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JoeSpareBedroom JoeSpareBedroom is offline
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Default When a gallon is not a gallon

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
...
On Feb 29, 3:29 pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message

...
On Feb 29, 2:08 pm, "Percival P. Cassidy" wrote:





On 02/29/08 10:59 am DerbyDad03 wrote:


I think the theory going around here is that the size change is
sneaky unless the customer is somehow notified.


3rd try at getting this across - they were notified! Maybe a picture
will help...


http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/he516-3.gif


That's a great idea as long as the labels for all the packs of sugar
(lets say) use the same units for the price per unit. The laws may vary
form state to state, but what I have seen often is Brand X's unit price
in cents per ounce and that of Brand Y next to it in dollars per pound.
Of course one can do the conversion, but that surely isn't what the
instigators of unit pricing had in mind.


(At least if they do that kind of thing in a sensible country that uses
the metric system it's only a matter of adding one or more zeros or
moving a decimal point.)


Moreover, the stores often don't post revised unit pricing labels when
an item is on sale: the shelf tag still shows the regular price.


Perce


That's a great idea as long as the labels for all the packs of
sugar (lets say) use the same units for the price per unit.

Bringing up an issue specific to unit pricing doesn't negate the idea
that shopping via unit pricing eliminates the "they made the package
smaller" problem.

Inconsistancies within the unit pricing system is a matter worthy of
another discussion, but the bottom line is that by using unit pricing
I don't have to care if they change the package size without changing
the price. I know how much I'm paying on a per unit basis and I know
how much product is in the package. And I sure don't care if they
don't call me everytime they make a change to the package size, shape
or color.

============================

Unit pricing inconsistencies are so simple to eliminate that if you see
inconsistencies, you can conclude with absolute certainty that the
supermarket doesn't give a damn. They don't deserve your business.- Hide
quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


Gee...I wonder how soon it will be before I run out of stores to shop
in. Have you found a chain, or even a single store, where you haven't
ever run into a unit pricing "inconsistancy".

you can conclude with absolute certainty that the supermarket
doesn't give a damn

One also has to wonder who caused the inconsistancy - the store, the
manufacturer or the system? I once ran into a situation where all the
paper towels in the store were priced "per 100 sheets". However, the
sheets were such vastly different sizes that the one that had the
cheaper unit price was actually much more expensive on an overall
square footage basis.

This could certainly be called an inconsistancy, but who's fault was
it? Who says that paper towels should be priced per sheet? Can I be
absolutely certain that it was the store that caused this
inconsistancy? I guess I'll have to track down a manager and see who
made that decision before I place blame.

========================

It's definitely "inconsistency", not "inconsistancy".

I've run into about two inconsistencies in twenty years, shopping at
Wegman's here in Rochester. But, that company does almost everything
perfectly to the point where others in the industry are mystified and
envious. So, it's probably not a valid example.

The example you gave is the store's fault. The unit price should be
designated "per sqare foot". The retailer hired stupid people. Even if a
programmer spotted the problem, some companies are so regimented that
suggestions are never passed back & forth between departments.

Programming could solve the problem, assuming the data entry people were
intelligent enough to use an application correctly. When a new item comes
along, code it appropriately, and have the software disallow certain inputs.
To use an extreme example, they're entering a new Barilla pasta sauce:

- Operator is given a choice for type of item (pasta sauce, dry pasta, paper
towels, juice, etc)
- After choosing "sauce", the application locks the unit of measure, since
those items use weight, not volume.
- Application forces input for ounces only, not pounds, to keep the operator
from trying to "help" by doing any calculating.

This would've eliminated the Wal Mart example I mentioned earlier, where the
unit price stickers used weight for one jar of salsa, and volume for
another. There was no good excuse for that mistake. The labels clearly state
weight (as in sauces) or fluid ounces (as in juices).

You'd think Wal Mart would be more sophisticated than that, but in many
ways, they're backward. Last year, I read an article about how they're
trying to develop software to help analyze front end traffic and minimize
the wait at the register. What nonsense. At Wegman's their goal is to have
no more than one customer waiting while another is checking out. They
achieve the goal, too, just by using their heads. Even when their stores are
mobbed the day before a big holiday, the wait is negligible.