WWMS?

Sherri T.

Last week’s blog highlighted how surprised I was to learn that my older (and probably wiser) sister often asks: WWMD?  What Would Mommy Do?

I thought this was amusing until I found myself asking, just this very week, WWMS?  Here’s why.

I was on my regular outing to pick up some groceries at the supermarket. Normally, that would not be an event worth writing about.  But this questionable supermarket practice, while not new, has become more prevalent – and annoying.

Long story short:  It has become much more challenging to figure out the price of a single item.

Yes, the signage is clear – if I want to purchase two, three, four or even ten of a given product.

Every bottle, box and can is priced as follows:

2 for $4.00

3 for $6.00

4 for $8.00

Granted, I am no math maven.  But I do know that 4 divided by 2 equals 2.  At least I thought I knew that – until I was in the supermarket where, apparently, 4 divided by 2 equals $2.95.

So let’s get this math lesson straight.  If I want to buy only one of this particular product, I have to pay much more?

Then came the variation on this theme.  Over to the cheese counter where I saw an orange slab the length of my arm.  Its price?  $5.95.  Right beside it sat the much smaller, edible-before-expiry-date version at $6.95.

While I am no economics major, I know a “good deal” when I see one.

But is it really a “good deal”?  When was it a smart thing to buy the bigger option and discard the rest if it happens to go bad prior to its best-before date?

Out of nowhere, my inner warrior appeared on the scene, urging me to right this wrong.  My mother had always taught me that there were children starving in ______ (fill in one of any number of countries) and we should NEVER waste food.

I heard myself asking right then and there: WWMS?  What Would Mommy Say?

Before I knew it, her words came rolling off my tongue: “Can you tell me where I can find the manager?”