Lame Supermarket Ratings

Sally: Hi Phil for the second year in a row. The fresh market has topped USA. Today's best supermarket, best supermarkets in America list. And it's a really interesting list because about half of them are small format stores. 

Phil: So I'm not gonna take issue with the winners, Fresh Market, Hy-Vee, Aldi, Lidl, Stew Leonards, Market Basket, Publix, Wegmans, Trader Joe's, PCC Community Markets. What I will take issue with, or two things. Number one this sort of looks to me like a scam and I like USA Today a lot. But number one is they sell a license. Once you, once you win one of these, these 10 supermarkets, they sell a license that you can use their logo. That's number one. Number two is the people who pick these. And they say that they have have consumers who actually vote on them, but nowhere could I find online any voting taking place and things like that, but what the judges that they assemble are lame. These, these are not supermarket people. They have Catherine Smith. Who's the Reader's Choice Awards production manager and social media director for USA today. Dean Sanderson, who is the creator of Napa food gal travels, a food wine and travel journalist and digital influencer, Kyle McCarthy, family travel forum Marla, Samini an award winning writer with passion for travel music, surfing and culinary adventures. And Robert Niles, the founder and editor of theme park insider. None of these are supermarket people. You know, I, I just find it to be lame. I, you know, and consumer reports have always taken issue with their ratings because again, what the problem is when these ratings come out, there is no one national supermarket chain. You could argue that Walmart is, but when you start putting the fresh market Israelis against other regional change, it just doesn't make sense for, for a national publication and national logo. 

Sally: Yeah. Or can we have two categories? You know, we can have our small format category and our large store category, but, you know, I think ultimately like, you know, that we wanna see I agree with you more industry people on the panels, but also just consumers voting. 

Phil: Yeah. I, I mean, this is not transparent at all. So USA Today, shame on you. And you know, I hope you make a lot of money licensing your logo, but you know, as far as the value of it, and again, not to take any, anything away from these stores, these are all good stores, but it's lame how, how they got to be.