Giant

How can that store be rated 5 stars? I am going there for more than 10 years now and I can tell you that it is managed by a bunch of arrogant and incompetent thugs. They disrespect women, they don’t help you when you need it, and they refuse to take any responsibility for their attitude when they are confronted with their wrong-​doings.
I have been called a BITCH by an employee –Michelle– who called me out of the blue on my cell phone to talk to me about free shipping. She didn’t understand a flying shit of what I was explaining to her and she hung up at me after calling me: «you, bitch!. I couldn’t understand her because of her accent. Am a I racist for telling her that I don’t understand her accent or am I the client who has been interrupted by a phone call? That is their problem. Their hide their incompetence behind excessive PC arguments.
I called the pharmacy, because I needed a refill and would have loved it to use the free shipping promotion. Snow is dangerous on the roads today and I am working at home. The other employee was surprised that Michelle said that, and she gave me the usual «dont use that word with me» when I was just telling what happened with Michelle. It took her a long time to find my name in the Giant’s Pharmacy computer. I dont know why. She said there was no free shipping or any promotion about shipping today.
Basically, I am said that I am the crazy one.
I call the manager –Joe Donati– who tries his best to cover his employees. He doubts. He kinda call me a lier. He calls me back and says there is no free shipping today. Ok fine. That is not my problem! I have been said «you, bitch» by one of his employees. I give him the phone number of the Michelle who called me. 703−403−9232. He says: «Ok Mam, have a good day.» End of the story. He wont investigate, there will be no sanctions, they will continue to treat the clients like bitches to milk. And, of course, I am the bad one. That is totally upside-​down.
What do you think about that way of treating clients?

Long before meeting my husband, he found this Giant while on the quest to find the 24oz DMD 6-​pack. He searched high and low, in person and Internet, and he came across this store – and his life was changed.
He had he found his holy grail: a community that had his soda, a beer store, a hardware store, his bank, the USPS, all within a block of each other. And it didn’t even matter that he lived in Silver Spring, MD – he had found his shopping center.
And when this store regularly ran out of his sized DMD, he emailed them, and the manager called him promptly. (Most likely because this crazy man had not so much emailed a single request as he had begun a campaign for his DMD.)
So, flash forward a few years, we start dating, and, yeah, this guy is a bit crazy with his early-​morning long-​distance Saturday shopping routine. (Engineer – enough said.)
And now I get it.
This is a great store. It’s super clean, it has great customer service; the produce and meat departments are fantastic (all are, really, but we spend more time with those fine folks). The front service staff is agile, efficient, and very friendly; and God bless the Starbucks crew for putting up with such lines and special requests.
And yes, it is very convenient, despite being a beltway away.
We would go early Saturday morning to avoid the crowds; but when we’ve been knocked off schedule, we still found the crowds manageable because they’re friendly, good-​humored folks.
Mostly.
And now we’re moving far away.
We made an off-​schedule trip here the other day because the hubs wanted to say goodbye.
That’s how much this Giant meant to him.
Hahaha

An answer to Lilly S. below. I’m writing this in case you return to this page. I had a similarr experience several years ago at the Giant, about six years ago. No one escorted by cart out or said they had to be touching the cart, but I was loading my own groceries into the back of my car and all of a sudden there was a man next to me — no smock on — helping me load. As a woman alone, I felt rather rattled about the experience. I didn’t know who this person was or what their intent was. They didn’t say anything. It was also nighttime. I did call the store after I got home and talked to the mannager. He said that Giant does try to help out the special needs community and hires the disabled to help in the parking lot. I told him my story and advised them that the helpers really needed to be smocked because it is terrifying to have a man come up close behind you in a dark parking lot. He said he understood and would make sure all the men wore smocks in the future. I’m wondering if he then instructed the men that instead of coming up behind women while unloading groceries, that they had to escort them out of the store so the women would understand that these are employees trying to help women unload. That would go a long way towards explaining your experience. In any event, I have continued to shop here for the last 20 years and have no further complaints except for the very crowded parking lot, narrow parking slots, and — at least today, a Sunday — horrible lines at all cash registers. It is a busy place.

Pros–
Good customer service
Large selection of food
Nothing goes out of stock
Lots of sales on EVERYTHING
Awesome parking
Cons–
Slightly pricey.

I hate this place so much.
1) There’s free valet parking. It’s a grocery store, idiots. Just park your car. I hate you guys so much.
2) As soon as you walk in, you’re inundated with flourescent lighting, ugly design and snooty McLeaniacs.
3) If it’s not over priced, it’s a crappy store-​brand that’s never any good. Except for the food items that they package in the deli. Those are neither reasonably-​priced nor any good.
4) Even the staff seems to hate it here.
Just… why bother? It’s just as expensive as Whole Foods for many things, and at least Whole Foods has quality products. Just drive five minutes and go to Whole Foods and stop making me write these reviews. I’m out.

The staff here is very friendly. They also have an amazing collection of gluten free foods both frozen and at room temperature.

They have valet parking. VALET PARKING. Valet parking for the average sized, always plenty of open spots, litter free parking lot.
Nuff said.
But in case you need more… Know this: when you enter this store you will immediately feel ashamed of your own Giant (or other grocery store) and forever be disappointed and confused. Why have you not known that the 50 foot span around the seafood counter doesn’t have smell like fish eyes left in a dumpster in DC in August? Instead what you smell is thick, dry, complex, makes you feel like Remi in Ratatouille; the aroma of a 1,000 cheeses. There isn’t even a curdled milk stank coating the back half of the store… How do they do that? There are 50 registers & efficient, intelligent, smiling cashiers. You’ll never dig through a bin of sale candy for the twix bar at the bottom because magic holds each variety to its own stack. The impeccable arrangement of heaven-​sent produce simply must be plastic, it cannot be real, and yet, it is. Spotty apples, moldy blueberries, & anything but perfectly ripe tomatoes are banished from this perfect land, and sent to lesser stores, like mine.
Caution– It’s common to see politician’s & their SOs strolling through the isles looking for their foot powders & jugs of fiber, getting the things they don’t want their chore boys to screw up.
Tip– Don’t think the quiet upper crustiness equals high prices… In fact, strangely, Giant doesn’t feel the need to rape the deep pockets of the rich; Sale prices are often lower than those of…“other” stores.
****
(4 stars bc of bitterness, 3^rd class stores, & the terribly obviously shamefully corrupt system)

Very nice spacious store with TONS of product. Entire aisle for wine! How can you not like that. Starbucks inside.

Love this Giant! Giants in general are just a supermarket like any other, BUT this Giant offers a fantastic charcuterie (deli meat) department!

This Giant was renovated a couple years ago to become the classiest, ritzy-​ist Giant I have ever seen in my life. I was SHOCKED the first time I entered here after the renovation.
What is good about this Giant:
–HUGE produce section
–Good wine deals: every time I come here they seem to have a deal on their wine and give away wine bags.
–Orderly system for getting deli meat: This place gets jam-​packed and people swarm around the deli section. But they have a ticket system where you get a number and they call you up that way. It actually works and makes everything much more pleasant.
–Cupholders in cart: Its nice if I have a coffee or soda with me and I can bring it in. I wish more grocery stores had this!
What annoys me:
–Starbucks in Giant: crowds form around this and it is plopped between the entrance and the checkout in a way that I find inconvenient getting around it. Given there is also a Starbucks literally across the parking lot and slightly to the right of the Giant, I am not sure why a Starbucks is even needed in here.
–MASSIVE CROWDS: Honestly, I HATE coming here. The parking lot gets incredibly crowded and difficult to navigate. Long lines of cars wait to leave and block parking spaces on the edges of the place. Its easier to park around the corner by the strip mall and walk, but then that is a longer distance to carry the groceries.
Massive crowds is the huge problem that brings the star-​rating down of this otherwise excellent Giant to a 3.

Where else can you find a Giant that offers free valet parking besides McLean?
Everything else is the same as any other Giant except that it is large and spacious inside. The Starbucks isn’t as nice as the Safeway’s Starbucks though. Plenty of parking, but exit onto the street can be tricky.
Given that, I love Giant’s muffins! Try the butter rum.

This is one of the classier Giant probably due to the location.
There are three Giants (McLean, West Falls Church and Vienna) that are all in about the same distance from where I live. But I prefer this Giant for the following reasons:
1. Spacious
2. Bright
3. Clean
4. More meat and fish selections.
5. Less crowded.
So this is my Giant. And I love Giant.

Great grocery store! Better than the average Giant, probably given the location. Bigger wine, seafood, and cheese selection, free samples, and valet parking (really?). Better prices than other local chains, conveniently located, and great selection.

I’m surprised with all of the renovations that are going on with this place. I mean, I don’t show up here for a couple of months and BLAMMO, it’s different. Starbucks — a flash in the pan. The produce section? Changed again. The wine/​beer area? CHANGED. Either way, I guess they have to cater to their customers — after all, we are in McLean. Oh, and did I mention the valet parking they introduced?
I always go here if I need something in a pinch and Giant has never disappointed.

This is the Cadillac ./​Ritz-​Carlton of the Giant grocery chain. Not surprising given its location in McLean. It seems recently renovated and fairly large. Still, it’s a Giant, which means its selection is lower-​end compared to a Whole Foods or Harris Teeter. I guess if I HAD to shop at a Giant, it would be this one.

I’ve been going to this Giant on and off for nearly 20 years, and I’m surprised by all of the mediocre reviews. There are numerous grocery stores in McLean — a Safeway also in McLean, Balducci’s, there used to be a Giant Gourmet. A little further away is a mega-​Safeway over on Colshire Drive, a Harris Teeter in Tysons, and further than that, a couple of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
This Giant in my opinion is the best of the lot, it is the perfect combination of a huge and well stocked grocery store for your daily shopping, but with enough quality items that you can get some fancy items that you need without paying too much. There are enough checkout registers that lines are rarely long, and after 3 expansions the place is huge and has an enormous selection of daily items.
Most grocery stores have the same dry goods, what differentiates them for me is the produce, fish, meat, and prepared items. This Giant has one of the better seafood counters in the area for routine use when you are on a budget — you won’t find a wide selection of $ 20/​lb sea bass and yellowfin tuna, but you’ll always find 5 – 10 varieties of fish and shellfish in the $ 6 – 12 per pound range. Most of it is previously frozen, but most of it is also wild caught and high quality. The produce section is one of the best in the area, with enough organic items to give you an organic option for most common items, but they don’t force you to pay $ 10 for a head of lettuce.
The meat department has always been great, besides having a wide variety of items on display at what I think are good prices, they sometimes have great sales (i.e. pork shoulder for $ 1.59/lb), and the folks in the back can usually make custom cuts for you or find you something in quantity (I once saw someone buy 20 pounds of ribeye steaks).
The bakery is also good, with good (not great) baguettes and at least 20 varieties of bread with pastries, etc. Again you’re not going to find high end exclusive items but a wide array of quality routine items.
You won’t find certain gourmet items like foie gras or truffles, but you can usually find that at the Balducci’s down the street — but you can’t shop at Balducci’s for your routine items or you’d pay 2−3x as much. You also won’t find organic grass-​fed beef or game meats, but The Organic Butcher around the corner has that. The wine selection is «good not great», but then you’ve got Total Wine across the street if you want something special or in large quantities. At this Giant you can buy nearly everything that you can at the miserable CVS next door.
From talking to the employees, this Giant is considered a flagship store by Ahold, the Dutch company that owns the chain, and they pull out all the stops, they even added valet parking recently. The store also employs the mentally handicapped through a sponsored program, which I think is unusual and very socially responsible.
I have occasionally tried shopping at other grocery stores but really prefer this place and keep coming back.

Every time that I come here, I find something wrong or something to complain about.
The lines suck, and despite having tons of registers open as well as self check out lines, I find myself here for way longer than I’d like to be.
People at the help desk or whatever it is (between the deli and the check out lines) are rarely helpful. I had to use Western Union once and the whole process was so frustrating (people disappearing as I wrote out forms, other people coming back to help me that had no idea what I was talking about, giving me a hard time…) that I just gave up.
Recently I was here and there was construction going on inside the store… Which is fine, I get it. But they didn’t have areas with signs to say it was closed or areas roped off. So I walked down an aisle to grab something and the construction workers didn’t tell me to move or that I needed to grab what I needed and go– but they kept saying something along the lines of «these stupid customers need to be out of our way». And the Giant workers basically ignored the fact that anything was going on and stayed at the other end of the store. Hey jerk, there was nothing here saying I couldn’t be here. I turned the corner and stumbled upon you guys, I wouldn’t have bothered if there was a sign or tape or SOMETHING telling me not to be here.
Unfortunately, Mclean doesn’t have many other options for grocery shopping– and most people that come here have been coming for years– if you’re not willing to drive over to the new place (not Giant) off of Magarity.

I have been shopping at this Giant for years but just recently something happened that I needed to bring to the public’s attention.
I usually use the self-​check aisle and have to stop the Giant employees from bagging my groceries in the plastic bags because I bring my own fabric bags. Once I stop them, they will walk away and do something else.
However, the other day, I mentioned to the employee that I could bag it because I had my fabric bags in the shopping cart under all my groceries. She took the few extra steps to come up to my cart and grab the bags from me so she could start and finish bagging my groceries. This was the first time this has ever happened and I was floored.
The other day, though, my Giant experience changed 100% with the employee coming up to my cart, grabbing my bags and bagging all my groceries.

This was the first Giant Foods I had ever seen. Apparently they are only in 5 states over here on the East Coast. This was my brother and I’s grocery store when staying in the area two years ago and I stopped back by for a visit a few months ago. It has changed massively, I suspect it has been remodeled. Two years ago it was kind of run down looking, sort of like an old ’70’s Safeway if anyone remembers those. I think the gumball machine by the front door might have been there since around 1963 or so… :)
The store then and does now have a very large selection of groceries that should fill almost any of your shopping needs. It is a large grocery store with a huge parking lot making it easy to use and we have always encountered friendly staff over the years.

On their website this store is listed under «Open 24 Hours.» Please note it is not. That information would have been really useful to me last night around 12:30! Fun drive to McLean in the rain at least?