Hellopeter
Share Your Experience
RJ
Roger J

1 reviews | Active since Feb 2018

06 Feb 2025, 12:10

PnP: I suggest that you are ****ming your Smart Shopper customers via ********* marketing

In your weekly Smart Shopper email received this Tues 4th Feb (See the relevant URL below), you are offering Safari Fruit Mince 454gm bottle at a discount on 9.00. I went to PnP Bedford Centre this morning and nothing on the shelves. I spoke to the Customer Service lady - the Lady in Red. Her first answer was “Discontinued” but she went to check on the shelves and then went into the storage area to check there. Came back and told me No Stock AND Discontinued. The first I can accept but Discontinued? I know that Safari still produce this product and so, does this mean that PnP no longer stock it? Meaning that PnP have discontinued stocking altogether (which decision I can understand given the seasonal nature of the product). BUT, HERE’S THE ****: I suspect that the Safari offer is not available at stores where there is no stock in the first place and such zero stock situations do not result in your pumping stocks into such stores ahead of the discount period to meet whatever demand arises out of the offering. Rather, the offer is really to assist stores which do still have stock, to clear same and reduce non-selling inventory. I SUGGEST THAT THIS IS NOT ETHICAL MARKETING. I’ve had frequent experiences in the past with Smart Shopper discounts for various items and particularly for Axe deodorants where, there are stocks on the shelves but not all variants – and always, specifically, the variants that I use are not on the shelves - and if I want to pursue to obtain the discount I have to go store hopping to find it and by the time that I do I have spent more in petrol and car guard fees that the discount amount (which equals reputational points deduction for PnP)! Why does Bedford Centre not have stocks? Well, they didn’t have stocks at Christmas time and neither did Park Meadows and Lambton Family and I eventually got at Primrose Square and Darras Centre – refer above info re store hopping! Surely, if you list a product in the Smart Shopper discounts email then such items should be available at all stores? And.....please clarify the Discontinued story: has PnP discontinued stocking Safari Fruit Mince nationally?

0
Replies (2)
RJ
Roger J's update09 Feb 2025, 14:09
Reviewer Update

Further comment to back my suggestion about your practices. I found stocks of the product at the Primrose Square on Saturday morning. This after the already reported “no-stock/discontinued” at Bedford Centre and also nothing the shelves at Lambton Family on Friday. What’s interesting and which I think, justifies my comments is: The Primrose square bottles are stamped with dates PO: 14/11/23 and BB 14/11/25. I bought (and still have) three bottles bought at Darras Centre before Christmas and these are dated: PO 15/01/24 and BB 15/01/26. What this says to me is that the Primrose Square stock is very old and is particularly the stock that your Smart Shopper discount offer is aimed at and meant to clear. The Darras stock however, is not so old but I suggest that they do not have any at this timer. Reason is, I bought all of their remaining stock in December and in the context of this matter, I think that, as an apparently slow moving item, they would not have replenished (or, you would not have pushed fresh stocks into the store at Warehouse or other higher stock control/provision level). But then, the possibility of PnP having decided not to stock the product at all is an important factor. If indeed so, then you will definitely want to be clearing old stock, and this reinforces my argument about the nature of this week’s Smart Shopper even more. It was only to clear the shelves at stores where stocks are still held. This means that any Smart Shopper wishing to benefit from the offer a reduced (very much reduced?) chance of actually being able to do
RJ
Roger J's update19 Feb 2025, 20:30
Reviewer Update
And, further comment: 1) In your response above, you apologised for the out of stock product. I think that you've missed the point. 2) On 8 Feb you advised above and via SMS and via email with ref*** and that the matter would be actioned "accordingly". 3) what does "accordingly" mean? Eleven days later and no further communication, meaning that you've closed the case?.4) and you've listed it in this weeks Smart Shopper discounts email again. I'll be that eleven days on, I'll still not find it in the shops that I've previously listed. So, perhaps, i should now address the Advertising Regulatory Board