What men want - in the supermarket

Like women, many men love the thrill of looking at a receipt and seeing how much they've saved with coupons and specials. "I've never left the store without saving at least $25," says Paul Kidwell of Milton, Mass. He once saved $73 on a $160 order.

What else could make supermarkets more "man-friendly"?

• Better store directories. "Finding things is a challenge, and being a guy, I typically don't ask," says Mr. Galloway. "I just go find it."

"I can never find Velveeta cheese," says Mr. Gerding, who buys all the groceries for his family of four. "Is it in the dairy aisle? Is it in the snack-food aisle? It doesn't have to be refrigerated, so [it could be] anywhere."

• Customer-friendly layouts. "I don't like the marketing tactics of hiding the milk, eggs, and bread all the way in the back of the store so I have to tell my kids - ages 3, 5, 7, and 8 - 'no' a thousand times because they ask for everything they see," says Robert Smith of Rockford, Ill.

Tim O'Brien of Pittsburgh likes stores that group related products, such as placing condiments near the hot dogs. He appreciates wide aisles but "hates displays that crowd things and cause gridlock in the store."

• More single-serving packaging. "I tend to stay away from fresh fruits, vegetables, and perishables with shelf lives of less than a week, since these are often sold in quantities too large for a single person," says Jason Rhodes of Salisbury, Md. He likes items such as individual yogurt cups.

• Cooking classes for men. "Men love to cook and love to assemble," says Mr. Lempert, the self-styled supermarket guru. But "you're going to attract a different kind of man to a cooking class that's done by a cute female chef than one that's done by a man. If you really want to build a relationship between the store and that male shopper, it should be a man teaching them how to cook."

He also recommends giving men store tours and nutrition classes. Others suggest weekend seminars on grilling, and recipes for good, quick ways to prepare food.

Despite the requests for improvements - ideas many women would applaud as well - some men already enjoy shopping. Phil Hall of New York, who is single, finds zigzagging up and down the aisles "very relaxing."

Even the best stores can't eliminate all petty annoyances, such as parents who allow their children to run around. Both sexes must also contend with subtle gender wars, supermarket-style.

Creighton Abrams of New York gets annoyed when the "Food-Shopping Woman parks her cart in the middle of the aisle to look at a can of beans she won't buy and talks to every stranger." Women lob similar complaints right back. One woman who requests anonymity has seen men abandon their carts and wander off to a distant aisle.

Dan Collins of Baltimore sometimes shops after midnight to avoid "women and kids weaving their baskets at a snail's pace, clogging up the lanes." He doesn't want to deal with "Mrs. Johnson, who needs 45 minutes to decide whether she wants Del Monte or LeSueur peas."

Then there are the little domestic dramas involving male shoppers. Lempert says women often ask him, "What can I do to prevent my husband from buying stuff we will never need?" He suggests shopping together. "The partner who may have more knowledge can say, 'We've got five of those already,' or 'That costs too much,' or 'Honey, it's not new, your grandmother used that.' "

Finally, even the most attentive manager can't help male shoppers resolve another pesky little issue - the cellphone. As Mr. Falk explains, "It allows me to call home to confirm the grocery list, but it inevitably rings with an addition to the list after I've left the checkout."

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