I work at a Kroger in Ohio and I think the whole ad campaign stinks of racism. The TV ad with the white woman who is trying to decide what to make for dinner only to get in a haistorm of bad Mexican sterotypes is one example. The other one is the in-store ad that seems to be a white woman faking a mexican accent. It's disgusting and shows zero tact. I'm ashamed as a employee.
At our store and others people are wearing sombreros and wearing fake mustaches. I'd hate to see what happens if we have a taste of Africa. Will we paint our...........I'll stop there not to stoop to Krogers level.
At our store and others people are wearing sombreros and wearing fake mustaches. I'd hate to see what happens if we have a taste of Africa. Will we paint our...........I'll stop there not to stoop to Krogers level.
Penis enlargement.
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
This event is hilarious, all the rabid conservatives in town are mad about it because they see Mexico as an exporter of nothing but crime and illegals (and they hate the proximity of the event to Memorial Day & July 4th), and the rabid liberals are peeved at what they see as cultural appropriation and offensive costumes/marketing. Great going Kroger.
Coming up next: Taste of Italy, where we talk in fake Italian accents, sell pizza and spaghetti, and piss off the Mafia.
This event is hilarious, all the rabid conservatives in town are mad about it because they see Mexico as an exporter of nothing but crime and illegals (and they hate the proximity of the event to Memorial Day & July 4th), and the rabid liberals are peeved at what they see as cultural appropriation and offensive costumes/marketing. Great going Kroger.
Coming up next: Taste of Italy, where we talk in fake Italian accents, sell pizza and spaghetti, and piss off the Mafia.
That's the truth.
There's a sweet old Hispanic lady (and perfectly legal citizen) who often speaks Spanish with me when she comes in to shop. (She enjoys speaking the language for nostalgic reasons, and it helps prevent my limited skills from completely rusting.) This once led to an elderly gentleman approaching me, saying that "those people" should learn to speak English and that I was enabling them. I thanked him for his business and returned to stocking.
On the other side, some obnoxious yuppie recently scolded me for the inadequacy of the organic produce section and then proceeded to lecture me about what is and what is not "authentic" Mexican. I thanked her for her business and returned to conditioning.
Why certain folks think it's worthwhile to take their politics to the random dude in the name tag and uniform, I'll never understand.
-- Edited by TaterTart on Sunday 15th of June 2014 07:08:46 AM
On the other side, some obnoxious yuppie recently scolded me for the inadequacy of the organic produce section and then proceeded to lecture me about what is and what is not "authentic" Mexican. I thanked her for her business and returned to conditioning.
Ahaha, I work in the deli and a lady came up to lecture me about how to make proper enchiladas and how they ought to be made. And I said "oh, okay." And she just wouldn't stop, she kept going and going even after I said that. It really felt to me like she was just trying to show off instead of actually caring about how to properly make them.
Not at all surprising, this whole "Taste of Mexico" thing is nothing but a mess and yet another failure in along list of moronic ideas by corporate... at least, judging by the reaction where I work. Confusion, on the part of the customers, is common, with customers often wondering if it's some sort of "Mexican holiday" and from what I've heard and seen, the event sales haven't actually had much of an impact as despite what Kroger thinks, people are not rushing in to snatch up those recipe booklets around the store and picking up all the ingredients needed to make an "authentic" Mexican dinner. Not only has this promotion offended people, but it's also confused them and, at least in the bakery, and it looks like in the deli too, a lot of the food is going to waste because it's not being bought... especially the bakery, which gets stuck with dozens upon dozens of churros at the end of the day. I'm taking enough churros to stuff full one of those big dozen doughnut boxes. Oh well... free churros for us, even though I think they're rubbery and not really that good when eaten at room temperature.
I get the feeling there won't be any other "Taste of..." promotions after this one. Nice job, wasting more money on stupid, pointless stuff, Kroger, while stores remain understaffed. Spend money on anything and everything... except the employees, you know, the ones that are "so crucial" to the success of the business, or so Kroger wants us to believe.
What you all don't get is the real purpose of the ad..It's to attract Hispanic people to shop at Kroger by showing them we carry their ethnic foods. By 2040 if not much sooner USA will be a majority of Hispanics and Caucasians will be a minority just like African-Americans/Asians. There is a ton of Hispanic business being missed by Kroger and other major chains because most Hispanics currently shop at small independent, true Mexican grocery stores. Kroger has never been one to miss a sale and no matter how silly this promotion seems the hidden agenda is to slowly acclimate the employees to welcome Hispanic business and to promote Mexican foods especially in the Produce, Meat, and Deli. Sure we sell mangoes, avocados, and taco meat but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Go visit one of the neighborhood stores in a Hispanic area and you will be enlightened by the multitude of Hispanic items you've never seen let alone sold.
So bottom line, it's not Racist but simply good business to reach out for more sales and more customers. If you aren't bilingual you better start learning.... In fact the chains that aren't catering to Hispanics are racist and missing a lot of sales. Adios Amigos!
I said this in another reply, but I'm making my own "Taste of America" shirt. I've had too many people (and a few Hispanics) tell me they feel offended. This is AMERICA not MEXICO. As much as I wanted to agree with them, I had to tout the party line. I'm making my own shirt as a minor protest.
My store has another large, cultural demographic that if we did a "Taste of ____" or just flat started stocking more of their cuisine, our sales would jump.
