Price Check: 4 L of Milk at Nova Scotia Atlantic Superstores $5.29 – $7.69

Canada is like an old cow. The West feeds it. Ontario and Quebec milk it. And you can well imagine what it's doing in the Maritimes. – Tommy Douglas 

Where the problem all begins? I doubt it. Photo: rogerlloydwilliams, Flickr ccl

NOTE: The prices reflected in this post were accurate as of the day of posting, June 18, 2011. I have not checked for updated information since that time. From personal experience the overall trends seem to have remained the same as of this writing, September 9, 2012.

I'm feeling squeezed... I use a lot of milk in making Kéfir and yogurt so this is a topic near and dear to my heart.

Let’s have a talk about the price of milk in Nova Scotia, or more specifically, the price of milk at the Atlantic Superstores in Nova Scotia. I'm not particularly "picking" on the Superstore, but their pricing does leave one scratching one's head. I chose the Atlantic Superstore because they are a high profile chain that has stores in every region of the province. I restricted my enquiry to the Superstore chain because for the purposes of a post a province-wide comparison of all competitors would be overwhelming.

It can probably be safely assumed that other major players in the region have similar pricing "structures." (Although usually structures have a solid base...) I have discovered that Sobeys marches in lock step with Superstore in at least three stores in downtown Metro Halifax. So that does support trending, as opposed to anything particular to Superstore's pricing policies.

There's a massive difference in 4 L milk pricing throughout the province and even throughout the Metro region, all within one single company! It's exactly like if select Canadian Tires had different prices for hand tools, or Future Shops for iPads. Their pricing is the same, regardless of where the store is located.

Milk is a dietary staple, and is an important part of healthy eating according to Canada’s Food Guide (and everyone else except those lactose intolerant). Anyone with growing children understands how much milk a family can use in a week. The elderly also require the calcium from milk to maintain healthy bones and teeth. That you can't rely on a steady price across a province as small as Nova Scotia— within one retailer—is a bit on the mystifying side.

Here’s some info from Stats Canada & the Nova Scotia Government:

• Canadian consumers purchased 1.2 million kilolitres of milk and cream during the first five months of the 2010-2011 dairy year. The selling of milk is big business.
• The actual dairy farmers only receive 10% of the regulated cost per litre of milk. The “regulated” cost is NOT what it is sold for at stores.
• The regulated cost of of milk in Nova Scotia is $5.19 for 4 L.* This is a regulated minimum price for which milk can be sold at retail. 

It beggars belief that a minimum price would be legislated, as opposed to a maximum. Who exactly is this law written to protect? Obviously not consumers.

My data was gathered by direct conversations with dairy department employees from the Atlantic Superstores listed below on June 17, 2011.

To clarify my "study":

• I did not call every Superstore in the province. I did call stores located in specific geographic locations so I could get a feel for the cost of milk at the Atlantic Superstore province-wide. 
• There are 30 Atlantic Superstores across Nova Scotia. I called half of them (15). Most not contacted are in smaller centres with minimal competition and thus probably have milk at a higher price.
• I spot checked three stores of Superstore's biggest competitor (Sobeys) in the Metro core. Results were Windsor Street $6.45; Queen Street $7.25; Mumford Road $5.49. These stores are close geographically to the Superstores, in order, Quinpool $6.39, Barrington $7.25 and Joseph Howe $5.49. Nearly complete correlation, but why the wide variance?
• None of these milk prices were subject to sales, offers, promotions or coupons of any kind. The prices listed were regular prices at these locations as of the stated date.

Distribution of Atlantic Superstores used  for telephone pricing survey.
Click on the image to view larger size.

Some plausible assumptions to make based on market dynamics:

1. One would expect that, because the Atlantic Superstore (part of Loblaws) is a large grocery chain, they would purchase for all of the retail locations throughout Nova Scotia. Therefore the base cost of milk to all Superstore locations should be the same.

2. One would expect that as product radiated out from a main distribution area that pricing would increase due to increased shipping costs, storage, etc. Therefore the further from distribution, the higher the cost should be.

3. One would expect that areas with competition would have downward pressure on their prices. If a location has a Walmart, big box-type store, Sobeys and Superstore in close proximity their prices should be less due to increased market competition. Large areas, such as Metro, with much close competition should have pressure to decrease prices.

4. In 1997, the provincial government regulated pricing for the dairy industry in Nova Scotia. The most recent pricing, in place since 2005, states 4 L of milk cannot be sold at retail for less than $5.19. This regulated cost would be assumed to already have a profit margin for the farmers, milk companies and resellers, the same way gas regulation has for refiners, distributors and resellers.

So what is the result of my telephone survey?

Let’s take a look...

I have divided the province into Metro (Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, Sackville) and the outlying areas. A valid assumption would be that sales in, or near, the metropolitan hub of Nova Scotia would account for the lion's share of milk sales throughout the province. Prices are listed highest to lowest.

Results of telephone survey to select Atlantic Superstores, June 17, 2011.
Click on the image to view larger size.

1. There appears to be no direct correlation between distance and pricing. If there was, milk prices would steadily increase the further one went from a distribution centre  (assuming it's Metro). In fact, milk at Halifax's Barrington Street store is more than both of the far ends of the province: Yarmouth (+10¢); North Sydney (+80¢).

2. The cited stores in Metro are all located in a triangular area that is 9 km x 20 km at its maximum distances. Therefore distribution costs should not factor into pricing in the metro area.

3. It is difficult to rationalize a price difference of $1.76 between two stores that are only 7km apart (Joseph Howe and Barrington). The difference is $1.96 between Barrington and Portland which is marginally further apart.

4. Why is there an anomaly of pricing in Bridgewater on the South Shore? Sobeys and Walmart are the only resident competition for an area that is a hub for the majority of the South Shore of Nova Scotia. The market should be there to support all players at a more "normal" price ( such as Liverpool).

5. Truro and Windsor are approximately the same distance drive (1 hour) from Metro, yet there is a price difference of $1.52.

6. Metro has (nearly) the most expensive, and the cheapest, milk in the province.


7. The highest prices in Metro are in stores located closest to the majority of Halifax's (less mobile?) university students. (Barrington Superstore and Queen Street Sobeys)

There's something else that's really odd...
All this seems to be happening only with 4 L milk. Fat content is not a factor as all 4 L are the same cost regardless if skim or whole milk. 1 L and 2 L seem to be relatively on par across the board, within cents. What that means is at the Atlantic Superstore store you'll be paying about $3.80 for 2 L, but anywhere from $5.29 to $7.69 for double the quantity. The price difference doesn't seem to make any sense.

What do YOU think is going on?

*Fluid Dairy Pricing Regulations made under clauses 9(c) and (d) of the Dairy Industry Act S.N.S. 2000, c 24, N.S. Reg. 189/2011 (April 8, 2003) as amended by N.S. Reg. 189/2011 (May 20, 2011).

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Election 2011: One Person's Point of View

Photo: soxophone player, Folckr ccl

Note: The following YouTube speaker begins by saying that the Federal Tories spent $26 million on "attack" ads in the last 3 months of their government. The actual fact is those ads were paid for with taxpayer money, but the subject was advertising touting the Harper government's economic stimulus. 

This stimulus was announced in 2009 and, at the time the Tories were defeated yesterday, was nearly finished if not completely. The ads were highly partisan, but not "attack" ads. The confusion arises, I believe, in that the Harper Tories were running party funded attack ads at the same time.

Both sets of ads ran simultaneously to Tory Ministers criss-crossing the country re-announcing spending that had already previously been announced with much fanfare.

Disclosure: I'm not associated in any way with any Federal party, be it the NDP, Liberals or Conservatives. I'm a Canadian. The only time I was ever a member of a political party was in the 1990, provincially, when I joined to vote to defeat the Liberal leadership bid of Roseanne Skoke, a rabid anti-gay rights advocate who, among other things, called homosexuality "unnatural and immoral."  My membership lapsed after one year and has never been renewed. 

I have voted for all three major parties in the past. Although I do have specific views on where I think Canada should be socially. My main goal is to speak truth to power, and remind us all of what has been going on in Ottawa for the past several years. I am doing this because I believe it has brought shame to Canadians.

Also, I do not know the person speaking in the YouTube video in any way.

On to the video with this post:

This video is a 7 minute recital from an Atlantic Canadian outlining his disbelief in the Tory Party's high polling numbers. He comes  across as somewhat conspiratorial (which I do not agree with) but does make many valid points.

For example, I don't agree with his ideas about pollsters being in the PMOs pocket, but it's very strange how a government can have as many scandals as the Harper government had and still be within majority government territory. That is according to a Friday Ipsos poll release.

So how can a poll be skewed? One explanation could be that as we age it is human tendency to become more small-c conservative. The youth of the 60s-70s are now in, or nearing, retirement. Also older voters, since they are at home more, watch more TV which exposed them more frequently to the ads, and are available to answer pollster telephone calls. 

In no way am I casting aspersions on older Canadians, who I personally value and respect. They are the ones who built the country we now enjoy. It is just one possible explanation for the polling numbers.

Perhaps Ipsos should try an online poll…

So the Conservatives have spent $26 million of taxpayer money on feel good "partisan" ads in 3 months. On CBC this morning they cited that the Conservatives bought more than 6,200 individual spots over that time period. That's massive. The four other parties combined equalled less than one third that number.

But how else have they been spending our money?

In March, a scandal surfaced when it was alleged that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney used government resources to raise money for his party. It came to light by accident when a package of material was inadvertently sent to an NDP MP with the same last name as a Conservative MP.

The package includes details of a Conservative strategy to build their party brand by targeting 10 ridings that are considered to be "very ethnic," since they have "ethnic" populations of at least 20 per cent. It referred to non-caucasian voters as "targets." 

Remember, Kenney was Minister of Immigration in the just defeated government, and was dissecting Canadians into individual market segments capable of being targeted. Not only morally repugnant and reprehensible, but also a misuse of government funds.

From the letter: "There are lots of ethnic voters. There will be quite a few more soon. They live where we need to win." 

By their own statements, to the Harper Conservatives, if you're "ethnic" you're less a person than you are a market segment.

In addition, in November, Conservative senators were found to be using tax-payer funded literature to target Liberal ridings with partisan messages, according to the Toronto Star. It was reported in that paper that at least one did so at the bidding of the  Conservative National Campaign Office. This is contrary to laws passed on the spending of public money.

Remember when you were young? 

Did your parents ever catch you drinking or smoking? How many times did you do it before they found out? 

Food for thought...

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Rant: Down the sh**hole we go

Definition, Vandalism: willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others

They can't even leave the sidewalks alone. Photo: Jeremy Doucett, Flickr ccl

Just got back from a walk with the dog. I live in the "old" South End of Halifax. It's not the part with all the fancy homes or mega-rich people. Sure, we're close by, but mostly it's people who are just getting by like everyone else, and who moved here for the lifestyle. You know, relative peace, quiet, public transit and safety. We're not dripping with money and privilege. Most of us drive old cars and live in draughty, old houses. 

Photo. BigA**SuperBlog
Flickr ccl

Well, on my short walk of maybe six blocks, I had to walk past so much graffiti it made me sick. I can understand, but not condone, graffiti on light poles, or Canada Post boxes or even businesses, but almost All of it was on private homes. Maybe YOUR home.

This "art" has been on a dramatic upswing in the past few weeks. I'm out twice every day with the dog. I've seen it growing. We've always had our share of this trash before, but it's dramatically escalating very recently. 

An example of a brother/sister union speaks

If you haven't read the last issue of The Coast magazine, the first letter to the editor, from one Brad Vaughn, defends — defends!! — this activity. He calls himself an anarchist. I have another "a" word I would use for him. His "missive" is in response to an earlier letter decrying graffiti, specifically in the North End, but it is a city-wide problem.

In part, he writes: "By creating visible signs of law and order's breakdown we can keep property values in the north end low—what yuppie wants to live in a neighbourhood full of graffiti? Further with our open defiance of private property, the police, et cetera, we hope to inspire others to realize their own power."

Photo: BigA**, Flickr ccl

How altruistic he is. "Open defiance of private property"? What well articulated bulls**t that is. If you damage, mar or destroy property you are a common criminal, a vandal, and should be treated as such—to the full extent of the same law you wish to show is breaking down.

What a load of horse pucks

Can you tell I'm a bit angry? Our neighbourhood is one of older couples, retirees just trying to meet their taxes, young families, and students. We're certainly not bursting with yuppies. Is there even such a thing anymore? What is he? Stuck in the 90s? Perhaps he should read newer books.

If you wander around defacing our property, we should hunt you down and do the same to your, or your mother's, or grandmother's house. Then see how you like it. My feelings are quite succintly summed up in a reply to a similar situation posted by "Mike" on The Coast website several years ago (2007). And I quote:

Where was my slingshot??? Photo: WhindomEarl, Flickr ccl

"My place got hit again earlier this week. What I'm going to do is watch the police reports for arrests made against people who were caught spray painting. Once your court date has been set, I'll be in attendance. Then I'll know your name(s) and what you look like. The rest of your private information such as residence can easily be found. Don't be surprised if your place gets destroyed or torn up repeatedly. I suggest all residents of the city to do the same. Then all these punks, young and old, will learn a lesson in respecting other peoples' property."

Where's your friendly councillor?

Where is the city on this? They've had a graffiti by-law in place for several years. It doesn't seem to be working too well. To read more about the stellar efforts of our elected officials, go to http://www.halifax.ca/corporate/Graffiti/

Did you know in Halifax it's the homeowner's responsibility to clean up this crap or they can be fined? The property owner can receive a fine for "graffiti" that was placed there by people with absolutely no respect for others, or presumably even themselves. Right. OUR cash spent to clean up someone else's "hate for society." Ahh, City Hall, how do I love thee?

At least HRM will give you a "graffiti removal kit," but the elbow grease (and the danger of dragging your hump up onto your roof in the case of the picture above) is all yours.

When's the next municipal election?

MARCH 7 ADDENDUM: 
There was a new "tag" this morning, right at the corner of the block where I live, about 6 feet wide by 3 feet high, on the side of a private house. I do not want to live in a slum, but it's increasingly looking that way. Councillors? Mayor? Cops? Where are you?

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Direct them all to your HRM Councillor at http://www.halifax.ca/districts/index.html

Opinion: Client versus Customer – The Great RBC Makeover

I don't know about you, but I want to be a client.

This has been stuck in my craw for a while now. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has recently started a significant change in the way they will be delivering banking services with the launch of their new "retail store" concept. The bank at the corner of Oxford and Quinpool in Halifax is currently undergoing the transformation. 

For images of the new RBCs, go to the link at the bottom of this post. The exterior of their concept store looks like something that would be at home in Dartmouth Crossing, sort of like a FutureShop. In the interior shots client service representatives are conspicuous by their absence. I suppose they would just clutter up the space. And there’s not a teller window in sight. Is that where you want to bank? Personally, I prefer my banks boring and my bankers stodgy. I want "numbers nerds."

According to that site, RBC's objective is to change the experience of a client from one of "banking" to more of a "shopping" experience designed to "support customers' life events." (Huh? - D) "Customer" options will be self-, assisted- and full-service, in descending order I assume. I don't know how knowledgeable you are about the ins and outs of financial instruments, but I'm not. Would the normal off-the-street "customer" have enough wherewithal to make self-beneficial, informed financial decisions about much more than a transfer, deposit or withdrawal? 

Note the use of the word "customer". That's RBC's usage, not mine. Think— when was the last time you heard a bank call its clients "customers"? It appears to be a fundamental shift in RBC's idea of their relationship to their clients.

Merriam-Webster Online defines: 

• a "customer" as "one that purchases a commodity or service"; 
• "client", on the other hand, is "1. one that is under the protection of another; 2. a person who engages the professional advice or services of another <a lawyer's clients>."

This is not a fine distinction. On the one hand a "client" assumes that the organization of which they are the client are representing their interests. A "customer" is merely one who purchases an item/commodity and, except for any stated or implied warranty, does not necessarily have an ongoing relationship with the vendor.

I know this distinction from professional experience. 

Let me give you an analogy. As a communication designer I work on a daily basis for my "clients." The basic tenet of the client relationship is that I am there as "wise counsel" for my clients (whether they listen to me or not…); I service them with my expertise. I offer every single one my best advice for their goals based on my education and experience. If the client already understood what they needed, they wouldn't need me.

A graphic design "customer" would be the type of person that buys business cards out of a machine at an airport. Choose your logo, choose your typeface, choose your design and away you go. No discussion about what your organization does, what your audience needs to know, or your overall goals. 

I suggest to you that all effective banking solutions need a significant level of individual tailoring.

I can't imagine "self-serve" banking offers the level of counsel or support most clients want and need. Often the client doesn't understand the possible myriad solutions to the issues they face. If they don't know the answer, how will they know to ask for the right kind of help?

If one thinks in Machiavellian ways, it seems that RBC is abrogating responsibility in the client relationship and devolving it to one where benefit onus is on the person purchasing their commodities/services. In truth, it's probably the case that RBC is trying to maximize profits by minimizing client contact. Hence the use of the word "customer". You can assume that word was not chosen lightly by its marketing team. 

I, for one, wish to remain a client, purchasing services from those who I trust and know offer a high level of individual attention as a standard feature, not as an option on a touch screen monitor.

We are not all the same like paper cutouts, and do not deserve to be treated as such.

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ADDENDUM:

When did it actually occur that banks lost their raison d'être? Weren't bankers supposed to guard our money, invest it to make profit, and for that use give us a portion of that profit back as "interest"?

Slowly over several years service fees and other charges have become our financial sector's life blood, sucking on clients like vampires until they're nearly dead.

When did they stop realizing it is a privilege that we entrust our money with them so they can fatten their pockets, and give us back a few pennies in return?

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For an article about the RBC Retail Store concept go to http://thefinancialbrand.com/16613/rbc-retail-store-branch-prototype-concept/

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Opinion: What a dumb*** idea

City councillor proposes extension of parking ban criteria

Did you know that donkeys are quite useful, intelligent animals?
Besides the usual "burden" use, they are also pastured with horses
who are nervous for their calming effect, as well as being pastured
with smaller, more defenceless animals as a guard animal.
Photo: Moose.Boy Flickr ccl

Now I'm mad. This little tidbit gave me more of a jolt than my morning java. Bottom of The Chronicle Herald newspaper today: David Hendsbee, city councillor (Preston-Lawrencetown-Chezzetcook) has proposed the ability for the city to call a parking ban when there is the potential for bad weather, regardless of the time of year, to aid street cleanup.

To quote the CH, quoting the councillor: "A parking ban should 'not be seen as only a wintertime application, but how can it be applied across all seasons,' Hendsbee said."

Now I take issue with this. I do understand how it would help the city to be able to command all cars off the streets whenever they would like, BUT not everyone has a driveway to put their car in.

I own my own house downtown—not in the suburbs as does Councillor Hendsbee—and do not have a driveway. I can only imagine the driveway he has, capable of parking, at the least, one full car. Luxury. Our block used to have a lane behind the houses which owners could use to access back yards for parking. Similar areas in the city still do. There's one just up the road.

But our street has it no longer. Why, you ask? Because the city appropriated it and GAVE it to a developer so they could build an apartment building. So now not only do we not have access to park in our own back yards (thanks to our happy-give-lucky councillors from decades ago) but we have a 10-story brick monstrosity towering over our 2-story Victorians. It makes for great backyard use in the summer, what with all those windows looking down at you.

Nice.

This is an old scar, but it still itches. The apartment building has been standing since probably the early 1980s. Just like an old wound, when the weather turns cold the pain comes back.

Every winter, starting the middle of December through to March 31, all of us on this block have go begging to that self-same apartment building to purchase indoor parking for the winter ban period. To add insult to injury, I couldn't GET any there this year. I have to park nearly two blocks away. Walk that in a driving storm, Mr. Hendsbee.

In a glaring but typical oversight, the council at the time—even though they took away our parking ability—didn't build into the agreement with the developer that they would have to supply parking to the houses that the city "relieved" of theirs.

I'm seeing red. Our parking, by the way, comes in at $103 per month. So the current parking ban costs us $360.

Now wise Councillor Hendsbee wants to make it so that it's open-ended. Any time the city feels they can make the cars disappear. In essence, I would need 12 months a year parking. Quick calculation at current monthly rate: $1,236 per year. Of couse, we know that will go up. Indoor parking has increased every year I've had to purchase it. Does he think this will increase my property value? Probably.

Staff has taken his suggestion "under advisement." Hopefully it ends up where most of the rest of Council's suggestions end up—file "G".  This is one stupid idea that needs be nipped in the bud.

Email, write or otherwise contact your councillor and voice your opinion on this matter. In fact, contact them all.

HRM councillors contact information can be found at

http://www.halifax.ca/districts/index.html