Sunday, February 26, 2012

Fraud at Trader Joes!

I know that this is the kind of nerdy social injustice I should get worked up about, but there is too much math involved for me to care.

"Three weeks ago I was at Trader Joe's on Mass. Ave. and needed jelly.  They
had various flavors but what caught my eye was the $2.52/lb unit pricing
for the Concord grape jelly.  That was much better than for the apricot or
strawberry or whatever.  However, on closer inspection, I noticed that the
jar was not the full 19 oz jar specified by the label.  Being that type of
guy, I did a quick estimate and realized that there must have been a
substitution at some point of 17 oz jars for the 19 oz jars, but no one had
bothered to update the unit pricing on the sticker.  (At $2.99/jar, the
unit pricing should have been $2.81/lb.)

I asked a floor clerk about this, we determined that indeed the labels had
old information, she spoke with a manager and she assured me that they
would be fixed.  "Thank you, yes, we want to have proper labels."

A week later I visited the store and the labels had not changed.  This time
I asked the manager up front to get a magic marker and walk with me to the
jelly section.  We reviewed the situation and I thought the matter would be
resolved.

Another week goes by and the label still has not changed.  My faith (?) in
Trader Joe's is drooping but still I want to believe.  I review the
situation with a different manager-in-charge up front who promises to print
up a new label immediately.

Today I'm low on milk and they have a great price, so why not get some
exercise and bike over to check on the label?  At first my worst suspicions
are confirmed because the unit pricing is not set to $2.81/lb, it's $2.34.
But then I notice that the price has been marked to $2.49/jar, a reduction
from last week's $2.99.  I smiled.

I'm not upset for paying more before because that price was posted and it
was my decision to buy.  But I was gratified to see that a change had been
made and that instead of up, up, up, the pricing could drop to be more
competitive.

As for unit pricing in the rest of the store, you'll have to check that for
yourself!"

NAME REDACTED

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