I love Mercadona. In fact, in the last couple of years, I’ve rarely bought groceries at any other Spanish supermarket except Mercadona, unless I’m in a town that doesn’t have a Mercadona store and, with their rapid expansion all over Spain, that’s becoming even less and less of a reality. Thank God.
So, why do I love Mercadona so much and why do I recommend all my family and friends shop there? It’s simple. Mercadona is a supermarket chain that provides high-quality products at a low price, treats its employees fairly and pays them well, has clean stores and an excellent choice of products, awesome customer service and, overall, runs its business with high morals. Honestly, why wouldn’t you shop at Mercadona?
Mercadona’s low prices
One of the things I love about Mercadona is their low prices. But, unlike some other supermarkets where low prices equals low quality, Mercadona goes out of its way to provide its customers with high quality products at a still affordable price.
How do they do this? They cut out the middle men when it comes to all their own brand products and deal directly with the manufacturer. That means, if you buy a Hacendado, Bosque Verde, or Deliplus product, for instance, it’s been produced specifically for Mercadona and then transported directly to them. Mercadona saves on its costs by not paying a middle man, and then they pass those savings on to you. A win-win situation for everyone.
Mercadona treats its employees well
Let’s face it, anyone who has ever worked in a supermarket knows they don’t usually pay particularly high wages. That’s why I love Mercadona so much, as they pay their employees higher than the industry rate. They hire all of them on permanent contracts, they get great training and their training is continued throughout the year.
Most employees are also given an end-of-the-year bonus, which is just one of the reasons why the company’s employee turnover rate is so low.
Now, I’m a true believer in supporting a company that treats its employees well (which is why I will never shop at companies like Amazon, which does nothing but damage the Spanish economy), so I love shopping at Mercadona as I believe, by spending my money there, I’m helping them ultimately hire more employees and ultimately treat them well. And that’s a good thing.
Clean stores and a great selection of high-quality products
One of the Mercadona stores I frequent often, the store in Albir, was just closed for a few days for a ‘renovation’. When it re-opened, everything was repainted a bright and light color, floors were polished and shiny, and every surface, shelf and storage unit had been cleaned. That, of course, is just par for the course for Mercadona, a chain that has always had some of the cleanest supermarkets I’ve ever shopped at in Spain.
Throw in the huge selection of products, all of them at low prices, and you may think I’m weird but I’m so excited every time I walk into a Mercadona store as it’s such a pleasure to shop there.
Mercadona’s customer service
If you want good customer service, you shouldn’t be shopping at any other Spanish supermarket but Mercadona as they really do have the best customer service I’ve ever come across in Spain.
They run a free customer service hotline, managers in stores are receptive to customer complaints and always try to do everything they can to make sure the customer is happy, and their website is in six other languages besides Spanish – a hugely important thing for many customers who can’t read Spanish particularly well.
Honestly, I’ve never had a problem with any product I’ve ever bought at Mercadona, and only know of one friend who has. But she was given such excellent service when she returned the product to the store, she also swore Mercadona would be the only Spanish grocery store she would shop at from now on.
Mercadona is one of the world’s most reputable companies
Come on, when Mercadona was ranked as the world’s ninth most reputable company in 2009 by Forbes magazine (the world’s and not just Spain’s!), you know you’re doing something right if you shop at their stores. And, by the way, it was the company’s customers themselves who rated Mercadona so highly, and not some bean counter sitting in an office somewhere.
I love Mercadona, and that’s because I love supporting reputable, trustworthy companies with my hard-earned cash. It’s family-owned, and has always been family-owned, as well, which just makes it even more likely that I will always continue to do my grocery shopping at Mercadona – a chain of stores I love more than any other.
Well done, Mercadona, and keep up the good work!