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I really liked shopping at Longs and Ace Hardware in Pahoa and am having a hard time adjusting to their absence. They both provided fabulous services for us here in lower Puna.
Macy's in Hilo has great shopping IMO when the sales are on. Also like shopping at Home Depot, great employees/customer service. Actually most stores in Hilo are above par IMO when it comes to customer service. Ross can be invaluable for household items.
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I couldn't agree more on Longs and Ace. Both had somewhat niche products that didn't require either an arm and a leg or a trip towards Hilo. For stuff like bandages or LED bulbs or lock graphite and such both were really helpful to have around and had good stock turnover as well as good open hours.
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Longs in Puna had the best service of all the Longs in this area, smiling competent people who were glad to have their jobs and serve their community. The downtown Hilo one has the worst customer service, especially their pharmacy.
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i'd really rather focus on the positive here, but i once experienced such outrageously horrendous and belligerent customer disservice at the Safeway "customer service" desk that i feel i should mention it here. ...and that was from the store manager her-thug-tita-self. never seen anything like it before, almost surreal. have since heard others have had similar experiences with that particular store manager. definitely had the distinct impression she felt quite immune to any consequence in her managerial position.
service from all the regular store employees there has been generally fine in my experience.
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I need to give a positive word to the deli lady at Safeway. Couple weeks ago I was buying deli ham. I asked for a lb. she said let me slice some as I know your husband likes it sliced thin. Huh? I had been in there with him maybe a month earlier yet she remembered that. Amazing!
The pharmacy was a little cranky but it was Christmastime and longs Pahoa had just closed.
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As much as I like Walmart, I can't understand why they don't hire more people to stock the shelves. They would pay for themselves.
It looks like Russia in there sometimes.
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PaulW - Walmart has plenty of people to stock the shelves. What they don't have is product to put on the shelves. Walmart has been struggling with this problem, nationally, for a couple of years.
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What's the problem with stock at Walmart, leilanidude?
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Walmart, nationally, has been struggling with distribution issues as they have expanded so rapidly. It has made national news numerous times.
google, "walmart empty shelves"
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-24...ppers.html
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Walmart shelves are often empty. It happens enough that I've learned to watch the pattern so I can guess when to stock up on certain things. Don't bother asking the staff, they "don't know" when the next shipment is coming or what will be in it.
I haven't figured out why this happens, but my guesses are either or both of
1. The Walmart is too small for the customer base. (Safeway is on their third store, each bigger than the last.)
2. Mainland shipping capacity is inadequate. (This should affect other retailers, but Walmart seems to suffer the most.)
