Complaint Review: HyVee

I've also had problems with finding expired products on their shelves frequently. Others in the area have complained as well. A few months back, I found a ton of expired cheese in their gourmet cheese section and others that were not even labeled with an expiration date. I brought it to a manager's attention at the time on staff. Other times have included molded bread, expired milk, expired meat packaged in their gourmet cheese section (e.g. prosciutto). 

Since reporting them to the Kansas Department of Agriculture for advertising and bringing up the expired issues, I was directed to look at the stores' inspections. They are available to the public: https://foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.

My guess is the only reason they have passed recently is due to handling the inspections remotely. Their prior inspection record for 2018 is awful. 33 violations total for the store just for 2018. 

Here is just one example of the false advertising in their meat department. 

The meat case advertised their filet mignon at about $11.99 for 5 ounces. The scale rang it up at $12.99 a pound. The packaging showed 2 at $25.98 or $41.57 a lb. The cash register showed 2 steaks at $12.99 each and reflected pounds as well. The receipt doesn't show by lb or by ounce, It is also notable they are constantly swapping out the pricing in the meat case. I am including pictures in this rebuttal.

This happened numerous times. And yes, it was addressed with their customer service department prior to the disputes. 

And, on numerous returns, returns were not processed correctly. 

A customer shouldn't have to make repeated trips to a store to clear up billing mistakes. This is what disputes are for with credit card companies. HyVee clearly should have investigated my allegations, should have asked for further supporting documentation (which I would have happily provided), but they didn't do it. Arguably, neither did my credit card provider. What my credit card provider did was issue me a credit, didn't tell me HyVee disputed my dispute, and then turned around and also paid HyVee. So I had no idea until my card was closed that HyVee actually wasn't resolving my disputes at all. I figured they were communicating back and forth and realized they had made a huge mistake. This is why I am livid, and I think you'd be as well if you lost over $1000 of rewards money.

I don't appreciate being labeled a drama queen for bringing this to people's attention. HyVee mislabels their produce, meat department, and other items in their store wrong constantly. Prior to cutting back shopping there, I'd say 8 out of 10 times I had a receipt that was incorrect. I'd have to go to customer service for a refund. 

Other grocery stores make mistakes, but they stand behind their pricing. Whole Foods routinely completely refunds for these types of mistakes.

I don't shop there anymore for the most part. But thanks for replying.

I only went back because I didn't want to stand in line at the post office. It was 9 pm at night, the post office is often crowded, and I wanted to socially distance myself. Because she didn't label the package correctly, I walked out and took it to the post office. 

The issue has been addressed with the post office and they plan on auditing them. Certified mail is included in priority mail. So once again, let me explain the difference. 

Certified mail is the green labeling for the return receipt requested. It is basically upgraded US mail. It is not tracked by the post office. Priority mail 1-3 day guaranteed delivery with certified mail included in the price. This is tracked by the post office. For an signed e-mail receipt, it costs an extra $3.20. HyVee attempted to charge on top of certified mail already being included or $3.60. They should have charged $3.20 for the e-mail signed confirmation. The post office has already validated they were not labeling it correctly. They likely didn't label my prior mail correctly which is why the others were lost. I have filed numerous claims with the post office, and prior to now, I thought the post office was actually to blame. If you need further clarification please refer to the US Post Office's website: https://www.usps.com/ship/insurance-extra-services.htm. I clearly asked for an e-mailed confirmation which cost $3.20, yet they tried to charge me another $3.60.

Their employee clearly stated on the last visit that she had been labeling the mail like this EVERY TIME. So now I realize it is their fault. As I stated before, I thought the post office was to blame.

As for false advertising, when the meat case says one thing, the pricing on the scale says another thing, the packaging says yet another thing, and the checkout says yet another thing, yes, it is false advertising. The district manager already concluded with me that the items were advertised incorrectly. The problem was across all of their stores. They ended up refunding my disputes directly by cash after I provided them with photos of the meat case, the scale, the packaging, and their checkout. So yes, pictures are proof. So are receipts. . .

Do you want to know the manager's initial reason last year for threatening to call the police? He stated he didn't want me in the store anymore because all I was going to do was look for faults in the advertising and would likely document it. He said this after I showed him pictures of their meat case, their scale, the packaging, and the cash register. His DM then got involved after I tracked him down through another store and he made him refund all of my money. Now I call them out on improperly try to label the mail and he threatens the exact same thing. This isn't a me problem--it is them.

I think in the last year we've spent $100 in the store only because they are down the street from our house. I shop elsewhere. But we've still had problems on the other occasions that we've shopped there. 

If I didn't know better, I'd think you worked there because of the victim-blaming. The way they handled my disputes was atrocious. They didn't even bother to look into the false advertising claims at their corporate office. Instead, they just disputed my disputes and I only found out there was a problem after my account was closed. An account that had been paid perfectly and had well over $1000 in reward's money.

But go ahead, keep on replying and keep this complaint at the top of the list for everyone to read.

I'll never shop at any of their stores again.

Your entire report sounds like you are just some Self-Entitled "Drama Queen" who just likes to complain.

She has been with HyVee for years and had processed tons of my lost mail.
- Really "tons" of your lost mail...all 10 pieces?

Items that have been lost have included death certificates, paycheck stubs, personal financial information, and sensitive documentation.
- Yet you keep going back.

She attempted to label the mail as priority and certified when certified mail was already included in the pricing. She attempted to charge me for certified mail when it clearly lists it is included in the pricing
- What? Priority mail is NOT Certified Mail. You can add Certified mail to First Class or Priority Mail, but Certified mail is NOT included in the Priority mail price.

I had to repeatedly dispute false advertising with my credit card provider,
- Why would it get to your Credit Card? This is something if you were being charged wrong that you should have brought up before you even bought the items at the register. Especially if you say this keeps happening.  No wonder your credit card didn't help you.

He also threatened to call the police on me about a year ago when I went through the store and took pictures of their meat department case, their scale, and their cash register and then showed them to him.
- And exactly what "proof" of false advertising does taking a picture of the scale and register prove?

have told them I plan on taking them to small claims court because of my lost rewards because they have failed to properly resolve the problems that have gone on now for years.
- And again...you keep going back.

I have current complaints on file with the AG of Kansas, the AG of Iowa, the BBB, the US Postal Service, my state senator for help with a government office (postal service), and the civil division of the sheriff's office.
- Yet you seem shocked that they have told you not to come back.  What is even more confusing is why do you keep going back?