Considering how inconsiderate people are with their carts (not returning them properly, banging them into other peoples' vehicles), I can see the benefit of the mandatory assistance policy. Either way, I rarely, if ever, shop at Jewel.

=R=

Hi- There has been much discussion about this topic this week on Jill Cataldo's couponing site. Apparently the baggers are told that they have to help the customer load his car. If the customer declines, the bagger still has to follow the customer to his car so he can collect the cart. Apparently this is new company policy, and it is being implemented so carts don't end up somewhere that they don't belong. Apparently the baggers just take the carts to the cart corral. People are upset that this is being forced on them, even though they tell the baggers that they don't need any help. I am sure that if you use the self checkout though, you can still take the stuff to the car yourself. If I am getting less than 10 items, I normally just go to self checkout. There are some Jewel stores, such as the one at Plaza Del Lago in Wilmette that do not have self checkout. There are a lot of negative comments about this new policy on Jewel's facebook page, and you can leave your comments there.

During gardening season, I buy 4o pound bags of compost and mushroom compost, and I could use some help putting the bags in the trunk of my car, and so I would welcome the help then. The rest of the time I don't usually buy enough stuff to need any help. I just don't like the fact that this new policy is being forced upon customers. Apparently most of the employees don't like the new policy too.

One of my sisters had $900 worth of damage done to her car by a wayward shopping cart when she lived in Philadelphia, and so I always put my cart back, and encourage other people to do it too.

BTW- Jewel is getting rid of their Fuel Rewards program, and apparently the new owners are into decentralization of all their stores, so this policy of forcing people to have the bagger load their car, is ironic. Hope this helps, Nancy

I find the whole thing amusing. People get so territorial and overly sensitive. When I was growing up it was common to have the baggar bring things to your car, no big deal. Heck, I grew up a in small town and they would even bring them to your house if you wanted. Here Jewel is trying to do some positive customer service and everyone freaks out like they are trying to pull something sneaky. I haven't shopped at Jewel in 6 years for price reasons and convenience but I don't blame them for trying something different

Hi- I grew up in a rural area in Michigan where the stores used to carry your groceries to your car for you, but they would understand if you did not want them too. Now we just have one grocery store, and they will carry your groceries to your car if you ask them too, but you have to ask them. I think that people are upset though that this is being forced on them.

People that don't shop at Jewel because it is too expensive, don't shop the same way I do. I mostly buy lost leader stuff, and so they make very little money on me. I have found out that in general I shop at Dominick's more than I do Jewel, because of their J4U program. Their prices are generally lower than Jewel's, but again I mostly buy the lost leader stuff. Their regular prices are generally higher than Jewel. In Evanston we don't have anything comparable to Caputo's. We do have an Aldi's and two Whole Foods and several Dominick's and Jewel's.

Having shopped at the Clark and Division store after 2 AM, I wouldn't go back at that hour without an escort to my car. It's been a few years since that visit, and I hope the corporate overlords have/will spruce up the store.

George R wrote:The only justification is to be competitive on customer service. But if that's the case, then mandatory is goofy. Customer service means giving customers what they want, not pushing something on to those who don't want it. As an optional service it does make sense.

Out of all the bewildering possibilities, this is the one that feels most plausible to me. Why mandatory? Because they're trying to change the entrenched habits of the workforce. They feel that if they merely tell the baggers that it's necessary to offer assistance (in order to shift customer's perception of Jewel in the direction of more personal-service), too many baggers will blow this off. Management wants to see baggers out there in the lot, they want customers to see baggers all over the damn lot and go "Whoa, Jewel has changed" the minute they first pull in to the lot, and the only way to overcome the inertia of the old way of doing business and put baggers-in-lots in a big way is to make the new practice "mandatory"--at least for a while.

Other than that, I've got nothing.

This reminds me of the now shuttered Gabriel's in Highwood. Gabriel insisted that the staff (servers, runners, etc.) escort guests to the bathroom - regardless if they knew where it was. As a regular, it became amusing because you could tell it made some people uncomfortable (including the staff who didn't want to get bitched at by Gabe). My wife and I used to try to get to the bathroom without being detected by staff. The purpose of the policy was hospitality, but it was counterproductive for some guests. It would have been better if the staff at Gabriel's (and perhaps Jewel) were able to use their brain to read if the guest wanted the service or not. I always wanted to develop a mobile app featuring the restaurant where you'd try to get to the bathroom without being intercepted by staff. Oh well, fun memories.

Hi- Jewel has discovered that their new haul your groceries to your car for you, has not been universally loved like they thought it would be. They have now told the employees that this policy is not mandatory anymore. If the customer declines the offer to load your groceries in your car, then the bagger has now been instructed to back off. Thank god. I wondered how long the mandatory policy would last.

In my native South, this was pretty much the standard level of service and expected. Most stores allowed the baggers to accept tips, too. I liked the process, and missed it when I moved away 20+ years ago. I don't know what is usual and customary now back home, because I rarely have cause to go grocery shopping when I'm there.

Perhaps the problem at Jewel was in the way this was communicated at all levels; not like that's never happened before!

sdbond wrote:In my native South, this was pretty much the standard level of service and expected. Most stores allowed the baggers to accept tips, too.

This makes me wonder if the original impetus for Jewel's idea was two-fold. One was the aforementioned, "Look, we've become Sunset Foods (or whatever)!" The other was to augment baggers' incomes with tips, so that the baggers would be less likely to demand higher wages from Cerberus, keeping labor costs down before the flip.

Again, we're dealing in the world of speculation, but what else can you do with otherwise inexplicable facts? Anyway, in a way I'm kind of sorry the mandatory practice has been halted. Out of curiosity I wanted to experience the pitch for myself, but didn't get over to Jewel during that window.

Hi- From what I understand Jewel employees are not allowed to accept tips, or they weren't with the old owners anyway. I am not sure about the new owners policy on accepting tips. I've worked in three different nursing homes, and in all three places, we were told that we could not accept tips, even though our salary was awful.

NFriday wrote:Hi- From what I understand Jewel employees are not allowed to accept tips, or they weren't with the old owners anyway. I am not sure about the new owners policy on accepting tips. I've worked in three different nursing homes, and in all three places, we were told that we could not accept tips, even though our salary was awful.

I'd be very surprised if they let their employees accept tips. I think they just want to turn their reputation around. Their prices,at least on the loss leaders, have certainly improved since the new owners took over.

Jewel Repeals Mandatory Cart-to-Car Service

If you've avoided shopping at Jewel-Osco for fear of being awkwardly trailed to your car by an employee, you're not alone, but there is good news.

The once mandatory policy created by Jewel's new owners, Cerberus Capital Management LP, has been repealed.

A statement on the store's website
says the cart-to-car service will still be offered to customers, but it will no longer be forced upon them.

Parts of our customer service philosophy are things that every grocery store should do, like ensuring the stores are clean, the shelves are well stocked, and asking if you need help finding an item. Now, we’ve expanded our service to include taking your groceries out to your car.

And, if you don’t want or need help, that’s fine too. Many customers like to checkout videos after they shop or find themselves talking to friends in the parking lot. Even if you decide not to use the service, we’re happy to return the cart to the store.

Hi- The last time I was at Jewel probably two weeks ago, they did not even ask if I wanted help to my car, and I did not see them offering it to anybody. As a matter of fact the cashier did not even have a bagger, and she had to bag the groceries herself. I think Jewel got too many complaints about the new policy on their facebook page. They weren't returning the carts to the store anyway. They were just returning them to the cart corral.

I haven't shopped Jewel in over a month. I also shop loss leaders and they haven't had ones to get me there. I have been shopping the one on Broadway and Addison for 30 years. I saw it go through some changes a few years back with an elevator, a slight remodel and new friendly and fast workers. Things were looking good but shortly the old workers were back. Talking to each other (loudly) over the checkouts and taking forever to check you out.
To my surprise I was there Friday. I saw non of the old staff there (well one bagger that has been there for ever). The floors look like you could eat off of them. There was no dust on the shelves, no empty shelves and well stocked loss leaders. If you looked like you were having trouble, stockers would ask if they could help. The checkout was quick and professional. Yes they asked if I needed help to the car and I said no and that was the end of it. She did thank me for shopping Jewel, no mention of Osco.
While in Osco getting some wine for the weekend I found 3 employees between the isle ends taking about what they did last night and what they were going to do tonight. When I went back 15-20 min. to get some tooth paste I forgot, they were still there, now telling some very off color jokes. I guess only Jewel got the shake up so far.
I did notice that they have lowered some of their regular prices and their loss leaders are getting better.

I have not shopped there in a while, but here are a few gems from my Jewel-shopping days.

I like the rotten meat and fish I sometimes get.
I like the transients in the store who ask if I'm paying cash for my groceries - reminds me of the transients I sometimes encounter at gas stations.
I like those specially-priced packages of meat - you know, the ones reduced for quick sale that include a slab of of greenish/greyish meat. Saves me the trouble of using green food dye

Hi- I've noticed that since Jewel has changed hands, the everyday prices on a lot of staples has gone done, such as milk and bananas. It has gone down at Dominick's too. I used to shop a lot at Jewel until Dominick's instituted their J4U program, and in general they were cheaper than Jewel, but when I went to Jewel a few weeks ago, they were actually cheaper than Dominick's. Jewel often has better clearance prices on stuff too. Dominick's just marks their clearance items 50% off. If the item is on sale that week then it is a good deal. I got a bunch of frozen dinners on clearance at Dominick's back in March that I only paid $1 or less per dinner. At Jewel a few months ago, they were clearing out their Cascadian Farm bags of frozen peas and blueberries for $1 a bag for organic. For the peas, I had several $1 coupons that I printed off the internet, and so I got free peas.

I have found the quality at Jewel to be better than at Dominick's, and I usually try to remember to check the expiration date on items I purchase particularly at Dominick's.

The rumors of Jewel getting rid of their PITA "Preferred Card" are true. Shopping today in Munster I asked at the checkout and the cashier confirmed it,telling me that she didn't need my card. Everything I bought that was on sale got priced correctly without me using my card. I also checked their ad and there were no "price with preferred card" prices listed anywhere.

For whatever reason,Jewel is not making widespread public mention of it.

NFriday wrote:I have found the quality at Jewel to be better than at Dominick's, and I usually try to remember to check the expiration date on items I purchase particularly at Dominick's.

That is a very smart decision at Dominick's, especially in lower volume stores. Recently, I have been seeing more "pink stickered" nearly out of date items at their stores.

Hi- Yes you do not need to hand them your Jewel card any more to get the discount, but if you are signed up with the fuel rewards program, or saving star, you still need to give them your card so your order can be applied to those programs. Jewel is getting rid of the fuel rewards program on June 25 though, and it has not been announced, but I highly suspect they are dropping out of the saving star program. CVS will still be part of the saving star program. You used to be able to apply coupons on Jewels site to your preferred card too, and since they are getting rid of the card, they are no longer doing that.

From what I have heard, Jewel is going to try to be more like an Ultra or Walmart where they have every day low prices, instead of all the other gimmicks like the fuel rewards. A lot of people on the couponing blogs I visit are upset that they are getting rid of the ecoupons, and fuel rewards programs, but I have a small car, and so I usually only save $1.20 on gas at Shell, which is not a big deal for me. Hope this helps, Nancy

Just as a data point, I was in the Jewel at Ashland and Wellington yesterday, and apparently the Preferred Card is still a thing there. When the checker was ringing me up, I said something to the effect of "I understand the Preferred Card thing is no more," but rather than agreeing with words to the effect of "We don't do that anymore because all our everyday prices are low now," she instead helpfully said that she would ring me up as if I had a Preferred Card so that I would get the appropriate discounts. So it's a bit confusing; it's not like the Preferred Card thing is gone--it's more like you don't need a card to get the Preferred Card thing that is not gone.

riddlemay wrote:Just as a data point, I was in the Jewel at Ashland and Wellington yesterday, and apparently the Preferred Card is still a thing there. When the checker was ringing me up, I said something to the effect of "I understand the Preferred Card thing is no more," but rather than agreeing with words to the effect of "We don't do that anymore because all our everyday prices are low now," she instead helpfully said that she would ring me up as if I had a Preferred Card so that I would get the appropriate discounts. So it's a bit confusing; it's not like the Preferred Card thing is gone--it's more like you don't need a card to get the Preferred Card thing that is not gone.

Did your receipt actually show "Preferred Card Discount" on each item? I ask because on my experience outlined earlier there was no mention of "preferred card" anywhere on the receipt.

Artie wrote:

riddlemay wrote:Just as a data point, I was in the Jewel at Ashland and Wellington yesterday, and apparently the Preferred Card is still a thing there. When the checker was ringing me up, I said something to the effect of "I understand the Preferred Card thing is no more," but rather than agreeing with words to the effect of "We don't do that anymore because all our everyday prices are low now," she instead helpfully said that she would ring me up as if I had a Preferred Card so that I would get the appropriate discounts. So it's a bit confusing; it's not like the Preferred Card thing is gone--it's more like you don't need a card to get the Preferred Card thing that is not gone.

Did your receipt actually show "Preferred Card Discount" on each item? I ask because on my experience outlined earlier there was no mention of "preferred card" anywhere on the receipt.

The receipt was handy, so I just checked.

At the top, it says PREFERRED CUSTOMER (and then a bunch of x's culminating in four digits).

After this, certain items on the receipt (not all) are asterisked, and each time there's an asterisk, it apparently means I saved something, because each of those asterisked items (and none of the unasterisked items) is followed by YOU SAVED (and then the amount saved).

At the bottom, there's a SAVINGS SUMMARY, followed by a final YOU SAVED (and total amount saved), followed by TODAY'S TOTAL SAVINGS (and amount) and THAT IS A SAVINGS OF (followed by a percentage figure, which in my case was 11%).

So, to give you an explicit answer to your explicit question, the words "Preferred Card Discount" do not appear anywhere, but the use of PREFERRED CUSTOMER at the top of bill combined with the itemized (and totaled) YOU SAVED entries (which appear, as I say, on some but not all of the items), lead one to think that the Preferred Card concept is not dead.

riddlemay wrote:The receipt was handy, so I just checked.

At the top, it says PREFERRED CUSTOMER (and then a bunch of x's culminating in four digits).

After this, certain items on the receipt (not all) are asterisked, and each time there's an asterisk, it apparently means I saved something, because each of those asterisked items (and none of the unasterisked items) is followed by YOU SAVED (and then the amount saved).

At the bottom, there's a SAVINGS SUMMARY, followed by a final YOU SAVED (and total amount saved), followed by TODAY'S TOTAL SAVINGS (and amount) and THAT IS A SAVINGS OF (followed by a percentage figure, which in my case was 11%).

So, to give you an explicit answer to your explicit question, the words "Preferred Card Discount" do not appear anywhere, but the use of PREFERRED CUSTOMER at the top of bill combined with the itemized (and totaled) YOU SAVED entries (which appear, as I say, on some but not all of the items), lead one to think that the Preferred Card concept is not dead.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.I'm looking at my receipt from Thursday. Mine is exactly like yours with asterisks on the sale prices and the amount saved,and a "saving's summary" just like yours. The only difference in our two receipts is mine is missing the PREFERRED CUSTOMER at the top since I didn't use my card. So yeah,IMO the preferred card is dead as far as grocery purchases go. The only thing it apparently is still good for is the fuel rewards or the 'saving star" program as Nancy pointed out earlier.

This morning I find myself confused as to why the checker replied to my not having my Preferred Card in my possession by saying, "Don't worry, I'll just scan the one I have right here," instead of, "Don't worry, you don't need one, we now have the same discounts for everyone, because the Preferred Card thing is over." (When that does seem to be the case.) It can't be because of the fuel program, because there's no way the scanning of her Preferred Card could benefit me in the fuel program. (Is there? I'm not sure of anything anymore.)

That leaves me with only two explanations. (1) Jewel's checkers are not in the loop concerning the end of the Preferred Card. (2) Jewel's checkers have been instructed to respond to those using (or inquiring about) Preferred Cards as if the program still exists. The rationale for (2) is that Preferred Card users like believing they're getting special discounts, and Jewel doesn't want to disabuse them of that notion. (Recently, when J.C. Penney went to "same low prices for everyone everyday," the store was abandoned by its customer base, because it turns out that couponers like couponing.)

A third possible explanation, and the most likely one, based on my experience, is that checkers at both Jewel and Dominick's will routinely take your word for it that you have a preferrred card and just don't have it on hand, and will scan the card they have so that you can get the discounts you would have gotten if you'd remembered to bring your card with you.

Katie wrote:A third possible explanation, and the most likely one, based on my experience, is that checkers at both Jewel and Dominick's will routinely take your word for it that you have a preferrred card and just don't have it on hand, and will scan the card they have so that you can get the discounts you would have gotten if you'd remembered to bring your card with you.

That's a given. So maybe I'm not explaining myself well. The mystery is: When it's the case (as it seems to be) that one no longer needs the Preferred Card and one no longer needs the checker to scan her own card--because scanning cards is a thing of the past, now that everyone gets the discounts whether they ever had a Preferred Card or not, even if they just landed here from another planet, because the Preferred Card program is over, and all one has to possess to qualify for the discounts is a warm body--why is the checker scanning her card for customers?

riddlemay wrote:why is the checker scanning her card for customers?

Data mining!

riddlemay wrote:

Katie wrote:A third possible explanation, and the most likely one, based on my experience, is that checkers at both Jewel and Dominick's will routinely take your word for it that you have a preferrred card and just don't have it on hand, and will scan the card they have so that you can get the discounts you would have gotten if you'd remembered to bring your card with you.

That's a given. So maybe I'm not explaining myself well. The mystery is: When it's the case (as it seems to be) that one no longer needs the Preferred Card and one no longer needs the checker to scan her own card--because scanning cards is a thing of the past, now that everyone gets the discounts whether they ever had a Preferred Card or not, even if they just landed here from another planet, because the Preferred Card program is over, and all one has to possess to qualify for the discounts is a warm body--why is the checker scanning her card for customers?

I believe that the staff knows that the Preferred Card program is winding down but were told not to say anything about it. When I asked about it the checker confirmed it but her lowered voice and tone came across to me like 'this is just between you and me'.

My thinking is that the reason they are keeping it somewhat quiet is that at some time in the near future they are going to start a big Re-Grand opening advertising campaign. They haven't had one yet,have they? One of their selling points will be that membership or club cards will no longer be needed to get sale or low prices.

Artie wrote:

riddlemay wrote:

Katie wrote:A third possible explanation, and the most likely one, based on my experience, is that checkers at both Jewel and Dominick's will routinely take your word for it that you have a preferrred card and just don't have it on hand, and will scan the card they have so that you can get the discounts you would have gotten if you'd remembered to bring your card with you.

That's a given. So maybe I'm not explaining myself well. The mystery is: When it's the case (as it seems to be) that one no longer needs the Preferred Card and one no longer needs the checker to scan her own card--because scanning cards is a thing of the past, now that everyone gets the discounts whether they ever had a Preferred Card or not, even if they just landed here from another planet, because the Preferred Card program is over, and all one has to possess to qualify for the discounts is a warm body--why is the checker scanning her card for customers?

I believe that the staff knows that the Preferred Card program is winding down but were told not to say anything about it. When I asked about it the checker confirmed it but her lowered voice and tone came across to me like 'this is just between you and me'.

My thinking is that the reason they are keeping it somewhat quiet is that at some time in the near future they are going to start a big Re-Grand opening advertising campaign. They haven't had one yet,have they? One of their selling points will be that membership or club cards will no longer be needed to get sale or low prices.

I'm inclined to go with your theory.