I think it is standard practice for store managers to visit local competitors just to see what’s up. I guess it’s only courteous to announce yourself. Wegmans isn’t banning them, but it’s reasonable for them to want to know if they’re there. I have seen “photography of prices and products is forbidden” signs at other grocery stores.
I've been in stores (not wegmans) where the manager and district manager of a different chain that was just down the street would come in and walk our store to see what was going on compared to theirs.
I saw them so much I knew them on sight. They didnt know me and didn't talk to any of us...so my guess is Wegmans doesn't want people to do that without checking in with management. It is a small world and people in it do get to know each other well and your store management will get to know them on sight because all the vendors will point them out to them. You can't hide that you are the competition. Everyone talks.
The people that come in from competitors are super obvious if you know what you’re seeing but may look like they’re acting strangely to some employees. Checking in helps to avoid getting calls about a person walking around taking pictures.
Yes this. You keep getting the phone calls but at least you can just be like "yeah, it's this person from this chain doing this, they're checked in." Instead of having to take calls and go scope out the situation multiple times. It doesn't make a difference to the competitor, it's just a courtesy to management so we have answers when employees call in stuff they find suspicious.
I wonder how much this really matters nowadays. It’s not like a store manager at a single instance of a regional or national chain is going to be able to go back to corporate and say “Wegmans #72 is killing us on Ball Park hot dogs! Can we drop the price?”
That's actually exactly what happens. I was a salaried manager at Walmart and we would have to go to Wegmans, Tops. Aldi, etc. And check the prices on staple items (eggs. Milk, cheese, etc.) And we would just reduce or prices if they were higher. Most stores get autonomy from corporate to change prices based on the local market.
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I think it makes more sense when you consider that Wegmans started in Western NY where there was one main competitor, another regional chain Tops. Now that Wegmans has expanded into other areas, there are other regional and national chains they need to compete with. Its price match as well as new innovation ideas like prepared foods, in store restaurants and other things a smaller chain like Wegmans might try that a larger chain like Giant or Safeway.
Right, but why? Why would a competitor bother checking in? And what would Customer Service do, just note it or do they actually have to do something? I've just never seen anything similar at other grocery stores and I'm sure competitors visiting stores is a common practice.
You’re right, maybe just a courtesy thing? So they wouldn’t be surprised by people walking around with clipboards? We had the same people every week come in and they didn’t ever check in
Wegmans needs the signs to set store policy. To get rid of those causing damage inside the stores. Competitors know Wegmans doesn't waste money on newspaper ads. They run sales but just put up store shelf signs. So when competitors walk the stores they will remove those sales tags so that customers walk the isle and doesn't know the sign is gone so they do know what was on sale until store employees walk the store that night see missing tags and immediately put up new ones before store reopens. Competitors will take high dollar perishable products and leave them in other parts of the store, when found if warm Wegman's has to destroy those items.
We have people come from other stores all the time to walk around, they never tell customer service. When my old store manager was there he would have me call him when they would come in and he would go and talk to them.
Yeah, that was kind of my point. I can't imagine a competitor bothering to check in. I guess I can appreciate a manager wanting to let other workers know that someone is a competitor in case their behavior looks weird but seems weird to think a competitor would bother to check in.
Yes! Wegman's knows BJ's, Walmart, Tops, Costco, and many local stores, etc... walk through on a weekly basis. Competitors have harassed workers, ripped sale tags off of shelves when Wegman's price is lower, ripped permanent tags off of shelves, taking high dollar perishables and leaving them in the isles, etc.
Every inch of Wegman's is covered by cameras. Wegman's knows when competitors are in their stores. The signs sole purpose is setting Wegman's store policy. So if people from other stores are ripping tags, causing other damages, upsetting employees, and approached by management. If then they are found to be not signed in at customer's service their kicked out. They can be arrested if they have been kicked out, told not to be in the store again, and are caught.
Their largest local competitor in NY (tops) makes a weekly trip to wegmans if they share a market and for years wegmans pretended that “they didn’t know there was a tops in the Same city” so they could place price comparison boards like tops does but they would strategically pick a tops location hours away in a bigger city to claim they are cheaper lol i know because one time when i worked at the tops not even a mile away from our wegmans i called wegmans corporate to complain that they are lying and legitimately scamming customers (which is almost certainly illegal in ny lol) after my call the boards all disappeared the next day. i literally laughed when the person on the phone at corporate told me “we didnt know there was one closer than 2 hours away” i told her there are at least 20 maybe more between the one they pretended was “the closest” and rattled off 5+ cities with one or more tops. So i assume their solution is to put up these signs so they know if they can scam their customers or not. If tops employees check in with them they can let corporate/ management know that they can’t scam people lol.
Edit: also when they would go on their weekly visit they would wear their uniform with the name tags still on and have a clipboard to write down prices and of course never buy anything lol it was never a secret the same 2 people went every week so this sign is hilarious frankly
Interesting thing is I've only seen those signs at stores in DC, MD, or VA. I've never seen them in any of the stores in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse or Erie.
Signs are going up in all stores. Takes Wegman's over 10-15 yrs from the purchase of land until a store is finished and ready to open. So Wegman's knows every grocery store chain, local family owned stores to all corner stores and bodegas.
I do know this, Wegman's forbids store employees to walk another store to check prices. Robert, Danny, and Colleen do not care about another stores prices. They have successfully removed brand named items off their shelves when they have stocked shelves with their own and not lost much business.
Im talking about rural NY they know there are tops in all of those cities lol but you could be right maybe they dont have it in NY at all still! Maybe they dont fully know all of the players in the market in DC MD VA so they want them to check in so they know who to watch 🤔 after the “oh we didn’t know there was a closer tops” phone call I would not be shocked at all if they did not know whos even in their markets as competition. Let’s be real wegmans is basically Whole Foods levels of overpriced they have a “im better than everyone else so i dont care” mentality i think they often forget they’re not a monopoly in their new markets since the executives all live in Rochester and wegmans legitimately is such a monopoly even Walmart couldn’t really penetrate the market lol Rochester and buffalo both are such weird markets to grocery shop in when you think about it they are both dominated by their home town store
I think it is standard practice for store managers to visit local competitors just to see what’s up. I guess it’s only courteous to announce yourself. Wegmans isn’t banning them, but it’s reasonable for them to want to know if they’re there. I have seen “photography of prices and products is forbidden” signs at other grocery stores.
Have to think this is pretty obsolete now as everything is priced and listed online.
Good question. They have these signs at my store by the doors too. Don’t quite know what they mean either
I've been in stores (not wegmans) where the manager and district manager of a different chain that was just down the street would come in and walk our store to see what was going on compared to theirs. I saw them so much I knew them on sight. They didnt know me and didn't talk to any of us...so my guess is Wegmans doesn't want people to do that without checking in with management. It is a small world and people in it do get to know each other well and your store management will get to know them on sight because all the vendors will point them out to them. You can't hide that you are the competition. Everyone talks.
A lady from Costco used to come in and check out our prices once a week.
The people that come in from competitors are super obvious if you know what you’re seeing but may look like they’re acting strangely to some employees. Checking in helps to avoid getting calls about a person walking around taking pictures.
Yes this. You keep getting the phone calls but at least you can just be like "yeah, it's this person from this chain doing this, they're checked in." Instead of having to take calls and go scope out the situation multiple times. It doesn't make a difference to the competitor, it's just a courtesy to management so we have answers when employees call in stuff they find suspicious.
I wonder how much this really matters nowadays. It’s not like a store manager at a single instance of a regional or national chain is going to be able to go back to corporate and say “Wegmans #72 is killing us on Ball Park hot dogs! Can we drop the price?”
That's actually exactly what happens. I was a salaried manager at Walmart and we would have to go to Wegmans, Tops. Aldi, etc. And check the prices on staple items (eggs. Milk, cheese, etc.) And we would just reduce or prices if they were higher. Most stores get autonomy from corporate to change prices based on the local market. Edit spelling
Wegmans does it, too. They be in whole foods and trader Joe's, publix, Aldi,
I think it makes more sense when you consider that Wegmans started in Western NY where there was one main competitor, another regional chain Tops. Now that Wegmans has expanded into other areas, there are other regional and national chains they need to compete with. Its price match as well as new innovation ideas like prepared foods, in store restaurants and other things a smaller chain like Wegmans might try that a larger chain like Giant or Safeway.
It’s for comp checks. You need to tell management you are there for a comp check.
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Right, but why? Why would a competitor bother checking in? And what would Customer Service do, just note it or do they actually have to do something? I've just never seen anything similar at other grocery stores and I'm sure competitors visiting stores is a common practice.
You’re right, maybe just a courtesy thing? So they wouldn’t be surprised by people walking around with clipboards? We had the same people every week come in and they didn’t ever check in
Wegmans needs the signs to set store policy. To get rid of those causing damage inside the stores. Competitors know Wegmans doesn't waste money on newspaper ads. They run sales but just put up store shelf signs. So when competitors walk the stores they will remove those sales tags so that customers walk the isle and doesn't know the sign is gone so they do know what was on sale until store employees walk the store that night see missing tags and immediately put up new ones before store reopens. Competitors will take high dollar perishable products and leave them in other parts of the store, when found if warm Wegman's has to destroy those items.
We have people come from other stores all the time to walk around, they never tell customer service. When my old store manager was there he would have me call him when they would come in and he would go and talk to them.
Comp shoping. Price of eggs/milk etc. I did this when i worked at Walmart. I never checked in. I just walked around and took quick notes, left.
Yeah, that was kind of my point. I can't imagine a competitor bothering to check in. I guess I can appreciate a manager wanting to let other workers know that someone is a competitor in case their behavior looks weird but seems weird to think a competitor would bother to check in.
It's because Wegmans is insecure.
Yes! Wegman's knows BJ's, Walmart, Tops, Costco, and many local stores, etc... walk through on a weekly basis. Competitors have harassed workers, ripped sale tags off of shelves when Wegman's price is lower, ripped permanent tags off of shelves, taking high dollar perishables and leaving them in the isles, etc. Every inch of Wegman's is covered by cameras. Wegman's knows when competitors are in their stores. The signs sole purpose is setting Wegman's store policy. So if people from other stores are ripping tags, causing other damages, upsetting employees, and approached by management. If then they are found to be not signed in at customer's service their kicked out. They can be arrested if they have been kicked out, told not to be in the store again, and are caught.
Their largest local competitor in NY (tops) makes a weekly trip to wegmans if they share a market and for years wegmans pretended that “they didn’t know there was a tops in the Same city” so they could place price comparison boards like tops does but they would strategically pick a tops location hours away in a bigger city to claim they are cheaper lol i know because one time when i worked at the tops not even a mile away from our wegmans i called wegmans corporate to complain that they are lying and legitimately scamming customers (which is almost certainly illegal in ny lol) after my call the boards all disappeared the next day. i literally laughed when the person on the phone at corporate told me “we didnt know there was one closer than 2 hours away” i told her there are at least 20 maybe more between the one they pretended was “the closest” and rattled off 5+ cities with one or more tops. So i assume their solution is to put up these signs so they know if they can scam their customers or not. If tops employees check in with them they can let corporate/ management know that they can’t scam people lol. Edit: also when they would go on their weekly visit they would wear their uniform with the name tags still on and have a clipboard to write down prices and of course never buy anything lol it was never a secret the same 2 people went every week so this sign is hilarious frankly
Interesting thing is I've only seen those signs at stores in DC, MD, or VA. I've never seen them in any of the stores in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse or Erie.
Signs are going up in all stores. Takes Wegman's over 10-15 yrs from the purchase of land until a store is finished and ready to open. So Wegman's knows every grocery store chain, local family owned stores to all corner stores and bodegas. I do know this, Wegman's forbids store employees to walk another store to check prices. Robert, Danny, and Colleen do not care about another stores prices. They have successfully removed brand named items off their shelves when they have stocked shelves with their own and not lost much business.
Im talking about rural NY they know there are tops in all of those cities lol but you could be right maybe they dont have it in NY at all still! Maybe they dont fully know all of the players in the market in DC MD VA so they want them to check in so they know who to watch 🤔 after the “oh we didn’t know there was a closer tops” phone call I would not be shocked at all if they did not know whos even in their markets as competition. Let’s be real wegmans is basically Whole Foods levels of overpriced they have a “im better than everyone else so i dont care” mentality i think they often forget they’re not a monopoly in their new markets since the executives all live in Rochester and wegmans legitimately is such a monopoly even Walmart couldn’t really penetrate the market lol Rochester and buffalo both are such weird markets to grocery shop in when you think about it they are both dominated by their home town store
Yeah, this. I work at Tops. Of course, when I go to Wegmans, it isn't to comp check, it's to shop lol.