Have had any? Example being you bought something from the local grocery store and paid for it. You come home and decide to open it up only to find that it is a complete mess. There is mold on the food or whatever other horrific description you can give of bad food. What have you done in this situation? Returned it? Complained directly to the company?
I have had a bad experience lately. We bought some mangoes from a local grocery store (big chain store), but when we brought them home they were all bruised really badly. We just threw them out with out complaining. It would have been more of a hassle to drive back and return it, so we just took the loss.
It hasn't happened too often to me but I would return it to the store I purchased it from. The return policy at the grocery stores that I frequent are very good. They will, without hesitation, either refund you your monies or, if you wish, replace it with a similar product. I feel it would be the store's duty to take the matter up with their supplier.
I bought bagels once and when we opened them it was the same day we had purchased them. There was not a lot of mold but there was some. The expire date was still more than a week away. I called the store and they checked their shelves and found more. They mailed me a $15 store gift certificate and a letter thank me for letting them know about it. This was many years ago and I would doubt a store will do this now but I would still try it. Even if I didn't get anything, I would still report it to the store because I wouldn't want someone else to get bad food, too.
I bought some bread and I reached my hand inside the bag, and there was mold. I immediately threw it out. I was mad, but I didn't return it to the store. I just cut my loses. I learned that the bread in the back of the shelves is newer and it's less likely to have mold. From that point on I inspect the bread before I buy it, so I won't make that mistake again.
It has not happened to me yet. I'm pretty picky when I go grocery shopping so I'm always looking out for things like that. But if I did encounter something like this, the first thing I'd do is take it back to the store. This way they can check to make sure that they don't have any other bad ones in the store. I noticed that the stores are pretty good about refunding and replacing items though so I'm sure they'll do this for you. It wouldn't look to good for them otherwise.
Before when I was in a hurry I have bought milk that was expired. All you have to do is take the item back to the store with the receipt and explain. They will always give you a refund or exchange the item no problem.
I bought a bottle of milk a couple of months ago. When I got home, I found out that the milk had turned sour. I checked the date and it was already a few days old! I went back and I told the store owner that the milk is bad and she should have checked her stock. It was my fault that I didn't check when I was at the store the first time, but I felt that if you own a store, it should be your responsibility to make sure your dairy products are fresh. I got my money back and I never went back to the store. It was my first time, anyway, and it was by chance that I had to buy the milk from her store.
This has happened to me several times. I always return it. I don't like wasting money. I have never had problems returning it with and without a receipt. They just give me a new one with no questions asked.
Exactly. I've never had an issue where it was a problem at the stores that I go to. One, they understand that it could happen and two, if you are a regular customer, they know that a person isn't willing to jeopardize not being able to shop at that store over a couple of bucks. I've even been able to return food that once I ate, I realized I was allergic to. I think as long as it doesn't become a habit, the stores won't have a problem.
Some years ago, I bought some chicken breasts in a branch of the Co-op (UK) that was some miles from where we lived. When I opened it to cook our meal, it smelled awful. I called the store to explain, and told them that it was inconvenient for me to return it to the store of purchase. They told me to return it to my local store, and they gave me two packets of chicken breasts to replace the one I threw away, as well as my money back. It was a great result, but to this day, I still smell chicken portions when I open them, just in case. Whole chickens are no problem, but when I buy portions, I still remember that defective packet.
Um, it hasn't happened lately, but there've been a few times where I discovered the inside bag or whatever was opened. The product looked fine, but I didn't feel safe eating it, not knowing how long it'd be opened or -why- it wasn't sealed any more. I didn't bother to take it back, although I really should've.
it hasn't happened to me either. If it happens I am sure it is not that hard to go back to that grocery store and get your money back. I am reading all your experiences here and it must have been pretty bad. I just hope that it wont happen to me with fingers crossed.
If I get bad food I definitely return it. What really stinks is when you like me, live 30 minutes from the store you bought it from. That makes things difficult.
It happened once with chocolate that I bought. It was from one of a our biggest supermarkets and the product was well within its expiry date but the chocolate itself had a white film around, it looked really dodgy. So, I returned it to the grocery store for an immediate refund. However, a friend of mine found a spider in her chocolate (true story) and returned it to the supplier (a big well known name too) and they sent her a hamper of chocolates to make up for it.
I have had a couple of instances, but whether I report it or not depends on the product. Things like mold or spoiled meat I report because it could help others. Things like stale food or partly opened packages I just throw away, because I should have done a better job checking it.
This has happened to me in the past. One time we purchased a carton of fortified soya and after a day it was all goo. Another time, we bought salad and the lettuce became pink. Also, I purchased a bag of apples and the apples was brown. There really is nothing you can do about it, but when we told them about our soya problem they offered to replace it as long as we brought the receipt. Other than the aforementioned, I haven't had any major problems.
It would depend on what the product was. If it was something small I would probably take the loss since going all the way back to the store is wasting time and money. If it is a name brand products, you can complain to the manufacturer and they might give you a refund in the form of a product coupon, but if you want your money back it is probably best to take it back to the store so that they can deal with any other issues that might be going on with that particular food.
I have occasionaly gotten home with sour milk from the store. Most stores will exchange it easily. I just use for sour milk doughnuts.
This has happened to me. I even had a problem at Whole Foods; which has a reputation for it's high prices and supposedly high quality. I purchased Soy Milk (off the shelf) and when I go home I realized that the soy milk had expired three months prior. I called them, and they removed the bad soy milk off the shelves. I simply exchanged the old milk for a fresh one. There was a roach in my grapes. I'm still shocked by that. I haven't eaten grapes in two years. They just apologized and gave me a refund. My mom purchased sour/rancid chicken from Whole Foods. It smelled awful when she opened it to cook. She brought the chicken back to the store and they gave her a giftcard for her troubles.
