Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Comp List 6/12-6/18

Hello, everyone!

I have one important thing to pass along for all of you Walmart shoppers in Ottawa.  Up until now, they haven't really been limiting our items we purchase but that is going to change.  I will paste what the manager said so I don't mix anything up:

"I wanted to inform you of a few changes that will be coming Beginning with the June 26 spreadsheet as it relates limiting quantities on ad match / comp items.

CHANGE 1

The Wal-Mart in Ottawa will begin limiting quantities on all items to reasonable residential retail quantities.

The ad match policy is designed to help families, not business,  save money so they can live better, in their homes.  We are enforcing these limits so that we can provide a better experience for our customers.  Far to often it is happening that our entire stock is being depleted by only a few customers because they are purchasing in bulk.  This is very discouraging to many customers because when they get to the store to buy the item, it is out of stock.  In providing limits, we will be able to improve our in stock and be able to help more customers save money on the items they are looking for instead of just a few.

Example: Banana's on sale for 29 cents per pound.  Customer brings 80 lbs to the register.  Customer will be limited to a quantity of 4-5 bunches as this would be a reasonable residential qty.

CHANGE 2

If in a competitors ad a limit is indicated, the limit will be enforced at our facility.

Example:  Hamburger Helper is on sale for 50 cents limit 2 at a competitor.  Customer brings 10 boxes to the register.  Customer will be limited at the register to 2 boxes at the advertised price of 50 cents.  the limits will be enforced per customer, per day.

As always,  I appreciate all that you do for our community to help people save money so they can live better.  If you have any questions on the changes or if you receive any please let me know and I would be happy to explain."

I do think limiting items is a good idea (like when the ad says "limit 1").  But I wasn't sure how Change #1 would be enforced so I responded "That all sounds good.  I just had one question- on the part about "reasonable residential retail quantities"- is that a certain set amount that everyone will know? My concern is that what may be reasonable to one cashier may be different than what another cashier allows and so on."

Mr. Schneider responded with: "Thank you for the question.  I will tell you the same concern is one that I have been thinking about for awhile.  The problem with establishing a flat line limit is that a reasonable residential quantity varies by item.  The quantity limit is designed to stop the customers that are purchasing in bulk.  The limit will be at the discretion of the cashier and the store management on duty at the time of the transaction.  remember, our intent is to ensure that all customers have the opportunity to shop the comp items and save money."

As I said before, I think limiting items is not a terrible thing BUT with the limits to be at the discretion of the cashier it has me a bit concerned.  What is reasonable for my family of 4 is not necessarily reasonable for a family of 7 and so on.  I am also afraid this is going to cause a lot of friction between Walmart staff and the customers trying to price match.  Anyway, this will begin June 26th.  If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact Walmart at (785) 242-9222 and speak with a manager or you can contact Walmart's Corporate office at 1-800-WALMART (925-6278) or  by going to their page (http://corporate.walmart.com/contact-us) and sending an email.  

Anyway, I think that is it for now.  Happy Shopping!

Emily Graves

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Hyvee (6/12-6/18): http://www.hy-vee.com/shop/WeeklyAd.aspx
Moons (6/12-6/18): http://moonsosawatomie.com/ads/
Baldwin City Market (6/12-6/18):  http://baldwincitymarket.com/ads/

5 comments:

Marigene said...

Thanks once again for doing all the hard work on the comp list, Emily. I see more and more people each week with their list!

dannette said...

I greatly appreciate your list....is there any way you could post the excel version this week too?

Anonymous said...

I have found the reason there is a problem is because of the dishonest comp'ers out there. They make it hard for the rest of us. I have actually seen people make up prices in line. It's terrible.

Christine said...

I like using the Excel version so I can delete the lines off the comp list I won't be purchasing. Usually fit everything on one page and save paper!

Anonymous said...

First off, thank you so much. I use your list every week. I don't know what your criteria is for the ads you look at but wanted to recommend G&W grocery store. They sometimes have some pretty good deals. I usually just use their ad along with your list but thought others may want to know about it. One thing I almost always comp from it is Iron Kids Bread.....