I can almost say I haven't been back to Publix since the "Publix" post. I went back once. (I did not go back for the naked chicken wings, which are the Rosses' "guilty indulgence." I almost get tempted often, but I haven't done it.) I went back to get a prescription refilled. I always get this prescription from Publix pharmacy, because the Good Rx price is low, and Publix is very close. The Good Rx price for the same prescription is significantly higher (about $10 more) at Walgreens or CVS, which are a block or two from Publix. So I'm running out, and I called for a refill two days ago. I forgot Publix doesn't stock this medication, and they have to order it. If I took the full dose, I'd be out before Publix gets it. So I decided to lower the dose, to stretch it out the extra few days, and wait for Publix. Which I do with noteworthy misgivings.
In the meantime, because I regret doing even this last bit of business with Publix, I was looking at Good Rx, and I noticed that Winn Dixie charges about $1 less, but they're much farther away. They're at 110th St and NW 7th Avenue. But I was thinking about it, and how much I regret doing business with Publix, and that $1 I could save, and I decided to go to Winn Dixie. Besides, I called Winn Dixie yesterday, and they do stock this medication. There's no wait. My naughty plan was to get the prescription from Winn Dixie, then never pick up the prescription Publix specially ordered for me. It's too late to tell them to cancel the order.
So I went to Winn Dixie today. The pharmacist was partially candid, and partially whining, and he told me Winn Dixie was losing money by selling me this prescription for the Good Rx price of $61.06. (The Publix pharmacist once made a similar, although less direct, communication.) The medication costs them $103.99. I asked why Winn Dixie would be willing to lose that much money on a prescription. The pharmacist shrugged. I figured it's because deals like that are loss leaders, and the stores hope to make customers so happy that they'll buy lots of stuff from the store, and the store will make up the loss on everything else. But I'm not going all the way to that Winn Dixie, which is the closest one to here, to do my main shopping. Aldi is a lot closer (although I read somewhere that Aldi might be closing all their stores in this country). I did, however, buy myself a new jar of minced garlic, which I need, but which they don't have at Hacienda La Fruteria, where I was before Winn Dixie. But the minced garlic was also on sale, so maybe they didn't make any money off me on that, either. It's too bad they don't have pignoli nuts, which I also need. They would have made money on those.
I told the pharmacist that it doesn't do anyone good -- except it temporarily does me good -- for Winn Dixie to lose $40 selling me a prescription. I told him to charge me $103.99, which he did.
But I further decided that if Publix is losing $40 selling me a prescription, I'm going to go pick up the one they just ordered for me. Good: let them lose money. If they're just looking out for themselves, and not for me or the rest of the general public, why should I look out for them? In fact, maybe from now on, I'll always go back to Publix for that prescription. Let the $100K they gave Ron DeSantis cost them more than the profit they would have made on the food I no longer buy from them. I bet Marky's has pignoli nuts. And it's a magnificent store.
No comments:
Post a Comment