Conditions found in an aisle around 11 a.m. on a recent Monday at Smith’s Marketplace. Photo by Ann McLaughlin

Conditions found in an aisle around 11 a.m. on a recent Monday at Smith’s Marketplace. Photo by Ann McLaughlin

Conditions found in an aisle around 11 a.m. on a recent Monday at Smith’s Marketplace. Photo by Ann McLaughlin

By ANN MCLAUGHLIN
Los Alamos

When it opened ten years ago, Smith’s Marketplace was a huge, almost glittering, improvement over its predecessors. There were understandable problems during the pandemic, but conditions in the store have not improved. In some ways they have deteriorated. There are empty shelves, aisles blocked with boxes of unpacked goods, empty produce bins, long lines at checkout, price discrepancies, shopping carts piled in the parking lot, and seemingly demoralized employees.

This may be a corporate issue, but the fact that conditions at the Smith’s in White Rock are considerably better seems to point to a problem with local management.

This is a business that is central to the lives of virtually everyone in Los Alamos and to the lives of many people off the hill as well. Management seems to feel that since our shopping options are limited, serving us well isn’t necessary.

I was so astonished by conditions in the store on a recent Monday around 11 a.m., that I took several photos, including the three attached (above).