Pharmaprix – Buyer Beware
It’s rare that (after reading all the flyers that appear each week at my door, that I get “caught” going to buy something “on sale” and it doesn’t work. Yesterday I went to my nearest Pharmaprix to pick up the eggs advertised at $1.69.
I knew that:
– The sale started on July 26th (and I waited for that date) and ends on August 8th. So I was in the right window of opportunity.
– Next, I knew that you could only buy 2, so I had 2 in my hands as I walked to the cash.
– I also knew that it was only available at certain stores. Since I knew my store had eggs, I thought I had all the exceptions covered. But alas, they got me!
Yes my store carries eggs, but my store is not a designated “food store”. So I could not buy the sale eggs in a Pharmaprix advertised in a Pharmaprix flyer even though I had them in my hot little hands. Those of you who shop there must now carefully scrutinize the flyer, perhaps take the time ahead to call (who wants to waste the gas these days?) your store (and waste the employees time instead) to make sure that the items you want to buy are allowed to be sold in that location for the sale price.
To add insult to injury, I called their customer service number: 800-746-7737 to ask about this ridiculous concept. They told me the same information. When I asked for some sort of “I’m sorry coupon” or “make the customer feel better gift”, they had nothing to offer me (I am not a card member of their club for which they would’ve offered “points”). So if you are just a member of the buying public, it’s just tough luck and go shop elsewhere (see my next blog about the nice time I had at shopping at Jean Coutu when I ran into a little snag with their sale).
Two weeks ago, they had no problem selling me the yummy tortilla chips with flax seeds at the sale price. Is that not food too?
If this bugs you too, register a complaint at www.pharmaprix.ca
July 30th, 2008 at 11:50 am
This isn’t a new thing. Ever since they opened
“superstores” they’ve had that insert. It’s
fairly clearly marked as being at only some
stores (and they used to list the stores on the
back of the flyer, though not for some months).
The extended expiry date is another giveaway,
though more recently that’s confused because
they’ve had other inserts that last two weeks,
generally of their own line of products.
Maybe most significantly, they’ve not inserted
it in all the flyers, just a segment of the flyers.
I don’t see the insert with the flyers that get
delivered around here. I’m not certain I’ve seen
the insert in the flyers that are distributed
door to door; if so it’s very close to the stores
that have the special deals. If that’s changed,
and they’ve gone to a bigger distribution, then
that is something to gripe about.
I know I have to deliberately go to a store where
the insert applies to get the insert every two weeks.
A better gripe is that there is inconsistency for
at least some of the items. The Guy store, for
instance, often does not carry all the sale items (not
during the sale, not during the rest of the time).
The Cavendish store has the things I want, during
the sale and the rest of the time, but often there
is an empty space for the items unless you get there
early (within days) of the start of the sale. So
when the insert has special deals on fancy Lundberg
rice or Amy’s frozen meals, I know I won’t find
them at Guy, and won’t find them at Cavendish unless
I’m out there about the opening weekend of the sale.
The incomplete stock seems to hold for the store
on St. Lawrence Blvd, but I’m not certain since I
don’t get there as often and it’s too far to haul
frozen things home.
Michael