“Wegmans Is God”: Why People Are So Obsessed with Wegmans

According to Philly Mag readers.

Photo by Flickr user Erica

Photo by Flickr user Erica

Earlier this week, after learning that Wegmans was named the best supermarket chain in the country for customer satisfaction, I dared to ask the question: Why are people so obsessed with Wegmans? The post received over 170 Facebook comments, proving that was, in fact, a totally valid question. Some of the comments were angry (One read something like “This chick doesn’t like Wegmans. Get ‘er, Interwebs.” Really, guys?), a few agreed with my confusion concerning the Wegmans obsession, but most of the comments were in support of Wegmans. There were many, many paragraph-long comments of support, defending Wegmans heaven-on-Earth status, my favorite of which started with this line: “Wegmans is God in our family.” Really.

And before you all-caps comment on this post, screaming at me for not getting the hype, let it be known: I am not alone. So, why are people so obsessed with Wegmans? Below, the reasons behind the obsession, as explained by Philly Mag readers.

1. People appreciate the variety

As one reader says, “ … part of what makes Wegman’s great compared to other places is they carry pretty much everything you could ever need for a meal no matter how fancy or low key it is. As someone who loves to cook it’s a joy to go to one store and be able to find everything you need … even that weird/exotic herb in the new recipe you want to try or grab some Stone Crab claws or even truffles when they are in season.”

Other readers echoed these sentiments, saying things like, “I pretty much don’t have to worry about being able to find virtually anything, from spices to sushi,” and “Wegmans has everything, and they have it at good prices. The End.”

That said, when it comes to the vegetarians and vegans of the world, the selection doesn’t seem to please quite as much. As one reader said, “When I asked for the vegetarian section, I was shown Amy’s brand, really?” And another implied that the selection didn’t satisfy non-meat eaters, saying, “When I first started dating my girlfriend she used to rave about Wegmans … since then my GF has gone vegan and now we prefer Whole Foods for their prepared food and 90% of our shopping is done at Trader Joe’s.”

Another downside, according to readers: Having so freakin’ much to choose from can actually make shopping a bit overwhelming.

2. People like the store-brand and organic items

Tons of readers praised the store-brand items offered at Wegmans. As one reader says, Wegmans is “The only supermarket that I’ve found that buying their store brand product is just as good as name brand, for a lot less.”

Readers also seem to think the organic selection is great, with many comments saying things like, “They have a better organic meat department than any of the other supermarkets. Organic grass-fed beef, which is hard to find … More options and variety in the organic produce department.”

3. People really (really) like the employees

When I read the first comment where someone said they looked forward to “visiting” with the employees, all of whom they know by name, in different areas of the store every week, I thought, Yikes, somebody needs some friends. But after reading through all the comments, it didn’t seem as weird: The personal connection people feel with the employees was a common thread.

People also rave about the customer service. Here’s one comment that, yes, sounds a little crazy, but also shows the store will go pretty far to keep people happy: “I’ve emailed when my fave soup is out and the chef emailed me back and the next time he made a pot set aside some for me to come get and freeze. When the hand soap was out in the cafe I emailed and they called me at home to let me know it was refilled! When a drink was out I wanted with my hot lunch the checkout person came up 15 minutes later to the cafe with my drink that she found!”

There were also about a bazillion comments that looked like this: “You don’t see what you need? No worries, they will order it for you. And CALL YOU when it comes in!”

4. People really don’t like Acme

You know when you have a really bad hair day and the next day you have a normal hair day but you consider it the hands-down best hair day you’ve ever had, because yesterday? It seems there’s some of that happening here, except Acme is the bad hair day. Based on the comments, people really don’t like Acme, and their disdain for Acme makes them appreciate Wegmans more.

Just a handful of the Acme-hating comments people left include: “Acme is a great store if you like the 1970s,” “After shopping at Acme for a decade, Wegmans is like heaven on earth,” and “Every Wegmans I’ve visited is clean, organized and has a friendly staff. Their name brand food is solid, as are the items in their fresh food aisles. So it’s the literal opposite of Acme.”

And there you have it, for everyone who was just as confused as I was about why people are so (so, so, so) obsessed with a supermarket.

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