Harris Teeter

this store:
–smells bad
–has a disappointing produce section
–has a strange layout with pharmacy items upstairs
–rarely has what im looking for brand wise
–feels dirtier than the average supermarket
–is overpriced
–smells bad
i mentioned the smell twice because there are two different smells. the first smell is the smell of spoiled milk and sadness right when you enter the doors (in that «lobby» area where the garage stairs, elevator, and shopping carts are). the second smell is the smell inside the store, which im always concerned might be radiating from the sad-​looking produce section where many wilted greens await you.

Let me start by saying I have worked nearby for 10 years plus so I am very familiar with the store. They have a good selection of day to day items so no complaints there. The prices are not that great. Whoever is the manager of the store really needs to read some of the comments listed in other reviews. The salad bar as pricey as it is there are often times when the lettuce or other Items are finished and never replaced. The cucumbers are cut so thick its a joke. Often not all the salad dressings are available.
The pre made food at the deli section is shipped in and tastes (well like supermarket food)
The upstairs medicine/​toiletries section is not convenient.
The worst part of the store is checkout. Never enough cashiers. The express well its manned by one person sometimes two and its just not up to par. The self service counters are often hogged by people with a full cart of groceries NO EXPRESS self checkout. Having shopped at Wegman’s there is no comparison. Giant way better, Safeway way better. I been to other Harris Teeter stores and while they are not great they are way better than this location. I hope the new renovation helps with some of these issues.

Connie,
You must have had a really bad day to treat me that rudely when I continued to be polite to you. I’m sorry you were having a bad day but taking it out on customers with your negative attitude isn’t right. I get you probably don’t want to be working the graveyard shift, to be honest I didn’t want to be shopping that late either but that didn’t cause me to talk rudely to you.
I hope whatever is causing you to treat people like that is resolved in your life quickly.
This is not the typical experience I have had at this store but I will now be looking for another local 24 hr emergency shopping spot.

Today I experienced an uncomfortable moment when I heard an associate named Aricka being very rude to her coworker when he was trying to call her attention to let her know that there were costumers waiting in Costumer Section. He was being discreet and gentle to let her know and she was on the phone and yelled with a street attitude, «Don’t you see I’m busy on the phone with a costumer!!“I didn’t know whether to leave or stay. I understand sometimes we get overwhelmed when we are short on staff but I wonder how she treats the rest when costumers are not around. She has to low down her tone and attitude.

I love this store, but sometimes the cashier’s ability to bag or system of bagging drives me nuts. No, even though I am plenty strong do not put 8 or more cans in one bag, PERIOD. However, the store is always clean, the staff friendly, and the shelves are almost always well stocked. However, don’t expect to get the best sale items on Monday if the sale ends Tuesday.

I try to do the bulk of my shopping at trader joes, but when I need to make a midnight run or can’t make it out there HT is the closest. Pros are, it’s convenient, good selection of organic foods. Cons are, it’s a little on the expensive side, and the employees are not friendly at all. I actually avoid coming here because the staff just seems so miserable.

Store is extremely disappointing. Very limited organic fruits, vegetables, and meats. Floor design is terrible: too narrow in entrance where customers bump into each other in fruits and vegetables, and you must take an elevator to 2^nd floor to pharmacy. Recommend: Safeway across the street: better layout, ample parking, and comparable organize.

The store has gone downhill. I went in and the produce dept. was depressing. Most of it, was on the breaking point. The store had a strange smell. Some of the meat looked old. I ended up walking out empty handed. No, thank you. I don’t want to spend my money, on old food, that I wouldn’t be able to consume.

The service, selection and prices make me a regular.
I have made special orders from the Manager (Tim Loftin) and they are always correct. The other staff are friendly and knowledgeable too!

I continue to be amazed this place is so popular. Hasn’t changed a bit (in a bad way). Despite its convenience, I stopped going here because they had chronic inventory issues (always out if key items). Tried them again today, only to again find they are out of key items — like milk. No organic milk at all and almost no regular milk. Also had no gluten free breadcrumbs. And a lb of organic beef was about 50% more expensive. Plus they seem ignorant of the concept of refunds for using reusable bags. So I will continue to travel twice the distance to go to Whole Foods and Giant. Wake up Harris Teeter!

Beautiful produce and fish (and great selection). House brand is nice across wide range of items. Lots of Organic food options. Great service.

This is an update to a review of 14 months ago. I have shopped regularly at this store for several years. While Harris Teeter used to be well-​known for its customer service, the level of customer service in this store appears to be going downward rapidly. Today I stopped by the store to pick up a few items. At the cheese/​lunchmeat counter, I waited for an employee to help me. There were no other customers at the counter. Several employees were working behind the counter. A male employee walked by and said he would help me shortly. He then returned to whatever he was doing in the back of the section, turning his back to the counter. After slightly more than 2 minutes, he was still standing with his back to the counter, and had said nothing more. By this time another customer was waiting at the counter with me. A second male employee came along and offered to help. I asked for a quarter pound of «Black Wax Cheddar,» a cheddar which is so named because it sits in the case in a rectangular block covered with black wax. The employee said «What?» twice. It was not clear whether this was because of impaired hearing or language difficulty. I repeated the order twice. The employee searched behind the counter (apparently the Black Wax block in the display case was just for appearances), and then said, «We’re out. Would you like this instead? They’re the same.» He pointed to the «Red Wax» cheese next to it, which is similarly packaged but is not the same cheese. I said no, they did not taste the same, and that was not what I wanted. The employee then searched some more, sighed, and said, «I have to go down and get another one.» By this time, I was sorry I had disturbed these two employees by attempting to order something. I said, «No thanks, that’s OK, don’t bother.» I left the counter. I am not sure what these two employees thought their job was, but apparently customers do not figure into their equation. I will probably return to this store to shop again at some point. But for the time being, I plan to visit some of the other stores in the area, of which there are many.

I do about 40% of my grocery shopping here. I go here over Safeway and BJ’s for selection and the pleasant environment, wide aisles, etc. Great beer and wine selection. But it’s in the Lee-​Harrison Shopping Center, which is a nightmare for parking. So I usually go elsewhere during peak hours. Prices are a little higher here as compared to Safeway, too.

There’s a reasonably good selection of food items here. The produce is alright, but often times I have gone and they aren’t properly stocked. Sometimes they go into the back and get more, sometimes they don’t have any. The deli, meat, and seafood counters are great. Normally very friendly and responsive employees, with a quality selection.
The store is arranged a little weird in my opinion. The deli, bakery, seafood, meats, dairy, all kind of wraps around the entirety of the store, then a bunch of shelved stuff in the middle, but the non-​food/​household items oddly in the middle. Some food items are grouped with other weird food items.
A personal gripe about the parking lot and Arlingtonians inability to use it. Sorry, HT I know this isn’t your fault but people need to learn a little more about parking lot etiquette in this town. Chill out, relax… you’ll find a space, or you won’t. No need to disallow people from going ahead of you. You’ll get to your kids’ soccer game in time.

This review is for an experience quite a while ago, but I was thinking about it and it’s too good not to share.
I had knee surgery and (obviously) was unable to walk, let alone drive. HT’s online order/​pick-​up service was a lifesaver during that time. I lived by myself, but friends were nice enough to drive me to pick-​up my groceries. On one occasion, I placed an order but it was snowing terribly and my friend didn’t want to drive in the weather. I called the store to see what I could do since the order had already been fulfilled. The Teeter guy offered to cancel the order, but added that he could also deliver them for me. That’s definitely not something Teeter does as part of «Express Lane» service. I was surprised but not in a position to turn down his generosity. A little while later a kid (I say kid but I have no idea how old he was) showed up with my many bags of groceries. Mind you, that particular store was several miles from my house and he had driven over in the snow after his shift was over. I tried to give him a tip and he absolutely refused to take it. That HT employee seriously restored my faith in humanity. I told corporate HT about it and I hope the kid got some sort of recognition.
That experience was obviously extraordinary, but it speaks to the overall customer service at HT– this one and others. Everyone is always very friendly and helpful. Plus it’s a great grocery store. I love that place.

Ok, ok. Maybe I was a little harsh on my last review of Harris Teeter. Maybe their not so bad! One person that makes your shopping trip all the more enjoyable is a little lady who works the checkout named Jane.
Jane usually comes on the loudspeaker to alert you of 1) sales that you probably wouldn’t otherwise know about 2) where additional checkout lanes have opened 3) to have a pleasant day. Aww, Jane, you’re too kind! If you have the pleasure of having her check you out, she usually makes suggestions for your food, and not in a snobby way (I bought sausages today, said they’d taste great on the grill– great idea, Jane!)
It’s amazing how one friendly face can make all the difference when shopping at HT, which is generally a madhouse (and still rampant with rambunctious children).
PS: Jane generally remembers your name and, if introduced, will address you as such on your next shopping visit.

It’s my local grocer and if you live anywhere from Ballston to Courthouse, it’s likely your local grocer (not counting Wholefoods).
What’s not to really like? They have stuff that’s good quality and the place is usually tidy. It does get crowded on weekends and after work but that’s when you and me and everyone else really has time to go get stuff.
TIP — Skip getting drinks in Clarendon on a weeknight and get some groceries!

This is my local store, and it’s a good ‘un. I see complaints here about the parking lot, but look — if you regularly shop here, it’s easy to learn the parking drill. I never wait to get in and parked, and rarely wait more than a few seconds to exit. But you’ve gotta experiment a little, and forget about parking right in front of the main entrance. Leave that for the halt, the lame, and those with all day to hover in their cars.
Self-​checkout here is great — you can turn off the voice prompts and speed right through. Just avoid Sunday afternoons, when for some reason moms seem to get the idea that self-​checkout should be a bonding, learning experience with Little Jason or Cute Britney pushing their miniature shopping carts up to the friendly robot.
Note that the deli is slow — everything is unwrapped, manually sliced, and rewrapped while you waaaait. Nice guys in the bakery, fish and meat departments make up for that.
Half a star off for the slow deli, and another half for not having a coffee bar.

+ It’s a Harry Tweeter
+ Cool upstairs area
+ Convenient Location
+ Usually plenty of hot chicks
— Parking Lot sucks!
— Carts in parking lot run wild, had one that the wind blew into my car!
— No hot bar!
— Checkout always takes forever!
— Always people in line complaining prices are ringing up incorrectly!
— Always see people checking their receipts like something is wrong
— Tysons Corner HT is way better!

I love this Harris Teeter. I found it while in college and just adore it. In fact, I now live in Silver Spring, Maryland and still drive to this HT just to shop for my groceries.
I perfer this location to the one at Ballston just because I find it better organized and the staff more friendly, but the parking situation at Ballston always seems easier. This location though does have a parking garage under the store.
I will warn though that as you pull into the parking lot there is a killer pothole. It has been there for years, and I can imagine a lot of cars have suffered serious damage from it.