Sunday, December 28, 2008

Consumer Advocate, Part Deux

Here is my latest attempt at consumer advocacy:

Dear Sara Lee,

I purchased, for the first time, your Mince Pie. I lived in Scotland for a while and have enjoyed the flavors of mince pie for some time but have never had one here in the U.S. (where I am from). Last night I saw your pie in the freezer aisle and decided it was time to relive my Scottish experience. I had to talk my husband into the pie as he is not a raisin fan, but from the picture on the package we both thought he could pick around the raisins and enjoy the rest of the pie.

I baked the pie and when I served it I was extremely surprised to see that there was no way to pick around the raisins. The actual pie was in fact the exact opposite of the picture. The picture portrays mostly apples with some raisins thrown in. The actual pie had mostly raisins with a few applies thrown in. Even I, who likes raisins, felt there were WAY too many raisins in the pie. Not only that, I felt the pie was misrepresented by the picture on the package.

I did enjoy the flavor of the pie, so kudos to you there. But, I will never be purchasing a mince pie from Sara Lee again as there were way too many raisins.

Note to Bloggers: I talk about "writing a letter" all the time when I am dissatisfied with a product. But lately I have decided, why make a decision about not buying a product without letting the supplier know? I will be interested to see what Sara Lee has to say, and of course I will let my fellow bloggers know as well. Don't you feel that the picture of a product should be a fairly accurate portrayal of the actual product? I don't mean that the piece of pie has to look as perfect as the one on the front. I get that my pie making efforts can flop and even though it looks sketchy it tastes great, I'm okay with that. I just think that the apple to raisin ratio was misrepresented in the Sara Lee pie.

8 comments:

Bridget said...

I totally agree that the picture should represent the product...actually, I think there is some sort of law about that :)

Brittany said...

i see nothing wrong with letting the companies that produce the products you eat know that you're unhappy. plus, as you experienced in your initial letter writing...you get rewarded for your opinion. it's a win-win situation, you can never go wrong.

Jeff said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mom/Janet said...

I'm with hyker. I don't waste my calories on store bought. But, all that aside - - good for you for writing and not just complaining. I hope you like other Sara Lee products because you'll probably get a coupon for something free. That is always your luck.

Jeff said...

A good Relief Society sister, like yourself, should be making pies, not buying them! Ha Ha. Just kidding. I'm all in favor of letting them know what you think.

Jeanna said...

Homemade pies are way better, there is no doubt about that. I was just in the mood for something different and I've never made a mince pie before. I probably never will actually. Not many people like that flavor.

Sandy said...

Stick with the pound cake.

Holley said...

You know this could be a new career for you. Ralph Nader watch out, there is a new consumer advocate on the prowl. She's clever and she's cute. Jeanna Nichols will help you give all those nasty, no-good products the boot!