WOW! is right! If a picture is worth a thousand words, I think that’s all we need to see. But if you wish to see some of the other ways in which Price Chopper discriminates against smaller cities… keep reading! (And yes, to be fair, I also have a “rave” about the Chopper too.)
OK, so here’s the background: I work in Syracuse and I live in a suburb several miles to the east. In fact, my commute is just a one-exit hop down the Thruway. I happened to be working a rare Sunday morning shift, so I picked up the Syracuse Post-Standard, and started looking through the ad circulars. For years, I’ve preferred to shop at Price Chopper (even though it’s farther from my house than P&C and Wal-Mart).
Well, as you can tell, the above-featured deal on Pepsi caught my eye. 5 packs for just 10 bucks! I haven’t seen a deal like that in awhile. Since I had worked overnight though, I went home and slept for awhile, then finally meandered out to the Price Chopper in Oneida late Sunday evening.
When I walked in, my first stop was the Pepsi display since it was pretty close to the entrance. I was shocked when the big sign over the display said 5 for $11. A dollar higher than the circular from the morning paper. I didn’t have the circular with me though… just a list of stuff I copied out of it. Hoping it was just a typo, I went to get a fresh copy of the circular… and there it was… $5 for $11 was right!
The stupid disclaimer at the bottom explained it all: “Prices effective 7:00 a.m. in our Utica, New Hartford, Rome, Oneida & Richfield Springs stores only.”
What a load of crap! Lure me in with the cheaper prices in the Syracuse paper, then hit me over the head with a higher price because it’s a different “zone” for some reason.
I know, I know… one dollar, big deal, right? Well, it’s the principle of it all… plus I started noticing some other switcheroos in the Oneida version.
Here’s the other big disappointment — a nice bait-and-switch maneuver on ice cream. I was really looking forward to cashing in on the savings on a half-gallon of Perry’s “Panda Paws” ice cream. Instead, I had to settle for Friendly’s. Even though they’re both the same price, notice how it’s a $2.40 savings on the Perry’s deal for shoppers in Syracuse, but in Oneida, we’re only saving $2.00.
On top of that, late Sunday night is a terrible time to go shopping. The place has been picked apart by everyone who got there early, and nobody’s bothered to restock it all day. All that was left were crappy flavors like Neapolitan (I hate strawberry) and Coffee (which is actually OK, but I would have preferred something better). In the bakery, “Super Muffin 4 Packs” were buy one get one free, but it was slim pickins on the flavors there too… no chocolate chip muffins whatsoever.
Maybe Oneida, Rome, New Hartford and Utica get the short end of the stick because Price Chopper doesn’t really have much competition here. In Syracuse, they have to deal with Wegmans. Out here… P&C is always more expensive, and Tops (which was also expensive) is gone. So Price Chopper can get away with giving us shoddier deals, but God help them if Wegmans decides to venture further east.
But it’s not all bad…
Out of fairness, I will give credit where credit is due. Last weekend, I was actually able to get into Price Chopper earlier in the day, when the departments (deli, meat, seafood, etc.) have people working.
I had heard awhile back that the butcher featured in many Price Chopper ads (including the same circular I’m ranting about) is an actual butcher — in fact, he’s the manager of the meat department in Oneida… but I had never actually seen him there.
Well, last Saturday, not only was he there, he happened to wait on me… and it was one of the best “customer service” experiences I’ve had in awhile. Instead of the usual, dry, generic “whaddyawant” most retail workers greet you with, he was much more genuine and enthusiastic with his greeting. He got my order together quickly, and again, instead of just a quick, plain “thanks” he said something more along the lines of “hey, glad you stopped in today, and I hope we’ll see you again soon.” And then right back to work straightening out the shelves and stuff.
The guy must truly love his job, or at least he does a great job acting like he does. Either way, I wish more people in stores and restaurants could be that personable and polite.
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