Rainbow Grocery Will Cease 20 Percent Discount Days in October

By Lauren Smiley Wed., Sep. 8 2010 at 4:00 PM

Categories: Business

Adios, discount day!

Mission Local has a scoop that will likely send shockwaves through the San Francisco foodie community: Rainbow Grocery, San Francisco's much-beloved health food cooperative, will be curtailing its 20-percent-off midweek coupons at the end of this month.

The worker-owners voted months ago to stop issuing the coupons that the co-op's devotees eagerly tear from their phone books (and their neighbors'), offering 20 percent off their grocery bill every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. While Rainbow purportedly turned a profit on those days, the droves of customers flooding the store were overwhelming the employees and driving away longtime shoppers.

One worker-owner, who wished to remain anonymous, told SF Weekly that the vote came down to 70 staffers in favor of keeping the coupons losing out to more than 100 workers against. (The public-relations employees who could have spoken on the record were all busy -- this being 20-percent-off Wednesday and all.)

The worker said she thinks getting rid of the discount is a major mistake: "It's been a community thing. The customers are happy when they get [the coupons]." She thought that Whole Foods is probably celebrating the news.

I want my discount gluten-free flour!

"Whole Foods is notorious for going into towns, throwing out the little health food stores, and moving in, so I'm sure that's gonna be a problem," she said. "We're surrounded by Whole Foods in every direction, so that's gonna be rough competition."

For now, the worker says, the decision is permanent -- unless another vote is called. "I think there's gonna be enough resistance that we might have to bring it back."

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Tags:

coupons, Rainbow Grocery

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I think Rainbow curtailing the coupons is a terrible idea. It's bound to drive away a lot of lower-income shoppers and students, including myself. Can't they come up with a more innovative strategy? Perhaps 10% off would have created some middle-ground. I'm interested to see this frequent shoppers program
I love Rainbow but it's very expensive. The only thing that might entice me is their bulk organic items. Other than that I won't be shopping there without coupons.
Offering the coupon discount *every* month instead of every other month could theoretically spread out the business, rather than having people wait almost two months to do their bulk shopping. Unless they just don't want the business.
For me, the 20% off coupons bring Rainbow's high prices down to normal. So without the coupons, there's no way I will shop there anymore.
@Milo "Many people who are on disability or have illnesses and already get discounts" HUH? What is this mythical "disability & illness discount" that you speak of?
I am also glad to see it go! It is not just on Wednesdays, it is from Tuesdays thru Thursdays. As an average single person, there is no discount at all, really. It takes twice as long to shop because it is so crowded and then it takes another 45 minutes to an hour and a half in line. You are lucky if the money you save equals the amount of time you have wasted! Many people who are on disability or have illnesses and already get discounts cannot always plan on what day of the week they will best function, so the coupon days send them to other health food stores already. Also, hundreds of shoppers abuse the coupons by using them all month instead of 1 per customer per month as stated on the coupon. Furthermore, Rainbow has never extended the 20% coupons past October because of the Thanksgiving and December Holidays like Xmas, when they make their most profit. I heard they are thinking of initiating a frequent shoppers program, so don't bail on a wonderful,longstanding community store people!
Bad decision. How is being jammed with business a problem? Figure out a way to offer the coupons without a bottle-neck that's all.
Bye bye Rainbow Grocery... HELLO Whole Foods!
Some of Rainbow's prices even make Whole Foods look like a bargain. Without the coupons, I will no longer shop there. After all, if I want to pay six dollars or more for a pound of tomatoes, I can visit the Whole foods a couple of blocks away rather than traveling half way across town to Rainbow.
I'm happy to see it go. Rainbow shouldn't try to compete with Whole Foods with gimmicks like 20% off coupons on Wednesdays only, they should just do what they do best: stock the absolute best of everything, and know and care more about their merchandise and how it's produced than Whole Foods. The coupons only highlight how big their margins are, so hopefully Rainbow will be able to reduce prices slightly to offset how much money they were discounting everything on Wednesdays.
Wow, what a shame. I spend way more than I normally would on coupon days, indulging in lots of expensive item. I will still shop there though probably not as frequently since it is nowhere near my house and I won't be buying the pricier items.