Reader Linda is unimpressed with Tropicana’s new “easy pour pitcher” because it means she’ll be getting 7 oz less orange juice for the same price. So, she called them up and gave them a piece of her mind.
Today, while shopping at my local Shop Rite, I grabbed a 96-ounce container of Tropicana Orange Juice. Actually, I noticed it felt a tad lighter, and looked closely at it. It has a label that says “New!! Snap-Cap!” What it didn’t say was “New! We cut 7 ounces out of here and aren’t mentioning it!!!
So, when I got home, I placed a call to Tropicana. I got the usual blah, blah, blah, from a young man who didn’t sound like he really gave a damn that I was annoyed. He talked about new packaging, and that’s why they had to cut 7 ounces from the amount, because the packaging wouldn’t work as well if it was the 96 ounce size. Huh?? I asked him what the hell that meant, and then he said that they would have to raise the price. I pointed out to him that by cutting the amount of juice in that container by almost 9%, that’s what they did, and that amounts to a hefty price increase. He didn’t really have any answers, just said that he would pass my comments on to marketing. I told him he could start my comment by writing “Rip-off!”, and then follow with the rest of my comments. I also told them i would be posting to consumer sites.
I really hate when companies shrink their packaging and try to slip it by as, hoping we won’t notice. I certainly notice, and I hope plenty of others do, too.
Thanks for letting me vent.
No problem, Linda. That’s why we’re here.
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@donkeyjote:
BTW… Tropicana is owned by Quaker (PepsiCo)
Simply Orange is Minute Maid… (Coca Cola)
Definitely not the same company.
@aristan: Not only that but it’s in the foreground and the shot’s got a pretty narrow depth of field — the mutant midget-OJ carton should be blurrier than it is. It’s blocking a plate with (melon slices?) on it that’s clearly blurred.
Or perhaps the family is just a pair of giants? “WE’LL GRIND YOUR BONES TO MAKE OUR TINY ORANGE JUICE CARTONS.”
meh, I generally don’t care about decreasing sizes of stuff. I usually look at or do a rough calculation of per unit price when I buy things anyways. It’s really amazing how much more you can get for your buck when you look at things that way.
I only find it annoying when they do it for products that I don’t generally buy an alternate brand of. I think this applies almost entirely to ice cream. Edy’s is the only brand I really like, Breyer’s is acceptable and will get it if it’s cheap. All other brands are either too expensive almost all the time (Ben & Jerry’s), or just crap (Turkey Hill). So I’m not very happy Edy’s and Breyers have shrunk their sizes.
@donkeyjote:
ottawa_guy cleared you up – Trop is owned by PepsiCo, Simply Orange by Coca-Cola.
Not to mention, Simply Orange and Minute Maid juices definitely aren’t from the same sources, either. I work in R&D for MM/Simply. MM is from concentrate, and Simply is not from concentrate.
EECB Pepsico who owns Tropicana.
NOOOOOOO!! NOT MY TROPICANA ‘LOTS OF PULP’ ORANGE JUICE!!
Breakfast will never be the same without the option of chugging 96oz. of O.J. if I feel like having a party…
Everything reminds me of granddad from The Boondocks.
@tbbx: I second. The problem isn’t shrinking products. The problem is shrink products that are made to look like they didn’t shrink.
What is to stop chip manufacturers to put saw dust in their products to cut costs?
I liken this to the analogy that we’re all frogs in a slowly boiling pot. We really don’t notice it getting warmer, until it’s too late.
@P_Smith:
Yes, because being robbed by a criminal is EXACTLY the same as voluntarily walking into a store and selecting which product to purchase. Completely comparable…
And here’s a tidbit of information from you. Calling other people “sheep” is not exactly an original thought. Perhaps you should learn to express your disagreement with your big boy words and not with some fifth grade insult.
@Truvill: Great that means I’ll get less than a full day’s worth of vitamin C.
@TechnoDestructo:
Do the labels on OJ say where the oranges come from because I don’t think I ever noticed, though I don’t think I ever thought about considering location either.
Any idea where Simply OJ Oranges come from?
@ratnerstar: I agree with you on this. This is a fact that has been happening on pretty much everything. There is basically 2 thing that they can do, either raise the price, or reduce what they are giving us. I personally would prefer they raise the price instead of getting less but they are banking on the fact that consumers will not notice that they are getting less. Deceiving but it’s happening all around.
@thesaber: Agree with on this too. To many times people will call and take their frustration out on lowly people who has no ability to correct anything. As for “young man who didn’t sound like he really gave a damn that I was annoyed,” its probably because he doesn’t.
@bnosach: Orange juice is Orange Juice. The only thing different is the container. The product is the SAME.
Rip-off! I hate it when companies do that crap!
That’s why I buy the $3.99 store brand gallon jug of orange juice.
Apparently “pure squeezing” is what they’re doing to your wallet, as well. I’m with those who say they should have come clean and just raised the prices. Heck, they don’t even have to tell anyone about it (which means money saved not retooling their bottles and marketing the shit out of this “easier pour” bottle nonesense).
I’ve loved Tropicana since it was only available in the Florida and the fact that you can now buy it in the North West Territories is a double-edged sword, obviously.
I’d love to see more retailers push the $/oz. aspect more and make this a non-issue and potentially reduce the number of $x.99 products in one go.
Of course I always calculate beforehand anyway so whatever.
@Maurs: oh the giggles…i cant stop.
@azntg:
I’ve avoided Brazilian orange juice since the 90s.
But year after year it just gets more and more prevalent.
FUCK YOU, GLOBALIZATION!
Just to point out a few things:
1. I was NOT yelling at the customer rep. The conversation was frustrating because he clearly wanted to be part of what was going on behind him, and had no real interest in answering questions from me.
2. I don’t think it’s wrong to expect actual customer service from a customer service rep.
3. I understand inflation. I know prices go up. Just raise them, already, and quit trying to sneak them by me by telling me you’ve got new packaging or whatever.
4. Thanks for the tip on the Brazilian oranges. I will be trying the other brand mentioned here.
5. And, last, No, I don’t think a gas holiday is a good idea. Stop making assumptions.
@lindalee:
Asking him “what the hell that meant” or “start my comment by writing ‘Rip-off!’” aren’t really yelling, per se… but still extremely rude. What did you expect him to do? Say “I will make a new container for you myself and ship it to you right away”? He was honest by saying he would pass your comments to marketing, as it was likely their decision to change the packaging. You’re the one being a total bitch about it.
No, it’s not wrong to expect customer service from a CSR. But there was no customer service that he could provide for you that moment, other than taking your comments and passing them to the appropriate people.
What kind of service did you expect? A free jug of OJ because you aren’t happy? Get over it.
@aristan:
um……..me?
Okay, so companies who sell you a product want to make a profit. Yes?
Unfortunately, the economy has taken a steamy pile. Yes, that stinks. And yes, you should not have signed up for that 2nd mortgage.
Given the current money situation, these corporations are reducing size on their product. Makes perfect sense to me. In fact, given the Euro to Dollar changes, you’re actually getting a damn good deal. Okay, the money you make hasn’t gone up since the Dollar tanked; that’s an issue to take up with your employer.
If Tropicana had a higher price than the competition, you’d do business with the competition. You wouldn’t even think about it. Every company that sells food employs these tactics. Yet you expect this ONE company to stick it’s neck out and lose business.
If you want things to get back to the way they were, don’t default on your bank loans. Pay for the shit you buy instead of whipping out the VISA. Become an intelligent consumer instead of a cheapskate looking for a steal.
Comment on New Tropicana! Now With Less Orange Juice! Kinda reminds me of the “half gallon” ice cream cartons that are now only
being filled to 56 ounces.
I can see the marketing round table now.
Egghead 1: We must raise prices with the economy being all noncooperative and such!
Egghead 2: But consumers will notice.
Egghead 1: Not if we give them a bit less than before
Egghead 2: But consumers will notice.
Egghead 1: Not if we augment our packaging with new features.. such as an easy grip handle or something… OR, I’ve got it.. a new spout! Joe Dillweed will look at that new spout with awe and not notice he’s paying the same price for 7% less product.
Egghead 2: You’re a genius. I smell a huge bonus for you.
This is how it works folks… flood those customer service hot lines. You’ll get a coupon for $1 off your next Tropicana purchase and your comment will end up as a statistic in Egghead #2′s report. Everyone wins.
Linda, I love you. The tone of this email was priceless. To those who would want to deter Consumerist from harping on the shrink ray or other such topics, I would respond that the world needs more Lindas, more Consumerists, and that this arena in which we check corporate chicanery requires this sort of drum-beating to be effective. That said, let’s just make sure we have our facts straight (cf. the soda man story, the Best Buy credit scam misfire, etc.) before we head off to the castle with pitchforks and torches.
It surprises me that these corporate twits haven’t decided to try and justify their shrinking packaging and portions the way other twits have with “100 calorie packs” and the like: by relating it to an initiative to lower our collective obesity. Were I a mercenary, duplicitous marketing jerk, that’s certainly the spin I’d throw on this. At least it has some semblance of logic to it, unlike the ridiculous explanation given by the bozo at Tropicana.
(When I use “corporate” here, I mean it simply as descriptive, and not in the pejorative “Corporate” way that far-Left lunatics see any large business entity as an agent of Evil and as a factory for their wildest fantasy conspiracies. I love corporations, just don’t like when they blatantly jerk their customers around.)
I sent this via their website:
I wish you would not shrink your juice containers. Yes, I noticed, and I find it rather deceitful. And frankly, Im out a glass of tasty juice.
And I got this reply:
_____________________________________________________________________
RE: Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice , REF.# 026496893A
[P1h3r1e3d13]:
Thanks for your email about our new SNAP Cap packaging. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.
Our decision to improve our bottle was not recent. Based upon feedback from families where children pour their own juice, we began working on this new package concept more than two years ago. The idea was to have an innovative cap that easily and securely sealed just by pressing on it, and one that easily poured without “glugging,” the primary reason for spilling.
The downsizing from 96 to 89 ounces wasn’t a decision we took lightly. As you are aware, oil costs have skyrocketed. Oil is used to make plastic bottles, fuel our factories, and ship our juice across the country in refrigerated trains and trucks. We had the choice to either increase prices or to downsize the bottle. We chose to downsize the bottle but add value through the innovation of the SNAP cap and new bottle, which consumers were seeking.
Although you may not agree with our decision, we hope you can appreciate that they were made in the best interest of our consumers and shareholders. Please be assured that feedback from consumers, such as yourself, does influence decisions, and your comments have been shared with our marketing group. Again, thanks for your input and sharing your concerns.
Please accept the coupons we’ve sent via US Mail; they should arrive in about a week.
xxxxx
Tropicana Consumer Response
_____________________________________________________________________
So I replied back, thanking them for the information and coupons, and especially for their better-than-normal customer service.
I agree with Linda 100%. I could have bought another brand for the
same price, and had 96 ounces. To top it off, I can’t get on the
Tropicana website because I don’t have the up-to-date software they
think I need to see their products. How about listing their email
address so folks like me can complain directly without all the crap.
If you post this, please do not use my email address,
Use Allstamp instead
Thanks,
Martin
The container is better to get that last drop of OJ out of, but the coloring is bland and not as appealing as the big orange with straw. My problem is, I can’t find the Lite brand anymore(recommended by Weight Watchers) and the last three/1 Gal. purchases taste like over ripe on the verge of rotten tasting oranges. So what happen to the best tasting orange juice?
Disappointed in Mich. and really missing my OJ!
I just opened the pull tab and almost sliced my finger off on the hard jagged edges surrounding the cap. I also heard a loud “snap” and I am worried that the little, hard pieces of plastic went into the juice from the edges.
Why didn’t the idiots and R and D at Tropicana make it a thin silver foil you pull, instead of the dangerous sharp hard plastic?
Oh wait… I figured it out. Tropicana is based in Retardida… I mean Florida.
Lawsuit anyone?