They Do It Here Too

Oh no! They do it here, too.

You know how in the US Wal-mart will honor the prices in the weekly ads for other stores? If you don’t, let me explain. If a food such as a name brand cereal happens to be on sale and is listed in the ad of a local grocer one week, you can take that ad with you when you shop at Wal-mart. If you show the ad at check-out they will charge you the sale price that the competing store has listed.

I was standing in a very long line at the supermarket last night around 6:30pm. It was so incredibly packed and I couldn’t figure out for sure why. Usually it is overflowing on the first Saturday of every month because people stock up after pay day, however, it was Wednesday. I think it had something to do with Tuesday being a holiday combined with the fact that stores are closed on Sunday as well; everyone could finally make it to the grocery.

Considering that the 15 item or less line was snaked around the store, I figured it wasn’t going to be very quick. I chose a regular line that had fewer people in it. There were two women in front of me. One had A LOT of stuff and the other had just a few items like me.

Things were moving smoothly and then I realized that we had come to a standstill. I looked down the aisle and saw that the lady with a lot of stuff was flipping through about five different sales ads from area stores and telling the cashier which things she needed discounts on.

I didn’t think it was ever going to end! The woman in front of me was showing her frustration. I think I heard a few Meu Deus’ under her breath. I felt sorry for the cashier too because you could tell the woman was making him uncomfortable since the line was so long.

I have a feeling she probably gained a whopping R$ 5; especially considering I heard the word lime. Those are about R$0.30 for five so how much could she possibly have saved?

Now I’m all about saving money, even as little as a dollar. However, I feel the same way about the ad matching here as I do in the US. If you are going to do it, at least pick a non-busy time such as early in the morning or very late at night when no one else is shopping.

Now I know, though. If I see a lady with a bunch of ads in her hand I’ll be sure not to get behind her in line!