Incorrect Labels Stop Shoppers' Savings
By GREG JANDA and GRANT STINCHFIELD
Updated 3:06 AM CDT, Sun, Apr 12, 2009
Just about everything is being downsized -- chips, tuna fish, and even enchilada sauce. It's a cost saving measure for the producers of these items, but if we know it's happening, shouldn't Wal-Mart?
Michael Matthews uses the price per ounce labels on the Wal-Mart shelves to help make his purchasing decisions. "You kinda expect everything to be correct when making those calculations," he says.
But he noticed at a Wal-Mart located in The Colony, everything wasn't correct.
The price per ounce for his Santitas chips was being calculated using the old 16 oz bags -- the chips are now 14 ounces. Instead of 11.2 cents an ounce they actually cost 12.7 cents. That's a 21 cent difference per bag.
"If your using that to make a decision, it's a very important thing and it has to be correct or your going to make the wrong decision," Matthews says.
Our investigation uncovered the Wal-Mart in The Colony failed to update pricing for numerous downsized items, from dip mix to enchilada sauce. A tuna fish can we found on store shelves actually cost 24 cents an once -- not the 20 cents listed on the shelf.
Wal-Mart thanked NBCDFW for bringing the issue to its attention, adding it has corrected the discrepancies and believes the incorrect pricing was an isolated incident.
Sisters of Savings co-founder Cheryl Jackson was pleased to hear of the resolution.
"I applaud the consumer for seeing that and bringing it to the attention, and I applaud Wal-Mart for acting, you know, so quickly, because if they didn't, that's were the problem would come into place."
Matthews was still skeptical, though, adding, "I'm going to check some other stores besides that one."
First Published: Apr 10, 2009 8:11 AM CDT
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