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Produce Guarantee

March 15, 2011

Written by Contributing Writer, Sarah Farthing

I love fresh fruit and I get excited when I see the seasons changing in the produce department at my local grocery store.   I’m always ready for the next great thing that’s in season, so the disappointment of biting into a mealy peach or slicing open a brown apple that looked right and felt right on the outside is very frustrating!  I know there’s no sense in crying over spoiled fruit, but I have to admit that when the produce in question was just purchased and looked and smelled fine, I feel sad and angry.  Is there a grief cycle associated with produce decay?

For years I would just inspect each piece after that first nasty bite and then throw the whole lot away, shaking my head and swearing off that particular item for a while, especially from whatever store it was purchased.   THEN!  I discovered the produce guarantee.  Do you know about this?

HyVee, a local grocery store that I love, has a 200% produce guarantee!  I found out about it one day when I happened to mention some bad peaches I bought to the manager of our produce section.  He handed me a fresh bag of new peaches, on the house, and told me next time that happens to bring in my receipt to receive a full refund and have my product replaced.  That’s right!  I can walk in with just my receipt and explain that my guacamole was ruined by four deceptively good looking avocadoes that were a mess through and through when I got them open and they will give me back my money plus four new avocados!

I am in the habit now of just tucking my grocery receipt under my fruit basket on the counter so it’s handy if I need it.  So many people are surprised by this information when I share it that I had to find out for myself if it is really that unusual of a policy, or if folks just aren’t aware of it.

I sat down this afternoon and called the following stores and this is what I found:

Safeway  at Broadway & Mineral in Colorado : They will replace product and refund money, you don’t have to bring the product back but save your receipt.

Schnucks in St. Louis, MO: Will refund or replace your product, but not both.

HyVee in Lawrence, KS 200% Guarantee , they will refund your money and replace the product, just bring in a receipt!

Publix in Tampa, FL- Produce is backed by the Publix Promise and they don’t want you to leave the store until they “make it right.”

Whole Foods  in Phoenix: Guarantees all of its products; with a receipt they will refund your money, without a receipt, you can get store credit.

Jewel-Osco in Glenview, IL – 200% Guarantee.  They will refund your money and replace the item, just bring in your receipt.  Sandy, the service manager at this store, was supremely friendly and helpful and informed me that this even has a formal name at their stores, it’s called the “Freshness Policy.”

Every store I called has some sort of produce guarantee policy in place so if you shop at King Soopers, Kroger or any other food store in your area that is not on this list, go ahead and ask someone in produce about it the next time you’re shopping.  Obviously it’s possible for store policies to vary from one location to another, but it’s worth your time to ask.   If you already know your store does something similar, let us know in the comments!

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8 Comments »

  1. Heidi Farmer

      on March 15, 2011 9:15 am

    I had no idea. Several years, well okay 10 years ago, my mom and I bought 5 artichokes from Whole Foods at a whopping $7 each (it was going to be a special dinner). When we cooked them up and started eating them, we found they were filled with bugs – actually more bugs than artichoke. There went $35 down the drain… I’ve been sick about it for 10 years, and now I found out I could have done something about it – UUGGGG. Sarah says I have “PTPD – Post Traumatic Produce Disorder” and I agree!

     

  2. Marla

      on March 15, 2011 9:55 am

    Great info! I’ve stopped buying some fruit because I have been so disappointed!

     

  3. Mama Nolte

      on March 15, 2011 10:19 am

    I was so mad once when I opened a perfectly good looking watermelon and it was awful in every way. I just scooped up that mess, put it in a grocery sack and along with the receipt I took it back right then! The produce guy told me he would always refund my money with the receipt and I didn’t have to drag the nastiness in with me 😉
    I will now ask about the 200% policy. It is frustrating to see produce you paid for just dumped in the trash! Now we can at least feel that we aren’t out anything except our time.
    Thank you for doing this research and article 😉

     

  4. Sarah

      on March 15, 2011 10:31 am

    I would say that if you remember the exact cost per artichoke a decade later, it’s unquestionably PTPD! You are not alone, Heidi, other people are afflicted too…

    Marla, talk with your produce manager, they will do everything they can to help you get good fruit of the type you love. I spoke to many of them when I was writing this and they are very passionate about good fruit!

     

  5. Sarah

      on March 15, 2011 10:32 am

    Good point, Mama Nolte, all you need to bring in is your receipt. They’ll believe you!

     

  6. Danielle

      on March 15, 2011 11:55 am

    Great post! I’m so glad you included my Jewel-Osco because I was going to say they have the “Freshness Policy.” They also have awesome customer service in general. The Dominick’s grocery chain here has a produce policy as well. Not only can you return it, but they will replace it AND give refund your money. I don’t know if Costco has a formal return policy for produce, but I do know people who have done it and said they took the item back and refunded the money. Costco seems to be very generous overall with their return policy so it wouldn’t surprise me if produce is included in that. I wish I took advantage of these policies. Thankfully I rarely get a piece of bad produce, but it does happen. I think you’ve inspired me to take action.

     

  7. Amandagray825

      on March 17, 2011 11:36 pm

    West Point Market in Akron, OH guarantees anything that they sell. While they do not usually give you a refund AND new product, they will give you the choice. Always fantastic with dissatisfied customers.

     

  8. Daniel

      on April 3, 2015 7:56 pm

    Kroger will replace IF they have it in stock OR refund IF it is less than $5. No receipt is necessary. Just being back the spoiled fruit. Avocados are $1 each. Mangoes are $2 each or $4 for 2 (up from $1.25 last year.) A lot of mangoes have gray areas.

     

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