A neighbor always asks why we don’t shop more at the Sobeys store. See, he bought some Sobeys stock a couple of years ago. I like him, and want the stock to do well for him, so this is a public service message.

Sobeys is the most expensive grocery store in the entire Toronto. We shop for the bulk of our food at the Whole Foods store and the local market, but Sobeys is the closest, so sometimes we go there for convenience. Even the Whole Foods, known for its ‘not very low prices’ beat Sobeys, by a wide margin, on organic and regular products.

Sobeys prices are outrageous as it is, and 2 out of 3 times we go there, we end up getting stiffed! They overcharge on their already ridiculous sticker prices by 20 to 50 cents. So I buy 4 items, and 2 of them scan wrong, and I end up “gifting” $0.50-$1 Sobeys? Not so fast.

I’m very tired of having to dispute the prices, then wait for the cashier take the time to slowly check if I’m lying. Then, she looks down on me like I’m such a loser for not overpaying. I especially “enjoy” this attitude from a bright-pink-haired girl with about 8 piercings in her face. She probably thinks “Even I can afford to overpay to this wonderful corporation”.

I understand that they assume I want the item for free, but I always insist that I just want to pay the correct price. (In Ontario there’s a law that says if an item’s scanned price is higher than the posted shelf price, you get the item for free, up to $10.)

It’s not that I can’t afford an extra 20 to 50 cents (let me remind you – on the already highly inflated prices). It’s a matter of the principle.

Since it’s happened about 50 times since spring – no exaggeration! – I’m confident it’s their corporate policy. I have noticed that Canadians are generally very shy, and even if they do dispute something at the cash, they blush and apologize to everyone in the line. It must not happen very often and worth an occasional free item. Just think how much more they pull in by scalping off a few cents here and there.

I just feel mad, not embarrassed, when this happens.

Also, briefly, they’re definitely not “fresh obsessed” (I know it’s the Dominion’s slogan, just saying that Sobeys is not like that – at all). Stuff is allowed to go bad right on the shelves.

I avoid going to the Sobeys stores unless I absolutely have to. Oh, and Sobeys – you suck.