European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page to the stars  Friday March 13,1987 i Nave own in Germany Tor Over three Yean and my family and 1 have travelled Enlen Sicly throughout Ger Many m we hive hid quite a Tew opportunities to us different commissaries the and in the Frankfurt off duty roads i m  shop on base but i wonder who the smart refers to the of Tumer or the commissary manager. Let me Point out to you two aunt examples of Price differences. In 195, family tin Ajax washing powder sold for 13.79 at the Frankfurt commissary. I january 1986, the same watching powder went to 17.41. Naturally i chanted to a cheaper Brand in july 1986,1 visited the Datum Holder commissar Ylo find us same Ajax powder Selling for $3.79, upon my return to Frankfurt i contacted the  to find out Why Baum older was telling Ajax. For 13.79 and Frankfurt was Selling it for 17,41. Wasp Litel told that Baum older Wai wiling from old Stock. That could believe but i then pointed out we were talking about 6-month-old Stock because that Wai about How Long Frankfurt has had the Price increase. He then told me that the Buim Holder commissary at to mated tip that he had to tend personnel from  to help them get straightened out. Asked him if that Wai the reason for Baum older let Ting Bat commissary in Usa eur leu than month earlier. I m lure they had to go through Tome Type of inspection to get this award and i m sure Stock level Wai one of the criteria of the inspection. Our conversation ended on that note. Invt Nontha later and Baum older to still Selling Ajalat $3.79, not to mention that less than one month after my initial complaint Ajax went on tale at Frankfurt for$5.41 originally 17.41a savings of 12. At the same Lime the Khein main commissary which is Only a few minutes away was telling Ajax at the regular Price of 13.79. This time i did not even bother bringing it to his attention because i already knew his answer Rhein main i air force1 and we Are army. It s a pity the finance offices Don t make this adjustment when they Cut our checks but now my latest discovery is with the  three weeks ago i visited the Rhein main wee serve. A Box of 64 Mew Ultra Light pampers was Selling for $12.96. The same Box was Selling at Frank Furt fir $20. Of course i paid the Frankfurt Woodland manager a visit and brought this to her attention i also pointed out that pampers one size smaller with 94 inthe Box were wiling for the same $20. She did admit that she never noticed the difference in the amount the thought they at were 94 to a Box but she did Promise to look it a it. Four Days later 1 called to Check on the Price a Frankfurt but As the saying goes in Europe the Cus Tomer is always wrong,1 i was told that 120 was the Correct Price and that she would Check with Rhein main. 1 decided to Check with Rhein main myself Andi must admit i was wrong. The s12.96 was a Sale Price but the original Price was $ i 7.96, still j2.04 lower than the Frankfurt Price. Pricing variations sex not always am i this honest because sometimes tend to prey on people s ignorance. For two months i bought pampers at the Frankfurt Woodland the boxes read pampers .25 pounds and Over 48 in a Box s9. At the commissary the Box read pampers 25 pounds Andover 32 in a Box $9,20, i believe that it is about time that something is done to bring about some consistency in the pricing at com mits net and food ands i can tolerate some differences in meat or produce that s bought locally but such a Price difference is not right for products that Are shipped from the United Stales by the tame manufacturers to the same military Corning in at the same port. Come on be for real. I think it s High time the Menin uniform get a fair Deal Maltbt Ellison Frankfurt editor s note we received two replies to this letter. Tin Firat u ram col Donald e. Gilbert Deputy  cafes Europe dear comparison shopper. Cafes Dot Hare a Standard pricing policy world vide. Then Are times when atm might see differing pret for me of the following reasons one time on the spot Price reductions Given by Vendor. Older merchandise still on the shelf which was bought and priced prior to Price increase from the Loc a Gnu user i specials which May be in effect atone store Tail awl another it Orth prices for pampers in on exchanges  arcs. $20 Box for Ultra thin pamper luge 64 at Box Ultra thin pampers medium 96 to a Box. $1050 Box for Ultra pampers Large 32 to a Box Ultra pamper medium 48 to Box the confusion you experienced was t Doe to any pric ing error rather it Wai a Nutter of where Yon shopped. The Rhein main wee serve is a commissary activity not an cafes facility. The commissary and cafes Are two distinct and separate organizations each with111 own important but unique Mission. Your commissary is an appropriated funds activity supported by tax dollars. This Means they set their merchandise at Cost pins 5 , of the other hand is a non appropriated fund activity thai must be self sufficient while generating earnings for the mar Rands of the army and the at Force. On prices reflect the Cost of doing business and generating earnings while affording you a savings of approximate 20 percent from the Price of the Sam item from other retailers you deserve the smart shopper award for recognizing the Price differences Between the Exchange and Cam mis by. Hopefully this explanation helps clarify Why those differences exist. The Wise shopper will always take advantage of bargains it the Exchange and commissary two valued sources of Quality merchandise and service hat the Soldier airman and family member deserve. The Mccond reply is from cot. Neil to a font commander . Army. Troop support Agency Europe your concern about different prices on items in Var ious commissaries is on shared by Many of our customers. There Are a number of reasons Why this occurs. Our commissaries use lot pricing which Means thai when merchandise is received Al a warehouse lit Cost to the customer is the Price to which it was delivered. As an example let us say thai during week i store a and store b receive Beans priced Al 50 cents a can. During week 2 store a and store b receive Mare Beans priced at 75 cent a can. By week 3 store a has sold All of its set cent Brans so the commissary  his 75-cent Beans on the shelf. At the same time store b still has 50-cent Beans on us shelves because it has not sold All of them. Another reason prices May be different has to do with he Way in which special Sale prices Are  representative visit individual stores to offer voluntary Price reductions prs mind usually specify an amount of product that May be sold to the special Price. If apr has ended in one store and regularly priced merchandise is Back on the shelf but apr merchandise is still available in Mother store you could visit those two stores on the same Day and find different prices on the same products. The Ajax washing powder Yon found must have been mis priced. We contacted the Frankfurt and Baumholzer commissary officer about your specific Case of find ing different prices in family size Ajax. According to store records during the period you refer to in you letter the regular Price of this product1 was $4.46 at both stores and should not have been $7.41. The Baum older commissary had a apr of 67 cents injury october and part of november Wetth brought the Price Down to $3.79. When the apr merchandise was depleted regularly priced merchandise vim put out at $4.46. Although our commissaries Check prices Dally for accuracy we make mistakes. Many of our commissaries Stock More than 5,000 items and mistakes founding pricing Are usually very Small. You May be inter ested to know that we Are in the process of implement ing iwo computer systems in the european commis sary Region thai should make the checking of Price seven More effective and efficient. We Are glad hat you brought your concern to the commissary management although we agree with you thai the response was inappropriate. We have instructed our commissary management la provide Clear explanations when customers question prices and to thoroughly Check prices to determine if they Are Cor rect. Thank you for your interest in the commissar sys tem and for riving us this Opportunity to explain pric ing issues. Financial management is Wiser they say never before has a newspaper article moved me to write a letter to the editor. I am referring to the recent front Page spread concerning the fall of the Dollar an the local Pawn shop. I have not been Able to get this article out of my thoughts the people mentioned in this article need to run Mil walk to their nearest financial planning assist Ance office and ask for help in learning effective Money management techniques. The fall of the Dollar is not the major culprit Here. These people arc obviously living beyond their Means to the Young Man who had the 1,000 Mark phone Bijl. I would like to say explain your financial situation to your wife and let her not to Call the stale sunless ii is an Aix tute  in this Case an inexpensive tape recorder on both ends would satisfy the need to hear loved once voices. In Cost 44 cents to mail a cassette to the  can be sent along with pictures of the family and everyone can Lake turns idling of their experiences in relation to the pictures. It really gives everyone a sense of being there. Our families have kept in touch this Way Over the years and it really docs help the empty homesick feeling. Unfortunately Many people in our society today arc not being taught at an Early age to manage Money in their Possession. This is a vicious Cycle. The de Cline of the Dollar is minimal in comparison to the countless numbers of people who arc living beyond their Means. Think before you buy. Do i we really need that$900 ring or the $2,000 stereo system or the $1,000 to and Var system do i really need to Call the Stales considering that a 10-Minutc talk will Cost me about $50 at today s Exchange rate is it really wort the agony it will cause me later every base Post has a Section dedicated to helping people to icam Money management skills. These sections should be sought out by the people who Are frequenting the local Pawn shops on a regular basis. Let s keep the Dollar s fall in perspective and no blame All of our Money woes on our shrinking Dollar overseas. We need to look at our Money management before we cry  a concerned budget balancer Blob org a Germany 1 am so sick and tired of Reading comments about members of the . Armed services suffering fro the decline and erosion of the Dollar. Pardon my expression but Bull military Mem Bers get quarters allowances and cola which goes up As the Dollar goes Down. They have Access to the Post Exchange and commissary where they can buy american goods with dollars. No one tells them they have la go out and spend Marks on the Economy and or buy High Cost Vars. Cameras Etc. So they have to turn around and Pawn so they can pay their Bills it sounds very much like somebody is living Over their Hend. Slop Compla Knitig Start living within your  buying american name withheld Darmstadt Germany your recent article about Pawn shops Wisan insult to the Many american soldiers and civilians who manage their Money no matter How Little they receive. The interviews that your reporter conducted presented some people who could t control their per Sonal finances and worse yet an no who Lik