Our sister publication ShopSmart asked their readers today what they think of grocery store self-checkout systems. Would you rather stand and watch someone else scan and bag your groceries, or do you prefer to buy your Oreos and hemorrhoid cream without another soul knowing? [More]
grocery stores
CDC Used Shopper Loyalty Cards To Solve Mysterious Salmonella Outbreak
By 3.14.10
The shopper loyalty cards that your grocery store provides can have a higher purpose than giving you discounts, profiling your shopping habits, and racking up points for rewards programs. Loyalty card data can also help track down the source of foodborne pathogens, retaining records of specific brands and items that customers probably won’t remember. Trying to find the source of a mysterious salmonella outbreak, the CDC mined grocery loyalty card data to narrow the source down to specific brands of Italian cured meat. [More]
No, You Can't Have These Cheerios For 14 Cents
By 2.15.10
Phill tells Consumerist that he saw a pricing error on cereal at his local Safeway, and brought it to the attention of store employees. In the process, he tried to invoke Safeway’s price guarantee. After all, if the cereal was marked 28 cents per pound (instead of 28 cents per ounce, as it should have been) why shouldn’t Phill be able to buy it at that price? Yet the store employees would hear none of it. [More]
Mind Those Milk Expiration Dates
By 1.18.10
Matt spotted a disturbing milk stocking method at his unnamed New York grocery store, and is convinced the setup was designed to trick folks into buying milk that is set to soon expire. [More]
Wegmans Charges $1.50 For Free Bottle Of Listerine
By 1.6.10
Please, Wegmans. You know we’ve gone down this road with Target and they refuse to seek help. You’re the grocery store I grew up with, and even Consumer Reports loves you. So why does it have to be this way? Why are you going crazy? [More]
USDA Not So Sure Ammonia-Injected Beef Is Safe
By 1.4.10
Thanks to findings presented by the New York Times, the USDA took away an exemption from routine testing it had given to meat from Beef Products, Inc., which supplies ammonia-injected beef to grocery stores and fast food chains including McDonald’s and Burger King. [More]
Consumer Reports And New York Times Ask Why There's So Much Air In Packages
By 12.7.09
Padding chip bags with air is a pretty well-understood practice by now–supposedly it helps prevent the chips from being crushed. But what’s the purpose of similar packaging tricks in frozen fish, or boxes of instant rice? After a recent Consumer Reports article questioned the amount of air in packages at the grocery store, New York Times reporter Andrew Adam Newman asked two of the manufacturers for an explanation. [More]
Publix Insider Explains Cold Turkey Office Party
By 11.27.09
On Tuesday, we published the story of a woman who ordered a turkey from a Publix supermarket deli for her office’s Thanksgiving celebration, only to discover that her “fully cooked” turkey was cooked, but cold. This was a problem. Her story had a happy ending, but we heard from a Publix employee who confirmed that selling a cold turkey with no warning is wrong…and would lead to trouble for any employee who tried it at our tipster’s store. [More]
Is A "Fully-Cooked" Turkey Supposed To Be Hot?
By 11.24.09
Wendy was in charge of planning the at-work Thanksgiving feast for her colleagues at her new job, and was happy to take on the task. A series of misunderstandings at the grocery store deli meant that she nearly had to serve her colleagues a fully cooked but entirely cold turkey. [More]
Ground Beef Gains Time-Travel Ability
By 11.21.09
Nick didn’t notice the label on this package of ground beef until after he brought it home. Seeing how he bought it on November 20, 2009, and the label claims that it was packaged on August 8, 2004, he’s a little confused.
Bear Wanders In Wisconsin Grocery Store, Chills In Beer Department
By 10.18.09
We know that it’s not good for bears to be be too dependent on human food, but one black bear in Wisconsin took things even farther, wandering inside a grocery store, heading straight for the liquor department, and taking a leisurely nap on a shelf in the beer cooler.
Grocery Aisle Coupon Fairies: Nuisance Or Nice?
By 10.3.09
You reach for an item at your local grocery store, and notice that on the shelf next to it is a coupon thoughtfully left behind by another shopper. But wait, is this a thoughtful way to keep clipped coupons from going to waste? Or just a way for shoppers to feel good about themselves, but create more litter for grocery store employees to clean up?
Shoplifter Shoves 3 Pounds Of Bacon In His Pants
By 9.13.09
In a case that makes a compelling argument for the use of anti-meat-shoplifting dogs, a man in Mary Esther, Florida was caught when grocery store personnel noticed that he was “looking suspicious.” He looked suspicious because of the 48 ounces of bacon he had stuffed in his pants.
Customer Complaint Leads To Sincere Apology, Actual Change At HyVee
By 9.11.09
Matt complained to his local Hyvee grocery/gas station about the excessive holds they place on gas customers’ debit cards. The company apologized, offered him a gift card, and changed their signage to prevent further customer frustration.
Math Proves It: Grocery Store Express Lane Not So Express
By 9.10.09
Here’s a different sort of grocery store math than you’re probably used to. A high school math teacher in Santa Cruz, California drew up a lesson plan for teaching students to answer the question: “which checkout line is the fastest?” Clearly, this is education after our own hearts. You may have your own anecdata on this subject, and even try to make predictions as you choose your line and thus your destiny, but that is no match for science.
Consumer Reports Finds Generic Foods Taste As Good As Brand Names
By 9.1.09
Labels are eye-catching and all, but they don’t taste so good. Consumer Reports undressed some food items and found out that deep inside, generics are just as tasty — and in some cases even yummier — than their labeled counterparts.
Whole Foods CEO Spurs Boycott With Health Care Views
By 8.15.09
Memo to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey: when much of your customer base consists of reusable-bag-using, wheatgrass-munching “progressive” types, it’s probably not such a good idea to publish an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal criticizing current health care reform proposals. At least if you don’t want said customers organizing boycotts of your stores.
