Posted on 06/15/2005 8:44:01 AM PDT by Rushgrrl
SKIATOOK, Okla. (June 15, 2005) - The owners of the Super H grocery store here have filed suit against Wal-Mart Stores, saying the Bentonville, Ark.-based mass merchant sent employees from a neighboring Wal-Mart store into Super H to scan its shelf bar codes. Greg McNeil, general manager of Super H, told SN he confiscated a bar code scanner from a Wal-Mart employee — “wearing a blue smock and name tag,” he said — and turned it over to local police, who, under the order of a District Court judge, are withholding the device from Wal-Mart. According to Steve Peters, a Tulsa-based attorney representing Super H, the retailer is charging Wal-Mart with trespassing and theft of proprietary information. At a hearing next week, Super H will ask a judge to allow it to see what information the scanner may have taken from Super H, Peters said. In a prepared statement, Wal-Mart said, "It is not uncommon for retailers, including Wal-Mart, to [check] prices of comparable items at other retailers in town. In fact, on the very day that the alleged incident occurred, Super H also visited Wal-Mart to compare prices. Wal-Mart did not violate the law, and will vigorously defend this lawsuit."
Thank You!!! Someone finaly got it right. Not only will there be only ten digits that mean nothing to anyone including the judge and the police but the scanners used do not store data beyond the currently scanned item . They are based on a ram memory. With the built in redundancy the last item is erased as soon as the next item is scanned. The nearby store computer system then receives the previously scanned item and it is stored in its files, assuming the scanner is set to the proper mode(they have multiple functions). This is all mute as the scanners have a limited range and wouldn't transmit over a range much greater than five hundred feet on a good day. They are also programed to only work within a certain store:ie one unit from one side of town would not work in the store across town.
About all the story is good for is the six oclock news and those with phobias.
Barcodes are just for description. No one puts prices on the bar-code label. This story sounds bogus. The management chain at this Supermarket...probably doesn't know how its own operation works.
"What I don't know is whether they get extra information such as how many of the product is on hand, expiry dates or any other details which they might use to learn more about, say how much you might sell in a given week which in turn they can use to target specific products to impact the competition."
Unless you give them access to your store's database, there is no way they can know how much stock you have on hand, unless you let them into the backroom to count boxes. How much you sell in a given week is not stored on a shelf's barcode...but in your store's computer system.
Besides, since when are retail prices considered proprietary?
"I still find things cheaper on sale at my local grocery stores than at walmart."
Here I usually take the sale ads that come out on Wednesday to the local Walmart. They will match any price on the same item. Saves me time from going from store to store.
I love one stop shopping.
If they were, there would be no sale ads in the newspapers. Everyone would guard their prices like Fort Knox.
I think i've only done that once at walmart that I can remember. I went to Cub foods to buy Progresso wild rice soup and they refused to take my internet coupons for them (don't know why that day). I then took my business to walmart with my Cub paper, had them price match the soups for $1 a piece and was able to use my coupons without a problem :)
If I did more of my grocery shopping at walmart I would probably go there to price match more. Walmart's produce section here is ewwww though..
Some produce I will buy at Walmart...leaf lettuce is one of them. Most of my produce is bought at a mom and pop store simply because it's fresher.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.