The Nilgiris departmental store on Brigade Road is my ’store of convenience’- within walking distance from my office, easy to access and is located on my way back home.
What more can I want??
I am a regular customer at Nilgiris (atleast 3 to 4 times a week) and prefer it to rest of its competitors for two main reasons that heavily weigh in its favor over other supermarkets in the city -
organized inventory and quality assurance
The inventory and display of products facilitate ease of shopping such that I can head straightaway to the shelves that have the product I want.The store matches its quality of goods stocked in adherence to the expiry date -this is one area where I have to look carefully at the expiry label before buying it if shopping elsewhere !!
The Nilgiris packaged chocolates are good but the same cannot be said of the chocolates on display in the glass shelf -quite inconsistent in taste-sometimes chalky, sometimes creamy !!
I prefer Nilgiris especially for grocery items such as pulses, frozen/cold storage stuff and dairy products - all these have short shelf life and I can vouch for their quality here.The vegetables are fresh though slightly expensive -in fact, I buy mainly the greens (palak, methi, salad leaves etc) for their freshness & cleanliness -buying greens with their stalks heavily caked with mud is not only hygienic but quite a pain to clean !!
When I need exclusive ingredients such as liquid glucose or chilli flakes or special herbs , I am yet to find any other shop that stocks these consistently.All those fond of baking cakes and continental food will find an array of ingredients here that normally would be difficult to find elsewhere in th city.
Nilgiris has a pastry cum snack shop in the basement - try out the samosas & pineapple pastry -rest I am not too fond of.The cafeteria upstairs is reasonably priced for its quantity -try out the baked continental stuff here -quite relishing.
Unfortunately, the sales staff not only look unfriendly but they are, barring a few at the cash counter.Fortunately, I have never had any problems till date with their billing service which is quick and efficient.The sales staff at the dairy counter outside(next to the entrance) need to brush up their act as far as customer service is concerned.
The store is maintained well in terms of keeping it neat and clean and if you believe in self-help, then unfriendly staff should not be a deterrent.
Except for the vegetables, pricing of remaining products is competitive and standard -no free offer or any such schemes here - one wonders if free offers are a compromise over quality ??