Grocery Watch

[Richard]

With all the watch's we have, I thought we should have a local grocery watch, post your items here that you have a problem getting in Jamestown, why is it that if you dont do your shopping early, THERE IS NEVER ANY WHOLEMEAL BREAD?

[Luke]

Great stuff Richard, what about small goods, and fresh seafood.

[Ray]

I dunno if the new Foodland store will stock sea food, but I'm sure we will see a vast improvement in the number of food lines available, and probably also more of the popular lines. After all it only stands to reason that with more than twice the shelf space there will be a greater number of lines able to be displayed. They've gotta fill them with something

As for freezer space I believe that there will be over 40 upright freezer units, so there is hope for some seafood yet.

Plus I'm sure that they will increase the stock of items that have a high demand, I'm sure that they would have more wholemeal bread if the demand warranted it and they have the room to store and display it.

I live in hope. This new store has big expectations to fill I think.

[Susie]

Just a comparison of Grocery prices for all to think about.  I know it is not a basic necessity, but it is sometimes nice to splash out.

Went shopping the other day for one of those packets of Nescafe premixed coffee/lattee sachets.     Big difference in price between shops.   Large shop - Hazelnut Latte $4.50;  Small shop - Irish Cream Latte  $6.30.  Same brand, different flavour,  big price difference of $1.80!!  New supermarket open soon. 

[Ray]

Hi Susie,

Yes, this is often the case, however both shops have good specials from time to time. Where we are really lucky is that between the two main grocery shops in Jamestown there is not a lot that can't be bought on Special most weeks. It is for this reason that the Boss can't wait to get our weekly "junk mail" so she can make her comparisons. With careful buying, and bulk purchases of specials we manage to save a considerable amount. So much so, that we occasionally "bust out" and buy a few luxuries that we normally would not. So the shops get our money whichever way it goes I guess

What really opened my eyes was when the boss pointed out to me the stupidity of some who still believe that they can save money by travelling to Port Pirie to do their grocery shopping. On virtually everything that we buy regularly, Jamestown prices are considerably cheaper than Woollies and Coles.  For example, just look at the prices for Bread and Milk, two staples that virtually everyone buys several times a week.

Last week we had other business in Port Pirie (Vehicle registration) and went shopping afterwards, virtually everything we bought was purchased purely because it is unavailable here, and hopefully with our new larger supermarket that problem will also be solved.

Between our Shopping and Medical service we have the basis for a really great regional centre.

[Richard]

Streuth! the dollar must have took a plunge over Christmas, I purchased a 1 kg bag of prawn tails for $16 and so many cents pre Christmas day, and they were OK, so I went back to get another bag post Christmas day - $26 and some cents, FAIR CRACK OF THE WHIP!

[Ray]

I must have been lucky, I have purchased three bags of them in the last few weeks while they have been on special(Global Brand).

Yep,... so far the first bag has been beautiful. They were an excellent special as you can't buy them anywhere else that I know for that price.

I'm just pleased that they bought them out on special for Christmas. I haven't had prawns for years as they are normally far too expensive for what they are.

[Richard]

I have noticed whilst doing the monthly shopping that most people I have a yarn with at the supermarket are all discussing the obvious rises in prices of shelf products, I also like lifting the tags highlighting a particular product and sometimes finding the normal price is just the same. I particularly enjoy the quality of fruit and veg - no taste, battered and bruised, who does the buying for the supermarket? Have they got taste buds? or are they just given stuff thats not good enough for export?, and when will the supermarkets here start UNIT PRICING like they do in Pt Pirie. When grapes are picked they do not ripen any further - what is sprayed on them in U.S.A. prior to shipping to Australia? Why is it that the price on my docket does not match the price of the ticket on the shelf?

[Ray]

Yes,.. my wife has noticed that she has regularly had to point out to the checkout staff that certain items are on special.  The prices having usually been changed on the shelf but not on the registers. Last week it was lettuces, before that, tea bags and cashew nuts.... there have been others. This is NOT an isolated incident and happens virtually every week with one or more items.

It would seem that the left hand is not being made aware of what the right hand is doing, there's an obvious flaw in the system somewhere.

Maybe we need the policy where if an item is wrongly charged, we get it free, such as is the case at the Clovercrest Foodland in Modbury.

A large sign clearly states that "All items incorrectly marked or charged are free",....

[Ray]

Well, it appears that incorrect pricing/charging can work two ways.

This morning after The Little Woman returned from her shopping expedition she did as usual and checked the prices she was charged.

Lo and behold!,... an error, and quite a significant one at that.

The barcode scanner would not recognise the code, so the lass on the checkout had to enter the price by hand. In her defence, it was quite busy and she was relatively new to the job. In the event, what happened was that she inadvertently charged us the Unit Price per 100gms, which was a trifle over $6.00, however the chicken was over 2Kgs, and so diddled Foodland out of over $6.10.

TLW is at present returning to Foodland to make up the difference.

If we whinge at being overcharged it is only correct that we are equally vigilant and honest when it goes the other way.

[Ray]

About a fortnight or so ago, I was told of another minor grizzle by a single working Mum who works long hours, leaving Jamestown before 08:00am and returning late

Each week we receive a brochure containing the next weeks Specials,  clearly stating across the bottom that the special prices are on offer from the Monday to the following Sunday or until stocks run out.



So,…  as a working mum she endeavours to get in early prior to leaving for work, to avoid missing out on good specials, however it appears that the items advertised as going on special for that week do not arrive in Jamestown prior to the sale commencing,… sometimes not until the following Wednesday,  meaning that the item is only actually available at the Special price for a few days rather than the week as advertised.

This may not be a terrible inconvenience to persons who are able to shop at their leisure, but to people with limited access it is a great disadvantage especially with items where the amount on offer is limited.

The question was raised, “Why do they not get items advertised for the next weeks Specials, prior to the week commencing" thereby allowing customers the benefit of the full week’s offer as they do in other stores around the State?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She also raised the old bugbear of only very small numbers of certain varieties of bread being put out at any time meaning that customers have to chase around and find a staff member willing to go out to the store room an get more if it is available.

[utegirl70]

I usually don't shop until Friday. So by the time I get in there (also a Foodland here down South) most of the specials are well and truly gone.

Has the single mum in question thought about asking for the particular items to be put on 'raincheck'? It's the least they could do, seeing as though there's such a small time frame.

[Ray]

I know that it is a long time since anything was posted in this thread, but I will continue here in an effort to keep all our (my) "grocery whinges" in the same thread.

Over the last 12 -18 months TLW has been checking the prices on her receipts against the most recent brochures. It would appear that someone is not doing a very good job with  keying in the discounted prices into the system at one of our local supermarkets. Hardly a week goes by when she does not have to either get the checkout lady to either alter the price of articles listed as specials, but not altered on the cash register, or return to the store to have the difference reimbursed.

Now, one might say, "why doesn't she check the prices as they are being checked off", well it's not always convenient, and also with the scanner they go through a lot faster than one could refer to a brochure for the new prices, and to be honest, TLW finds it embarrassing to have to do this.

Last week she'd finally had enough with four items overcharged on Monday when she took the receipt back and had the difference reimbursed. On the following Friday, she bought some of the same items, and thinking that the problem would have been rectified, never checked until she got home, only to find that the error still had not been corrected, (this is not the first time)  meaning that every customer purchasing that product had been overcharged all week. I have no doubt it would ammount to a tidy sum.

So after cooling down somewhat she rang the store and asked to speak with the Manager, he was temporarily unavailable but would ring back. He did ring back, but we were out, sooooo,...TLW rang again,... he was at the Bank.  Although she had cooled off on the subject TLW felt that having gone this far she is now obliged to see it through and will speak to the Manager about the matter, as it is happening both regularly, and it is not being corrected once pointed out, something needs to be done.

It was during the conversation with the lady at the store that she was also informed, that she had also been shortchanged, in that items priced incorrectly should have the full purchase price refunded,(something else we had never been made aware of), not just the difference.

It's a pity we don't get more feedback on this forum as I know we have quite a few readers that do not comment, I would like to hear if others are experiencing the same problems.

[utegirl70]

Well, I can't speak for the actual Jamestown store, seeing we don't live there. But if it's who I think it is(don't have to be a genius here!), then it seems like a state wide thing.

I shop at the Foodland/IGA over in Seaford, and just this morning, I had to get the girl to correct the price on the "Special" marked Cauliflowers. She put it through at the full price. She asked the front controller of the code, and it STILL came up as being full price. Obviously they are not changing the codes. Now this is SATURDAY! A whole week since the special started. Can you imagine how many people have bought that particular produce at full price, and have not realised?

I don't have time to stand and go through my docket whilst still at the supermarket. I do it when I am home. And it is more often than not that I have to ring the store, and inform them of some discrepancy.
We live a fair way from the store, so I have to take my docket back the following week to be reimbursed.

It's a pain in the bum, and yes... you are legally entitled to a full refund of the full purchase price. But they don't advertise this.

[Ray]

Hmmm,... interesting.

I would find it almost impossible to believe that Foodland would be doing this as a matter of policy, but I do feel that someone is not doing their job, as Foodland must know what specials are going to be available at least a week or more prior to them being on sale as they have to provide all the info to the people who print their brochures.

I think that it would not be all that hard to let the stores know in advance so that they have plenty of time to amend their price lists and they could easily make it available on the advertised start date.