This is in regard to what used to be one of my favorite stores to shop at for over the last seven years I’ve lived here in Escondidio; for quality foods as well as reputable prices. Being able to confirm the prices over the phone and then send someone there to pick up the article, made it easier for me,being disabled, too.
But now I see they’ve joined the ranks of the larger grocery chains who rely on the customers not being able to (or just not taking the time, to) check their receipts when they get home. “OH, must be a “computer glitch’ is a favorite at Von’s-when it double charges you obscurely here and there for various articles. (Not too many on on one receipt, of course, lest the customer actually begin reading their receipts and become suspicious of this “computer glitch.)
I phoned Jimbo’s on the evening of June 25th and spoke with Angel. He quoted a few fruit bar smoothy (Smoothie?) “prices for me, and wanted to be sure they could beprepared in gallon portion, and wanted them to be preservable in smaller portions by being frozen; and then, I asked him to check to see if he sold a liquid “greens” of any sort. Because of some of my medicine side effects i’d hadn’t had an appetite in a long time, but all of the sudden could eat again and was having a few cravings for someting “like ice cream” , but wanted the real fruit in it. He told me they did “NOT BLAST the fruit intro microscopic pieces, as some ice cream concession stands do in the city and at the mall., and that the fruit was in junks blended throughout the smoothie.,” (wrong info from him I found later, but not relative to this exact complaint.)
I told him I was interested in buying a cantaloupe and a water melon, and he said each was under two dollars a lb---and that for $.20 a lb, they would cut each of the melons for me, down to “bite sized” as I have difficulty cutting large objects.
He went to what he said was “another aisle” to check for the liquid greens, and came back to the phone-said the article was titled ALIVE GREENS---weighed 16 oz, and cost was “7.99“. I put it on my list as $8--Alive Greens BOTTLE.
I spoke with someone in the MEAT DELI too, that evening---and with JAMES the next evening, regarding a couple lbs of “pre cooked beef, with no additives, no preservatives, etc., PLAIN PRE COOKED ROAST BEEF. I wanted the meat separated into four 1/4 lb packages, so that I could freeze three, and open the first one to use it right away; I mentioned “sliced", but confused James, I found out later (says the manager, Mr. Reed., ) because , although I don’t have allot of strength in the cutting and slices area, I at least did not want, not did I expect ANY chunks of beef with ANY grisseled unedible parts connected to it; Not for $13 a lb I’d at least hoped for “cuttable/tender/beef!". I found the meat to have a very strong peculariar oder that I’d never noticed before on any of the sandwich BEEF FROM THEIR DELI---I’d thought it was salt at first---which I detest and know some companies utilize as a preservative---but a neighbor stopped by and said “NO, that is FLAVORED WITH PEPPER--POSSIBLE VERY strong peppercorns--and SPICES.! I did not order PRE COOKED BEEF WITH PRESERVATIVES NOR WITH SPICES NOR FLAVORING---but I tried to soak it in ice water over-night to try to decrease the very strong spicy flavoring additive, but to no avail. I had to BOIL THE MEAT with CHILE and tomatoes to get the SPICY flavoring to become camoflagued.
I sent my daughter to the store to pick up the items on June 26-7:32 PM
1633 Centre City Parkway, Escondido, CA (760-489-7755)
Receipt states: (OOO2 01 01244277)Shiftleader20-Total cost for Smoothie Fruit mixtures
and other items $58.13.
The next day when I sat down with my magnifying glass, I noticed SHE WAS CHARGED NOT $7.99 for the ALIVE GREENS, but $15.90!! Now why would all three clerks verify this 16 ounce bottle of greens will cost me $7.99---as they pulled it from two different “aisles” or “departments” in order to get the price correct, by the way,t hey said on the phone...I phone the store and spoke with Mr. Reed-the manager. He asked, the UPC number-which is 2 00395 41590 2---I might have merely accepted his apology and offer to refund my money, except that the manner in which he “tried to explain” how this could happen---to a customer, didn’t make sense to me at all. He has TWO prices listed on his bottle? Why is that ? it’s 16 ounces...but it has a
UNIT PRICE OF $7.95---YET over to the right, his label states, also in white letters with a black background--a “ TOTAL PRICE.” of $1590. He claims his “check out computer” picked up the wrong PRICE for this 16 ounce bottle of Alive Greens ? If this is a “label” problem somehow connected with his “computer system”....then HOW CAN IT BE THAT THREE OF HIS OWN EMPLOYEES, JAMES, ANGEL AND RANDI ALL THREE “quoted” the PRICE OF THE ARTICLE as costing $7.99. ?
Instead of crediting the credit card I used for the transaction, I chose to question this item in more detail-BECAUSE his reasoning seemed to not be good “reasoning” at all. WHAT IS THE PRICE OF YOUR 16 OZ. Alive Green Bottle , Mr. Reed ? The ONE, AND FINAL and should be easily calculatable PRICE ?
When I discussed this with my daughter, later and pointed it out on the RECEIPT--and showd her how the QUOTED PRICE-I.E. THREE TIMES was $8--she said , she saw the NUMBER 15.90 pop up on a BIG BOARD----She said “The kid who checked out the groceries, was the same kid who’d made the smoothies”, she said HE SAID that he had to charge the PRICE LISTED ON THE BOARD. What ? What is this “board?” is it a giant electronic replica of their CASH REGISTER perhaps ? Because it’s starting to appear to me, that JIMBOS has now adopted a computer data base that puts them on the same level of (lack of) integrety as the big guys; Vons, is especially known for the "OH, MUST BE A COMPUTER GLITCH CHARGING YOU DOUBLE.--ha ha silly us" and oh, the well known one is "gee the sale prices must not have been connected to or data base, yet!"ha ha. No, this is not a computer glitch; this is a STORE CEO KNOWING WELL AND GOOD (or in this case, bad., )that you’re going to be doubly charged for SOME items -some of the time-Probably , specifically NOT twice on the same receipt-makes it too obvious it ain’t no computer glitch of any kind--it’s a predetermined expense on behalf of unaware shoppers.
I’m especially concerned about the defensiveness and attitude of this “meat manager" named Miquel; This is not the quality of the beef we used to be able to buy at Jimbos, as being “no prservatvites etc., IN TRYING TO DEFEND THE COMPANY’S REPUTABLE NAME “Diestel Ranch Roast Beef” gluten free, nitrate/nitrate free FTG etc., Is the company stating that they TRIED TO ADD “NATURAL FLAVOR?" Because when you order NATURAL PURE UNALDERATED PRE COOKED ROAST BEEF...it “needs no added" “natural flavorings."
COATED WITH SEA SALT NATURAL FLAVOR GARLIC PRUNE CONCENTRATE. It may have been “prepared in a non-gluten “” I think that h as to be a typo on behalf of the beef company,“prepared in a non-gluten free environment “...who would go to the trouble of seeing out beef prepared in a “non-gluten” FREE environment ? don’t we want “GLUTEN-FREE” environments?) All those great attempts to become gluten free--only to SMOTHER THE MEAT WITH SPICES AND UNGODLY AMOUNTS OF PEPPER---that we didn’t ask for...
This man tried to say I hung up on him; I did not. I merely said “This is something that is too complicated to discuss on the phone-talk with your meat producers,a nd PLEASE FIND the “natural” roast beef you used to serve your customers -I’ll be writing to you, it’s too complicated to resolve in a phone call. Thankyou, gotta go... (It’s always good for one’s defense if you can portray the complaining party as a person who hangs up on people-On the contrary--He wanted to argue, and I know verbal arguments are fruitless and unprovable-so I ASSERTED , I DO NOT WANT TOARGUE over the phone---and HE PREFERRED it.
Miquel--Argumentative, uncooperative , defensive meat manager.
Mr. Reed --verbally polite, but suspiciously unable to support his “ check-out processes” clearly.(How many prices need he list on his confusing LABLES for check -out ?).
I need more than just a refund here; I need to know they aren’t going tobe blaming NEW GLITCHES IN THE FUTURE of their store, on this “board”, this “ unit price versus total price” confusion they’ve set up in their pricing/and OVER-CHARGING, process.Surely Mr. Reed nor Miquel would understand this is MOREOVER a matter of PRINCIPLES---(We know they want to double charge us whenever they can-we just wonder why other agencies ALLOW it.
Sincerely,
Lynda F. Phillips
(((redacted)))