Harris Teeter

This is the only supermarket I go to as it’s just one stop away on the Metro or a short taxi ride. I love the grocery selection, the salad bar, and the check-​out clerks.
But today I was very disappointed when I arrived early and was ready to check out by 7:00 am. They directed me to self-​serve. Usually someone will help you in the self-​serve aisle if you don’t want to do it. However, the clerk was quite unfriendly and checked me out very begrudgingly. When I didn’t see where the receipt came out, she took it and handed it to me as she laughed rather derisively. It’s not often that I’m disappointed with Harris Teeter. Today I was quite angry at the way I was treated.

Ugh, I love Harris Teeter. They have organic of most things and they aren’t all in one aisle but instead are mixed with their non-​organic equivalent.

It’s open 24 hours. That’s about the only good thing they’ve got going.
I just moved to the area and it was open late, so I ventured in to pick up some snacks for one of my first nights. First thing’s first, I go to the customer service desk to ask for a discount card. I walked up, the agent said «Can I help you?» and I said «Uh, hi, I need to sign up for a discount card?» I swear to you that I did not say it in tone that was demanding (I NEEEED), it was phrased as a question. The employee turned to her friend, as if I was not standing there at all, and said «You heard her? She said I NEED.» and then asked me for an ID. Then I find out that they need to record your driver’s license # and SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER to get the store discount card. I’m not usually a tinfoil-​hat-​type when it comes to these things, but you have to draw a line somewhere. GTFO.
The store’s selection is crappy too. They barely have any organic options, whether it’s fresh produce or packaged foods. I wanted to buy almonds, but they only had salted and flavored kinds; they did not carry any raw almonds. And all of their meats looked sad. The packs of chicken were FULL of liquid pooling up in the styrofoam trays and I could tell that the chicken smelled weird just from getting close. I’ll treat this as my emergency bodega for when I need overpriced toilet paper at midnight but other than that, I will not return.

Thank god for this Harris Teeter in our new neighbourhood, I was about to get depressed! This is at least my new favourite supermarket because it’s close and open 24 hours which is AWESOME!
I sometimes can’t sleep so walk to the shop around midnight, and I’m always surprised how many other people are shopping at that time of night. Parking is never a problem during the day either, with free customer parking for 30 minutes.

The price point here is AWFUL. Why do I keep coming back? Well, convenience of the location, their AWESOME sushi station, and their AWESOME sandwiches. Which are five stars. The rest of the shopping experience in terms of grocery shopping is atrocious… Sadly. Will return. Love their sushi.

A big Harris Tester with many great products. Staffs are really helpful.
One tip,
You should park in front of the building, if you do not want to pay for it. I parked my car in the garage and found it was empty. Ah, huh! Everybody parks outside for a short time for free.

Coming from the most annoying state ever to purchase any type of alcohol, I have to automatically give any store in which you can walk in and buy wine, beer, and food an extra star! They have a large selection of wine and beer at this location. It’s also attached to a bed, bath, and beyond which is an added bonus. Like other Harris Teeters, they have a deli counter featuring Boars Head meats, a separate bakery area (I highly recommend the key lime pies), and an ample amount of produce. They also gave samples set up throughout the store. On this visit the samples included blueberry cobbler (surprisingly tasty), cantaloupe, deli turkey, American white cheese, and apples (which did look highly unappetizing since they were turning brown). Prices are relatively inexpensive– I’d recommend signing up for a VIC card for extra savings though. The organic blueberries I purchased were very juicy and refreshing mixed in my yogurt this morning. It’s an ideal location– right across from several apartment complexes but there is a parking garage if needed.

I couldn’t BELIEVE that this was a HT!
And for the review below from Gail, I think she might have been at a different Arlington location as there is MOST DEFINITELY NOT FREE PARKING here! OK, so the three things that really irked me:
1. If you are going to have a great selection of cheese, have a great selection of crackers. A couple of kinds of crackers just doesn’t cut it.
2. Woman at the «customer service» (let’s just change the name of that department) looked annoyed when I asked her a question and she had to look up from what she was reading.
3. Self checkout was a waste of time: I paid cash and expected my change to come right out from there. If CVS, Home Depot, Lowe’s and other stores can figure that out, why not HT? The change needs to be brought to you by the attendant. WHY?
First and last time at this location.

Waaaaaay over priced. I compared a tub of cheese of a particular brand at a Safeway… Safeway was 2 $ cheaper. That’s not the only thing I’ve found that has that much of a dramatic price difference either.
Oh and I just bought sushi from the sushi bar, too much rice and little fish or filling. I feel like I get ripped off every time I happen to go

I like the layout of the store. I appreciate the free parking out front. The employees are nice. The bathroom is clean. If you are visiting mid-​day there are usually interesting samples in the produce area. I forgot a gift bag at the register and an employee ran after me to return it. Bonus points for super double coupons!

Quite simply, their prices are too high!
Otherwise, the store is keep relatively clean and the employees are helpful and friendly professionals.
There are no other competitors in the immediate area. Drive to Giant in Columbia Pike or Shoppers in Alexandria for more competitive prices.

While this location is still expensive and doesn’t have very high quality products, I stop in here quite often due to the fact that it’s only a short walk from the Pentagon City Metro station (I always avoid driving because the parking lot is like a nightmare shopping mall around Christmas time where people have to follow you thinking you’re walking to a parking spot in their attempt to find a place to park). However, recently the freshness of the produce seems to be worse than usual. One week the cherry tomatoes that were all out were already expired and starting to shrivel and/​or grow mold. The other day when I was trying to buy some strawberries was even worse. After standing there for awhile trying to find a container that didn’t have any rotten or fuzzy strawberries, I was almost ready to purchase some when I saw a Harris Teeter employee picking up all the loose rotten strawberries that had fallen out of the containers onto the display and put them in containers for customers to buy, gross! Not only did this mean that customers weren’t buying accurately weighed containers, these were strawberries that clearly should have been thrown away rather than sold to customers. Needless to say, I left without purchasing any strawberries after seeing that rather than throwing out rotten strawberries, they were put back in packages to sell to customers, no wonder why I couldn’t find any packages without rotten and fuzzy strawberries!

If you are looking for a grocery store chain that has one of the best deli, bakery, frozen food, and produce sections in Arlington, look no further than this Harris Teeter. Just be sure to review the weekly ad and plan your grocery shopping ship accordingly.

Teeter is my neighborhood supermarket. It’s walking distance from my apt. Which makes it very convenient. It’s a huge store with great fresh produce. The only downside is the prices. They are steeper than the average grocery store (NOT Wholefoods steep). Therefore when I want to make a huge run for groceries I usually drive to supermarkets that are close and have better prices. However, when I need vegetables or a few things Teeter is a great option. Their wine selection is good for a supermarket. My other fav thing is that they are open ²⁴⁄₇ which makes it very convenient when it’s 2am and Im craving frozen pizza and Ben n Jerry’s chocolate fudge froyo!

On the one hand, I commend the chain for putting a store in an under-​served area. Without Harris Teeter, there would be no grocery stores near the Pentagon. However, they make it darn difficult to shop there. All of the above-​ground spots are metered and I can pretty much promise they will be full when you get there. There’s a below-​ground parking garage, but you have to pay to park there too. It is such a pain to pay to park on top of paying to shop. I did not see any kind of stamper or reimbursement system in place.
Otherwise, it is a standard Harris Teeter. They have a decent selection of cheeses and of beer and their prices are comparable to other groceries in the area.
Edit: I received this note about the parking situation, so I upped my stars to three. «Take your garage ticket in the store with you. The machine to validate it is located at the customer service desk. I think it’s free parking for an hour.»

What a great grocery store! I love the Teets. It is huge, clean, had some good deals, including for avocados, large wine selection and tons of free samples! I actually bought a goat cheese log here because they had it out in the free samples and was soooo good. 3 different types of bread were out too, in large slices, ham, other cheese and various fruits. I was tremendously pleased by this!
I am so excited for a Teets to open near my place in Old Town. Until then, I think this is my favorite in the area. It is also a short walking distance from Costco! My one complaint is that I didn’t see sushi grade fish, but that is a small quibble. Love this place!

This store is great! It’s clean, well stocked, and has reasonable prices. Harris Teeter is a grocery chain that started in Charlotte, NC, which is also where the original store (a very fancy location colloquially known as the Taj Ma Teeter) is located. I’m super happy they are in DC, because they have pretty good produce, excellent meats and fish, a good bakery, and a wide variety of foods that range from a large organics section to specialty ethnic foods that often surpasses whole foods and other high end chains,
This particular store is a joy to shop in. As mentioned, the store is clean and well stocked. It’s also well staffed and organized. The checkout lines are short. And people are friendly.
The drawback to this location is parking. The lot is shared with a number of other stores and it’s really a hassle to park. There is typically a line of 5 – 10 cars waiting for a spot. But if you are in the area already, perhaps at the mall, this is a great place to grab some quick groceries!

This Harris Teeters is my favorites from all. It has a bus line run right by. from the 22, 16 and more. Red top cab has a free phone in the manager counter. Very friendly, helpful and alway willing to make your shopping the best. Here my review.
Sushi is very good. good price and good quality fir a grocery store. Even in the seafood department has a sashimi. California Rolls are ok. But they make it define. Eel and eel rolls it ok. Sashimi is little over price. But if you like to have a quick sushi or sashimi it your place.
Thursday half price subs. From there Turkey to cold cuts, tuna and more. it the best place when doing your shopping to pick up a quick bit
Always shop around they some time have great price on there seafood. Sashimi grade tuna is great. You can do anything with it. crab legs is another item that on sale. crab cagun dips out of this world. Phillip frozen crab cakes and mini crab cakes. also Phillips cream crab.
The meat season is great. discount steaks. Hole chicken lags low prices. Sometime you can catch discount meat thats going out of date. Butt safe to eat. Half price.
And more. Also catch out of season item in front of the store. From $ 7.00 down to 2.50 or less. Parking limited so get there really. Or use the parking garage.
Also they have a Seattle’s best coffee machine the only do 8 or 16’oz cup of drink. Red Box also a Rug cleaner.

Produce here is mostly horrible. Everything else is meh. I come here for the beer.
All of the above is also contingent on the clientele. Note: you are minutes from the Pentagon. What does this mean? Be prepared for rude, white, male US Military men. Military industrial complex dominating the world, raping US Military women, and killing unarmed journalists? Here’s the epicenter.
Just tonight I was trying to buy two 4-​packs of British Boddington’s. This happened:
As we all know, the Point of Sale (POS) system at Harris Teeter is dated pre-​1996 (I kid, I kid — it’s probably circa beginning of the last decade), and as I entered the self check-​out lane (since there’s 6 of these, and only 1 real cashier [if any at all]), I asked a group of 3 frat-​boy looking dudes if they could please make a decision instead of occupying 2 of the 6 registers with their indecision. One leader of the pack stepped up and said «If you just have two items, go ahead.» Cool, so I went. Thanks.
As I tried to merely begin my transaction, the system kept getting hung up on the step of «do you have your own bag?» As I willingly complied, the system was still tripping up, and needed to be over-​ridden by a cashier. After explaining to a cashier who wasn’t understanding the process, she finally came over — per my multiple requests — to look at the step of the process where I was at, then finally understood (no one inside the Beltway seems to possess listening comprehension skills — least of all in Virginia) and finally over-​rode the system.
As we moved into the «I have my own bag» step (since I either bring my own bags or use paper instead of plastic [what’s up Virginia? SF, LA, DC, and numerous other cities have already evolved]), we moved on to the «what’s your phone number?» for our loyalty program step. As I tried one of my many phone numbers, it failed, but instead of being like any normal POS /​IT /​current tech system, instead of asking me to enter it again, it — again — got hung up — *THREE TIMES* — telling me there was an error. No kidding! We know your system is buggy. It was designed, built, and deployed at least 10 years ago and you have failed to update it! It’s probably custom code, and you’re not even on the latest version, given your severe lack of understanding customer needs, not to mention current market trends! Sorry, I’d just come from Whole Foods, where they had many of my needs met — apart from Boddington’s. :)
As the system was failing, a white, male, likely US Military man intervened — not in the polite, chivalrous State Dept kind of way of «can I be of service?» — but in the «let me dominate you now, woman! Move out of the way and let the man handle it!» 1950s kind of way (which I’m just not down with). I do things myself. I like it this way. My Alaskan logger boyfriend likes it this way. We are egalitarian. I am not helpless. And — most of all — I am smart and perfectly competent: on my own, independently.
Dude got all up in my business — blind-​siding me from the behind — encroaching upon my personal space — trying to angrily type on my register — forcing himself into my business — dominating my personal space — overwhelming me with his bravado and presence — and all around pissing me off. First of all, dude didn’t even understand technology. Second of all, he didn’t ask if I wanted his help. (Again, I knew what was going on, I just needed someone with admin privileges [e.g. a cashier] to override the system, which she finally did — when *SHE* [the cashier] came over — yet again — to manually [yes, this is ironic] work the «technology» system, where I could then enter a second phone number.) Therefore, the unconsensual male «help» was not only unwelcome, but invalid and useless.
The rude US Military male looking guy (he had the physique) said he could enter his phone number (again failing to understand the situation, and instead forcing himself into my business just to dominate me [since I’m a «helpless woman”]). Once the cashier overrode the system, I entered my phone number, and everything was fine. As I exited the parking lot, he and his wife (the passenger, of course [because women are supposed to be submissive!]) drove recklessly out of the parking lot and cut me off as I exited the store — honking the entire time and flipping me off. How mature.
And we wonder: «why do they hate us?!? They must hate our freedom!»
Harris Teeter — Opportunities for Improvement:
* upgrade your POS system
* design POS system around likely customer scenarios & processes
* train your employees (& hire more of them!)
Hacking the Gender Gap in STEM:

Shopped there for 3 years. Produce is never fresh, and goes bad pretty much 2 days after you put it in the fridge. The meat quality is also meh, and you can’t get ground pork. Then I found out you can get organic/​local produce for pretty much the same price in Alexandria at Whole Foods. I haven’t looked back since.
[EDIT]
Went there for some last minute shopping and got their pre-​prepared meals, which came with salmon, potatoes, and mixed veggies. Took it home and had a closer look.
THERE WAS MOLD ON THE SALMON. AND THE VEGGIES WERE ROTTEN.
SERIOUSLY?!?@?
AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS.