How to get your grocer to carry an item?
OhioGuy
I'm especially looking for the Garlic & Herb, Tomato & Basil, plus the 4
Cheese varieties. About 6 years ago, when I lived in a different
neighborhood, I stopped in a tiny local grocery store. Inside, I saw a
variety of cans of Del Monte spaghetti sauces. I had never seen this brand
before, since I typically went with Hunt's or store brand, so I gave them a
try. I fell in love especially with the Garlic & Herb. The Del Monte brand
is sweeter and less salty than Hunt's and other brands I've had in the past,
and I truly prefer it a lot.
The problem is that the tiny grocery store went out of business, and I
can't find these varieties locally. Wal-Mart carries the basic meat and
mushroom versions of Del Monte, but I don't like those that much. We have
Kroger and Meijer grocery chains here in the Dayton, Ohio area, but it seems
like they only want to carry Ragu, Hunt's, and the store brand. I've
brought up my requests to carry the Del Monte several times, but they never
add it.
Have you ever been in a similar situation, where your local grocers won't
carry something you really want? How have you been successful in obtaining
it? Anyone have any suggestions on how I might proceed?
rox
"OhioGuy" <no...@none.net> wrote in message news:foci5t$tdb$1...@aioe.org...
> http://www.delmonte.com/products/TomatoesList.asp?typeID=16
>
>
<SNIP>
> Have you ever been in a similar situation, where your local grocers won't
> carry something you really want? How have you been successful in
> obtaining it? Anyone have any suggestions on how I might proceed?
>
I've never had trouble getting ShopRite, Stop & Shop, or PathMark to stock
items I wanted. In fairness my father worked for ShopRite in their
Elizabeth NJ warehouse. So when I mentioned to Dad I liked something
slightly obscure it tended to end up on the shelf of my local ShopRite about
a week later. All my friends loved that on-demand service.
When you made your inital request did you speak to a regular clerk or did
you get the department manager? Not the store mananger--they are impossible
to sway, just too busy and in demand. The level below that but above floor
supervisor. It varies what the exact title is from chain to chain but the
gist is the person who mananges non-perishable, non-frozen food. That
person should be able to email their RDC (regional distribution center) and
ask for a case of whatever to be put on the next truck. Sometimes it's just
a matter of finding the right human to talk to.
That person will also be able to tell you if the chain itself has a policy
against placing orders like that--some chains will not do this because they
don't want the extra expense & hassle. Ask him/her to be honest about your
prospects of getting what you want. You might also offer to buy a case at a
time...canned doesn't go bad fast enough for that to be a problem.
George Grapman
Have you tried mom and pop stores? You deal directly with the
owner.They are more likely to take a chance on things that are either
non-perishable or can be returned. I requested that a store carry frozen
waffles (he sold enough to reorder) and the New York Times (he only sold
two copies a day and they dropped him).
The Real Bev
> Have you ever been in a similar situation, where your local grocers won't
> carry something you really want? How have you been successful in obtaining
> it? Anyone have any suggestions on how I might proceed?
Ask the manager. Little Debbie Marshmallow Supremes are extremely good
junk food for the price, but very few stores carry them. The manager of
my Ralph's/Kroger ordered a box (what, a couple dozen boxes?) of them.
I bought several and the rest were also sold, apparently. No repeat
order, though. Short attention span...
--
Cheers,
Bev
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Few skills are so well rewarded as the ability to convince
parasites that they are victims." --Thomas Sowell
Charles Quinn
Call the manufacturer and ask them if there is a store in your area that
carries the items you desire.
--
Charles
The significant problems we face cannot be solved
at the same level of thinking we were at when we
created them. Albert Einstein
Stan Horwitz
I googled for "Delmonte sauce" and came up with
http://www.shopfoodex.com/pasta-sauce-pasta-sauce-hunts-monte-c-1944_1626
_2061.html?osCsid=9f0eff938c641120393d14676d830169
or just to to http://www.shopfoodex.com/ and look up sauces. The four
cheese variety is there. You might also try contacting this company to
see if they will carry the other Delmonte sauces on your shopping list.
Gary Heston
>http://www.delmonte.com/products/TomatoesList.asp?typeID=16
> Have you ever been in a similar situation, where your local grocers won't
>carry something you really want? How have you been successful in obtaining
>it? Anyone have any suggestions on how I might proceed?
Contact DelMonte (http://www.delmonte.com is their web site) and ask them
who carries those products in your area, or if there's a mail-order or
special order source for them. Alternatively, check with food wholesalers
in your area and see if they can order a case of each for you.
Gary
--
Gary Heston ghe...@hiwaay.net http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
We live in amazing times, when one person can invent both the Internet
and global warming, then get awarded a "peace prize".
Dave
>
>
> I'm especially looking for the Garlic & Herb, Tomato & Basil, plus the 4
> Cheese varieties.
(snip)
Not responding directly, but what the OP is complaining about is going to be
more and more common all the time. The problem is that the major producers
of grocery products are all coming out with new products at an alarming
rate, and supermarkets can only be soooooooooooo big. Right now, if one
supermarket carried all potential supermarket products in the U.S., that
supermarket would likely be larger than the state of Texas.
Just for one example, see how many flavors of soda are offered for sale now
by COKE alone. It's so fricking ridiculous that the newer flavors are
pushing out the MORE POPULAR flavors. At one point in time, Vanilla Coke
was the #1 selling flavor of soda in the United States, outselling Coke
Classic and Pepsi, as well as all other varieties of soda. Now in the
supermarket, you can find such outrageous flavors as "Diet Black Cherry
Vanilla Coke" and "Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr Pepper" (no, I didn't make that
up!), but try finding ordinary Diet Vanilla Coke or Diet Vanilla -cola- made
by anybody (including caffeine, that is). It's tough. I picked up a
12-pack of diet vanilla pepsi 2 weeks ago, and now our local supermarkets
don't carry it anymore.
Again, Vanilla Coke used to be the most popular flavor there is. You can
still find it, but shelf space is really limited, and the diet versions of
it are disappearing fast.
Anyway, look for Diet Cherry Lime Vanilla Chocolate Raspberry Lemon Creme
Dr. Pepper coming soon to a supermarket near you! (No really, I'd be
shocked if they don't do that soon). And in the meantime, your favorite
flavor of soda will be discontinued. Sigh...-Dave