The person who made the comment about providing exceptional customer service is correct; I will gladly pay a bit extra if I know I will have an easy, pleasant experience.

I think it is a mistake to read this article as evidence of a conspiracy. I don’t think there is one. Although I knew most or all of these things already, this article is useful at the very least to remind us that those who are trying to sell us things have done their homework (and lots of it) so to suggest that we should put some time into thinking about how we spend our money is just wise financial advice, regardless of your opinion of large corporations and how much money they make.

We didn’t need you to tell us that you work in retail…. you have a bad attitude – that says it ALL.

Who the hell puts something in their basket just because there’s space? Please, if you are one of these people, please start in the family planning section!

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

This is a foreign concept to me. I avoid looking at myself in the mirror whenever possible, and would not go to a store where mirrors were pervasive. This might explain why so many clothing stores have those horrid flourescent lights, though.

Buy in bulk and save?

I agree 99% with Joe Consumer on this. However, if there is an item you know you use regularly, won’t go bad, and the bulk price is as cheap or cheaper than the grocery store price, it is worth buying in bulk. I buy chicken broth and canned tomatoes like this. The advantage? Less need for runs to the grocery store for that one can I need to make supper.

How did they stack all those boxes like that?
I would think that power displays are there to entice you into buying the product they feature. As for the maze stores? I wonder how well they are going to do in the long run – Central Market here in Texas does the same attempt to force you to go past every thing they sell tactic, and it seems to generate some resentment.

To get to the cheese, you have to get through the maze
You can almost always tell how much mark-up there is on an item by where it is in the store. Front, center and eye-level? That’s were all the profit margin is. This is especially bad for people who have to use those grocery store scooters – the only items they can reach are the items that have the biggest mark-up.

Bargain bins and going-out-of business sales
I must confess that the company I work for has been known to put items in the clearance section at 10, 5 and even occasionally 0% off. Part of this is the tyranny of the corporate driven store layout – if an item loses its “home”, then the clearance section is the only place for it to go. But if the executives really considered this a problem, they could do something about it.

IMO, any time you buy something, you should know how much it normally costs, and how much it is worth to you.

Oooh, something smells amazing!

Every frugal and dieting grocery shopper should know to eat something before they go shopping – hunger is the best way to end up with a huge stockpile of buyer’s regret food. However, I think samples are good for the store and the customer – who wants to buy something only to find out it’s nasty? Just don’t let guilt make you buy something that you wouldn’t otherwise because some nice lady gave you a bit.

One note – my husband works in the gourmet cheese section at a grocery store. They will occasionally sample out cheese because it is getting close to its expiry date (not past, though – he will throw that out). Make sure that if you buy what you sampled, that you have plenty of time to eat it before it expires. On a related note, he will cut up any cheese in his case for a customer to sample (and possibly some of the other items they sell in that section as well). If you have a person behind a counter to ask, ask for a sample of what you are considering for purchase before you buy it. The worst they can do is say no.

Save even more with our charge card!
IMO, if you have more than one charge card, you should get credit counseling.

Retailers love to put children to work “helping” you find things
And for god’s sake, don’t give the little rug rats one of those miniature carts. Even if you don’t mind spending your whole shopping trip with little Timmy grabbing every sugar bomb and sparkly package they can reach, we don’t want to hear you bitching at him to “put it back”.

Checking out? One last thing…
If you are really trying to be frugal, don’t get anything in the checkout area. It’s all fluff.