"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
On 07/29/05 11:19 am Doug Kanter tossed the following ingredients into the
ever-growing pot of cybersoup:

I recently bought a "gallon" of paint at Sherwin Williams in that new
plastic jug with a handle and a pour spout. When I got home, I was
outraged to see that the container is labeled as having 123oz (I think)
or "3 27/32" quarts (I'm sure). What a rip off!! I expected I was
buying a *gallon* of paint and they preyed on me because of that
reasonable expectation. Yes, I know that the container is accurately
labeled but I still think that the practice is misleading. The
container doesn't even have an integral, normal number of metric units.
I'd actually appreciate it if they sold 1 liter and 4 liter containers
(6% more paint than a quart or a gallon) and I'd even live with that at
7-8% above the qt/gal price. They could market it as giving you a
little more so you don't run out with 1sq ft on a job.

Admittedly, it's annoying when package sizes change (as they do
constantly with groceries), but I think "preyed on me" is not accurate.
As you said, the container was clearly marked.

Yes, so are the 56oz. "half gallon" (NOT) ice cream packs "clearly
marked" -- but many people aren't going to read the markings on the
package every time, especially if it's a brand that they've been buying
for years.

Well, what's the company supposed to do? Using your ice cream example: You
know the price of dairy products has gone up, right? Now, Breyers has a
choice. They can raise the price, or shrink the package. The first option's
a little dicey. Breyers knows EXACTLY what price range is acceptable to
customers, and what price will make sales drop off by a huge percentage.
They get this information from the stores, obviously. Second option - shrink
the package. This has kept Breyers closer to the acceptable price range. In
a way, it's necessary because many shoppers think the cheap crap ice cream
is an identical replacement for Breyers, so if the price of Breyers is too
high, they'll make nothing. Lots of shoppers will opt for the lesser brand.

But meanwhile, Breyers ****es off customers by shrinking the package. What's
the alternative? Put up big signs pointing out that the package size has
been reduced? For how many months or years should these signs be displayed?
Maybe design some temporary packaging with a big reminder on the front?
That's expensive. Guess who's going to pay for that? And, how long should
that temporary packaging be used?


And the "unit pricing" labels in the grocer store don't always help,
because the label for one brand may give the price in cents/oz. while the
label for another brand may be in $/lb.

Wal Mart's famous for that nonsense. For that, you should scream at the
store manager, and also go past him/her and call the home office. In some
place, it's illegal, too. Call your county's department of weights &
measures.

Back to the paint: If you were responsible for cost control at
Sherwin-Williams, and because of some REAL factor (raw materials, labor,
etc), you absolutely had to maintain a certain profit margin, how would you
handle it?