Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Bait and Switch?

I've been trying to avoid Pick-n-Save. (Sorry, Cassie.) Every time I go into the store to pick up their loss leaders, the good deals are already sold out. The last time I was in the store to buy one of their sale items, I couldn't find it. When I asked the meat manager, he told me that it was too late in the week and they were sold out. No, I couldn't get rainchecks. No, they wouldn't be getting more product delivered until after the sale was over.

So this week I showed up early in the week -- early morning on day 3 of an 8-day sale. Nearly everything on my list was sold out already. Are all Pick-n-Saves like this? It's almost like they're bribing me into the store with a few items priced affordably. But then those items aren't available. I figured the sale price on ham this week was worth the frustration of entering the doors of the dreaded Pick-n-Save. But as I wandered the aisles, looking for non-wasteful items to rack up my $25-purchase requirement (to earn the right to buy the ham at sale price) I was getting pretty perturbed with how all their loss leaders had sold out in only two days. And since Pick-n-Save's SALE prices are the same or higher than Aldi and Woodmans, I sure ain't gonna pay full price for groceries there!

8 comments:

  1. I shop at the Pick N Save in West Allis and they usually always have what is on sale...unless it is the last day, but rarely does that happen. Same with the store in Oak Creek. It might just be that store. That would tick me off!

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  2. I had the same trouble in both Racine and in South Milwaukee over the years.

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  3. Bought the ham Sunday morning (first day of the sale), right after church, at the Pick-n-Save in Sturgeon Bay. Had my choice of three. They weren't exactly overstocked, were they?

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  4. THREE? I saw two today at our Pick-n-Save, but there might have been a couple more buried further down underneath the pricier hams, of which there were plenty. I attributed the "two" to being the third day of the sale and other people getting there first. But only three on the first morning of the sale? That's just not right.

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  5. Ever been to the PnS in Menomonee Falls? They never seem to be short on anything - although I admit I haven't bought a ham in a while, I don't usually see "holes" anywhere. In fact, I usually finds things NOT on my list that are on sale and I buy and don't need!

    Of course now that I brag, you are going to go there and they will be out of what you want!!

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  6. Usually when I drive THAT far, Lisa, I go to Aldi or Walmart. (And to think "THAT far" is only half the distance I drove for groceries at the last house!) You don't want me messin' with your PnS ... Murphy's Law would mean that you will then start having items disappear off your shelves, and I don't want to do that to you.

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  7. Susan, I no longer really care about PNS, now that I don't work there, my devotion to them is gone. They have higher prices a lot of times and customer service isn't the greatest. Their best thing going for them is convenience.

    :) I am a much happier shopper now that I don't feel the loyalty thing anymore, I can buy my food wherever I want... I am definitely taking advantage of that now that I am staying at home. :)

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  8. Oh and just a quick comment about the out of stock stuff... Most stores have people in the store that are supposed to be ordering based on what the people in the area normally buy. Some of those people with that job are not very good at it, that's why you tend to have some stores with no out of stock issues and others with many. The other reason for a lot of out of stock issues is that some stores just are generally busier than others because they are in a good location or are better/newer than other nearby PNS. The out of stocks is one thing that they do have problems with in some stores... one thing you could do is call the customer care number and complain. They do look at the "numbers" on how many phone calls they get on certain types of issues. Who knows, if you call enough they might start looking at that issue. A lot of people don't want to take the time to call, but that's really how anything ever gets looked at, someone calls with the complaint. Squeaky wheel gets the oil... right?

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