In case you're not familiar with Meijer stores, it's a privately owned chain of stores in the midwest much like Walmart Superstores.
They've been undergoing significant change of the last few years thanks to Walmart's increased presence in the area. The "customer experience" is rarely consistent, but it's usually 100 times better than the service at Walmart. Prices are usually a little higher than Walmart, but Meijer is a little closer to where I live.
One of my favorite things about shopping at Meijer is that they often have a selection of grocery items on special, 10 for $10. The best part about it is that they don't make me buy 10 to get the special price. They simply charge me a buck and I can get as many as I want. In fact, you get the 11th item free if you buy 10.
One of the trouble spots that Meijer still struggles with though is programming the right prices in the computer. Almost every week I catch a mistake. This week was no exception, the problem is that I didn't catch the mistake until I got home.
Albacore tuna was priced at 10 for $10, so I picked up 3. When I reviewed my sales receipt I found that the computer charged me $1.79, so they took me for an additional $2.37. I can take my receipt in and they'll refund my money.
While a $2.37 charge doesn't sound like much, let's just see what it might add up to in a day for Meijer. Let's estimate a conservative 1000 customers purchased 3 cans of tuna and were overcharged $2.37 each. That's an extra $2,370 in Meijer's bank account for the day.
I don't mean to imply that Meijer uses the "error in the computer" method as a strategic tool, but considering the difference it can make in a day's sales numbers, sometimes I wonder if the accuracy of the pricing data is really a priority. Especially since it seems to be a regular issue.
Meijer, if you want my loyalty you need to capture my heart...but first I need to be able to trust you!
Have you double checked your grocery receipt lately? What surprises did you find?
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