Is anyone having problems getting items ordered recently?

[sistasaving$]

i was told tonight that my store will only let me order 1 case of any item. he said that he got an email from corp. about the quantity of items i wanted to order. (i ordered 5 cases of green giant b4 the sale started because i had a raincheck and i ordered 6 cases of birdseye steamfresh). i have had an ongoing deal with the store for awhile and was shocked. i usually get my items on tues. night when the truck comes in with the new sale items. i was told this by the manager at the chalkville store in birmingham al, on springville road. there is a new grocery manager at this location the other one (was great) was transferred.
so i just wanted to know if anyone else had any problems. TIA

thank you all for the helpful info. if it is not already posted there is a blinkie machine right by the uncle bens rice for 1.00 off any 1 2lb box of converted rice which will go nicely for the sale starting today.

[beckyr11]

never tried ordering so can't help you there. but wanted to point out that the 2lb uncle bens is not on sale on the 14 and 15.8 oz
Becky

[nanpete]

Who got an email, the manager or the grocery manager? I would ask for a print-out of the email and then discuss it with the manager.

I think you may have a problem because the special order service is supposed to be for items not 'regularly' stocked on the shelf. But it seems silly to me for them to use stock time filling the shelf, then you turn around and empty it, POing other customers with a stock out. I'd tell the store manager what you've been doing is nice for you, nice for the stockers, and nice for all the other Publix shoppers who want that product for dinner!

I've never worked for Publix, but I do know that special orders are an important service to the company and they check to make sure that their CS teams are 'participating' on a regular basis. My grocery biz friend even told me that they are supposed to get items from other chains if need be - which I think is crazy unless it's for an older person who can just make it to publix once in a while.

someone correct me, but is this even a special order? can't the grocery manager just add a case to his order?

[wookin]

It's true about the email from corp. My mgr told me the same thing. The mgr's of the stores need to get larger orders approved now. It's the same ole story, some people are ordering for resale and ruining it others. I usually order cases for a food pantry. I was able to get my 9 cases of Ronzoni but now need prior approval. It's really not a big deal. The warehouse just needs to know what's coming so they have enough on hand to cover all their stores. If one stores orders a large quantity it may take from other stores in need.

[sistasaving$]

becky thank you for pointing that out i did not pay attention to the size.

i am really at a loss because the other grocery manager has always ordered extras for me. i do not want to clear the shelves that was the main point and i have always abided by that because of the agreement we made. so now i am going to have to pick a day to go to each store on wed and get what i need. there are only 2 in my area the other store is not friendly at all. my husband is only off on mon and tues so if i wait until those days i know everything will be gone by then. i have to feed 7 kids 4 of my own and 3 extras that seem to never go home. i am at a loss. what was so convenient is now turning into a headache. i do not understand why they do not see that it is better for us to get the items ordered as opposed to getting them off the shelf. i am very saddened by this. i did not add that one of the other managers asked me to take some items out of my buggy last week. you will not believe the story he gave me. if i did not have to get back to work i would tell it all. when you hear it it will make you wonder what they want us to do. anyway i am open to any suggestions as to how to handle this from here.
thanks veronica

[nanpete]

Hi sista! OK, my grocery biz friend said they can't show/print you an email (sorry). Also agreed with me that the deal you had with the last grocery mgr was better for everyone involved. Told me the name of your district manager, but I've forgotten it and I think you need to have a nice discussion with your store manager first and try to make him see that ordering you extra will keep you and all his OTHER customers happy. Just be honest with him and tell him about the 7 kids and you have two chest freezers they can empty in two weeks, etc! I have friends with one child whose best friend ate at their house every day and he was a big football player - he alone ate the same amount that the mom, dad & son ate!

PM me if your store mgr won't let you order extra and I'll get your dist mgr's name.

On an aside... it's been pointed out to me that a some store managers are not long-time Publix mgr.. they have their origins in other grocery stores, grocery stores that didn't/don't emphisize customer service like Publix does. After knowing the background of some of my store's mgrs, I can tell the difference, especially the ones that were mgrs for other chains for a loooooong time and Publix just about 5 years! So I don't let that manager bother me, I just have to be a little more firm and I never back down when they start looking aggitated ;)

[sistasaving$]

one of the managers told me that i had too much stuff in my buggy and that i needed to put some items back. after the shock i started pulling items out asking what do i need to put back. what do i have too many of. i had about six loaves of bread. that was the most of any 1 item i had. so i asked what was the problem and he said that he was almost fired because corp came in and found his shelves empty and wanted to know why and he said because of couponers. so i told him to not put me in the group that clears his shelves because that is something that i do not do. he said you shop in here alot and you always have a buggy full. i told him htat it was not our fault that his shelves were empty and that customers were complaining. when i first started shopping at publix they did not put in the fine print that they limit quantity or limit 2 deals or whatever. there was no limit but one of the other managers asked my group to wait until tuesday night to get what was left over. it use to be a group of about 12 of us that went shopping together. she asked that we come early in the morning or late in the evening so as not to hold the lines up with coupons. this has worked so well for us over the past year. so according to this manager in particular he is putting empty shelves on all couponers. he did point out that loved the business but did not like having to receive the complaints. i assured him that my group will always be courteous to other shoppers and we had one of the other cs people to vouch for us. they even had a meeting about couponers last week one of the ladies let that spill i do not know if she meant to let us hear that. i would not do anything to put someone elses job in jeopardy. i did not get angry with him for being the messenger. that store has always been nice to us. i did talk to the new manager that night and he said that he would only order 1 case and that was it. no mater how many people we have to feed 1 is the limit. i will still respect quantity limits but this is just so inconvenient. i will just have to start venturing out to other stores. i know th piggly in forrestdale and west end double up to .99 everyday so i am going to go and check out their prices and see if it is worth me shopping there. i will try other publix stores as well. maybe it is time to spread our wings. this is the closest one to me. deerfoot hates us just because of what some other couponers do. so i do not go in there there he attitude and the hour long check out is not worth it.
i know who the district manager is i met him way back during the manu and store coupon fiasco. so i wil give him a call and see what he says.
thank you

[Iamshel]

Wookin is right. It has to do with making sure ALL stores are adequately stocked. They do run a quote under some of their deals that quantity rights are reserved, so I don't know think anyone should be surprised when they won't allow you to buy a cartfull of the same product, however I have never been asked to put anything back. I can't even imagine what I would say to a manager telling me to put stuff back because my buggy is too full of groceries! That's just crazy.

[Wiggum]

Just want to comment on 2 things, not really your scenarios up top.

1. In every AD letter than runs, there is a mention of reserving the right to limit quantities. This happens in stores sometimes, as some customers wipe a shelf clean. It's pretty rare, but hapenning more and more. EDIT: It's is on the bottom of every page of the ad.

2. The "Letter" is correct, all large orders must have corporate approval. This is because a lot of "mom and pop" stores have been using Publix to stock shelves because at BOGO or some of the sale ads, Publix is simply cheaper than anything they can order. The number one case of this is soda, as once a good 5/$10 hits, convenience stores come running.

[sistasaving$]

well you guys the problem is solved. that is all i can say without breaking the confidence.
thank you all for your comments and suggestions