(This letter was addressed to columnist Roderick Reed.)
I know we exchanged messages a couple weeks back and had attempted to connect with you prior to your recent post in The Indy, New Neighbor Takes Advantage, April 17.
I wanted to circle back to let you know that, like you, we were not happy with a pricing system issue that we quickly identified as part of our first wave of store conversions. Trust that we’ve been working diligently to correct it, and have been making great strides in doing so. The pricing position the Laguna store opened with is not representative of Haggen’s desired market position. Thousands of prices have already been lowered and more will continue to be as we work through system glitches.
Our goal is to provide a unique, hassle-free shopping experience offering essential items guests need, specialty items guests want, and local items that reflect the community – all at fair, competitive prices. We like to think of ourselves as a full-line grocery store with a bias toward fresh, quality, organic, local, and “healthy for you” options, so that guests can do all their shopping with us instead of traveling to multiple stores.
Overall we’re excited about the changes we’re making to enhance our stores, even though there’s only so much we can accomplish in the 40 hours we’re closed. It will take time to completely infuse the store with the full Haggen experience. It’s a journey, as we like to say.
I’m sorry your initial experience was disappointing but we are committed to improving it. I do hope you’ll visit the store again and give Haggen another chance to earn your business and exceed your expectations. If you do see any items – like your favorite ice cream – with pricing issues, please let us know so we can be sure to address.
Thank you. We appreciate your feedback.
Moran Golan
Director of Communications, Irvine
Pricing at Haggens months later, is still horribly high. It looks like they are just paying lip service to price-correcting. Nothing has changed at my local store.
I have been to a number of Haggen stores. I find the prices to be quite high everywhere. The guy who wrote the above note clearly does not understand the company he is working for. It is not enough to write some wordy paragraph or two extolling the virtues of the company, you need to understand who you’re working for and whose mouthpiece you are.
The product at Haggen is mediocre at best and prices are higher than similar stores. No amount of nicety is going to change that.