Yesterday I left our mountain home in Crestline, CA, to do some intense grocery shopping. Up here, the pickin's for quality produce are slim, and mountain prices are higher than in the flatlands. I only shop down the hill though when the advertised supermarket specials make the trip worthwhile. This week there were several reasons to make the journey, or so it seemed.
Here's some of the specials that attracted me—both appeared in the Los Angeles Times: RALPH'S: Whole chickens, 57 cents/lb. Limit 4. VON'S: Whole chickens, 2 for the price of 1 (no per pound price given)
Alrighty then! First stop was Von's in Fontana, CA. My first time there and maybe now my last. I was shocked to see that the per pound price was a whopping $1.59 -- I don't think even in NYC that your everyday whole chickens sell for this much. Certainly in Southern California the most I have ever seen them was set at $1.29 per pound. And usually when on special they sell for around 79 cents a pound. So at the two-for- one price, they were really charging 79 cents/lb. Not a bad sale price by itself, but clearly they had inflated the base price to make it seem like a better deal. And for the unsuspecting shopper buying only one bird, they make a killing on it. I found the deception and price-hiking quite insulting.
Especially when Ralph's advertised birds at 57 cents/lb! Leaving the Von's chickens in the dust, I drove off to the Ralph's in San Bernardino, CA, at the base of our mountain range. There, the price was different from what was advertised: 47 cents/lb. but with a limit of two instead of four. I checked the ad again: "57 cents/lb.—Limit 4." I verified the dates: valid from Wed. 3/19 through Tues. 3/25. I even checked the rest of the advertised specials and found them to be consistent with the ad. This was the only one that was not.
Perhaps the difference arose because San Bernardino is the next county over from Los Angeles. But there are still a large number of LA Times subscribers living in San Bernardino County. I have used the LA Times Food Section ads for three years and never found a discrepancy in the pricing. I can understand if Northern CA and Southern CA specials differ, but in areas of such close proximity, the ads are confusing at best. Or, perhaps there is another reason why the ads varied, but I have yet to discover it.
Nevertheless, having been baited by the expectation of getting four chickens at a good deal, I picked the fattest, heaviest birds I could find—all four of 'em - - and jammed them into my cart. The Ralph's checker was quick to mention that the limit was two—and I was equally quick to show her the LA Times Ad. It was the first time she had seen it but she immediately said no problem, and allowed me to pay for my four chickens at their advertised price of 47 cents a pound (what a deal for me!). Still, the discrepancy is as confusing for the Ralph's employees as it is for the consumers.
In the end, it paid to be an educated shopper. Caveat Emptor and all that jazz. But when prices are artificially inflated and ads don't hold true, consumer confidence plummets and public relations suffer. Many folks might never have noticed the discrepancies, but I did and I think it important to make others aware that even in supermarket shopping, the most valuable commodity is knowledge. Beware of the bait: What you don't know may cost you.
[As an aside, I am sending this story to the LA Times Food Section. They are perhaps the best food section in the nation, in my opinion, and I'm sure they will be interested in a subscriber's experience.—KH]
BTW: If you have thoughts on or experiences with Supermarket ad discrepancies, tell us all about it. Send email to egg@foodwine.com and mark the subject SUPERMARKET ADS.