And then it hit me. How much food was there in any given Safeway at any given time? And further more, just how much is one Safeway's worth of food valued? Then I started giggling, telling Lisa over and over that as soon as I get home I have an idea I really needed to write up, and both she and the checkout girl got a kick out of it. That's right, both Lisa and the checkout girl got a kick out of it because we were done shopping. I had spent so much time counting and thinking I was done shopping! Anyway, my counting became comedy. My comedy became genuine curiosity. My curiosity became this latest of all projects that I've decided to unleash on the many unsuspecting grocers out there. Poor fools. Today's victims are:
Safeway / Vons As usual, any and all of their responses will be posted her for your giggling pleasure. And, again, as usual, if it's not something you enjoy reading right off the bat, it's definitely something worth printing up and taking with you to the bathroom. If nothing else, my gift to this world is high quality toilet reading. THE LETTER To whomever it may concern, My fiancé and I were shopping in one of your stores last night and while we were filling our cart with bargains we began to wonder just how much food was currently in your store. I took a gamble and bet her a really fancy dinner that there was well over a million dollars worth of food and drink, aside from alcohol and cigarettes, at any given time in the store. She bet me the same dinner that there was over two million dollars worth of food and drink, also aside from alcohol and cigarettes, at any given time in an average store. Also, as part of the bet, we tried to guess just how many individual items were physically in the store. I took a guess at about 500,000 items, and she took the bold bet of about a million (the same wager of dinner still applies). Could please get back to me as soon as you can so the love of my life can buy me dinner (or, if I'm wrong, so I can buy her dinner)? I do appreciate it and I've been a satisfied customer of yours for many years. Thank you so much. -Benjamin RESPONSES Safeway/Vons Thank you for writing Safeway. Your e-mail has been received and will be handled as quickly as possible. Our staff is available to answer customer e-mails on Monday through Friday from 7AM to 10PM (MST). Efficient customer service is our top priority. We will research and respond to your inquiry as diligently and quickly as possible. Thank you again for writing. It is always a pleasure to serve you at Safeway. Sincerely,
Customer Service Costco Friday, 03 Jan 2003 Dear bensmash@bensmash.com, Thank you for e-mailing costco.com. This is an automated message to confirm receipt of your e-mail. Our staff is available to respond to messages during regular business hours, excluding holidays. We will make every effort to send a personal response via e-mail from one of our Member Service Representatives within 3 business days. While you are waiting, you may check the status of an order by going to www.costco.com and clicking on the "order status" icon. Here are some links to our web site that may be of interest:
+ Online shopping:
+ Find your nearest Costco warehouse:
+ For general customer service information:
Thank you, Albertson's Fri, 3 Jan 2003 Dear Benjamin, Thank you for your inquiry. In order to assist you further we will need to know which store you are referring to. From there we will forward your email to the appropriate departments. If you would like a response concerning this issue please include your name, phone, and/or address. We hope to hear from you soon with that information. Sincerely, ABS Web Administrator Tammy
-----Original Message----- January 3, 2003 Hello EDS: Please handle as needed. Thanks,
Sandra Ref # 479647 Costco Mon, 6 Jan 2003 Dear Benjamin Smash, Thank you for e-mailing costco.com In response to your question, please provide me with the location you were interested in learning about as I would have to forward this question along to the warehouse general manager. Sincerely,
Andy M. Safeway/Vons Mon, 06 Jan 2003 Dear Benjamin : Thank you for your recent correspondence with your questions concerning how many items are stocked in our stores, and the dollar amount of that inventory. We appreciate the opportunity to respond. Unfortunately, we do not have this information readily available to customers. However, you can access our website at www.safeway.com and look under the investor relations heading -there you will find some financial facts and the annual report, which might prove useful in determining who wins the bet. I do apologize that we couldn't be of more help. Perhaps if we knew which store you would like the information on, we could contact the store manager and ask him for some facts such as those. If you would like to discuss this further, or if you have any other questions or concerns, please take the time to contact one of our associates by either replying to this email or calling us toll free at 1-877-723-3929. Please be sure to reference contact I.D. 3385333 so that we can process your request. We appreciate your business and look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for shopping at Safeway. Sincerely,
James Crotty Ralphs/Cala Bell Wed, 8 Jan 2003 Dear Mr. Smash, Thank you for contacting Ralphs Grocery Company. We appreciate your interest in our company. Our stores vary in size and quantity of product and the amount of product in each store varies as well. Additionally, the information you are requesting is proprietary in nature and we are unable to provide you with an actual number. May I suggest, that since we were unable to provide you with the information to help you decide who buys who dinner that you both go dutch. Have fun.
Diane Blanton Albertsons Tue, 4 Feb 2003 Mr. Smash, Thank you for contacting our service line in regards to your question. I would first like to apologize for the time it has taken to get this response to you. Sometimes good news is worth the wait and I hope that this instance would apply. The answers to your questions: 1. Our store is operating with greater than $1 million but less than $2 million dollars worth or product. 2. There are less than 500,000 items within the store. I hope this will bring closure to the bet and thanks for shopping with us.
Torrance Haley |
