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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Consumer Reports: King Soopers is over-charging an average of 18% on some items
DENVER (KDVR) — Undercover shoppers found multiple cases of grocery items that led to higher prices paid by shoppers in some Kroger and Kroger-owned stores. In March, April and May, undercover shoppers went to 26 Kroger and Kroger-owned stores across 14 states and the District of Columbia to investigate claims that the grocery giant put incorrect price tags on items. The investigation was conducted by Consumer Reports, The Guardian and the Food and Environment Reporting Network. 2 Colorado zoos among 10 best in US: Newsweek Readers' Choice 'The shoppers found expired sales labels that led to overcharges on more than 150 grocery items, including Cheerios cereal, Mucinex cold and flu medication, Nescafé instant coffee, boneless beef, salmon, and dog food,' Consumer Reports wrote. 'One-third of the expired sales tags were out of date by at least 10 days, and the prices of five of the products were expired by at least 90 days. The average overcharge we found was $1.70 per item, or 18.4 percent. Our findings suggest the typical Kroger shopper ends up paying far more for what they think are discounted items — all during a time of inflation and economic uncertainty.' A King Soopers spokesperson provided a statement on behalf of Kroger to FOX31 about the report, stating: 'The Consumer Reports allegations boil down to misinformation, reviewing a handful of discrete issues from billions of daily transactions. It in no way reflects the seriousness with which we take our transparent and affordable pricing.' UFCW Local 7, the union that represents thousands of Colorado grocery store workers, said the Consumer Reports investigation was launched after the union conducted its investigation of chronic understaffing in stores. The union claims the understaffing led to 'rampant over-charging and inaccuracy in prices paid at the register in Colorado grocery stores.' 'Consumer Reports has confirmed what workers have been telling King Soopers and City Market for months now – that chronic understaffing in grocery stores prevents the company from making sure the prices on the shelves match the price a customer is paying at the register. When Kroger dictates that workers' hours be cut in these stores, it is customers who pay the price,' said Kim Cordova, UFCW Local 7 President, in a union release. 'Now is the time for consumers to tell Kroger executives that the public does not want to pay for Kroger's understaffing problem.' Consumer Reports said that, according to complaints and shopper reports, King Soopers employees worked quickly to correct pricing errors that were shared, but that many other errors 'undoubtedly go unnoticed.' Denver metro grocery stores ranked among worst in nation 'In a typical week, Kroger asks us to hang thousands of new and updated tags throughout the store reflecting price changes on thousands of products. Yet because so few hours are scheduled to hang these tags, the work of hanging each week's tags almost never gets done before the next week's tags arrive,' said Joy Alexander, a scan coordinator at a Denver King Soopers, in the union's release on the report. The report found that stores where the undercover shoppers didn't find any or fewer price tag errors also had noticeably fewer staffing cuts and reduced working hours. In stores with significant numbers of price tag errors, the average number of employees was down by about 17 employees per store, with hours cut by 9.9% or about 2.7 hours. Stores with fewer errors had an average of 9.5 employees cut, and average hours reduced by 9.3% or about 2.4 hours per week. Consumer Reports said Colorado employees and union officials say the overcharging has created angry customers, 'with some taking out their frustrations on cashiers and other front-of-the-store employees.' However, the employees say a base-level push to correct expired discount tags was never conducted. 'They go: 'Just take care of the customer, deal with it, and we'll fix it later on.' And that never happens,' said Chris Lacey, a King Soopers service manager in Colorado, in Consumer Reports' article. The union said Kroger responded to the Consumer Reports story by announcing the hiring of about 15,000 workers but didn't specify if the hirings are for new positions or turnover. In its release, Kroger said it was 'seeking to hire new associates.' Kroger sent a press release to FOX31 on Thursday announcing a new store opening in Frederick, but the release did not discuss any hirings related to the opening. On its job posting site, Kroger listed several new positions throughout the week. Finance giant TIAA cutting dozens of Denver jobs, closing skyscraper office location Consumer reports said Colorado King Soopers stores failed price check tests performed by state regulators twice since January 2025. 'Indeed, a senior Kroger executive questioned 'why are tags not being done,' in a meeting with Colorado union representatives in January, according to minutes of that meeting,' Consumer Reports said. ''If we are not getting the job done, that is a different problem for us,' the Kroger executive said.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Miles for Miles: Local family runs Colfax Marathon to honor their baby, raise money for NICUs
DENVER (KDVR) — This weekend, Denver will transform for the city's largest running event of the year: the Colfax Marathon. One family is running with a mission of honoring their son while raising money for local NICUS. 'We have been training almost every day,' Scott Lopina said. 'There have been some ups and downs, some injuries we've had to fight through.' Sydney Bear and Scott Lopina have spent months pushing through the pains of training for their first marathon with a purpose. 2 Colorado zoos among 10 best in US: Newsweek Readers' Choice 'His name is Miles and we're running 26.2 miles for miles,' Sydney Bear said. Miles Bear Lopina turned Sydney and Scott into first-time parents. 'There is one point in time we were told Miles wouldn't have made it into to this world and that he wasn't going to survive long at all,' Lopina said. 'He fought for 73 days, day in and day out, and he didn't give up. And so, we wanted to honor him and push our bodies just a fraction of what he had to endure and help raise awareness and money for organizations to support families and babies in the NICU.' The NICU is where they met their 1.6-ounce hero. 'This is a picture of the first time I got to hold him,' Bear said. 'And that was really special because it took about four weeks until I got to actually hold him in my arms. ' 'There was a lot of wires and tubes and monitors, so it made it difficult,' Lopina said. 'So holding him was awesome. It's amazing.' Pictures of Sydney, Scott and Miles in the NICU capture memories they never thought they would have. 'When we found out there was a chance, it was obvious to us what to do, to take that chance,' Lopina said. 'And we're really glad that we did because otherwise we wouldn't have met Miles.' In 73 days, Scott and Sydney found support from people and organizations they never met. Love for Lilly and Angel Eyes are the organizations they are now running for. 'Sometimes there'd be days when, you know, it's hard to remember to take care of yourself or make dinner and there would be a donation from a family for food or a gift card and it would really help a lot,' Lopina said. 'Angel Eyes helps provide counseling for bereaved parents of infants and babies and toddlers. And they've really helped me personally get through a lot of this process, navigating Miles's life.' Sydney and Scott now navigate this physical challenge to give back. A decision they made the month they lost their boy, running miles for Miles. 'You never think that it's going to happen to you,' Bear said. 'One day it can be a good day. One day could be the worst day of your life. And we just want to support as much as we can because we felt so supported throughout our experience as well.' You can donate to Miles for Miles here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
