Plaza Lama Super Tienda, Santiago

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
113
Running errands in Santiago yesterday, we left Dr. Grullon's office (vet on 27 Febrero) and headed to La Sirena for the bi-weekly shopping orgy. We saw that the new Plaza Lama Super Tienda was open (when it was being built we thought it was going to be a big electrodomesticos, not a supermercado) and decided to check it out.




The verdict:
  • Weird parking configuration. The front lot, where we parked, has a steep slope. Your cart doesn't have brakes. If you go there be sure to park UPHILL. I predict runaway carts will be smashing into downhill parked cars. You have to hold your cart with one hand and unload your groceries with another or the cart goes downhill on its own. PITA!
  • Brand new store, very nice.
  • The floaters in the aisles make it very difficult to wheel your cart around, not enough lateral space to be comfy, single file only.
  • The prices seem to be a notch higher than La Sirena. I'm surprised that for a new store trying to gain market share there weren't a gaggle of specials everywhere.
  • We bought a stack of CD-RW's. However, you are given a receipt to pay...ONLY at certain checkout lines, BTW (not the one we went to)...where you pay, THEN go BACK and get the CD's (or anything else in that department. PITA. Very inconvenient.
  • The meat department was large, looked very nice...but a ghost town. Prices seemed high. I noticed in one freezer case where sausages are kept that MANY packages of sausages, even the high-end Johnsonville brands, were frozen (good) but FLAT (bad.) Sausages do not come from the factory flat. That tells me that at some point they thawed and became flat under weight, before being refrozen. VERY bad.
  • The variety compared to LS and Nacional was definitely lacking. No store brands (our pantry is full of "Shure fine" brand products. :cheeky: We're cheapskates!)
Overall verdict: "meh." Not enough interest to warrant a return trip, although the store is nice, decently laid out and clean.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
113
Plaza Lama is the pits. They sell refurbished electronics as new, unless you read the small print. Good place to avoid.