LAist: Fresh & Easy Manhattan Beach Store Open Today

jjessie0526

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:38:48 -0800

Hi, I am a sutdent studying MSC Marketing at University of Birmingham(England). Now I am working on my dissertation which is about Fresh&Easy in America. Hope you can help me to do the questionnaire, please. Here is the link to the questionnaire which will only be used as an academic research. http://www.my3q.com/home2/234/jjessie0526/68302.phtml Thank you very very much for your kindness!! Jessie

jjessie0526

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:36:17 -0800

srfrgrl886

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:31:23 -0800

Lol...I understand that $10 an hour is better then some other jobs, but that does not mean it is a living wage. Their health care is pretty good, but it can improve, I dont really have a lot to say about that. One question though....you said the employees are guarenteed a minimum of 20 hours? Who enforces this? Is it just a verbal guarentee or is there actually a contract stating the minimum hours? All I saw was a company brochure stating "we intend to schedule at least 20 hours per week". An intention is not a guarentee. I don't know. I just think that for being the 3rd largest company in the world, they could offer a lot more (we all know how expensive it is to live here in California).

starbright31

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:27:09 -0800

I'm still waiting for the one in the Valley to open!

Lindsay William-Ross

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:08:30 -0800

Yes, there was picketing (in fact, the F&E Buzz blog used my pic of some protesters!) and they were yelling above the applause and during all the speeches. Their signage said things like "I won't shop at Fresh & Easy" and equated F&E to Wal-mart, mostly because of parent company Tesco, which takes a lot of heat internationally for their business practices. But what I could hear them yelling was: "How about healthcare for employees?" and "How about a living wage?" which baffled us in the crowd, including the store employees, because they make $10/hour, are guaranteed a minimum of 20hrs/week, at which level they are eligible for healthcare that's 75% paid for by the company, along with a matching 401k program and quarterly bonuses. I can't speak to the other Tesco-based allegations, but they are very dedicated and focused in their efforts. One of them was wearing a Food for Less employee name tag, which I found amusing. Rizzo-curiously enough this new f&e is in the same complex as a trader joe's! we'll see how they fare. I'm going to trek out to an f&e to shop to see if you guys are right about the produce and products. If you haven't been lately I'm wondering if that was part of the information they gathered from customers and have worked to improve. I'll let you know!

MichaelB

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:27:05 -0800

Understand there was union picketing at that Fresh & Easy opening today. There's lots of coverage about it and about Fresh & Easy in general in this blog: www.freshneasybuzz.blogspot.com One of the stories also talks about the union doing a leaflet drop to houses all over the neighbrohood a couple days before the store opened.

rizzo

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:20:32 -0800

It's not just the produce... it is also their packaged items like hummus, chicken, soups, etc. I can never find anything of that ilk on the shelves that isn't expiring in the next few days either. It is too bad because I like a lot of what they carry and it is definitely cheaper than regular grocery stores... more like Trader Joe's type prices.

Meadowbat

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:01:20 -0800

I don't quite get why Fresh & Easy inspires so much love and hate. Yeah, they sound like a big bad corporation, but are they worse than other big bad corporations (like Ralphs and Vons)? I don't think their snazzy graphics make them either fabulous or hypocritical (those that think the use of the color green indicates Earth-friendly policies need to be a little more ad-savvy). But I do like their prices. So I guess I'm in the neutral minority.

Lindsay William-Ross

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:57:10 -0800

actually, Emoney, it's definitely cheaper than other grocery stores, from snacks to produce to packaged meals. i have never shopped there (not one close to my house) but was astonished at the prices. i can't speak to the produce, but i know the company took some dings for it lately, and i suspect this is part of the "re-vamping" strategy.

Emoney

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:52:14 -0800

Eh. It's not any cheaper than other grocery stores, has an extremely limited selection and their 'Fresh' produce expires the moment you take it off of the shelf.