If consumers knew that suppliers are charged a fee following a quality complaint they might think twice about complaining, according to one industry figure.
Chris Hartfield, horticultural policy advisor at the NFU, was questioning Sainsbury’s head of technical for fresh food, Beth Hart, as part of her presentation at this week’s Fruit Focus.
Hart confirmed that Sainsbury’s currently levies growers and suppliers following a consumer complaint about their product, and added that the practice is currently under review across all retailers by Groceries Code Adjudicator, Christine Tacon.
Hartfield said: “I suspect, that when customers come into store, their perception would be that if I complain about this punnet of strawberries, I am going to get a replacement product from Mr Sainsbury’s. I do not think that they would expect for a grower of those strawberries to be levied quite a significant charge as a result of their complaint.
“My impression would be that a lot of customers may then think twice, or at the very least be very surprised that this was happening.”
During her presentation, Hart had outlined how Sainsbury’s is conducting a major quality overhaul, which includes changing the process of consumer research to be more representative of perception, as well as simplifying supplier quality specifications.
Hartfield asked: “You’re doing a lot of work on consumer perception and what’s important to them, and I wondered whether you could weave this into those discussions with your customers, to make it clear to them that effectively the cost of the replacement product is actually being borne by the guy who grew the crop, not by Sainsbury’s.”
Hart said: “Do they think about the entire supply chain that sits behind our products? I would say very rarely.
“I would argue that, yes the grower bears the cost, but there is a bigger cost and the grower alone doesn’t bear that. But yes, I hear what you’re saying. It’s not something we tell them at the moment, but it’s a fair challenge.”
Asked by FPJ how much Sainsbury’s currently charges suppliers and whether this varies across products, Hart replied: “I’m not sure, and the reason it’s a touchy subject at the moment as it’s under review by the groceries code adjudicator, it’s a work in progress, and our entire team is being trained on that at the moment and we are due to make a communication on the topic in the upcoming weeks, as are other retailers.
“It’s all under review and it’s under review at all retailers. It is a very live topic, rest assured,” she added.
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