Consumerist: dollar general

Latest ACSI Survey Is Out: You Really Like Dollar General

Chris Walters — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:27:36 EST

The American Customer Satisfaction Index has released its latest scores of retail businesses, so we thought we'd take a look at the department store rankings by constructing a handy graph. When it comes to customer satisfaction, apparently Dollar General is doing something right—and Wal-Mart, as usual, is doing lots of things wrong.

In the commentary on last quarters scores, ACSI says they've started including Nordstrom again because of its increasing market share, and back before it dropped off the survey in 2001, it held the top spot frequently, so no surprise there.

They also suggest that Dollar General, "which typically serves neighborhoods that may be too small to attract Wal-Mart," may be scoring high because of its wide variety of items in such small retail spaces.

Sears and Kmart are pretty much exactly where we'd expect them after their plunging customer service last year.

One thing we're not sure about is how the various recall disasters last year affected scores—clearly Dollar General emerged unscathed, despite its healthy dose of lead-tainted toys, Halloween pails, and holiday decorations.

"Q4 2007 and Historical ACSI Scores" [ACSI]
"Customer Satisfaction Falls Again; Retail, Financial Services Down; Wal-mart, Home Depot at All-Time Lows" [ACSI]

RELATED
"How are ACSI data collected?" [ACSI]

(Thanks to Shaula!)

Pokemon Valentine's Day Lollipops Should Not Contain Razor Blades

Carey — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:03:02 EST

A 10-year-old elementary school student found a razor blade in the Pokemon lollipop he was about to hand to his sister. Dollar General, which sold the lollipop for $1, immediately recalled the remaining Pokemon Valentine Cards and Pops from its 8,300 stores, but they are concerned that "most of this candy has already been purchased."

"I was trying to give my sister some candy and when I looked at it, it had a razor blade in it," said Chris, 10-years-old. His mother asked that we not use his last name.
The Pokemon cards and Valentines Day candy is imported from China by Sherwood Brands. In a recorded message Thursday Dollar General ordered all Pokemon candy and two others removed from store shelves.

"The items are the Pokemon cards and valentines candy. Dog valentine and pops and 20 strip, or 20 count strip Heart pops. Removing these items from the sales floor must become your most important priority today," said the recording from Dollar General Headquarters in Tennessee.

The defective candy's barcode is 073964209109. Parents can return the candy to Dollar General or keep it as a novelty letter opener.

Importer Recalls Valentine Lollipops [AP]
(AP Photo/Polk County Sheriff's Office)

Target, Limited Too and Dollar General Quietly Pulling Lead Contaminated Items Off Shelves

Meg Marco — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:59:21 EDT

According to the NYT, Target, Limited Too and Dollar General have located additional products that are contaminated with lead, but no recalls have been announced by the CPSC.

The retailers have been quietly pulling the items off shelves. CPSC rules stipulate that a retailer has 24 hours to report a defect that has potential to cause injury, a rule that companies regularly ignore.

Target disclosed that two products it sold recently — David Kirk Happy Giddy Children's Garden Trowel and Sunny Patch Safari Children's Chair — had hazardous levels of lead. It did not say how many of the items were sold before it became aware of the lead contamination in August.
Dollar General said that 192,000 metal key chains appeared to be contaminated, while Tween Brands, owner of Limited Too stores, said it had discovered lead paint on a decorative flower-shaped object included in the wrapping of a shower gel and body lotion set.

Discount School Supply, a retailer based in Monterey, Calif., reported that three products in its inventory that were made in China or Taiwan appeared in preliminary tests to have lead contamination. The items were sold under the names Giant Measuring Chart, Rolling Storage Rack and Shaving Paint Brushes.

Representatives for Target, Dollar General and Discount School Supply did not respond to requests for comment. A spokeswoman for Tween Brands said she did not know how many of the bath sets had been sold. A spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission also declined to comment.

The retailers disclosed the additional lead items in response to questions asked by the House the Energy and Commerce Committee of 19 companies that had already recalled Chinese-made products because of lead contamination. The retailers have pulled the items off shelves but have not informed consumers.

We're keeping an eye on the hearings and it seems that Mattel chose not to respond to the committee's survey, and Dollar General chose not to attend—angering Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Bobby Rush (D-IL) respectively. The terms "obstruction of justice" and "perjury" were used.

More Retailers Found to Have Lead-Tainted Items [NYT]
(Photo:smcgee)