What a difference a day makes.
(If you haven’t already, please read Part One of this story, in which we found 425 expired food products at one Dominick’s location and Part Two of this story, in which we found 336 at another.)
After Chicago’s CBS News, WGN Radio, WGN News and the Chicago Tribune all reported on this story yesterday, I received a great deal of email from shoppers witnessing some changes at their local Dominick’s stores. Numerous reports of stores dispatching employees to the aisles and loading shopping carts with expired products popped up on CBS’s website, local coupon blogs, messageboards and forums. Shoppers who thought it was “only my store” rapidly began sharing stories with each other of mistakenly buying expired food, as all around Chicagoland, Dominick’s stores were clearing their shelves of expired products. Surprise — this wasn’t a problem limited to one or two stores, which shoppers already knew all too well, but Dominick’s corporate may or may not have:
Willowbrook: “The aisles are filled with employees looking for expired food!”
Orland Park: “I went down one of the dry isles and it was weird. Every item on the shelves looked like it was just faced, with a ton of room in the back.”
Orland Park: “The shelves were faced. It was just a long line of items… nothing behind them. I wish I would have gotten there earlier. I would have loved to see all the carts in the aisle.”
Danada: “I was at Dominick’s a couple of hours ago. I saw at least three employees throughout the store each with a huge garbage can nearby. They were checking dates and pitching tons of food off the shelves”
Lake in the Hills: “I almost bought a box of frozen mini pancakes at the Lake in the Hills Dominicks a couple of months ago that expired in June of 2007!”
River Grove: “I was at the Dominick’s in River Grove and bought Puckered Pickle Relish which was expired for 2 years. The store had just been remodeled … so how does this happen. THEY JUST DON’T CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS OR THE WOULDN’T ALLOW THIS.”
Countryside: “My Dominicks in Countryside has been doing this for years on everything including the meat and stuff from their deli.I used to tell the manager all the time and nothing was ever done, So I stopped shopping there a few years ago.”
Oswego: “I’ve had to return 75% of the medicine products I’ve bought at the Oswego Dominick’s because they’ve been expired. This is a problem they’re notorious for, I’m glad it’s in the spotlight now.”
Vernon Hills and Mundelein: “Vernon Hills (especially bad and not clean) and Mundelein constantly have expired products. They place big orange 50% off stickers on dairy products, i.e. american cheese, etc and cover the expiration dates. I fear that consumers trying to save buy these expired products. Where is the health department?”
Glenview: “If you live near Glenview and shop at that one, check the dates. Trust me. I used to work there. Check the dates.”
“Well, it’s not like you didn’t hear about your expired products problem here first… you just chose to ignore it.”
“You haven’t listened to us for weeks. Its sad that it took the media to bring the expired food to light for you to actually respond. SHAME!!!”
“It’s a shame they have been so lazy and irresponsible for so long.”
“Hey Corporate,…..CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?”
As a shopper who yes, does shop at Dominick’s, I am happy to see that finally, the expired food problem is being acknowledged. But it shouldn’t have taken this long.
After reading reports of stores who had been “cleaned up” today, resulting in nearly-empty aisles and areas, at times with a single row one product deep across the front edge of the shelf, I realized that corporate will soon have hard evidence as to just how many expired items were in the stores. Each one of the affected stores will now be ordering new, fresh product to replace the old. When all of those orders come in, they’ll know exactly which stores were stocking out-of-code food — and how much of it was sitting on the shelves.
Did you know that it used to be grounds for termination at Dominick’s if a manager allowed expired products to remain in his or her stores?
A reader sent this link to a court case in which Dominick’s terminated a manager for allowing expired product to remain on the shelves. He sued to try to get his job back, and he lost, because he had violated the company policy that no out-of-date or out-of-code product be sold in any Dominick’s store. (Yes, this USED TO BE the store’s policy! Don’t you wish it still were today?)
From the case:
The reasons given for Mr. Denisi’s termination were his … violation of the company policy forbidding out-of-code products in the store-a policy which explicitly provides for termination. That policy states that no product that has exceeded the manufacturer’s “sell-by” or “use-by” date will be sold in Dominick’s and that “anyone found violating any of the policies below will be subject to severe disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal!” This company practice, which protects Dominick’s customers from the health risks of perishable food spoilage, is a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for discharging an employee.
If you read through the case, the manager, Mr. Denisi had received a shipment of sour cream from the warehouse shortly before the expiration date and could not sell it before that date. The out-of-code product was being stored in the back cooler; however, a few packages were on the shelves available to consumers.
Read that again. A FEW packages of sour cream. And he was terminated.
Imagine if all Dominick’s stores were held to the high standards that they once were.
Along with the multitude of email that I’ve received from shoppers over the past 24 hours, I’ve also received some from Dominick’s employees. And it’s not the “hate mail” you might expect:
Thank you for shining the light on the expired problem!! I’ve worked for Dominicks for [XX] years and I can’t believe what Safeway has done to this once great company. The only thing they care about is the bottom line. Making payroll is their only goal. All the stores are down 4 cashier shifts a day and no more than 1 bagger at a time. My dairy department man gets 24 hours a week to run a huge department with loads of parishables. And when it gets busy he also has to operate a checkstand. He gets shipments of yogurt to put out that are going out of code in 5 days. The night crew (who would be looking for expired items when stocking) went from 5-6 man teams to 1 frozen and 1 grocery clerk. The managers are terrified about losing thier jobs for not making payroll and not doing well on the secret shops. Thats all the district managers care about… I would love for you to take this to the press or the health department to expose Safeway for what they are, GREEDY!!!! Thanks for your time , let me know if you need some inside information!
And another:
Jill,
The really big problem that the stores are having now days is the turnover in help and the food chains have brought this on their self’s. Low pay for the new hires is a really big problem. Just in my division alone there are 4 or 5 contracts and the more you get the worse they are. There is over a $10 an hour in pay between me and a new person. The whole generation gap most kids now days don’t really care about a job.
One way to make sure food doesn’t get put back on the shelf is to rip the label or have then put an black mark on the top of it.I was just having a talk with a backstage person the other day and he was like there are so extra things they want the stores to do. They the employees just don’t care anymore.
It is really sad that grocery chains have gotten out of selling grocery’s, and like any big company these days it all about the bottom line. You should see the list of thing a store manager has to do these days and other key people do. We all just laugh and go what is next.
I make a good living there, but I’m also an a old timer. And most old timers care. Trust me when I say it really bothers us seeing all the problems now days. Now days you can’t make a living at Safeway or other food chains. So I’m sad to say it’s only going to get worst.
This employee took her grievances public on the Chicago Tribune’s article comments board:
I am actually a dominick’s employee and this sickens me. Often times, I see my department manager changing the dates on our product so our tables stay full and upper management stays off her butt. They are trying to blame this on our newly shortened “night crew” or sayings things like “don’t you think every grocery store has expired items out.” At my store they have been going through each shelf scanning and throwing away all expired items for the past two days.
I think dominick’s needs to open their eyes. They need to stop worrying about customer service so much and worry about the product their selling, and the prices. Our product should be made of gold with their prices, I honestly don’t know why anyone shops there. I’m curious to see how much longer our doors actually stay open. They are already talking about closing more stores this year, it’s hush hush though and nobody is suppose to know about it. Dominick’s I hate you, I hate my job and I can’t wait until this economy picks up and I can get out of there. YOU DESERVE THIS!!!!
As always, I am willing to listen.
MadHermit says
Wow Jill, you’re up late working hard on these stories! Thanks for all the great work you do for us!
joulscouls says
This has been a problem @ Dominicks for a long long time. It took one voice to finally get Dom’s to hear all of the individual voices…..We’re proud of our local woman being the voice! Thanks for all you do, Jill!
coop says
Dairy and packaged food will usually have an expiration date. What are the standards for fresh meat and seafood? Are those monitored and if yes is it by the state government? A federal agency? Is there a butcher out there?
CouponSpaz says
Good job Jill!! The reporters must have you locked in as a favorite.
I complained to a manager at the Carpentersville store in June or July in 2009 and to another manager in August 2009 at the Lake in the Hills store on Randall.
I used to work for Jewel years ago and understood the reason for rotating food. Yes it took time to do.
Did the employees get lazy at Dominicks? I went back to the one on Randall in Lake in the Hills a couple of days after voicing my complaint only to find the yogurt I had specifically marked with a pen put back on the shelf. I already pulled theproduct off the shelf and somebody put it back on the shelf. Sad thing is they put ‘NEW’ product in front of the one I marked, which says only one thing. The stocker did not check the dates.
Only one thing came to mind:
Never ever shop at Dominicks again!
I told my family and friends not to shop there because of what I found.
What else are they selling us?
TRUSTING your grocery store to follow the simplest rules would bring back any customer.
I only drive by the Dominicks and wonder how many of the few cars I see are employees and how many are actually customers.
I have only been at Dominicks once to do a Swiffer sweeper deal about 1 year ago. but that’s it.
brc says
that this is a rampant problem…
https://www.planetfeedback.com/dominicks+supermarkets+incorporated/food/product+quality/pattern+of+selling+expired+/+spoiled+food/323500
bluedemon20 says
I was at my Woodridge Jewel yesterday around 10 am and noticed a ton of “official- looking” employees there. The entire frozen food aisle was being checked–stuff was EVERYWHERE! My first thought was that they caught wind of the Dom’s story. =)
westsidemom says
I live near a Dominick’s in River Forest on North Avenue and have noticed the store’s deterioration for the past couple years. The carts were rusty and wheels brokens (they recently like in the last month changed some out), the actual roof/ceiling often times is leaking near the produce section and the produce has been moldy on many occasions (strawberries, fruit in particular) as well as expired items brought home on a regular basis. I have complained and discussed with neighbors and friends for some time now. Nobody shops there anymore for actual grocery items – it is used as a “pop in” for milk (checking expiration date) or whatever…It is WAY over priced and very tired. I voiced that it can only be a matter of time before that location closes. How can it possibly stay open with disgusting environment, expired/moldy food and outrageous prices. Even the parking lot layout is annoying. I was so interested to see your article in the Chicago Tribune this morning!
THANK YOU so much for your information and work to expose Dominick’s as the subpar & neglected grocery chain it is!! I will share your article among friends and family. We should never support a chain that does not have it’s consumers health and safety in the forefront.
momof2cuties says
I was in the store last night, and they had only 1/2 of a cart filled. This would be impossible unless they had several more they already got rid of.
Pepsi4Power says
Couple years back, Jewel made a similar shift and there was no backlash about it, just expressed dismay that a bonus was taken away. There was acceptance of the change and just sadness that this perk was removed. However, Jewel did handle it in a customer-friendly manner by having signs posted forewarning customers that this change was forthcoming.
Dom, on the other hand, did it with no such announcement. Instead, you walk in on a Tuesday and use your expired coupons as you always did and come back on a Wednesday and get denied. Although they are in their perfect right to do so overnight, it was not a customer-friendly approach. Perhaps they should have posted signs like Jewel did to advise of the shift in their coupon policy. I used to love the store-imposed coupon policy where they denied internet printables from their own website.
However, I am off-topic as this should really be Dom’s unfriendly attitude towards customers with blatantly maintaining expired foods on their shelves. In fact, if I were the CEO of a manufacturer of the products that allows Dom to stock their product, I would be voicing complaints to their CEO explaining on how they are making their products look bad and could turn away customers from buying their product. If you never looked at the expiration date and kept going back to the same Dom and tried some expired product 2-3 times and each time the taste was off, you may stop using that product altogether through no fault of the manufacturer – as it would be Dom’s fault.
On the flip side, if their is any truth to parent-company Safeway kind of nudging Dom to fail to circumvent the undesired unions and such, that will involve Jill into a buster of a corporate espionage situation – a possible Made-for-TV movie with Julia Roberts playing the role (as she did in Erin Brockovich). Yeah . . . I know . . . I am stretching this . . .
claritygolden says
It’s interesting to hear from some employees. I have a relative who has worked at Dominick’s for 5 years (as well as one who has worked at Jewel for 30+ years), and I can verify that the management is under intense pressure to be profitable. Hourly employees aren’t paid well, and they are usually treated pretty lousy. Even managers are treated poorly, being shuffled around frequently and under constant pressure to meet sales goals. Very often managers are told on record to follow corporate policies but with a “wink-wink but do whatever you must to meet the profit goals”. They’re put in a very unfair position, and I suspect it’s the underpaid and overworked middle managers who will be taking the fall for these expired products.
And Jewel is not much better. They may be better about removing expired products, but they cut corners in lots of other ways, too.
I think it’s important to at least remember cheap food prices do have a cost elsewhere. I love a good deal as much as anyone, but this constant competition to keep prices low can (sometimes, not always) have an effect on how a store treats employees, how ethically they behave, and how they structure their corporate culture.
28117RO says
Please If you belive that Dominicks employee allow this on thier own is crazy. Hold accountable the real people who did this to your stores. It’s the wonderful Dominick excutives the people who earn huge saleries and try to run everything behind the desk, whose lost touch with the customer needs. Dominicks store don’t staff thier stores with enough employees to handle all the task But they try. And most store managers are pupits to thier corprate people afraid to tell them the truth. So if you want to get to the bottom of this mess start with the top ( Oh yes they seem concerned about this now becuase you disrupted thier day)
beaner2 says
That last employee says her store has been “throwing away all expired items FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS!”
Can you imagine how many expired things must be in THAT STORE?? HOLY COW.
Whatsacatalina says
Hi Jill.
Never blogged a day in my life…that is until yesterday, when I read your post regarding expired food at Dominick’s.
You ain’t kidding “What a difference a day makes”.
Not sure why I’m so rapt in this whole issue. But I am.
Every Friday, for the last few years, I stop at Dominck’s to buy groceries for the family. Me and Dom have a history. Now I feel like something has come between us. Am I angry? Or am I sad? Don’t know. Just feels like I’m losing an old friend.
Maybe that’s why I’m so engrossed. I don’t want to believe it. He wouldn’t do me wrong. Would he?
I’m trying to find anything I can, not to believe it. Not finding it. Responses provided by Dominick’s just sound…? Don’t know. Even Wikipedia has picked up on the bad food ordeal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick%27s
I admit it.
Today, being Friday, I went there. I love $5.00 Fridays. But something was wrong. She didn’t seem like the old place. I put a few things in my cart (including the Friday pizza special…love it!). I put them all back. Not sure why. Don’t know. I walked out with only with a few boxes of Valentine’s chocolates that were on clearance. I turned around as I walked out the door. Maybe I shed a tear.
Just felt like I wasn’t going to see the old place again.
Sincerely,
Sadand Hungry
Brittany11717 says
Thanks Jill, My hat is off to you! Dominicks has failed to listen to their customers about expired foods, CS, and coupons, etc. for years. Sadly they put it on employees, with all lack of knowledge and themselves not knowing what is going on. Dominicks obviously thinks their employees and customers are MUSHROOMS, cuz they keep us in the dark and feed us nothing but S***! This is a wake up call to Dominicks (Safeway) with a ripple effect throughout many other grocery stores.
As far as expired coupons, this had nothing to do with it. Having said that I truly believe that Dominicks should take the expired’s for 3-6 months as a goodwill gesture and notice, as other stores have done. What is also wrong with taking the expired’s for up to thirty day, like Ultra does. When they sold us the expired foods and we used our expired coupons they in fact matched the dates of the products. LOL They will need some incentives to get many back into the store. Duh! They also need to put policy changes that are identical at each store on the manners of many store employees. There have been some VERY mean ones out there. I like many of them as well throughout Dominicks and hold sadness for all of them, that live daily with the thoughts of being out of a job in this economy. I want Dominicks to stay open for competition reasons and hope Safeway can sell their Dominicks to another responsible grocery chain, that would care for the consumers. Fix the just for U also…CAN YOU HEAR US NOW DOMS???
HappyMom88 says
…Yes, it all adds up to corporate. In the end they are the ones who are responsible for managing the stores, middle management, and anything with a Dominicks/Safeway name on it.
However, being understaffed does not excuse the ‘will-full’ practices of a store and its employees who wear the Dominicks and Safeway names and take home their checks as payment.
Even when Eve told God the serpent tricked me and made me eat it…& likewise…Adam told God Eve had given it to him, God punished them and banned them from the Garden. We have been given ‘FREE WILL’ by God for a reason.
While we still live on this earth and have the chance to serve, let us use this ‘free will’ as a valuable servant of God & not as a servant of evil.
Let us not serve man (corporate & management), but God. Man will not be our judge in the end, God will.
Rizrazz says
This has been terrific series Jill. I am amazed at how many people are experiencing the same expiration date issue with Dominicks! If you ever need a spy, I’d be happy to be in your army!!! Well done!
Riz
oldspicemonkey says
Hello Jill, well I work for Vons in California and we too experiance alot of out-of-code products in our stores as well. Truth is while I can understand how the consumers feel about there thinking that the employees that work for dominicks, Vons and Safeway and other stores don’t care about the customers,
The reality is we do care about the customers ALOT!!! The problem lies in the fact that district & corperate management have just 1 goal in mind, Make the most amount of profit with as little as overhead as possible, In other words cut there employees hours down as far as they possibly can and double the amount of work they want out of them. This is an example of an average night!
On any 1 night our nightcrew is expected to wheel our load onto the sales floor, break it down, wheel it down each of the isles that it belongs on, throw aproximatly 2 isles a night or a minimum of 45 cases an hour for 8 hours, bale your own cardboard (because we no longer have rippers). rotate every single case you get in, work your backstock and pull what ever product you need to fill your shelves from your end displays, and some of us have to check while doing all of this, Then face our isles, Then after all that is done we have to help out with frozen, dairy and GM haba.
The problem lies in the fact that managment wants more things done than we have time to do it all in. Managment has taken micromanaging to a whole new level!! You see There is 1 other problem that is equal to what I have mentioned, NEW HIRES!! there are more and more new hires now than there has ever been, that is a huge problem. most people they hire these days are between the age of 16 and 30 and start out making $8.00 an hour (minimum wage here in CA), well The second you start trying to repremend them for failing to properly do their jobs and put to many responsibilities on them they just up and quit, WHY?? because they feel that why should they work that hard for $8 an hour when they can work at IN-N-OUT burgers and make a starting pay of $10 an hour???
the sad thing is that these days grocery store jobs are nothing more than transitional jobs until our youth of today finds something better. That my friends is the cold hard truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!