Complaint Against Raley's (and other stores)

Most of the time I shop at Raley's when I want groceries. It's convenient, next to my house and they have everything I buy for food. I know it's more expensive and I should probably shop someplace else but my family and I have shopped at Raley's all our lives. It's ingrained into our daily lives.

However, I'm re-considering shopping at Raley's now. It's not because of the high prices but because of what they're doing in the store that is making me think to go someplace else.

Have you noticed the change of displays in the aisles? There are more 'bins' filled with excess merchandise--most of which you already find on the shelves.

I find this most inconvenient and most of the time, the products on display have nothing to do with the merchandise it's placed next to.

Here's an example: A box of teas next to the cereals. 

Does everyone have tea with cereal? If you're too lazy to cook a hot meal, will you bother to heat the water and pour it into a cup with a tea bag? I doubt it. Most likely those who want cereal don't want tea with it.


Also, these excess 'bins' are always in the way! They crowd the aisles and if there are two people in the aisles, one of you has to stop so the other can move around you.

I usually just shove the bin aside and tell my fellow shopper that the stores shouldn't make it so inconvenient for us to shop. Most people agree with me.

I don't know who thought of this terrible idea but they must not do the shopping. (I'm sorry to say, it must've been a man who thought of this...)

Especially if someone is using those mechanized wheel-chair carts, it's really hard to get around. The bins sometimes hide their flags, they are that tall!




I did write to Raley's.com to complain to them. Here's what I said:

Crowding the aisles with junky displays is not only inconvenient, it's disrespectful for people on motorized carts, who can't get through.

I've had to move these displays several times to get them out of the way. At times there are as many as three large in-the-way displays that crowd the aisle. 

Please consider another method to market your items without putting them our way.

Sincerely,

Raley's Shopper

Hopefully, someone up in the advertising ladder will get the message and remove the bins. Not only is it inconvenient, it's cheap-looking!

Another thing I have noticed that I don't like is the new "Something Extra" card that supposedly saves you money when you use it. 

You get points every time you buy something and "Every 3 months, your points turn into vouchers that you can use for free groceries and more". 

I'm guessing it's something similar to Safeway's Club Card, that you can also use for gas (with some restrictions). 

However, I'm not a fan of these cards. First of all, they gather your information every-time you sign up for it. Second, they track what you buy. Third, and probably most importantly, they sell that information to other companies and make judgements about your buying behavior to share with banks and credit card companies (See my review for "The Daily You" book by Joseph Turow).

These cards are not convenient for me. I hardly use them. I stopped using the CVS card because they only give you the discount after you buy something, and it expires before I can use it. Also, the discount isn't that big, usually only .50 or $1.00 off something--forcing you to buy in bulk or spend an exorbitant amount of money. I saw one ad somewhere that said, "Spend $500 or more, get $50 off!". Really, I'm going to spend that much money in one place? I don't think so...

You think Raley's would have learned their lesson from Albertson's, another grocery store that went out of business and had to shut down. Most of those stores turned into SaveMart. 

Albertson's had a 'card membership saver' program and it was rumored that they raised their prices to accommodate the discount people received on their cards. So, basically people were still paying the same price no matter what. 

I've seen this happen at Safeway, where prices are sometimes higher than Raley's. I think they're compensating for the 'discount'. 

Sometimes, the cards don't work either...
I heard one conversation in a Raley's store from an employee who wanted to get their card registered but couldn't until the first of the month--April Fool's Day! 

If stores really listened to shoppers, I don't think they would make these mistakes. I prefer to shop at a store that doesn't make me sign up for stupid cards I don't need. Supposedly, prices are set at a supply-and-demand price anyway (barring gas prices, droughts, etc.). I shouldn't have to sign up to save a few cents. 

Also, don't crowd the aisles when I'm shopping. If stores feel the need to advertise their products, they could put a TV screen above the ailes advertising their products and deals. I've seen floor advertisements too, they're okay, at least they don't block my way.

Hopefully Raley's and other stores will take note of this. I'm still waiting for their reply...

UPDATES!

Reply from Raley's:


Dear Valued Customer,
>
> Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns regarding one of our stores.
>
> It is always disheartening to receive such reports; however, we do appreciate your willingness to communicate with us.  We truly value your feedback and thank you for bringing this to our attention.  If you could please reply with which store you shop at and a name and telephone number, I would be more than happy to pass it along to the Store Director for his review and handling and so he can follow up with you.
>
> Thank you for caring enough to contact us, and thank you too for your
> patronage.