Peet isn’t normally one to share customer experiences, but had such a stunning experience with a company recently that he had no choice. What happened?
Well, his dishwashing brush broke with four refills left, so he contacted the company to ask if replacement handles were available. He was impressed when they promised to send a replacement. Then the box arrived.
[More]
grocery stores
Our Dish Brush Breaks, Good Cook Sends Gift Box Of Kitchen Stuff To Apologize
By 1.17.13
What’s In A Name? Express Checkout Lanes Are Actually (Gasp!) A Waste Of Time
By 1.3.13
Express! That means fast, right? If you make a beeline for the express checkout lane at the grocery store any time you only have a few items, you might want to reconsider. Apparently there are other issues with the express line that can make the whole experience take almost as long as a regular lane, or in some cases, your wait could be even greater. [More]
Is 98% Price Accuracy Acceptable For Grocery Stores?
By 12.20.12
Odds are that you’ve been overcharged at some point in your life. Mistakes happen. The big question is: Is there any acceptable level of overcharging? [More]
Dairy Industry Worried That The Answer To “Got Milk?” These Days Is: “Nope.”
By 12.12.12
Back in milk’s heyday, the cool thing to do in a commercial was proudly wear a white mustache and smirk, “Got Milk?” The idea being, if you didn’t, you weren’t being healthy, as milk was the reigning drink in the health food arena. All you had to do was drink a glass a day and you could claim that yes, you had milk. But with all the energy drinks and enhanced waters flooding the market these days, dairy farmers are worried they’re losing their audience. [More]
Trying To Get Out Of A Busy Grocery Store Quickly Is Just Tempting Fate
By 11.20.12
Yesterday, we shared the heartwarming story of a Harris Teeter supermarket that let customers leave with carts full of free groceries and not force them to wait around for the registers to start working again. Yesterday evening, sort of the exact opposite of that happened to Dina when she tried to get through her shopping trip to Giant quickly by using the self-scan station. Trying to get out of a crowded grocery store “quickly” is tempting fate, doesn’t Dina know that?! [More]
Lender’s Introduces The Baker’s Half-Dozen: Five Bagels
By 10.4.12
Kroger is ever so thoughtful. Maybe a little creepy, too. Michael received an e-mail from the grocer notifying him that a product he’s bought in the past–Lender’s frozen bagels–won’t be available anymore. That’s sad, but we’re sure that he’ll muddle through somehow. “Nice to know they’re concerned about our finding products we’ve shopped for….” he writes. [More]
Perhaps Grocery Store Should Reconsider This Sign's Placement
By 9.14.12
After all the mislabeled, unfortunately worded, bad math-y and otherwise plain wrong signs we’ve seen, we’re convinced that all retail establishments should hire an official Sign Executive dedicated to making sure these slip-ups don’t happen. [More]
Save Me From The Supermarket Light Pollution Menace
By 8.30.12
Until a few months ago, Chris didn’t mind sharing a fence with a grocery store. Being able to scoot next door to pick up a few items would be pretty convenient. Then the lights came on. Two terrible, bright, glaring parking lot lights. They shine in his windows, illuminating his bedroom to an extent that even the thickest curtains can’t block. The lights are, of course, on 24/7. The store manager promises to solve the situation, but no solution is in sight. The only things in sight are those parking lot lights. Those bright, bright parking lot lights. What would the Consumerists do? [More]
Is Customized Supermarket Pricing Gleaned From Loyalty Cards Creepy Or A Good Thing?
By 8.10.12
Whether you’re one of those shoppers with way too many grocery store loyalty cards or just a few, swiping those at checkouts could be doing far more than just giving you a few cents off your favorite cereal. Stores like Safeway and Kroger are building up their research on how their customers shop, developing customized pricing on the things you like the most. So is that a creepy invasion of privacy or worth it if you save money? [More]
I Want My Trans Fats Back: Consumerist Readers Speak Out About Recipe Changes
By 8.10.12
Last week, we asked you, the members of the Consumerist Hive Mind, what prepared food items you’ve abandoned or fallen out of love with due to a recipe or ingredient change. What we learned from reading the responses: Consumerist readers love their junk food almost as much as Consumerist editors do. [More]
What Recipe Changes Have Turned You Off A Favorite Food Item For Good?
By 8.1.12
It’s probably happened to most of you at some point in your eating experience. You go to bite into — or take a sip of — an item you’ve come to really enjoy, only to find there is, say, more salt, or less chocolate, or just some new ingredient. And with that, the relationship is over… [More]
Should There Be A Limit On Items At The Self-Checkout Line?
By 7.27.12
Self-checkout lanes have become a topic of debate in the retail world in recent years. Does it speed up the process and cut down on labor costs, or are they high-maintenance money pits that put people out of work? Are they intended to be used for small purchases of just a few items — or is it perfectly fine to get in line with a full week’s worth of groceries? [More]
The Safeway Hot 100: No Refund Until You’re Proven Innocent
By 7.2.12
Michael’s fiancée sent him to the grocery store late one night. He came home with the wrong moisturizing cream, which happens all too often during shopping expeditions based on someone else’s instructions. No big deal. They just brought it back to Safeway the next time they visited the store. He paid cash, but it was still all sealed up and had a Safeway sticker on it. Only the cream’s price tag and popularity with shoplifters meant that the store’s Loss Prevention staff would need to review surveillance tapes to make sure that Michael hadn’t stolen the item. [More]
Should I Be Embarrassed That A Supermarket Cashier Assumed I’m Receiving WIC?
By 6.8.12
Shopping at her local Publix supermarket, Kathleen took some of her wholesome, perishable groceries–dairy and fruit–and put them on the conveyor belt before the rest of her items. This prompted the cashier to assume that since she had put the dairy items first, that she would be paying for those with a WIC check. She could have shrugged, said “no,” and forgotten about the incident. But the false assumption, the volume of the cashier’s voice and the attention that the question drew to her really embarrassed and upset Kathleen. She complained to store management and wants an apology from corporate that is not forthcoming. [More]
What Food Combinations Do You Love That Make People Think You’re Crazy?
By 6.5.12
It’s probably not a huge surprise to people that Taco Bell had a hit on its hand when it combined its sorta-tacos with Doritos. But not all food combinations sound as delicious when you try to describe them to folks. [More]
High School Drama Class Produces Entire Musical About Wegmans
By 5.3.12
Northeastern grocery chain Wegmans inspires the same kind of fanatical devotion in consumers as iPhone releases or “Twilight” movie premieres. So when a Wegmans store opened in Northboro, Mass., people camped out overnight awaiting their opportunity to storm the bulk candy aisle and buy $6 prepared meals, or something. Students in a local high school’s advanced drama class tapped into the zeitgeist, and have created an entire musical about the chain. It may be the world’s longest grocery store commercial. [More]
People Realize Chicken Thighs Taste Good, Now Cost Same As Breasts
By 5.1.12
For too long, chicken thighs were the ignored child of the chicken meat family, relegated to bulk packs at ridiculously low prices. For people that knew what to do with the less-desired but more flavorful dark meat, it meant tasty meals that didn’t break the bank. But the secret is now out, and consumers are starting to pay top dollar for the one-time bargain poultry parts. [More]
How Can I Protect The Public From Potentially Spoiled Cheesecakes?
By 3.22.12
Somewhere in New York City, there is a rebellious grocery store that doesn’t follow the rules. Except the rules this store ignores don’t make it hip and interesting. They might make people sick. Every time Angela goes to the store, she notices a shelf of baked goods–cheesecakes and pies–that are supposed to be refrigerated, but aren’t. Store employees don’t seem to care, and the city health department has more important things to worry about. It’s only Angela left, standing up for perishable food and for justice, and she doesn’t know what to do next. [More]
