Meijer Says "Thank You, Kroger!"

Tweet

THE mega-chain of grocery stores in my neck of the woods is Cincinnati-based Kroger. I was in northern Kentucky not too long ago and passed three Kroger stores ON THE SAME STREET within five miles of one another. When my mom and aunt were alive I'd do their grocery shopping for them, given that they weren't able to get out and about. One day my aunt called and asked if I was going to Kroger, and I replied, "No, honey, I can't afford Kroger's 'low prices' anymore." Add to those overpriced low prices (an example: when I drink soft drinks at home I drink Diet Rite, because it has no sodium, no caffeine, and no aspartame...well, it's $1.79 at Kroger, while Meijer sells it for $1.39 and Wally World sells it for as little as $1!) the fact that they have started charging a fee for you to get cash back at the checkout if you use your debit card. They claim this is because they are incurring fees. Yes, they are. However, they also get fees from credit cards -- anywhere from 1.5% to 3.5%, and they do NOT charge a customer extra for using a credit card. That's right, kids, I can walk in there, get $100 worth of groceries, pull out my American Express, and Kroger will gleefully eat the 3.5% fee that American Express charges. So, on GP (General Principles), I took my grocery list to Meijer today. I came home with my hundred bucks in groceries and cash back with no fee. Meijer, no doubt, says, "Thank you, Kroger!" for the extra business the Kroger fee policy is throwing Meijer's way. An appropriate song: