After an epic fail in selling food, will Canadian Tire now sell lingerie? Say it isn't so...
As a long time Canadian I consider it a tradition to shop at Canadian Tire. Unlike Walfart, Crappy Tire is, after all, Canadian. When I need a tool or something for the house I think of Canadian Tire first. This year, I am finding that the products I need are no longer advertised in the CT weekly flyer, and all the stuff I don’t need has taken its place. This has the result of me not visiting the local Crappy Tire as much as I used to, and therefore I am not spending the family’s cash in their stores. Going to the epitome of insanity, CT’s weekly food specials now gets attached to the weekly flyer. As my daughter often says, this is an EPIC FAIL.
Marketing Gimmick: Not From Concentrate (NFC) orange juice does not mean fresher than concentrated OJ
We live in Toronto, Canada, so do not have the luxury of going to our backyard, picking fresh oranges and juicing them. Still we love to drink orange juice, a call which is answered by a trip to the local big box grocery store. Orange Juice can be expensive, so I have done several blind taste tests on the family to see if they can tell the difference between types. In summary, there is no difference in taste between concentrate and “not from concentrate” (NFC) types. Canada Grade “A” No Name brands taste the same as good as the name brands. Added calcium does not change the taste of OJ. Chinese orange juice is discernibly tarter and therefore easy to identify. If you can buy orange juice for $1CAD/litre, this is good economy.
We are, thankfully, not very close to a Walmart Super Centre, but on the rare occasion, we do visit. The Supercentre is 9 km away. Yesterday, Wednesday midday, was such a day. . In summary, the Super Centre is larger with very slightly more variety, their food section is quite good, but their checkout process tortuous. Store location: Walmart Supercentre, Eglington/Warden, Toronto, Canada.
It’s always uncertain whether a shopping trip will be pleasant. Today I hit Food Basics and Wal*Mart and documented my shopping trip. Trip Review: Food Basics: A, Walmart: B-
___Sure, one can go shopping, grit your teeth through the experience and then return home vowing never to go again, but after a short while you do run out of necessities and are forced to return whence you came. At least reviewing your experience may give a reader or two a laugh. Or a cry, a shake of the mane and a sympathetic groan.
Shopping at Walmart can be a bear. Little to no service is common. Employees have little knowledge of products and bar code readers are often broken. Yet their prices are low, and you could use the extra cash. Fear not, here are 10 hot tips for getting the best out of Walmart:
If you’re frustrated, leave. Vote with your feet. Is the checkout line 40 deep? Drop your buggy and leave. Let them cleanup. After all they should have more cashiers at the checkout shouldn’t they? Walmart profits on a “No/low service” philosophy. You are rewarded for this lack of service through low prices, but that does not mean you need to like it.
