tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post2353157393400854474..comments2023-08-04T06:01:44.954-04:00Comments on Is That Really Desirable?: A Thanksgiving tradition comes to a sad endVinnie Bartiluccihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12031831695722239873noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-87270245527764401272011-11-24T20:58:27.597-05:002011-11-24T20:58:27.597-05:00Food Lion has made its way to our area, under the ...Food Lion has made its way to our area, under the guise of its new sister chain, Bottom Dollar. I've been most impressed with them so far.<br /><br />I first heard of the chain decades ago on an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Their cost-saving measures, passing the proverbial saving on to the customer, are legendary. <br /><br />The chain was originally called Food Town, but when another chain with that name made contact in a legal sense, they changed the name to Food Lion, not because it was a great name, but so they could re-use two of the letters in all the sign, and only have to buy two new ones.<br /><br />Swear to God.Vinnie Bartiluccihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12031831695722239873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-713489404492000602011-11-24T20:47:00.758-05:002011-11-24T20:47:00.758-05:00Denise, on behalf of both Vinnie and me, we did in...Denise, on behalf of both Vinnie and me, we did indeed get your "Anonymous" post, and we're glad you were able to join the ITRD? conversation! (We ended up getting a sweet deal on a great turkey, too! :-))DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-8291491493992119622011-11-24T20:34:22.308-05:002011-11-24T20:34:22.308-05:00Ah Vinnie, I remember green stamps. Mom would put...Ah Vinnie, I remember green stamps. Mom would put them in a drawer in the parental unit's headboard, and every couple of months or so I got to lick stamps until my tongue felt like it was four times its size and glued to the roof of my mouth. For all that work I got a doll that didn't last long, but hey, Mom said it was free and I was learning what free meant. Free is not walking out of a store with a 5-stick pack of gum (I still feel twinges of guilt about that) As for the Turkey, Food Lion still has it, $35.00 purchase (excluding turkey) from about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, and then probably again in December for Christmas.<br /><br />I"m seeing if Anomymous will let me post, this is Denise 'Wolffie' WolffAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-48691066907032123022011-11-20T22:22:16.430-05:002011-11-20T22:22:16.430-05:00I remember trading stamps, but then I was born dur...<em>I</em> remember trading stamps, but then I was born during the last year of the Truman administration. [By the way, you might be interested to know that Sperry & Hutchinson, purveyors of one of the best-known brands of trading stamps, are still in business, now offering online "rewards"; anyone who still has ancient books of S&H Green Stamps in the attic can now turn them in for shiny electronic S&H Greenpoints <http://www.greenpoints.com>.]<br /><br />I look at circulars from several stores each week, and can verify that several of the chains have been playing games with the turkey promotion for a few years now. Pathmark, our default supermarket chain, dropped it a year or two ago and then brought it back. Complain loud and long, in writing or e-mail, to the chain management, and threaten to take your business elsewhere (and make good on the threat); it's the only feedback that will reach the ears of the decision-makers.<br /><br /><-----2011-11-20-----MSG----->The Brooklyn Accenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11482262370289907613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-46286596950372389302011-11-18T16:20:29.499-05:002011-11-18T16:20:29.499-05:00The 'free' turkey tradition is still alive...The 'free' turkey tradition is still alive and kicking at my local supermarket. But they've caught on that not everyone eats turkey, so when you qualify, you can choose turkey, ham or vegetable lasagna if you happen to be a vegetarian. <br /><br />Years ago when I actually cooked for Thanksgiving this annual supermarket rite made lots of sense. But now I go to my daughter's or to my brother and his wife's home, so no cooking on my part. <br /><br />Do I still take the turkey? Yes, it's habit. But the past two years' turkeys are still tucked away in my freezer never to see the inside of my oven. So this year I'm thinking the ham or the lasagna.<br /><br />P.S. I remember trading stamps.Yvettehttp://yvettecandraw.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-65382256596155216782011-11-15T14:00:55.073-05:002011-11-15T14:00:55.073-05:00It gets worse.
Apparently this IS only happening ...It gets worse.<br /><br />Apparently this IS only happening in certain locations. But the store I shop in didn't say that; they just said "We're not doing free turkeys this year." And when I said "At ALL?" They confirmed that with a shake of the head.<br /><br />Customer Service didn't have an answer as to:<br /><br />--Why the locations not doing the Free Turkey promotion were not trained to explain "We're not doing the promotion at this location, but location XYZ is", as opposed to "We're not doing the free turkeys this year", which is, at the least, misleading. At worst, well, to paraphrase Mel Gibson, they didn't lie, they just omitted certain truths.<br /><br />--How they chose the locations for this "test program". Was it based on income, amount spent per customer, number of redemptions last year, did they just redline certain areas, or was it purely random? <br /><br />Why they wouldn't just run BOTH promotions as opposed to one or the other is beyond me. Again, if the goal is to provide more options to the customer, TWO is more than ONE.<br /><br />I'm promised a call back. Watch this space.Vinnie Bartiluccihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12031831695722239873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-19923475303242292292011-11-14T16:06:44.191-05:002011-11-14T16:06:44.191-05:00Technically, this isn't "my" blog, i...Technically, this isn't "my" blog, it's the one The Wife and I share for more topical and political posts.<br /><br />My personal blog, The Forty year-Old Fanboy, is for my comics nattering, and is at <br /><br />http://40yearoldfanboy.blogspot.com/Vinnie Bartiluccihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12031831695722239873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-30836627656744087642011-11-14T15:13:32.377-05:002011-11-14T15:13:32.377-05:00My response to Giant's prepared statement-
T...My response to Giant's prepared statement- <br /><br />That was a very well-crafted bit of doublespeak.<br /><br />You didn't "institute a test program", you replaced the free turkey program entirely. (If I'm mistaken on that, and there are locations that are running it, letting people know that would soften the blow. Of course, odds are it'll be too late for me to shore up enough points to take advantage of it, so you win anyway.)<br /><br />A test program would have run CONCURRENTLY with the current program, to allow you to determine which one drew more use. If your goal was to allow the most people to benefit, adding a second program would have been the right answer.<br /><br />But it wasn't. This new program works out better for you, but not the consumer. Turkeys went up in price this year, more so than could be covered by the amount people would have to spend to get the free turkey. So rather than increase the number of points, you eliinated the program. You surmised it would be more annoying to increase the number of points than to eliminate the opportunity altogether. The thing is, I'll wager virtually no one remembers how many points it took last year. And for those that did, if any actually complained, you could make the very reasonable point that since the price of turkeys went up across the board, you had to increase the redemption value. And the other option would allow<br /><br />People don't like things being taken away, be they actual benefits, or things they only percieve as benefits. That's why people are upset by this move. Your cut-and pasted block prepared statement doesn't help.<br /><br />Technically, you're still giving your customers the bird this year. This one's harder to roast, is all.Vinnie Bartiluccihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12031831695722239873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-54587554247241095292011-11-14T15:08:57.470-05:002011-11-14T15:08:57.470-05:00Vinnie,
Why am I just finding out you have a blog?...Vinnie,<br />Why am I just finding out you have a blog? I remember Green Stamps because my mom and grandmother collected them. And within the last 10 yrs our local store used to give nice dishes away after you've gathered enough stamps.<br /><br />The hospital where I used to work used to give all employees a free turkey and a $25 gift card to the hospital gift shop every Christmas. Now they have stopped doing both.<br /><br />So I don't get a free one either! : (<br />I enjoyed your post and FREE TURKEYS for everyone.<br />PagePagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-78908183374150499802011-11-14T15:00:17.376-05:002011-11-14T15:00:17.376-05:00Giant has replied, via their Facebook page.
"...Giant has replied, via their Facebook page.<br /><br />"Vinnie, we recognize that family budgets are tight. Our objective at Giant is to provide as much value as possible to our customers. In addition to a foundation of low prices every day, we offer customers many ways to save both inside our stores as well as at the gas pump. Due to customer feedback around our Free Turkey program, we learned that some customers were unable to meet the point threshold in order to participate in the Free Turkey program. As a result of this feedback and continued positive feedback on the gas rewards, we’ve introduced a simpler testprogram where we have an extremely low price on the turkey and additional gas points when aturkey is purchased. As always, we welcome your feedback and have shared your comments with our marketing department to be taken into consideration as we look to modifying our offers to give our customers the best possible savings."<br /><br />O, well that explains everything.Vinnie Bartiluccihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12031831695722239873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7838397438784587264.post-67438385633840815822011-11-14T14:50:38.787-05:002011-11-14T14:50:38.787-05:00I am, of course, just as irked by Giant's free...I am, of course, just as irked by Giant's free turkey tradition being discontinued on account of inflation. Darn recession! Great post, as always!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.com