Posted on: Wednesday, August 14, 2002
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Product mix continues to be hot topic
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
A pair of columns a few weeks back about the communications gap most consumers experience with grocery stores brought a flurry of responses, mostly along the lines of "Yeah, and here's another thing...."
Darlene Stegmaier of Honolulu said the impression she gets, and it seems a reasonable one, is that the department managers and buyers in individual grocery stores feel as powerless as shoppers to influence the product mix. Such decisions may be made far from the individual buyers' kuleana and space is at such a premium that when something comes in, something else has to go.
Stegmaier's view is supported by another woman who called to share her frustration. This Kailua shopper has had the experience of being told that a product was discontinued, only to find it at another store in the same chain.
After a Mainland trip during which she enjoyed a delicious lactose-free ice cream made by a national manufacturer, she asked if Hawai'i could get it and was told no. When the store she usually patronizes ran out of eggnog at Christmas, she asked if they couldn't bring some in from a sister store that she knew was well stocked, and was told that the stores couldn't move products around in that way.
This caller cheerfully labeled herself a "nuisance maker" who never hesitates to ask for what she wants, something that's not true for most people.
This last is something grocery stores should recognize: No news isn't good news. If stores are not hearing many complaints or requests from people, it may be because we are shy or dispirited to ask, or are unaware of alternatives.
Speaking of which, Cathy Driscoll, general manager of Kokua Market, called to say the store she manages on King Street in Mo'ili'ili is doing almost all of the things on my rambling wish list: providing a suggestion box and bulletin board; placing buyers on the floor to talk to shoppers or making them available on the phone; bringing new items in on request and making special orders.
They even offer store tours to introduce their product lines, which include chemical- and preservative-free foods, vegetarian products, free-range and hormone-free meats and whole and organically grown foods. You don't have to be a member to shop there.
