Larry says that he opened a can of chef boyardee recently only to find a horrible giant mold world growing inside. When he contacted the store he bought it from, Walmart, a low-level employee was openly hostile to them and said the manager “wouldn’t believe them.” Yes, that’s the new scam: steal a can of food, open it up, grow a massive mold culture inside it for several weeks, then try to return it for a buck oh nine.
Larry writes: “Long time reader and love your site…….thought youde get a Kick out of this one…..Me and my family wife and 6 y/o son and 2 y/o daughter are avid chef boyardee fans…..great food in a pinch….we shop irregularlly at our Portsmouth, Va Walmart December 23,2009……we picked up our usual grocery list items as well as 6 cans of beefaroni for the kids to eat for lunchs and thought nothing of it….my wife called me in a panic today saying when she went to serve the kids lunch she found the attached surprise……now were careful not to buy dented or damaged cans when we shop and at no point did we drop or damage the can in transit home.
The can stayed sealed until today….we can only imagine that there was a pinhole leak during manufacturing………we contacted the local wal mart store when I got home to tell them about this……an extremely rude employee told my wife there was no way it came from their store and they WOULD NOT refund it……we luckily still have the receipt from the store…..weve made a few purchases at this store and have had problems before…..unfortunately its the closest grocery store to us and is the only store that carriers many of the items we need……..we asked who the manager was and told it was a Mr. Wade Riddick………but was told he wouldnt want to hear this and that they wouldnt believe us anyway…….now Im a firefighter and my wifes a nurse so were far from somer kind of criminal trying to scam for a can of beefaroni …….in fact were not interested in “suing” or replacing the 1.09 can…….just really upset at the treatment and before you say it I know I know its wal-mart……anyway…..suffice it to say we will take our grocery money else where.”
Larry should also contact ConAgra, makers of Chef Boyardee, with the lot # of the can at 800-544-5680. If he wants a refund or a replacement, he should go back to Walmart and ask to see the manager in person. He may also want to contact his local health department to keep them informed.
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I had a similar problem with a local brand bleu cheese dressing that came in sealed glass jars. It tasted sour and clung with a slimy film to any greens it touched. I had to trash an entire salad I had spent nearly an hour preparing.
A quick email to the company and after requesting the lot number and store location they said it sounded like it had been left unrefridgerated for too long and put in an inquiry with the store. I don’t know what happened from there, but they sent me a coupon for a replacement immediately.
There’s no external signs of an issue, so the retailer is not at fault. It is, however, good business for them to accept the return since you purchased it from them.
So, how did it taste?
You know, I don’t understand why low level employees don’t take food more seriously. It’s like they’ve never gotten sick from food or even understand that you can get sick from food. It took me 3 calls to my local supermarket to inform them that they’d accidentally put clam chowder in with their potato bacon because they look similar. Although tasty to me (an interesting combo; potato bacon + clam chowder), this could have had potentially deadly consequences to someone with an allergy to shellfish. The first call was not taken seriously at all.. I could tell, and they didn’t transfer me to the correct department. The second time I called because I still didn’t feel good about the resolution, they immediately transferred me, but the person there didn’t seem to care at all! I was repeating over and over why I thought it was very important information and she would just go oh… yeah… we didn’t do it on purpose… etc. so, I let it go and hung up. But I still felt really uneasy about it. After about 5 minutes of feeling like shit over it, I called again, and finally spoke to a manager or something that confirmed what I was saying and understood the possible consequences. I think they were afraid that I was scamming them or mad for the soup mix up rather than just trying to prevent a serious problem for them.
Gagolicious!
Nothing makes me more angry than to see something like “this is the manager, but they won’t be interested in what you have to say (or they’ll just say the same thing I’m saying) …” BS! My response is always, “how about if I actually talk to the manager and see for myself?” Inevitably, the manager has the right response, which in this case would be a refund. I’m sure the mold in the can isn’t Wal-Mart’s fault, but a problem that comes from the way it was either canned or shipped. But Wal-Mart can issue the refund and recoup the loss from ConAgra, who definitely needs to be notified about this. But frankly, my first response would have been to call ConAgra rather than Wal-Mart. These companies have traditionally been responsive to complaints I have made and they usually send coupons for free products. Since these are usually one-time problems, I’m usually willing to make use of them, although in this case, I might find a different ConAgra product besides the canned pasta… Ick!
I’ve had a few instances where I got a spoiled product. I got a frozen pizza from Stouffer’s that tasted really off, I only ate a couple of bites. Got sick a few hours later. Upon a closer look it had some mold on it. So I refroze the remainder and called Stouffer’s. They asked me to overnight a the product and packaging their cost. To their credit they said it was likely a bad seal in the packing and/or the shipper/store allowed it to thaw and refreeze. That company was very responsive, gave me a post mortum and sent free product coupons.
Albertson’s gave me an instant replacement and my money back for a bag of shredded cheese that visibly started to mold in it’s unopened package. The expiry was still weeks away. The manager agreed that the cheese shouldn’t have done that.
At Jack in the Box. I started to eat my fries and saw a big long hair in them. I took them back to the counter. The manager looked at it. (I think it was her’s, similar color, also I am very bald.) She took them back, comped my enter meal, and she trashed the whole bin of fries they just made, from which my fries came.
Sounds like Walmart has an attitude.
I don’t see the problem. Obviously, he just bought a can that came with broccoli.
/gag
WAL-MART – now there’s your problem…..
I live in Bentonville Ark, and I and most of the people I know work for Wal-Mart . I can tell you that the treatment you received from that employee is MORE than enough to get them terminated and possibly even to get their supervisor terminated . If they don’t wish to hear what you have to say , take it to the next level and call the Wal-Mart home office and register a formal complaint . They will send out a team to investigate that store . They go in as secret shoppers and see how they are treated . If they get treated the same way , even the store managers job will be in on the line .
1-479-273-4000
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! The Chef’s beefaroni was my favorite too. I would probably eat it, then have my widow sue everyone.