Fairway

I've regularly shopped here for 15 years and am accustomed to the extremely heavy crowds and the understandable waits in busy periods. Mostly the checkout clerks here are very nice. The folks who run the coffee bean area are great. So are most of the deli clerks except a hyper angry one I encountered in Fall 07. However, Fairway's processes and customer service seem to be continually dropping over the last year or so. People should not have to struggle to understand Fairway's changing checkout line procedures (one line used to feed into each lane. now apparently they have one for each side of the lane). And when you bring it to the attention of the management, they shouldn't turn their back and walk away.

The Express line still seems to work the old way and run fairly well. But I'm not interested in getting into fights with other customers over something so easy to correct (such as signs or routing customers as Whole Foods does).

So I'll take my business next door to Citarella's or down the street to Whole Foods or online to Fresh Direct. The feeling you get when shopping at Fairway is they're large and busy and they do not remotely care if you shop there or not. In 2008, too many other stores have their act together for an Upper West Side staple to not have something as major as checkout lanes running like clockwork.

Pros: good variety. good turnover with produce and other perishables.

Cons: heavy crowds, displays that make it tough to navigate, poor cooling for dairy area freshness

Posted 10/11/08

Totally will have to second people's descriptions of store management. I don't think they could get any ruder. Last time I was there, the store manager was so disrespectful and insulting he actually made me cry! Would never, ever shop in this disasterous hell-hole again. Fairway totally gives new meaning to customer "service."

Cons: Worst customer service ever. Terrible shopping experience.

Posted 09/02/08

The end of this story is that my friend -- who's EIGHT MONTHS PREGNANT and was visiting NYC -- and I were told to stand up from our table and leave the cafe by the rudest, most obnoxious man whom I've ever encountered at a New York City restaurant. It was so shocking and upsetting. We were seated by a waitor at a large table, as we were waiting for a few other friends to make their way to the cafe from other parts of the store. Then the manager came over demanding to know why we were seated without our whole party. We told him that our friends were minutes away. He got in a fight with the waitor who'd seated us, yelling at him over our table in the middle of the restaurant. Then he told us that we had to get up. Motioning at my friend's pregnant belly, I said that if we had to get up we were just going to leave. He said, "You should do that." He stood back glaring at us until we stood up and walked out of the cafe. The manager of the cafe on Saturday afternoons is the type of guy who hurts New York's reputation. As a lifelong New Yorker, I would hope that Fairway doesn't support his kind of hateful rudeness... Apparently they not only support it but reward it by putting him in a management position. I can't review the cafe's food, but I can tell you that I for one will never be eating it.

Posted 05/06/08

Fairway has a large selection of groceries and produce at good prices, but the store is poorly structured and the staff is unhappy. I have to be in just the right mood to venture into that store. For one thing, I hate how their food is always sitting on pallets outside on the sidewalk, creating traffic flow problems. Then it's terribly crowded inside and they always seem to be stocking the Fruit Loops during the busiest time of the day. Don't even get me started on the double-dippers in the olive oil section. If you're in there during off hours, it's fine for general shopping. If I want real quality, I prefer to go to Citarella next door and have a civilized shopping experience.

Pros: Wide variety at decent prices

Cons: Unpleasant shopping experience. Prepared food is unpalatable.

Posted 04/09/08

Until recently, I shopped there regularly because it's cheap and convenient, but recently, the procude seems to be going downhill (bug-infested broccoli, anyone?) and the customer service has gotten even more terrible than usual. The number of times I've had to get a refund on an item that was "accidentally" charged to me twice is too many to count. Also, getting jostled, bumped and pushed in the name of grocery shopping is getting old.

Posted 01/30/08

I wish that during the time I spend in LA I could shop at a place like Fairway. Amazing selection of unique foods and the BEST cheeses ever. Also, the cute restaurant on the second floor is great. The pizza they serve there is divine and really well priced, and so is the caesar salad. Great place to have relaxed lunch in. As far as the store, for the amount of traffic they get on a daily basis, it reasonably clean. It's NY, and a busy store, what do you expect!?!

Pros: Great prices and selection

Cons: Not the most friendly workers

Posted 09/19/07

I use to shop at Fairway on the Upper West Side all the time until I worked for a small business that supply baked goods to Fairway. My company stopped doing business with Fairway after months of agonizing phone calls for unpaid bills. No one wanted to take responsibility and they just kept giving us the run around. One response my boss got was "good luck seeing that money, you know how many people are waiting to do business with us." That pretty much summarizes the attitude we got from everyone at the accounts payable department. Their complacency and the nasty attitudes make me think that it can only stem from the top. I have always like the selections of goods and value that Fairway offers but now I know that it comes with a "price". It is ugly behind the scenes as this giant bullies his way around.

Posted 06/07/07

This is the best grocery store I have ever been to. They have everyday low prices and great fresh produce. Also, they have a large natural and organic section upstars, as well as a cafe. They also have prepared food to go or for heating up at home. It is all amazing!

Pros: Quality, selection, value

Cons: sometimes crowded at popular times

Posted 11/04/06

Fairway has great food, ok. The customer service is pathetic and many times items ring up at the wrong price, very few employees can speak english... that can be very frustrating. It could use a lift... and the crowd!... one's always getting bumped and bumped, great prices, good stuff... but the experience can be really frustrating and time consuming.

Pros: Good Food, Good Variety, Good Prices

Cons: Poor Customer Service, Too Crowded, Not to clean

Posted 02/14/03

I was extremely impressed with Fairway. It reminds me of Trader Joe's in CA - but bigger! Good selection, gourmet items, and cheap prices. What else can you ask for?

Posted 10/20/02

But what a dump! Could really use a face lift! But then they would have to raise the prices.

Posted 10/18/02