my local
grocery store which caters to Asians, Hispanics, etc. My mother normally
drives to the commissary, which by the way has always been inconvenient
since we rarely lived on base, to pick up staples like canned soup, dry
goods, frozen veggies, etc. But the meat and produce departments at the
commissary, at least where they live, sucks. Mom finally resigned herself
to paying sales tax and now buys meats and fresh veggies at one of the two
grocery stores in town.

It took me to show her: Mom, look how great these yellow squash look! But,
but, sales tax... yeah, but look how great these squash look! Then I bought
some and we went home and I made squash casserole for them :)

Jill

[S.Dunlap]

Post by jmcquown

Post by fake name
I don't know whether to be sad or glad... but US Military Commissaries
are generally better than the national Supermarkets (Safeway, Giant,
etc).

(snip)
Really? My father, a retired Col. USMC, and Mom might beg to differ.
Perhaps it depends upon where you live and which commissary you shop in.
Yes, they have diversified foods but I find it to be no more than my local
grocery store which caters to Asians, Hispanics, etc. My mother normally
drives to the commissary, which by the way has always been inconvenient
since we rarely lived on base, to pick up staples like canned soup, dry
goods, frozen veggies, etc. But the meat and produce departments at the
commissary, at least where they live, sucks. Mom finally resigned herself
to paying sales tax and now buys meats and fresh veggies at one of the two
grocery stores in town.
It took me to show her: Mom, look how great these yellow squash look! But,
but, sales tax... yeah, but look how great these squash look! Then I bought
some and we went home and I made squash casserole for them :)
Jill

I think it depends on where you live Jill. The commissary was much
better at Ft. Lewis then either of the two grocery stores in the town
in which I lived. Neither of the two stores in town carried ANY
significant Asian products. The commissary was the closest place to
get a wide variety of Asian food products.

Since we make our own dog food and used rice by the 25 pound bag, the
commissary was also the place to go. None of the markets in town
carried it in that large a quantity - and would not order it even
though we went through 2.5 bags a month. We also used canned mackeral
at $1 a can in the gorceries but 69 cents a can in the commissary. The
commissary, BTW, ordered it in for me by the case - something my local
grocery store refused to do even though I didn't even ask for a
discount or anything.

The commissary also carried local produce, local cider fresh pressed
at area cider mills, local salmon in season, etc. Milk was from local
dairies. I gues it just depends on how committed the commissary
manager is to serving his customer base.

I've alsways found commissaries on Naval Stations inferior to Army and
Air Force Commissaries - and that's after almost 30 years of using
them.

Sandi

[Tank]

Post by jmcquown
It took me to show her: Mom, look how great these yellow squash look!

But,

Post by jmcquown
but, sales tax... yeah, but look how great these squash look! Then I bought
some and we went home and I made squash casserole for them :)
Jill

Sales tax on food items? What state do you live in?
In Ohio, there is no sales tax on food items, in general.
This excludes prepared, ready to eat foods, and carbonated
beverages.

--
Tank

This Space To Let. Tax Free.

[RMiller]

Post by Tank
Sales tax on food items? What state do you live in?
In Ohio, there is no sales tax on food items, in general.
This excludes prepared, ready to eat foods, and carbonated
beverages.

Sales tax( called gross reciepts ) on EVERYTHING in NM...
Rosie

[MurphAssoc]

2% of our 7% state sales tax is what we pay on food - seems criminal to me,
when so many jobs have gone away here in NC due to NAFTA.
JM

[TOM KAN PA]

The Pennsylvania legislature is considering lowering the sales tax from 6% to
4%. BUT, they want the tax to include more items and services. Food and
clothing would be taxed. Things that also could be taxed are services provided
by doctors, lawyers, accountants, tax preparers and shoe repairers, as well as
lawn care, home repairs, physical rehabilitation and even the cost of opening a
bank account.

[Goomba38]

Post by Tank
Sales tax on food items? What state do you live in?
In Ohio, there is no sales tax on food items, in general.
This excludes prepared, ready to eat foods, and carbonated
beverages.

Oh, but you see.. not everyone lives in Ohio. Amazingly enough, states
often do things unlike other states. Hard to imagine, I know. :/
Goomba

[DRB]

Post by Goomba38

Post by Tank
Sales tax on food items? What state do you live in?
In Ohio, there is no sales tax on food items, in general.
This excludes prepared, ready to eat foods, and carbonated
beverages.

Oh, but you see.. not everyone lives in Ohio. Amazingly enough, states
often do things unlike other states. Hard to imagine, I know. :/
Goomba

Kentucky and California (the two states that I have lived in) are both like
Ohio. No tax on food, unless already prepared or soda.

[RMiller]

Post by fake name
I don't know whether to be sad or glad... but US Military Commissaries
are generally better than the national Supermarkets (Safeway, Giant,
etc).

I think it all depends where the commissary is located. For example , the
Kirtland AFB Commissary was great, and since NM charges "gross reciepts tax "
on everything, including food, it made a lot of sense to drive to the Kirtland
Commissary every once in awhile.

I recently tried the Commissary at Randolph AFB and it is very inferior to the
local HEB, the price difference is not that much, and the selection of fresh
fruits and veggies is pretty bad.

Having used Commissaries all over the world, I came to the conclusion that
some a a lot better than others, some are so poor , that it is hardly worth
my time.

Rosie

[Nancree]

Post by RMiller
I think it all depends where the commissary is located. For example , the
Kirtland AFB Commissary was great, and since NM charges "gross reciepts tax "
on everything, including food, it made a lot of sense to drive to the Kirtland
Commissary every once in awhile.
I recently tried the Commissary at Randolph AFB and it is very inferior to the
local HEB, the price difference is not that much, and the selection of fresh
fruits and veggies is pretty bad.
Having used Commissaries all over the world, I came to the conclusion that
some a a lot better than others, some are so poor , that it is hardly worth
my time.
Rosie

============================
That's interesting. California supermarkets don't charge tax for food items.
You only pay tax on non-food items--paper towels, aspirin, laundry soap, drug
items, etc.

[RMiller]

Post by Nancree
================
That's interesting. California supermarkets don't charge tax for food items.
You only pay tax on non-food items--paper towels, aspirin, laundry soap, drug
items, etc.

Yes, it is interesting, I do not remember living anywhere else that charged
this on everything! Even services.. getting hair cuts, nails done , massages
etc.
This all adds up, and also NM has a personal income tax, I read somewhere...( i
do not remember where) that NM has one of the very highest anount of taxes
collected in proportion to the amount of income. Texas has a sales tax and
large property taxes but as of yet.... no personal income tax!
Rosie

[John Gaughan]

Post by RMiller
Yes, it is interesting, I do not remember living anywhere else that
charged this on everything! Even services.. getting hair cuts, nails
done , massages etc.

People demand government services and entitlements, the money has to
come from somewhere.

[s***@temple.edu]

Post by Nancree
That's interesting. California supermarkets don't charge tax for food items.

Same in NJ and PA.

Post by Nancree
You only pay tax on non-food items--paper towels, aspirin, laundry soap, drug
items, etc.

Best is Delaware where no consumer products, other than cars, are taxed.

[S.Dunlap]

Post by s***@temple.edu

Post by Nancree
That's interesting. California supermarkets don't charge tax for food items.

Same in NJ and PA.

Post by Nancree
You only pay tax on non-food items--paper towels, aspirin, laundry soap, drug
items, etc.

Best is Delaware where no consumer products, other than cars, are taxed.

No sales tax in Oregeon either.

Sandi

[S.Dunlap]

Post by RMiller

Post by fake name
I don't know whether to be sad or glad... but US Military Commissaries
are generally better than the national Supermarkets (Safeway, Giant,
etc).

I think it all depends where the commissary is located. For example , the
Kirtland AFB Commissary was great, and since NM charges "gross reciepts tax "
on everything, including food, it made a lot of sense to drive to the Kirtland
Commissary every once in awhile.
I recently tried the Commissary at Randolph AFB and it is very inferior to the
local HEB, the price difference is not that much, and the selection of fresh
fruits and veggies is pretty bad.
Having used Commissaries all over the world, I came to the conclusion that
some a a lot better than others, some are so poor , that it is hardly worth
my time.
Rosie

I second that. It depends on the location. When I wasat Kirtland AFB
the early 1980's, I'd say the commissary was just "ok." Nothing
spectacular. When in Washington state, The commissary at Ft Lewis was
excellent but the commissaries at the sub base in Bangor and the Naval
Station in Bremerton were only 1/2 the size with limited selection. It
was worth the drive to Ft. Lewis every other week for groceries. Using
either of the two naval commissaries necessitated an extra trip to
civilian supermarkets to complete the shopping list.

Sandi

[John Gaughan]

Post by fake name
I don't know whether to be sad or glad... but US Military
Commissaries are generally better than the national Supermarkets
(Safeway, Giant, etc).

When was the last time you shopped in a military commissary? The prices
are good. Beyond that, they suck ass.

Post by fake name
1. Freak'in crowded... but that is due primarily to the low prices,
secondarily because they dust any supermarket in the area.

Crowded, yes. But not because of the prices, because of the convenience.
Those of us who live on base are a convenient 3 minute drive away.

Post by fake name
2. Checkout is FAST! It isn't like your corporate place with the
slow employees and constant errors at the checkout that need price
checks, managers etc.

Checkout is never fast. Obviously you don't shop at one. It is not
uncommon to see people with *two shopping carts* loaded to the point
that they cannot hold any more food without toppling over. You think
this makes for fast checkout times? Think again.

Post by fake name
3. DIVERSITY in food. There is food from all over the world.

Bullshit. My commissary is diverse in the sense that it has taco
seasoning and soy sauce. Selection is not very good beyond the common
and staple items.

Post by fake name
4. CHEAP. Somewhat due to subsidy... but there is a stunning amount
of volume in a commissary. I think the volume keeps prices down.

The subsidy does help, but they do not sell at cost like they claim to.

Post by fake name
5. Freindly employees. It seems that most of them are career
employees, not short timers.

I hope nobody is a career commissary employee unless they're the
manager. But the employees are friendly. Given the non-corporate
environment, they are about as motivated as "normal" government workers,
meaning civil service and military (commissary is NAF, or
non-appropriated funds, making them quasi-governmental like the USPS and
IRS). Anyway, they don't have overbearing supervisors pissing and
moaning about the bottom line, so they tend to be pleasant people.

Post by fake name
6. One way aisles... god I hate that. I went against the flow once
and was almost kicked out.

Mine does not have this. I know most do. Even at other commissaries I
didn't care, because nobody else did. Every once in a while some retiree
would bitch to me but I would ignore him.

[fake name]

John... I shop at the commissary weekly.

I guess what I learned here: it's dependent on what commissary you
have, and what local markets you have.

I have good commissarys... and the local markets in Southern VA stink.

I imagine it's reversed for other people, including you: poor
commissarys and good local markets.

Until this post, I didn't know how much commissaries varied across the
board.

[s***@temple.edu]

Post by fake name
I believe in small govt, so I am disappointed that the private sector
can't hold a candle to the commissary. On the other hand, it's nice
to see the govt be better than the private sector at something.

As you said, military commissaries are heavily government subidized.
Comparing a government run business that is available only to a select
group of people to a privae one that's open to anyone who can pay is silly.

Post by fake name
In my travels, the best supermarkets are hands down: Wegmans (Upstate
NY) and Harris Teeter (South). A bit pricy.. but well run.

Wegman's is branching out. They have a few stores in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey. I heard from a Wegman's corporate representative that they
are looking to open a Wegman's in Cherry Hill, near were I live in NJ.
I can't wait for that to happen.

[Nancy Young]

Post by s***@temple.edu

Post by fake name
In my travels, the best supermarkets are hands down: Wegmans (Upstate
NY) and Harris Teeter (South). A bit pricy.. but well run.

Wegman's is branching out. They have a few stores in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey. I heard from a Wegman's corporate representative that they
are looking to open a Wegman's in Cherry Hill, near were I live in NJ.
I can't wait for that to happen.

Darn it! I keep meaning to take a road trip to Wegman's (okay, it's
not all that far) to check it out. I just never think of it on a
good day to go.

nancy

[MareCat]

Post by s***@temple.edu

Post by fake name
I believe in small govt, so I am disappointed that the private sector
can't hold a candle to the commissary. On the other hand, it's nice
to see the govt be better than the private sector at something.

As you said, military commissaries are heavily government subidized.
Comparing a government run business that is available only to a select
group of people to a privae one that's open to anyone who can pay is silly.

Post by fake name
In my travels, the best supermarkets are hands down: Wegmans (Upstate
NY) and Harris Teeter (South). A bit pricy.. but well run.

Wegman's is branching out. They have a few stores in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey. I heard from a Wegman's corporate representative that they
are looking to open a Wegman's in Cherry Hill, near were I live in NJ.
I can't wait for that to happen.

I've been to the Wegman's near where my brother lives, in Bethlehem,
PA. Very nice store. I was impressed. We have a lot of really good
supermarkets and specialty stores in the Houston area, but I wish we
had Wegman's down here.

[MurphAssoc]

we have to remember, believing in small government aside, that government
workers esp. the military, do not get a pay rate commensurate with what they
would earn perhaps in the private sector - as a Navy kid I always understood it
was to make up in some way for the low salary, as was base housing.
JM

[RMiller]

Post by MurphAssoc
we have to remember, believing in small government aside, that government
workers esp. the military, do not get a pay rate commensurate with what they
would earn perhaps in the private sector - as a Navy kid I always understood it
was to make up in some way for the low salary, as was base housing.
JM

Yes, this was/is considered a benefit, as was medical care , BX priviledges
etc.
Military salaries were not and are not comparable to salaries on the
"outside".A
person makes a career in the military for other reasons. Some of these
benefits, such aas the cmmissary and BX , carry iver when the person retires
from the military.

Civil Servants have a completely different retirement plan and benefits.

Rosie

[Nancy Young]

Post by MurphAssoc
we have to remember, believing in small government aside, that government
workers esp. the military, do not get a pay rate commensurate with what they
would earn perhaps in the private sector - as a Navy kid I always understood it
was to make up in some way for the low salary, as was base housing.
JM

I don't think anyone is insinuating that the military doesn't
deserve a break on groceries.

nancy

[The Joneses]

but US Military Commissaries are generally better ...
Freak'in crowded Checkout is FAST! DIVERSITY in food. CHEAP. Friendly
employees One way aisles...End of rant. My prescription is kicking in.

Well after shopping at commissaries in both the US & Europe, I can
definitely say it depends where you live and which service is the sponser.
And whether or not the shipments come as expected. I've found AF
commissaries to be marginally better. But the meat here at Ft Bliss is
pretty darn good and the prices are very competitive. As in all stores,
you havta shop around. The prices for staples such as coffee, rice, flour
& sugar are great. Our produce department needs help. And being able to
find dried chile peppers, 5 brands of soy sauce, peanut butter and your
favorite cheese while you're overseas makes up for all of it.
Edrena

[Nancy Young]

Post by The Joneses
But the meat here at Ft Bliss is
pretty darn good and the prices are very competitive.

My parents used to stop by unexpectedly on Saturday mornings on their
way to the commissary to buy meat. That struck me as funny (not the
unexpected visits, I HATE that), oh, time to buy meat again, is it?

Being an Army brat, I have many memories of commissaries and PXs.
My favorite was in a fort on the NYC harbor, it used to be a walled
fort and it had grass on the roof. These are the things that make
a kid happy, grass roof camouflage.

nancy

[Yeff]

Post by Nancy Young
Being an Army brat, I have many memories of commissaries and PXs.
My favorite was in a fort on the NYC harbor, it used to be a walled
fort and it had grass on the roof. These are the things that make
a kid happy, grass roof camouflage.

The first time I was at Clark AB in the Philippines was for a medical TDY.
I remember looking at the commissary and thinking it looked like a bomb
shelter. Once I got stationed there I learned that my designated shelter
was, you guessed it, the commissary.

-Jeff B.
yeff at erols dot com