Jewel, why hast thou forsaken me?

As the years pass, I find myself shopping at Jewel less and less. This is not due to any one factor, or to any strongly-held convictions regarding corporate groceries. Rather, it is a combination of factors, including finally getting a car at the age of 33; moving to an area where with an abundence of quality greengrocers, butcher shops, and ethnic food stores and bakeries; and getting a Costco membership, where I can pick up the paper towels, laundry detergent, and cleaning supplies that used to require a trip to Jewel (or the Jewels, for you south siders

However, I still occasionally do shop there. There are times when I don't need Bulgarian feta, or 30 rolls of paper towel, or prime steaks. And when I do go to Jewel, I always made a point of stocking up on Chef's Kitchen Thin and Crispy pizzas. I liked the damn things. I'd go as far to say that they were the best mid-priced frozen pizza on the market--a thin, crackly crust, sausage in chunks that actually tasted of pork and fennel, real cheese, and tasty sauce.

You may have noticed I'm using the past tense. That's because the last two pizzas I had from Jewel were lousy. THe cheese tasted fake, the crust was like cardboard, and the sausage topping looked like dry dog food. Plus, the pizza, which used to be 19.5 ounces, is now 15.5 (althought it is possible, even likely, that there were larger ones available--my wife did the shopping, and does not understand the blindingly obvious fact that more is better when it comes to pizza.)

What the hell? Why do they take a good product, mess with it, and ruin it. (Well, I know why--to save money. But how much are they really saving?) I'm hoping I just got a bad batch, and I will try again. But if the next ones are not any better, my reason for shopping at Jewel will be gone.

I don't anticipate many responses to this post, or expect any sympathy. It's just frozen pizza. But it used to be good frozen pizza. And now its not.

Hi,

I sure do hope your wife doesn't read your posts for blindingly obvious reasons.

Often there are price points marketers try to maintain. You complain about pizza. It just as dismaying when you have a recipe calling for a 16-ounce can of X from your favorite source. You blindly pick it up the next time at the store, just toss it into your recipe and something is a little off. You check the can, the price is the same but the contents have been reduced by a few ounces. I think most of us would support paying slightly more than feel duped later.

Of course, in simple economics you do try to keep from raising prices. Every time you raise them there are people who will either demure or search for another brand. A slight, perhaps temporary, loss in market share doesn't seem tolerable by some companies.

You could write a letter to Jewel because for every one letter received, they extrapolate there are hundred more who did not pick up pen. What the heck, give it a shot.

Well, since someone brought up letters, here's one I just sent them. Not quite food related, but on a similar point-- with Costco for boring staples and Whole Foods or whoever for the fancy stuff, I go to Jewel about 1/10th as often as I did some years ago-- and that's not even getting into the whole issue of how the damn Preferred Customer card discourages me from buying a lot of things (since I refuse either to carry one or to pay the higher Unpreferred Customer card price), or how much those automated checkout lanes annoy me because they accuse me of stealing every time I use them (so I don't).

Dear [president of the parent company],

Here's how you've just about lost me as a customer.

I went into today for some staples which I still can't get at Costco. Broader selection would be one of your remaining assets, right? Here I am, in a yuppie neighborhood full of people buying those new front-loading washer dryers like the Whirlpool Duet. And so what have you done? Apparently discontinued carrying the high efficiency detergents we have to use. Last time you no longer had Wisk's HE detergent, but you still had All's or something. Today, nothing. Nobody's. I'm sure if I paid more attention I could tell you which brand bought more shelf space and in the process squeezed what I needed out. All I know is, you don't have it. One less reason to go to Jewel. I'm glad you're getting money from Tide in this department because you won't be getting it from me.

But as I check out the cashier (I still go to human cashiers since I don't like being repeatedly accused of stealing by a machine just because I didn't place every item in the bag in exactly the way it wanted me to) brings everything to a halt to recite, "Are you aware of this week's Super-Special Extra Value Savings-Baganza Item?" Which, as it turns out, is for Tide. I resist the first five snotty responses that come to mind ("Yes, I get up early just to familiarize myself with them each week," "Why no. Are you aware of the revelations in the Book of Urantia?" etc.) and instead say, "You know, funny you should mention detergent, I went looking for the high efficiency kind I use and you guys stopped carrying it, so I guess I won't be coming back here for detergent at all." Of course, halfway through her eyes glazed over. Listening to this kind of stuff wasn't part of her training.

Notice where I put the blame. Yes, she could have been proactive and found me a comment card or something. But the real issue is, her training reflects your priorities. You have an interest in using the checkout process to upsell. You apparently don't care if information about why a longtime customer is about to stop coming in your store is available for the price of simply having open ears. I learned today that what matters at Jewel is which detergent pays you off and how much more stuff you can shovel at me in the checkout line. But actually finding out what I want and keeping me as a customer-- not a priority.

However, I will say one surprising thing in Jewel's defense: of the two near my house, the one on Ashland between Belmont and Diversey has the best supermarket sushi I know of besides Mitsuwa. Much better than Whole Foods, actually.

Hi,

I went to Jewel last night to buy a few things. While I was checking out the lady tried to entice me to buy chocolate chip cookies. Lately I have been going to Sunset, so this upselling stuff - and not so great looking cookies, too - was news to me.

On the topic of packaging practices that tick us off, The Wife bought a carton of Phil's eggs from Whole Foods. The box looked funny. It was smaller. That's because it contained only TEN eggs. Not including a dozen eggs in a carton is violation of one the fundamental laws of the food universe.

Damn you Phil.

Hammond

10 eggs to a carton? What happened, did chickens switch to the metric system?

That one's truly bizarre. I've been upset enough over the 4-lb packages of sugar, and the 6oz. yogurts. For me, 6oz. just isn't enough for breakfast, and I'll be darned if I'll open and stir a second one to split over three days. The only brand I'll buy these days is the Jewel Cherry Vanilla (one of the few things worth going there for) -- most other brands with 8oz are either rediculously expensive or very limited on flavor selections. If someone knows a brand that sells an apple-cinnamon in an 8oz container, I'll buy a dozen. (Yes, I could mix my own, but weekday breakfasts are made for not thinking or working at it)

But what kills me on the 6oz yogurt thing is the excuse that it's because of sugar prices. So why is the plain yogurt smaller too? When a recipe calls for a cup of plain, this gets really annoying.

Flame off.

In Mt. Prospect, they rolled out the upselling routine a few months ago, then stopped in, and now have started it up again, but spottily. The checkout people hate doing it. They told me they have to send someone back to get the stuff if anyone accepts, because they don't have it up front!

Jewel just gets worse and worse. It must be awful working there. Those automatic checkout machines would be great if they functioned properly. Several times I've had one crash on me and had to start over on another machine. The store layout is ridiculous and they have way too many stupid displays cramming the aisles and space at the front and back. And the choice of items they display seems completely irrational. Too many varieties of some things, not enough of others. I go there every week or two on average and most of the time half the stuff on my list is out of stock.

Stock-outs are a long-standing Jewel tradition. Not as bad as a decade or so ago, but still irritating.

The idea is to have a small supply of the specials and hope that people would buy other things while in the store.

David Hammond wrote:On the topic of packaging practices that tick us off, The Wife bought a carton of Phil's eggs from Whole Foods. The box looked funny. It was smaller. That's because it contained only TEN eggs. Not including a dozen eggs in a carton is violation of one the fundamental laws of the food universe.

Damn you Phil.

Hammond

David, can you comment further on the packaging? Was the box somehow disguised to make it appear that it contained 12 (the norm) eggs and then the subterfuge not discovered until opened at home? I haven't done the egg shopping for the house in a while but when I do my wife pretty much insists I buy Phil's. I know with the old packaging I opened them up to inspect for cracks as I would do any eggs, Phil's or otherwise. If Phil (assuming "Phil" actually exists) is now buttoning up the cartons so they can't be examined in the store I'll have to convince the wife to switch brands as there's simply no way I'm purchasing eggs without examining them.

Kman wrote:Was the box somehow disguised to make it appear that it contained 12 (the norm) eggs and then the subterfuge not discovered until opened at home?

Nope. The Wife was, apparently, inattentive during the procurement phase.

Hammond

At my last Jewel visit, they tried to sell me a boxed Betty Crocker yogurt/fruit snack of some sort. The boxes were stacked in such a way in front of me that they were practically leaping into my cart. I already feel claustrophobic at the check out surrounded by candy, magazines, carts and that dangling pen that is never convenient for a lefty. These entries are hilarious. Thanks for brightening my lunch break.

You can get the preferred discount at Jewel by just saying you forgot your card. I do it whenever I go.

I think upselling is a grand thing. It is so easy to just say no, and the information just might be useful. But I admit to having great respect for the salespeople and marketers of the world - I think they provide an invaluable service, and I appreciate it. If I do not want their information or assistance, I know how to say no, or please do not bother me. But I like to have the choice.

Jewel is my sixth or seventh choice for food shopping. Just ahead of Dominick's.

dicksond wrote:You can get the preferred discount at Jewel by just saying you forgot your card. I do it whenever I go.

It seems to depend very much on the store. The one at Roscoe/Western, always. The one at Ashland/Wellington, almost never.

I don't object to upselling except in the way that it was combined with notlistening.

Mike G wrote:

dicksond wrote:You can get the preferred discount at Jewel by just saying you forgot your card. I do it whenever I go.

It seems to depend very much on the store. The one at Roscoe/Western, always. The one at Ashland/Wellington, almost never.

I don't object to upselling except in the way that it was combined with notlistening.

It always worked for me at the Jewels in Oak Park on Roosevelt (across from Kings and Queens) and in River Forest on Lake Street. At the one on Roosevelt I never even had to say I forgot my card. As soon as I said I didn't have one they'd either enter their code or scan their own card.

It was very handy.

Nowadays I'm about as close to a cub foods as a jewel, and I much prefer cub. 1 gallon jugs of tropicana pure premium grovestand for $5, which is as much as a 3/4 gallon jug at jewel.

But I only go to the big grocery stores for a few staples: orange juice, ice cream, snack food, other drinks. I do most of my meat and produce shopping at the California/Milwaukee Market, next to the Cozy Corner and across from Taqueria Moran. A decent, if somewhat limited, produce selection and a good butcher. For non-food-items I usually end up at the target at Logan+Diversey.

-ed

Heck, at the Roscoe/Western location I'd say I have a 50/50 track record of getting my official-data-mining-card out before the cashier has already entered the "store card" to get my preferred shopper discounts. The hardest line I've ever seen drawn at any Jewel or Dominick's is that they request you to enter the phone # associated with your discount card if you say you've forgot yours; though really, most of the time, they seem to have a 'store' card they are more then willing to swipe. If it's especially galling - and I'm not saying this works as I've not tried it - perhaps saying "I left it in the car - hold everything here as is and I'll be back in a few" might magically promote a 'store' card into sudden availability.

Specific to this thread(not the other "world class asses"---great porno by the way):

Um...so Jewel's always out of some staple or other. I can always count on them being out of chiles or paper towels or toilet paper or milk. What's worse are the sales which they insufficiently stock then sell out cuz skinflints or nursing home buyers or whoever really, really need to swipe all the tortilla chips and hotdogs and bulk raisins. One could stand in line at customer service to receive a raincheck, but why bother?

And, how about the oldskool Jewel's that still divide themselves between a seperate Osco drugstore and Jewel supermarket? How charmingly antiquated! I grew up with combo supermarkets( flagships seemingly on every block). This was in the early-80's. It's a nicely 21st century Chicagoan pain-in-the-butt to have to shop both stores to cover a grocery list.

Working on a grad degree in Privacy Law makes me wary to use a valued customer card. However, my jerk of a neighbor has a barking dog so I feel justified in punching in his phone number and letting any future job employer notice his drinking habits....

I've got a love-hate relationship with my local (Randhurst) Jewel:
1) They're loads better than the lame-ass Mt Prospect Plaza Dominicks.\
2) They're conveniently positioned, compared to pretty much everything else -- I don't have any good produce marts in a 15-minute radius.
3) They're employing my son

But

1) They're rehabbing the heck out of a place that's only a few years old, and I can't find anything, making it take twice as long to shop because I keep backtracking
2) The produce is flavorless and uneconomical. Why should a red bell pepper cost as much as some steak? Especially when a produce mart will have the same peppers for $0.99?
3) Where's the fershtunkineh canned pizza sauce? It's not with the pasta sauce, it's not with the canned tomatoes. It's with the prepackaged pasta and mac-n-cheese. Go figure. This is just one thing like that. Everything by one brand may be put on an endcap, regardless of the department it belongs to.
4) Meat? Feh. Chicken breasts? Who needs these dolly partonesque 1lb breasts? Give me something that's a single serving. Steaks should be priced by the pound, not per piece.

I wish I had a better alternative.

JoelF wrote:Where's the fershtunkineh canned pizza sauce? It's not with the pasta sauce, it's not with the canned tomatoes. It's with the prepackaged pasta and mac-n-cheese. Go figure. This is just one thing like that. Everything by one brand may be put on an endcap, regardless of the department it belongs to.

I wish I had a better alternative.

Funny you should mention this - I had the precise same plaint this last weekend and in desperation turned to my copy of Peter Reinhart's "American Pie" for a fallback. While I had previously tried his All-Purpose Marinara Pizza Sauce and not been terribly impressed, I decided to try his simple Crushed Tomato Sauce and WOW, I won't be looking for canned pizza sauce any more! Even my son commented how good the pie was.

Here are the recipes, thanks to the nice people at Ten Speed Press.

I have to admit that I am in Jewel-Osco twice a week ... making deposits & withdrawals at the TCF Bank. In the past two months, I have spent a whopping $5 in groceries at Jewel.

My reasons for not shopping Jewel are:

1) Prices are not competitive with independents like Eurofresh or Joseph's Marketplace, especially in the deli and produce sections.
2) Produce is not very fresh. Almost no local sourcing as far as I have seen.
3) I really **loath and detest** their pricing schemes. Deli meat is sold, priced by the 1/2 lb. Premium cuts are priced by the *each*. Anything is tried to catch the unsuspecting consumer napping.

I don't care for the Jewel near me because the produce is awful and the store is always a mess. I usually shop at the nicer, newer Dominick's for staples and Whole Foods for almost everything else. However on occasion, I do take my Mom shopping to her Jewel in Hoffman Estates on Palatine Rd. When I get to the check out I am always asked for my Preferred Card. After telling them that I don't have one, they of course ask me if I want to apply, and I invariably say no. Without fail the next thing that happens is that the checker takes out his/her card and swipes my order thereby giving me the discount. While I'm more than happy to accept the discount, I sort of wonder why this store doesn't make you "suffer" and apply for the dang card so you too can enjoy the privileges of being "Preferred".

jlawrence01 wrote:I have to admit that I am in Jewel-Osco twice a week ... making deposits & withdrawals at the TCF Bank. In the past two months, I have spent a whopping $5 in groceries at Jewel.

My reasons for not shopping Jewel are:

1) Prices are not competitive with independents like Eurofresh or Joseph's Marketplace, especially in the deli and produce sections.
2) Produce is not very fresh. Almost no local sourcing as far as I have seen.
3) I really **loath and detest** their pricing schemes. Deli meat is sold, priced by the 1/2 lb. Premium cuts are priced by the *each*. Anything is tried to catch the unsuspecting consumer napping.

In my East Lakeview nabe Treasure Island handily beats Jewel price - wise. Once in a while I'll buy some Jewel grocery items at the Osco at Clark & Halsted, they have a fairly big selection. They never ask for a preferred card, they always give me the card price. They have some decent booze prices from time to time...

Actually I find myself buying a good number of grocery items. e.g. dairy, canned goods, etc. at Walgreens. They have some pretty good offers in their weekly circular...

--
Best
Greg

GEM wrote:
Actually I find myself buying a good number of grocery items. e.g. dairy, canned goods, etc. at Walgreens. They have some pretty good offers in their weekly circular...

--
Best
Greg

Twice in the past year, I have dropped into the local Jewel for "emergency" purchases. I paid $1.99 for a dozen Grade A large eggs and passed on $2.29 store brand saltines.

For the saltines, I dropped over to Aldi's and got them for 0.89.

Walgreens is pretty reasonable on dairy and some grocery products. You can also get some great deals at the dollar stores and the salvage places like Deals. Meijers has some great stock up sales on staple products.

JoelF wrote:I've got a love-hate relationship with my local (Randhurst) 1) They're rehabbing the heck out of a place that's only a few years old, and I can't find anything, making it take twice as long to shop because I keep backtracking.

Has that been going on forever, or what? It seems as if they've moved everything about three times and each time the setup is a little less logical.

Sometimes they have good stuff, like excellent deals on freshwater prawns-- frozen of course, but they're great on the grill. And I like the array of Asian and British foods they now have in one aisle. HP curry sauce! But the meat and produce there is useless considering you have Ascot Meat, the fresh market place on Rand, TJs and WF ditto. Even for the usual supermarket stuff, it's almost worth going to Sunset Foods in Northbrook. You pay more but at least the flipping aisles are not all blocked and you don't risk you a** trying to get through the parking lot.

Dominicks in this area used to be good, though. Boy, have they gone downhill.

my local jewel (roosevelt/ashland) is one of them 'nice' jewels (ala state and roosevelt). both jewels stock the la brea bakery french bread. IMO, these are the best baguettes in town dollar for dollar...

echoing above sentiments:
* you can buy from any store w/o the 'membership card'. just say: "i didn't bring the card today, can you scan yours for me". etc.

* walgreens often has eggs on sale for .99 per DOZEN, not 10, not 8, not 9, just 12.

* similar prices can be found for egg at the "Egg Store".

* Costco has to manage their stock/cost/buying trends carefully. it's absolutely understandable they no longer carry 'boring staples'. perhaps 'boring staples' is simply not as profitable as front loading washers...

Hey tony: I try the "I left it at home" thing for the preferred card at Jewel every time I make the unfortunate mistake of going there. It probably works about 85% of the time, but they will, sometimes, ask for your phone number. As far as I can tell Dominick's will ALWAYS ask for your phone number, so it's useless to try there.

Yeah, I forgot about the La Brea breads too, but they never seem to have the olive bread anymore.

Costco's stock can be baffling. Milk prices are usually OK, bu Walgreens is often cheaper. Butter comes in, what 4 lb packages, I think... but only in salted. Baking season, we can go through 4 pounds pretty easily, but not salted.

jlawrence01 wrote:

Twice in the past year, I have dropped into the local Jewel for "emergency" purchases. I paid $1.99 for a dozen Grade A large eggs and passed on $2.29 store brand saltines.

For the saltines, I dropped over to Aldi's and got them for 0.89.

Walgreens is pretty reasonable on dairy and some grocery products. You can also get some great deals at the dollar stores and the salvage places like Deals. Meijers has some great stock up sales on staple products.

Yesterday I stocked up on Del Monte canned veg and tomatoes at the Clark & Barry Osco. Got some cheap ramen and Jewel - brand pasta and pasta sauce, too...

One thing I notice is their "Ten For Ten Dollars" or whatever shilling. If you shop carefully you can usually beat the price on those items elsewhere....

They also were selling various varieties of Wolfgang Puck's canned chicken soup for a buck a can. It's fairly dire as canned soups go but one can always goose it up to make it palatable...

I always buy milk at Walgreen's, it's invariably the cheapest. As for eggs, several times during the past year Treasure Island has had eggs on sale for 39 cents per dozen. You can't beat that price anywhere...

--
Best
Greg

The Wolfgang Puck soups are real losers sales wise. You can get them for $1 everyday at many Dollar stores. I have even seen them at Deals for 2/$1.

The two cans that I have tried have been disapoointing.

I do about 80%+ of my shopping at Joseph's Marketplace in Crystal Lake. Pretty good quality at great prices. Also, they have a steamtable with ridiculously low priced specials weekly.

Funny thing about Puck's soups, if you add extra chicken stock to the "chicken" varieties it makes them (somewhat) palatable. Moreso than Campbell's blecch, anyway.