The New Bryn Mawr Acme

     I have shopped at the Acme my whole life.  My mother used to take me to the store on Bala Avenue, at Montgomery.  It's now a BMW place.

     I shopped at the Narberth Acme until the Bala Cynwyd Acme opened and I still shop there.  I'm a firm believer in geography shopping.

     Anyway, I had to be in Bryn Mawr on Monday afternoon and decided to take part in  the grand opening hoopla.

     Construction on Penn Road did not help.  Drivers were inching their way around the parking lot, looking for an available space.  We finally found one, parked, and were making our way across the lot into the store when a speedy racer zoomed into a parking place and almost knocked us down as he ran by us to go shopping.  He beat us and we saw him almost immediately when he was checking out, with a bouquet of flowers.  We wondered if he had forgotten a birthday, or an anniversary, or if he was just an incurable romantic.

     We walked around the store and I do mean around.  There are very few straight line aisles that do not end up in dead ends.

     The store was well stocked with comestibles (one of my new favorite words) and the pleasant employees knew the merchandise and the layout.

     I didn't need much and was able to get the whole wheat spaghetti pasta and the large 2.5 gallon Hefty zipper bags.  Then we had to check out.  The supermarket planners made a huge mistake.  All 6 of the check out lanes were open with long lines.  the 2 checkout yourself areas were also crowded but with 3 stations on each side, those lines moved faster.

     What could the planners have been thinking?  If the customer can't buy his purchases in a reasonable time, he'll leave them at the store.  I have sometimes left a full cart behind.  If the customer can't find the items he wants, he'll leave the store.  I have done that too.

     The store is clean, bright, well stocked and with aisles that are barely two carts wide.  I can't emphasize enough how dumb it is to have only 6 check out lanes for this very large store.  I have been in smaller stores, much smaller in fact, with more, many more, check out lanes.