Kroger's Repsonse to the Missing Paul Newman Pretzels

Pretty quick response.  Not sure if I'm buying it:

Dear Ms. Somers:


Thank you for contacting The Kroger Family of Stores. We appreciate your inquiry regarding the availability of Paul Newman's Pretzels. As far as we know, the product has not been discontinued and it would have just been a local store management decision not to carry the product. There are many factors that determine which products are available to and sold in our stores--shelf space, product demand, supplier availability, and vendor contracts are a few. Special order forms are available at the customer service desk as a courtesy to accommodate specific item requests like Paul Newman's Pretzels.

Please speak the store manager at your local store as our office does not have access to inventory/ordering information. The management team at that store location has the ability to check inventory at other stores and can advise if the Paul Newman's product can be stocked and/or special ordered.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we may be of further assistance. Thank you for your patronage and have a great day.


Sincerely,



Brian Mack
Consumer Affairs

Kroger of Spring and Houston Dropping Paul Newman Pretzels?????

Oh no!!!!  On my visit to the Kroger by work (West Gray) a few days ago, I couldn't find my favorite Paul Newman pretzels anywhere!  I was planning on using the free coupons they were so kind to send me just a month earlier.  

This Kroger wasn't as nice as my signature Kroger by my house.  I planned on going there after work, so no biggie.  Surely THEY would have them!  I went to my local signature Kroger on Rayford Road and after a 15 minute mad hunt, I couldn't not find them!  It was after midnight, so no customer service person at the desk to ask. 

I just sent Kroger an email.  I'll let you know of their response.

I also want to point out that another potato disaster story!  Remember my issue with rotten potatoes just a few posts below?  Well, the company was nice enough to send me free coupons for my next purchase.  When I went over to get my free potatoes, sure enough-there were gross, slimy bags of potatoes THERE AGAIN!  The night side produce guy was just a few feet away from me.  I called him over with his manager and pointed out the rotten potatoes.  He didn't say anything and quickly took them away.  I told him how disappointed I was with the store and how this is a small farming company-but I don't think he was listening.

Tasteful Selections Refund

Got my refund from Tasteful Selections. They also threw in some recipes. I would have loved some coupons for a future purchase, but they're a small farming company. Just happy that they responded and responded so quickly!

Here's a link to my video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdangBV_RVA

Dollar Store Expiration Problems

Not exactly Kroger, but in San Antonio, Dollar Stores are ignoring the expiration dates. What do you expect? You get what you pay for!

http://www.khou.com/news/Buyer-beware-Discount-deals-turning-bad-on-store-shelves-139019974.html

Newman's Own Stands By Their Products

Last night I received a wonderful surprise from the folks from Newsman's Own! Check out the video on my youtube channel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gWXGQ2vKPo

I'm not the only one!

Just found this video on youtube about a disgusting Kroger in TN.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRO98ND5A0I

Kroger Rayford Road and West Gray, Houston TX

Welcome to my blog and my first entry! Why the blog? Well, frankly..I'm just plan disgusted with my supermarkets. And when I mean supermarkets, I'm talking Kroger (off Rayford Rd/Spring TX and West Gray/Houston TX). I bet you all have problems too! Feel free to post your story, your photos and even links to your videos! Maybe we all together can make a change!

Here's my story:

BAD POTATOES! I'm a huge fan of Dr Oz. He spent 5 minutes pimping purple potatoes. I was pretty excited to try this, so that night I went to the Kroger on Rayford Road in Spring Texas and got myself a bag by Tasteful Selections.

About 2 days later, I opened the bag to find the potatoes oozing with oil. I'm thinking, "This can't be right". So I contacted the company just to be sure. I mean, maybe they are edible? I've never had these before, so I had no idea.

This is the email I got back from the company:

Dear Jessica,

Thank you so much for your e-mail. I am terribly sorry for the poor experience you had with our product. I can assure you that the quality you saw is not our standard, and for this I apologize. The potatoes you are describing sound like they have begun to decay, so please discard them; do not eat them. We strive to ensure that every bag of potatoes that leave our farm is handled with the utmost care in order to deliver a quality product to our consumers. Unfortunately, sometimes temperature changes and changes in light make potatoes break down or decay faster than they normally would. I am sincerely sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. We stand by our products and you should not have had to have an experience like this. I would like to make it up to you by offering you a full refund to hopefully help compensate you for your troubles. If I may please have your mailing address, I would be happy to send you a refund straight away. Again, my personal apologies for the frustration this has caused you. I do hope you will try our potatoes again in the future.

Sincerely,Melissa Marketing Dept

TastefulSelections.com Simply Amazing Potatoes

Wow, what a great response! That's a company that really cares about their consumers. I can't say the same about Kroger. (I'll get to THAT later!)

I would go back and return my bad bag of potatoes, but A) I don't have the receipt and B) I usually shop at Kroger after work (around 11pm) when customer Service is closed. Ok, I'll deal and take my loss. Hopefully I'll get a small refund from the company-like promised!

Fast forward 2 days later. I'm at the Kroger on West Gray where I pick up my favorite bag of pretzels. Not to go on a tangent, but Paul Newman has some WONDERFUL products on the market. If you haven't tried them, please do! He only uses natural ingredients and donates his profits to charity! Not too shabby!

Back to the story. So I bought a bag of these pretzels February 2, 2012.

Like a good coworker, I shared the bag. I started munching away, and

thought the crunch was a little bit off. I wrote the company to tell them

of this problem. One of the first things they ask, is the expiration. To my

shock, they were a month over the expiration! Who knew pretzels expire.

Newman's Own was very kind with their response. Here's what they said:

Hi Jessica,

I'm sorry the Salted Stick pretzels were stale- it is disappointing. Please take them back to the store for a refund or a replacement. I will also be happy to send out some product vouchers for you so you can replace your product on us.If you are able to provide the store name, address and 'best by' date we can follow up with them as well.Thank you for making us aware of your concern and I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely,

Peggy WestenhoferDirector,

Customer RelationsNewman's Own Organics

Again, a wonderful response from a company that is NOT at fault here. So I write Kroger. I'm thinking, surely THEY will be sympathetic since it's THEIR fault they don't keep up with food expiration and quality control. Here's their email:

Dear Ms. Somers,

In an effort to provide the highest quality products possible, we offer a money back guarantee on all of our products. If you are ever dissatisfied with one of our products you are welcome to return the unused portion of the product with your receipt to the store for a refund or exchange. The welfare of our customers is of the utmost importance to us. If you have any further comments or concerns please feel free to contact us at 800.576.4377. Thank you for your patronage and have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Joe KinnanConsumer

AffairsReference: 11577677

I don't know about you, but that screams GENERIC RESPONSE! More like, "Fill in the blank" response. I was all ramped up this afternoon to slap them one back, but I was having wacky problems with my computer. Hum....perhaps I have a better idea. I'm thinking of going there tonight to snap a photo or two of some bad veggies. I mean, when was the last time you bought a salad in a bag and didn't have at least 10% of the lettuce brown?

So please, if you find my blog and have similar stories, photos, emails, etc....PLEASE write away!

Jessica