In the grand scheme of things this is a gnat...

[kickysnana]

But at least I got to vent.

Email to Craig Herkert CEO Supervalue

Re: "Research shows consumers are happier with fewer choices." Quote from a Print only story in print only edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Your new fewer choice policy is epic fail. Cub used to be my #1 shopping choice, now it is my last. This week I was hoping not to have to drive farther but I was unable to buy Morton Popcorn Salt, Cascade Complete with Bleach, Ocean Spray Diet Individual Juice Bottles at Cub. Note: I did not buy something instead I went to Roundys! Next time I will just skip Cub. I swear they ought to call back all the MBA's given in the last 20 years!

:spank:

[trotsky]

1. I don't envy grocers one bit.

Their profit margins are literally razor-thin. You will basically only succeed if you go the Lunds/Byerly's/Kowalski's route and cater to the upscale shoppers who will shell over more money, or go as cheap as possible.

Cub has GOT to be feeling the pinch from the likes of Aldi and Trader Joe's (same parent company). I know our family has taken LOTS of the money that we would have spent at Cub and given it to those two stores. If you look at those two stores, they sure as heck don't have choices. They have what they have, and you can take it or leave it. Their prices (and quality) tend to encourage you to do a lot more of the former.

[dflprincess]

2. That quote bugged me as well

There is a Cub about 2 blocks from me that I rarely shop at. The service is awful and I never find everything on my list - and this was before they decided to cut back.

I usually go to a Festival (Knowland's owns it) - they're somewhere between Cub and Byerly's price wise (probably closer to Byerly's) and have a limited selection in some areas as well but the service is better.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. I LIKE your suggestion about calling back all the MBAs given in the last

--let's make it 30 years, ever since Reaganomics became a religion.

It's all numbers with them, raw numbers without the human factor considered. "Oh, we can raise our profits .05% by firing x number of workers, reducing the quality of our product, and outsourcing our customer service hotline to Bangladesh. Let's go for it."

I once talked to a "reformed" MBA who said that the first professor he had told the class, "I'm going to teach you to find the truth behind all the bullshit you see in corporate reports and PR statements."

However, the entire remainder of the curriculum taught students how to manipulate numbers to PRODUCE the aforementioned bullshit.