I had ordered groceries online, yesterday, and, today, Friday, I went to pick them up. I had selected a morning pick up time because, the last two pick ups were done around 6:00 p.m. and both times, items had been missing and I've had to go back for them. I figured that 6:00 p.m. on a weekday, especially on a Friday, must be a very busy time at the store.
Usually, I receive a text if an item I ordered is missing and they offer a substitute for me to approve. I have the option of accepting or declining the substitution and, if there is a price difference, the store charges me whatever is the cheaper price, even if the substituted item costs more (which it usually does because I tend to pick the lowest cost items!) This time, there was no "we are out of an item you ordered" text, just a reminder to pick up the groceries during the appointed time slot.
Therefore, I was surprised when I got to the parking lot and Jennifer (my favorite pick up service person) told me that they only had one can of soup instead of the two I had ordered and that was what they gave me. For some reason, they had not substituted another can of soup, even though, on my order, I had OK'd substitutions. My fault for not specifying which flavor of soup they could substitute, I suppose. I shall know to do so the next time. Unless they were all out of the chunky soups? Surely not?
Not a big deal, I suppose, except, that second can of soup was the one that qualified me for the "buy 5 get $1 off each item" deal, which would have enabled me to get the peanut butter at $1.99 per jar, instead of at $2.99 a jar! I asked Jennifer if they charged me the full price for the peanut butter, but, she was not able to access the receipt, she said. They no longer give a printed receipt, but, rather, it is emailed to me She told me to go home and check the receipt and if there was a discrepancy, to call her.
So, I came home and checked the receipt (my phone is slow and the email was received on the way home; next time, I shall wait in the parking lot until I get the receipt!) Of course the receipt showed that I had been charged the full price for the three jars of peanut butter and the one can of soup. I had to call the store four times to get through to Jennifer - the first time, they connected me to the service deli, the second time to the bakery, the third time they forwarded the call to the pick up team but, I guess Jennifer was the only one there, today, and she had gone to lunch, because the phone just rang and rang and no one picked it up! I waited for at least 10 minutes before I hung up. Then, I called back, later, and spoke with Jennifer. She said I could try to get a refund through the app or she'll give me a $10 discount the next time I shop. Well, I figured the app would say I only bought 4 items and not the qualifying 5 items, so I opted for the future discount! We shall see if I actually get it on the next trip (the discount that Ricky promised wasn't given; probably because he wasn't there, today).
Jennifer asked by how much was I over charged and I said $4 ($1 per item) and she laughed, but, you know, $4 is $4! I could have bought two more bars of chocolates for those $4! LOL.
But, honestly, I'm turning into a bit of a drama queen when it comes to my grocery shopping adventures, am I not?
Here's what I bought:
1 can (18.8 oz) chunky chicken pot pie soup (would have been $1.29) = $2.29
3 jars (16 oz.) peanut butter @ $2.99 (would have been $1.99@) = $8.97
1 cucumber = $0.79
1 iceberg lettuce = $1.99
2 bananas = $0.60
3 containers (2.62 oz.@) mustard seeds, $1.99@ = $5.98
3.52 lb. chicken thighs, @$0.99/lb. = $3.48
1 bag (20 oz.) frozen pork and vegetable dumplings (gyoza/potstickers) = $5.99
1/2 gal. milk = $2.39
1 loaf sandwich bread = $1.79
5 lb. bag all purpose flour (with $.55 off coupon) = $2.64
1 ice cream, 48 fl. oz. (French vanilla) = $4.50
(a cheaper brand, for which there was a coupon, was for delivery only)
2 bars chocolate $2.00@ (reg. price $3.39@) = $4.00
1 container (20 oz) chocolate milk powder mix = $6.49
3 bags (12 oz.) ground coffee $6.99@ with digital coupon = $20.97
The total adds up to $72.87, but, I had a store coupon for $5 off $70 spent in one transaction (which somewhat made up for having bought the peanut butter and can of soup at full price).
So, my total came to $67.87, of which, $46.90 were for my groceries and $20.97 was for daughter's coffee.
My July grocery budget is $100 (+ $64.38 carried over from May) = $164.38
Spent to date = $45.26 (on July 13) + $67.87 = $113.13
Carrying forward to August = $164.38 - $113.13 = $51.25
The August grocery budget will also be $100 plus $51.25 carried over.
If I don't take daughter's coffee into account, then, I stayed under my $100 July budget. I'm glad I was able to buy her coffee when it was on sale, though.
I am grateful for:
- Being able to order groceries online
- Being able to pick up groceries free of charge
- Being able to absorb extra costs when they occur for whatever reason
- The availability of groceries
- Lessons learned
How is your July grocery shopping coming along? Are you able to stay within budget?
Tune in next month for more grocery shopping drama with Bless! LOL!
You are so good at budgeting! You inspire me to budget. I agree, $4 is a lot. I'd get upset over a $1! And one omission like the one can, does set off prices and I'm sure it would be impossible to fix that on the app. Sometimes it's hard to find a store worker that understands what happened. Once we had a store in our area, that would double back to you any mistake they made. Once they mischarged me on a chicken, so they gave me back double the price. Customer service is so important. andrea
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea. I wouldn't be able to explain the fact that I ordered 5 items to qualify for a sale and received only 4 items because the store didn't have the 5th item and didn't offer a substitute, and therefore, I didn't qualify to get the sale price! I'm still not shopping in person, otherwise I would have substituted something else to qualify for the sale. The only other alternative I can think of is to go to the store, return the 4 items and then, rebuy 5 items to get the discount. Not sure if I want to do that, though. I think there was a store here that used to give the item free if they overcharged you, but, that was a long time ago.
DeleteI totally get it. That's part of why I like to do my own shopping. I am very exact, like you. I think a lot of businesses are taking advantage of people these days, especially seniors. I have caught people skimming and reported it. It's becoming acceptable. Flights are being overbooked, claims on travel insurance denied, etc. You have to be like a reporter of detective and prove your case. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. Yes, I am wondering if it is time for me to get back to doing my own grocery shopping, again. Maybe if I go really, really early in the morning I can get in and out before it gets crowded. On the other hand, I don't want to compromise my health over a few dollars, either, you know?
DeleteThe thing is, if there is a discount when you buy x amount of items, even though I will use all the things I buy, I wouldn't have bought them if I wasn't getting the discount! $4 is a lot. As you say, you could have bought something else with that money! Having worked in a store, I know that if someone says something about an issue, they are more likely to fix a workaround for that issue. If no-one says anything nothing changes!
ReplyDeleteExactly, Sharon. I was tempted to leave a "dissatisfied" rating on their survey, but, I decided to wait and see what happens on my next visit. If I get a discount, then, I'll be happy. If not, I'll give them a poor rating (not that I expect that to make much of a difference!) :D
DeleteBless you're not a drama queen That has happened to me on a meal deal, they substituted one item that wasn't in the deal so I ended up paying full price for the whole five items, I was not happy. Nor should you be and 4 dollars is four dollars and as you say you could have bought something else with that. Make sure you ask for Jennifer next pick up and remind her about the discount you are owed, yes it is owed to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. My "savvy shopper" ego feels deflated, right now. I would have just bought the store brand peanut butter if I had known I'd have to pay full price. Oh, well, things could have been worse, I suppose. But, yes, I shall make sure that Jennifer will be there when I next pick up the groceries, and remind her about the discount! :D
DeleteFat Dormouse here! It's good that Jennifer is pleasant & understanding, even if she can't help you out with receipts & things. Here in France customer service isn't great, and I have found things passed through twice occasionally on my till receipt. And often, in the big supermarkets, they won't refund the money, but give store credit instead. That annoys me - although I'm not sure why, as I would be spending that refunded money in the store when I next do my shopping!
ReplyDeleteHi FD! Yes, Jennifer is a really nice person and she has given me discounts and gone out of her way on previous occasions. I obliged her once, when she was just starting out on the job, by not checking in to say I've arrived to pick up the groceries until she had finished with another customer who was giving her a hard time about a wrong order. Apparently, the store staff have 10 minutes after a customer checks in to get their grocery order out to the car. So, I waited until J was done with the other client to check in and told her to take it easy. Ever since then, she says I'm her favorite customer! :D
DeleteI think I'd be OK with store credit.
The whole situation sounds so annoying. Stores aren't very crowded late at night. Since you're a night owl, maybe you could do some late night grocery shopping.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit annoying, June, although the actual dollar amount wasn't that big. It's just a cumulative effect, I suppose, with the missing vinegar and soda on the last shopping trip and the missing loaf of bread on the one before that, and now not qualifying for the sale price on the peanut butter. I've a sneaky suspicion that it was just the store's way of getting out of the buy 5/get $5 off deal with customers who don't shop in person. After all, had I been shopping in person and seen that the 5th qualifying item of choice was not available, I might have bought another jar of p.b. to make up the difference! Or, picked up a different qualifying item.
DeleteI don't feel safe shopping at night, especially in my neighborhood. I also rarely drive at night, these days. I get my errands done during the day time hours and stay in after sunset!
Hah! All rather taxing for a lazy Saturday, but if I have done my maths right, it seems that, had they done everything correctly as per your original order, you would still just about have qualified for the $5 discount, as you would have paid slightly over $70. I suppose that, if you had negotiated the app and managed to get those offer items refunded/the price amended, you would have lost the $5 discount in the process so you would have shot yourself in the foot. Hopefully you will get the additional $10 next time and so be properly compensated for both the overspend and the hassle! I am surprised these promised discounts are not logged into the system so that they can be applied automatically, regardless of which member of staff is on duty. As for laughing over the $4, you have to ask yourself whether the store would have let you off if you had got to the checkout and found yourself $4 short. Of course not! So it has to work both ways. I have sometimes wondered whether it is worth getting these kinds of errors rectified, and I usually do. Large companies should not profit from errors (or little scams, as I sometimes suspect) at the expense of customers, so IMO customers should not be ashamed to speak up.
ReplyDeleteYes, Lady Ella, you are right, if I had got my groceries as ordered, my total would have come to $70.16 and I would have just squeaked through to qualify for the $5 off $70 discount! :D I put a lot of consideration into my grocery shopping orders!
DeleteI think that not giving me a substitution on that 5th qualifying item was the store's way of wriggling out of giving me that discount, too. As I mentioned in my response above to Live and Learn's comment, if I had been shopping in person, I would have substituted another qualifying item to make 5 items, if they only had that 1 can of soup. But, because I was ordering pick up and the store decided not to offer me a substitute, they were able to charge me the full price for the other 4 items. I know their tricks - they have teams of professionals whose job it is to get maximum profits for the grocery companies. They lose money when customers like me order online because we carefully plan our purchases and they lose out on the impulse buying that many of us do when we are in the store and see a good deal or something tempting. I try to stay one step ahead of them, but, as I told my daughter, you win some and you lose some, and this time, my "savvy shopper" persona lost! But, IF I get my promised $10 discount, then, I would have won! We shall see!
You absolutely have to fight for every penny! Four dollars is four dollars and these days it makes a difference! I always feel it's a battle against the supermarkets, and the odds in their favour and you have to do all you can to get anywhere. Well done you on standing up for yourself on this! I suspect that the supermarkets rely on people not checking their reciepts and not wanting to make a fuss.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyssa. I feel hampered by the fact that I am not shopping in person. If I had shopped in person, I would have substituted something else for the missing 5th item to qualify for the discount. Anyway, we shall see if I actually get the discount or not. You can't have a $100 per month grocery budget without making each dollar count!
DeleteSuch confusion. And no you are not a drama queen the situation is causing the drama not you.
ReplyDelete$4 is $4 and it's your $4 and I would have done the same but of course you probably knew that lol
$1.99 is a great sale price for peanut butter as it's gotten so expensive.
Your flour price was good with that .55 taken off. And your chicken price too was super at .99
Throw some of that chocolate powder into your next batch of banana ice cream ;)
I wouldn't have minded it so much if I didn't suspect that this was the store's way of getting around giving me the discount on the peanut butter, etc. (I had to pay $2.99 per jar, as opposed to $1.99) because I now had only 4 items as opposed to the 5 items I needed to qualify for the $1 off on each item. They did not send me the usual text saying they were out of one item I had ordered and would I like a substitution. However, this week, they have offered me a coupon for 1 free roasted nut product and I was planning on getting a jar of their roasted peanuts, which is $3.49, regularly. I am, apparently, a "best customer"! Who knew?!
DeleteThe flour price was good, wasn't it?
Ooh, that chocolate banana nice cream sounds good!