Comparison Shopping

Almost two weeks ago I had a "medical procedure", aka heart ablation surgery to correct supra ventricle tachycardia (SVT), which was promptly followed by a terrible "cold?" ... stuffy head, achy joints, fever ... (words are not enough to express my gratitude to Mrs.A and Mrs.P for helping me through my recovery period). Any how, while recovering from both, I watched quite a bit of television or should I say more than a few television commercials ... where has all the television programing gone? 50 minutes of "movie" spliced into 70 minutes of commercials? .... Well, judging from the number of television commercials, it appears our local H.E. B. and Kroger grocers are having price wars.

With all the television competition these two seem have with each other, I decided that I would do a little comparison grocery shopping today. These two particular stores are located in the same town, with in half a mile of each other. Below are my personal findings ...

Store Atmosphere (scale 1-5; 1 being the worst):

H.E.B.

2 - VERY loud (I had a headache by the time I left); very crowded; not very clean

Kroger

3.5 - busy but not crowded; much cleaner than H.E.B., but not as clean as other local grocer's

Cashier (scale 1-5; 1 being the worst):

H.E.B.

4 - cashier was friendly and receipt total was correct

Kroger

1 - cashier made me feel very rushed and I was charged for 21 ears of corn, which I didn't notice this until I arrived home and was comparing my receipts.

Price Comparison (I bought the exact same items at each grocer)

H.E.B.

.34 1 bunch cilantro

.67 2 ears yellow corn

.98 HEB 1 lb. kidney beans

.33 2 bananas

1.64 2 anjou pears

1.38 1 lb. strawberries

1.68 1 head green leaf lettuce

.36 2 roma tomatoes

.48 1 cucumber

1.50 1 lg. avocado

1.01 1 lb. red seedless grapes

H.E.B. total $10.37

Kroger

.50 1 bunch cilantro

.20 2 ears yellow corn (If I had been charged the correct amount)

.99 1 lb. Kroger kidney beans

.39 2 bananas

1.43 2 anjou pears

2.00 1 lb. strawberries

.88 1 bunch green leaf lettuce

.41 2 roma tomatoes

.55 1 cucumber

1.59 1 large avocado

1.95 1 lb. red seedless grapes

Kroger total $10.89

Hmmm ... a difference of $0.52 ... I think these two grocers should reduce their advertising budgets and pass those savings onto the consumer ... What are your thoughts?