Supermarket Scams

[smidsy]

We all know the supermarket chains have practices that border on scams, but today I saw it done blatantly and badly.
A supermarket, one of the big 2 had a brand of cheese slices with a mark down tag saying the product was marked down from $4.50 to $3.50.
I buy them regularly so I know the price is usually $3.50, but not only that, right next to the discount tag was the normal shelf label showing the price as $3.50.
Luckily for the chain concerned I'm still working out how to use a new mobile phone otherwise I would have taken a picture.

[kiwigeo]

We all know the supermarket chains have practices that border on scams, but today I saw it done blatantly and badly.
A supermarket, one of the big 2 had a brand of cheese slices with a mark down tag saying the product was marked down from $4.50 to $3.50.
I buy them regularly so I know the price is usually $3.50, but not only that, right next to the discount tag was the normal shelf label showing the price as $3.50.
Luckily for the chain concerned I'm still working out how to use a new mobile phone otherwise I would have taken a picture.

I think you'll find that with most "mark downs" the original price is the Recommended Retail Price not the actual price the item might have been selling at.

[smidsy]

I buy this stuff fairly regularly, I know for sure the usual price is $3.50, and the ticket very clearly said marked down from $4.50.
I'll make sure I can use my phone so I can take a pic next time.

[RoyG]

We all know the supermarket chains have practices that border on scams, but today I saw it done blatantly and badly.
A supermarket, one of the big 2 had a brand of cheese slices with a mark down tag saying the product was marked down from $4.50 to $3.50.
I buy them regularly so I know the price is usually $3.50, but not only that, right next to the discount tag was the normal shelf label showing the price as $3.50.
Luckily for the chain concerned I'm still working out how to use a new mobile phone otherwise I would have taken a picture.

I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that Supermarkets never scam customers when marking discounted prices - but, I think that in the large majority of instances, the Discounted Pricing Tags contain inadvertent errors, rather than deliberate attempts to scam the customer. As well as the Discount Tag errors, there are also often differences between the prices marked next to the items on the shelf, and the price that the item scans at when you take it to the checkout. Sometimes the errors are in the customer's favour. When the errors go against the Customer, regardless of which supermarket (or Big Box Store) I'm in, I make it a habit to report those pricing errors to the Duty Manager when I find them. I try to do it without being a "pain in the neck" for the Duty Manager.

One supermarket that I use regularly has a store policy that if the Checkout Price scans higher than the marked price (or the advertised price), then the item is free. The same "Free Item Policy" applies to errors on the pricing or discount tags that disadvantage the customer. That sort of policy certainly makes the business work hard to ensure that they price their stock correctly.

I was also told by a Manager at one of the big Supermarkets, that the definition of "Discount" is "a reduction of the normal selling price of the item in this store". Apparently that definition is embedded in Queensland Consumer Law, and is supposed to overcome the situation where a business runs a sale with items reduced from the Recommended Retail Price, rather than the correct way which is to reduce from that stores normal selling price.

That's my 10 cents worth.

Roy

[BobL]

I've done our grocery shopping for about the last 25 years and have seen plenty of "mistakes".

Several times I have seen , . . . "Was $X and now discounted to $Y" where Y>X.

Once when I pointed this out to a member of staff they said it was the other way around.
The second time they just said it was a mistake.

[RedShirtGuy]

Also, don't forget the "still $x.xx!!!!!!!!!!!OMGtotesAmazeballs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" price for something that has gone from XXXgms to a considerably lower XXXgms at the same RRP :((

Gotta love the per 100/gm/lt pricing stickers.


I also heard on the radio this arvo an ad for the "C**** Farmer of the Year Award" and instantly pictured some poor old codger bent over a tree stump with a "down down" foam hand/finger doing him a great physical injustice because he had no choice but to bow down to their INSANE and BANKRUPTING price demands because of....well....local duopolies and damn dirty greed.

(btw: I'm from an area where a certain chip manufacturer decided that the raw products they used weren't worth as much as they cost to produce and regularly, seemingly, have the producers blockading their plant over pay/fairness."

There's a little rule in buying from retail...no matter what the markdown, the sale price, or SLASH SLASH SLASH!!!...you're generally still buying above the company's wholesale purchase cost. Items NOT on sale are at heavily inflated prices and they damn well know it.

Hey...a profit is ok, if not natural, but don't please play us like idiots.

/rant

[Evanism]

Our local shops have one of the Evil Twins, but the little guys are doing an absolutely roaring trade.

People are sick of the duopolistic and predatory practices the big guys inflict on farmers, suppliers, transporters, local businesses and consumers.

There is a very distinct backlash against them here. The local guys provide huge range and interesting choices. We may need to go to 5 different small shops, delis and fruit dudes, but the product is first rate and the prices honest.

Personally, I hope Coles and Woolworths are both vaporised in the upcoming GFC MkII.

[rwbuild]

Our local shops have one of the Evil Twins, but the little guys are doing an absolutely roaring trade.

People are sick of the duopolistic and predatory practices the big guys inflict on farmers, suppliers, transporters, local businesses and consumers.

There is a very distinct backlash against them here. The local guys provide huge range and interesting choices. We may need to go to 5 different small shops, delis and fruit dudes, but the product is first rate and the prices honest.

Personally, I hope Coles and Woolworths are both vaporised in the upcoming GFC MkII.

.....and no money in the kitty for either political party this time to waste

[doug3030]

There is no risk of either of the "Big Two" supermarkets going broke.

My girlfriend keeps saving them from bankruptcy. She keeps seeing items reaching their use-by date marked down considerably and buying them. These are generally items that we never buy or use, but at the marked down price she just cannot help herself and she buys them and takes them home, where they clutter up the fridge or pantry until they are a month past their use-by date and then I throw them out.

While people have this mentality the big two supermarkets will never make a loss on any item they stock unless someone steals it.

Cheers

Doug

[smidsy]

A friend of mine shops online at one of the big 2 - she has very little sight so enlarging things on the pc monitor is much easier than trying to read labels in the supermarket.
She found she was getting a large proportion of stuff that was close to the use by date, seems they use the online system to get rid of the close to date stuff.
Legal yes but it still stinks.

[doug3030]

A friend of mine shops online at one of the big 2 - she has very little sight so enlarging things on the pc monitor is much easier than trying to read labels in the supermarket.
She found she was getting a large proportion of stuff that was close to the use by date, seems they use the online system to get rid of the close to date stuff.
Legal yes but it still stinks.

My step daughter's ex-boyfriend worked for a big supermarket with a short name doing home delivery for a couple of weeks. When he was doing his training, he came home one day carrying on about how clever they were by making sure that the home delivery customers always got all the old stock, particularly fruit and vegies that were past their best. The trainers had all the workers brainwashed into thinking that was a great idea.

It does not surprise me that they do this, but does it really make sense? How many people who have tried home delivery and trusted the company to deliver the good stuff for the premium price they pay, do not use the service any more? maybe rich lazy people deserve to be treated like that for not wanting to bother going to the shop to pick out their own groceries, but what about the elderly an disabled fro whom it could be an essential service?

Cheers

Doug

[Bob38S]

Doug, agree with what you say, but like most, you and I are coming from the position that we pay the price and that the company is there to service the client.

Unfortunately, at some stage in the past there has been a substantial shift in perspective - the company now views the client as being there for their benefit and that the company reserves the right to offer the client what will give the company the greatest return for the least outlay. Hence the product you like, have used for years, is probably Australian made etc has now disappeared from the shelves - possibly with an imported, tasteless replacement which we are expected to be thankful for.

I could go on but I'm sure you get the idea of my observations.

[tdrumnut]

We have a brand spanking new Woolworths recenly opened in our area and I cant believe what can only be described as instore advertising trickery that they use. The most blatant is the vege and fruit bins with 3 or 4 bins either side and a big sign in the middle with a price $3.98 kg on it glaring at you at eye level. This sign also has a barcode on it but no product label. At first glance the unsuspecting consumer thinks that all the product in the bins are $3.98 per kg but only one bin has a product at that price all the others are a lot dearer. Down at slightly above knee level are the actual product labels and prices but once you are standing at the bins picking out your items you cannot actually see those labels. The other day I asked a lady who was putting some tomatoes in a plastic bag how much they were and she promptly replied "$3.98 a kg love, I haven't seen them that price for a while", so I pointed to the price sign (in front of her down and well below her waste level) that she hadn't even seen and showed her the actual price of $7.98 per kg. She "you are f..ing joking" and threw them back on the pile bag and all.

[smidsy]

One thing I can't understand is that the big 2 claim they are not allowed to sell cigs through the express lane - means you have to que up twice, and two transactions on the card statement.
But every IGA have ever been to will sell cigs through the express lane so you can get everything in a single transaction.

[doug3030]

One thing I can't understand is that the big 2 claim they are not allowed to sell cigs through the express lane - means you have to que up twice, and two transactions on the card statement.
But every IGA have ever been to will sell cigs through the express lane so you can get everything in a single transaction.

Well the thing that REALLY $h!ts me is at the express lane at one of our local supermarkets, the express lane staff also work the service desk. You can be waiting your turn in the line and they keep disappearing over to the service desk to serve some dirty air-polluting smoke sucker that just walked up when you have been waiting patiently for 10 minutes. Why should they get preferential treatment over the grocery shoppers? I contacted their head office about it and they did not even bother to reply.

Cheers

Doug

[Bob38S]

One thing I can't understand is that the big 2 claim they are not allowed to sell cigs through the express lane - means you have to que up twice, and two transactions on the card statement.
But every IGA have ever been to will sell cigs through the express lane so you can get everything in a single transaction.

Was told similar years ago. Also told reason was that most of them "checkout chicks" , not my terminology, were under the age of 18 and therefore illegal to handle smokes. The big 2 also believe that they have foot in both camps healthy v's others as they are happy to sell smokes but you don't get your so called super dooper 4cents a Litre discount, bear in mind that the so called loyalty freebee is only good for 150L or $6.00. I'm sure any genuine price comparison check including IGA and ALDI would indicate that the big 2 have well and truly covered the cost of their so called "loyalty freebee".

The head shaking joke of it all is that you hear of people buying anything to ensure that they have the required $30.00 worth, even when only going in to get a loaf of bread and a 2L milk. I know it's a little different in the big smoke but in the scrub you often need to go a few k's to get to the required discount fuel going straight past other servo's. Yep, shopper discount fuel is a real winner - not IMHO.

[smidsy]

I dont bother the fuel discount crap anymore - where I live we have 2 Woolworths but no Woolworths servo, there's a coles servo not far away but the nearest Coles store is 30k away.
But I went through the palaver of scanning my Woolies card every time I shopped and when I went to a Woolies servo I was passing they said there was nothing on the card.
I get my fuel at a local Freedom outlet, comparible prices to begin with and 4 cents off if you pump more than 40 litres which with a Falcon I do.

As for your comment Doug, thats just crap management by the staff, they should serve in order of arrival regardless of which que the person is in - but I get the opposite at the IGA, stand in the express line with groceries and wanting smokes and watch someone that wants just smokes stand at the outside counter and jump the que.

[smidsy]

Well Woolworths are full of .
When I started this thread I put in a complaint to Woolworths about this, got some manager on the phone telling me it was a mistake and he had spoken to the store blah blah blah.
Well I was in that store today and the tag is still up. As it happens I forgot a couple of things so when I go back I am taking a digital camera (they may kick me out for taking a pic but at 6'1 and 150kg they won't get the camera off me) and will put in a formal complaint to comsumer protection.

[bsrlee]

Around my part of the world, you can tell when there is going to be an advertised special on an item the next advertising cycle as it isn't restocked before the sale - result, it is 'sold out' immediately if not before the sale, and then no more are put out until the sale is over.

Another peeve is filling bins with stock different to what is labelled on the bin, usually with more expensive stock. Or filling all the (usually freezer) bins with one low grade item when there are supposed to be several different items - they have them out the back in storage if you complain loudly enough.

I have seen 'manager' types going around the store removing current 'special' price tags from fully stocked displays - not sure what the reasoning behind that one is, maybe he has decided to resign and is getting a bit of pay-back?

Another 'management' weirdness that has recently become fashionable is turning off most of the self-serve checkouts so there are long queues - one or maybe two live operators processing several big trolleys and 10-20 people queued up at the self serve while more than half the self serve terminals are barricaded off but fully functional.

Better take my pills now.............

[smidsy]

Supercheap was exactly like that.
I went in on their boxing day 40% off sale wanting a karcher accessory - I went to 3 supercheaps and they all had lots of empty shelves, mainly on big ticket or name brand stuff.

[Mobyturns]

I think many informed consumers are aware of the retail selling tricks retailers use but unfortunately they are generally not illegal, immoral perhaps but not illegal.

Have a read of section 4 of - http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/the_acl/downloads/sales_practices_guide_dec_2011.pdf - a summary of Australian Consumer Law.

"The ‘displayed price’ is a price:> attached to or on:– the goods– anything connected or used with the goods– anything used to display the goods."

Regardless of what store staff say if there is a price tag displayed anywhere that can be construed to be associated with a product (i.e. over stock displayed in bins) they must sell it for the "lowest displayed price." It is an offence not to but the fines are a paltry $5000. Not having a product code on a "displayed price" reasonably construed to be associated with a product then refusing to sell for the lowest displayed price on the grounds the "displayed price" does not have a product code is most likely a breach of ACL.

The fine print however is - "A price is not a ‘displayed price’ when it is:> entirely obscured by another price." i.e. a sale sticker placed over the previously displayed price. Now if the "discounted price" is above a previously displayed "normal price" then it is most likely a breach of consumer legislation and should be reported.

"A supplier who displays the same item with more than one price – ‘multiple pricing’ – must sell it for the lowest displayed price or withdraw the goods from sale until the price is corrected." A consumer who reasonably believes an item has "multiple pricing" with "displayed prices" would be well advised to push the matter and demand the lower "displayed price."

Many of the examples cited border on the misleading or deceptive conduct category, but many large retailers have legal teams that test the limits of legislation. I would like to see the practice of removing low margin or high priced stock from "display" into store or warehouse prior to a sale investigated & tested in a court. However I cannot blame a retailer for not wanting to loose money on low margin stock.

http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/the_acl/downloads/acl_guide_to_provisions_november_2010.pdf is also worth a read for those who are interested.

If sufficient informed customers make complaints about "deceptive" pricing to the Office of Fair Trading etc in your state then a general trend of pricing and "deception" may appear.

A couple of years back I took on a major brand electronics retailer and won however the win was rather hollow. The chain of stores advertised a software product at a very significant discount, however they had no available stock and attempted to sell me a similar version (read identical imo) much higher priced which was packaged and marketed differently. The sale item included the software on media, ironically the higher priced version was an online download code essentially. I asked to see the store floor manager and discussed the matter calmly and asked what their normal stock holding was for the sale priced item, - one item; for the other similar item - 80+ units; was the sale item still shown as "in stock" - yes. My request was I will wait while you find the advertised sale stock item thank you. They could not find it - surprise surprise. The store manager then involved herself into the conversation and again confirmed their stock holding of both items etc. She then accused and embarrassed staff of having a "boy look" in front of other customers and staff (potentially a breach of bulling & discrimination laws). Still they could or would not produce the advertised sale item. Both managers however attempted to "up sell" me to the higher priced item - a very clear cut case of bait advertising. The retailer never intended to "stock sufficient retail quantities" for the sale priced item - their intention was always to "up sell" the customer to the higher priced and very high margin stock line. Very coincidental that they just happened by chance to have very large quantities of the high margin non sale item and well above their normal stock holding levels.

[BobL]

Another 'management' weirdness that has recently become fashionable is turning off most of the self-serve checkouts so there are long queues - one or maybe two live operators processing several big trolleys and 10-20 people queued up at the self serve while more than half the self serve terminals are barricaded off but fully functional.

Our local Bunnings does not even activate the self serve terminals until a couple of hours after the store opens and then turns them off at 5pm. When I asked why the bloke on the checkout said they didn't have the staff or the call for them ay this time. While he was saying this I pointed to the dozen or so customers queuing for the 2 checkouts that were open and the two extra staff standing around chatting in the returns area.

The local IGA are in stiff competition with Coles in the same shopping centre and recently advertise a policy of opening up a checkout if there are more than two customers queuing behind any one checkouts. It's not 100% adhered to but pretty close. I reckon stores could get more customers if they competed with this sort of a service policy. Being retired I've started doing the grocery shop around 9am on a monday so I'm in and our in a flash and I get to the freshest produce at the small greengrocer in the same shopping centre.

The closest servo I used to go to is a Shell (1.5km away on a major road) but it has only 2 diesel outlets (out of 12 pumps) and unless I went out of regular hours there were always queues for the 2 diesels pumps, sometimes out onto the road. The queue's got so long I started going to a Puma (which is 1-2c cheaper than Shell) about 3 km away and they have diesel outlets on all of their 8 pumps. Four km the other way there's a Big Puma servo and they have a diesel outlet on every one of their 20 pumps. Puma also take IGA fuel vouchers.

I guess what I'm saying is is not just price that attracts people to a store. Convenience is a big selling point that seems to be largely ignored.

BTW I used to laugh at fuel vouchers until I did the sums over a year.
2 vehicles, one is filled every week and the other about every second week = ~55L x 1.5 x 52 *0.04 = $172.

[Sturdee]

BTW I used to laugh at fuel vouchers until I did the sums over a year.
2 vehicles, one is filled every week and the other about every second week = ~55L x 1.5 x 52 *0.04 = $172.


I still do as the nearest Shell is about 3 ks further away from my local servo and the Shell is usually 2 c dearer without a docket. As I use about 30 litres a week the savings deon't add up after allowing for further travel.

Peter.

[Big Shed]

Here in Bendigo the local APCO is usually close to the same price as Shell/Coles with a docket, eg APCO LPG 53.3 Shell/Coles and Woolworths 55.9, so essentially the 4c fuel docket is worth 1.4c/l:roll:

On diesel quite often the APCO is cheaper than Shell/Coles and Woolworths with a 4c docket.

[smidsy]

I don't bother with fuel vouchers, where I live we have a coles servo down the road but the nearest coles supermarket is 30k away.
We have a woolies but the nearest woolies servo is 30k away, after diligantly scanning my woolworths card every time I shopped I went in a woolies servo I happened to be passing and was told there was nothing on the card - I no longer scan the card when I shop, I figure it's just a scam to track my shopping.
We have a local servo that offers 4 cents off if you pump more than 40 litres and their price is always good before the discount.

As for the IGA, as someone commented, their service is great - I don't know if its official policy but every time I'm there they open another checkout when the queues gets long.

[AlexS]

Our local IGA is pretty good, and it has supported a small local supplier just getting started. However, they are being turfed out in favour of Aldi, which will give us 3 Aldis within 6km, despite a petition to the centre management and local council. Clearly, Aldi are just trying to remove the competition. I never have and never will buy anything from Aldi, and most people here feel the same, so they will go to other centres and the other small shops in our centre will go out of business.

[smidsy]

I agree, we have an aldi here and it's crap.
The customer service is , they claim to be cheaper because of things like bagging your own stuff but they don't seem much cheaper to me, and they have no supply continuity so you can buy a certain brand for a year and then find they don't have it anymore.

[Master Splinter]

I like how the two big chains have deleted many of their cheap generic lines, instead introducing their "Woolworths Select" and "Coles Finest" at price points just a few cents cheaper than standard branded items...which explains why the majority of my shopping is done at Aldi. Not to mention the annoying 'specials' that only apply if you buy multiples of the item in question.

And I quite like my $2 a bottle Aldi red wine!

I always treat the Aldi checkouts as a race - if I can get my stuff loaded back into my trolley and essentially be waiting on them to print the receipt, I 'win' and I can go and treat myself to a coffee and a donut. Woolies can keep their $6 petrol offer, as I save at least five times that by shopping at Aldi.

You must have different IGA's than the ones here - everything but their specials seems to be about 30% more in price, and their 'fresh produce' always seems to be right on the floppy and limp end of its lifespan.