Talk:Publix

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Publix was a good article candidate, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. Once the objections listed below are addressed, the article can be renominated. You may also seek a review of the decision if you feel there was a mistake.

Date of review: 23 December 2006

Contents

[edit] Number of locations

Forbes lists 875 locations in the America's Largest Private Companies list.[1] The article shows 889 in the intro and 888 in the Locations section. Clipper471 07:47, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

The current "official" number of stores is 885. Forbes's number comes from the 2005 end of year count in Publix's Annual Report. The 888/889 numbers come from using the store locater and searching only by state. But it seems that somebody is updating one number but not the others. I'd prefer not to have the Locations section and just link to the official counts here. [2] It looks very close to being plagiarism. Filpaul 00:11, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
I've updated the article using the Publix information at the website. A list is not problematic if it's in the same form as the site. Clipper471 04:59, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Is it possible that the store locator is listing the Pix (Publix gas stations) locations? FLHokie 19:50, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Stock

Publix's Stock Symbol is PUSH. --Patricknoddy 20:26, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)User:Patricknoddy --Patricknoddy 20:26, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)User talk:Patricknoddy 16:26 August 25, 2004 (EDT)

That link is not accessible to non-AOL users. TrbleClef 00:13, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Publix does not have a stock symbol because it is not a publicly traded company. It is only available for purchase by current employees and members of it's board of directors. Employees buy stock through the company so a stock symbol is not necessary. Zoop 15:44 1 Aug 2005 (EDT)
It is definitely not a NYSE symbol!

Yes, Publix is certainly listed on the NYSE under the stock symbol PUSH. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.100.88.5 (talk • contribs) 22:57, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Again, Publix is not publicly traded on any stock exchange and only available to current associates through the company. Some stock services list Publix as PUSH or PUSH.OB, but these are not true symbols and the prices are not accurate. A full explanation is available on Publix's website: http://publix.com/about/stockholder/SSServices.do Filpaul 12:41, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

The stock recently did a five to one split leaving the share price at around $20-22. --68.207.206.69 08:44, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

On July 1, 2006 Publix Stock split 5-1 from $91.25 to $18.25, and is currently $19.60 per share. Filpaul 16:46, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Baggers

Where is this? In Tampa they don't push your buggy to your car. Is this strictly for people who need the help? Mike H 04:17, Jan 29, 2005 (UTC)

Absolutely not. Definitely company-wide. TrbleClef 06:11, 29 Jan 2005 (UTC)
In N. GA, they will take your cart out to your car if you ask them, but no one ever does.--Kryptknight 01:05, July 14, 2005 (UTC)
They're supposed to. TrbleClef ♮ (talk) 12:28, 14 July 2005 (UTC)
Baggers are supposed to place one hand on the cart (if your hand or purse isn't there) and ask you to take the cart out to your vehicle. Some employees may not do this, but you have the full right to ask for this free service. Please no tipping.
It seems like, at least here in South Florida, that Publix isn't putting much importance on the baggers taking the cart out. I am very rarely asked anymore and the baggers make no attempt to even try to take the cart out. It used to be they would automaticly assume you wanted them to take it out and you'd have to say you didn't need help, now you have to ask them.--Skeev 14:22, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
This policy is probably enforced in some places better than others, but I was at a Jacksonville Publix yesterday and I saw a cart-catcher out in the parking lot offering to help people. That's service (or boredom of gathering carts). I never get any offers for assistance, but I've been with people before who were offered assistance. Khatores 06:39, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
When I worked at Winn-Dixie, way back in the day, it was a rule that if you were in the parking lot returning from gathering carts or taking a customer out you had to ask anyone you came across if they wanted assistance. I would imagine that Publix, being a better run company, would have a similer rule.--Skeev 14:01, 27 March 2006 (UTC)


I fill in as a bagger fairly often when we're busy, and when I do I always ask if the customer wants me to take the cart out for them. I also see other baggers taking carts out all the time. It seems like it's got to be something like 1 out of every 5 or 6 customers—there's a pretty steady flow of baggers taking out carts during the busy hours. So I'd say here we ask about the carts pretty much all the time. Everyking 06:53, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

I concur with the last guy. I work for Publix (in fact I just got home from closing) and baggers are told that they are supposed to ask if any customer wants help out. Of course, it is up to the bagger to ask, and they are more likely to ask if the customer were older or female (a gentlemanly thing), but they are still supposed to ask everyone. I see baggers going out all the time to help. If they aren't doing it in your area, they aren't following company policy. Although, there is the fact that the store that I work for in Orlando is known for its service, but even so, it still is policy.

Just a thought, why do all these middle aged women complain about not getting any help? Is it that had to push a shopping cart to your car? Didn't you just push it through the entire store? I think most women are just LAZY!!!

[edit] Not Groceries

Publix is also the name of a failed theater... -

Correct, founder George Jenkins got the name for the company from the defunct movie theater chain.--68.207.206.69 08:46, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] I take issue with a number of points in this article

  • Any number of grocery chains encourage thier baggers to push your cart to your car followed by loading the groceries in your car. This is not unique to Publix. It's offered at other chains all over the U.S.
  • "Publix Pharmacies are ranked number one in customer satisfaction in supermarket pharmacies, three years in a row" sounds like an advertisement.
  • Publix has also been sued for racial discrimination. There is no mention of this in the article.
  • This article almost reads like it was written by the President's assitant or a very very loyal employee.

--angrykeyboarder 03:15, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Angrykeyboarder, please, edit. That's what wikipedia is about. Bastique▼parler voir 04:10, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
I've not been fully clear on when to edit or when to just "talk" first.....
And how do you get thet subscript/superscript stuff after your ID? :-) -- —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Angrykeyboarder (talk • contribs) 03:07, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
As I mentioni below...nobody "owns" this article, and if they think they do, I have issue with it. I was unaware of the bias creep that has been occuring with it, but someone inserts a word here, a phrase there, and boom, you've got an avertisement.
Regarding the racial discrimination suit. I'd really not like to include that unless there's been more action than just the initial suit (filed in 1999). Unless the suit was settled--or if it's still ongoing, it may have been deemed completely without merit. It is my experience here on Wikipedia, that large organizations/people get a lot of suits filed against them--many of them frivolous, and that sort of information is deleted out of hand.
Of course, if there was a settlement, or if it is ongoing, then by all means, let's have it in there! Bastique▼parler voir 13:18, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] POV

I added a POV tag to the article because many points of it seem very POV. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to go about correcting them without either flat-out deleting certain statements, or worse, adding my own POV. Many of the POV issues have already been raised above.

In addition to what's been said above, I'd like to note that, for example, of the four or five Publixes I have been to, and of the hundreds of times I've shopped at Publix, not once has a Publix employee offered the carry-out service. In fact, I can't recall ever seeing anyone receive this carry-out service. The only time I've seen a Publix employee outside the store is when they're collecting carts. Now, I'm not saying that none of the stores do this, as I'm sure there are stores where the policy is well implemented. However, at many other stores, customers most certainly are not encouraged to take advantage of the policy. I doubt many of them are even made aware of it.

And if statements like "Publix distinguishes itself from other supermarkets by offering higher quality products and services." aren't POV, I don't know what is. -- Zawersh 05:41, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I've also removed the GA status, since POV violates GA. -- Zawersh 05:45, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I've changed the POV tag to {{advert}}, because that's probably more in line with the article's issues.
Please don't be afraid of helping out this article. While there are several people who work on this article, and keep it on our watchlists, none of us have any desire to "own" this article and all contributions are welcome. The fact is, the Publices(?!) in my area do offer carry-out services, I always refuse as well--I have a problem with a senior citizen carrying my bags, but that's my thing. That's why I have never had any dispute with this statement. Furthermore, it seems at the competing store I have problems locating someone to bag the groceries. It's the company's policy to do this, I believe, and if the service isn't occuring where you are then it's the store/regional management who is at fault, not the company. Of course, we don't want this turning into a rating system either... Bastique▼parler voir 13:03, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
Upon rereading that paragraph, it seems that the phrasing appears to have put out by the company's center office. I'm not certain just who was off guard duty when this crept into the article, but I don't remember seeing it. Frankly it floors me to see that an article I helped work hard to get to Good article status to undergo such criticism because of junk like this being inserted into it. Bastique▼parler voir 13:11, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Is it just me, or does this article sound more like an advertisment than an encyclopedia article? I dont think that people reading this article really want to know what uniforms the employees wear, or what company manufactures their registers. It sounds like some one from Publix Corporate Office.paranoia2K 09:06, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Actually, no... - Aerobird Target locked - Fox One! 14:35, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Central office text

This specifically needs dramatic rewrite:

... Perhaps the best-known service that Publix offers to all of its customers free of charge is its carry-out policy, where Publix service clerks will take their shoppers' shopping cart to their car. Publix teaches their associates the "2 & 2" rule: following an order at checkout, two hands must be placed on the cart and two steps taken in the direction of door. Publix is adamant about its free takeout service and customers are encouraged to take advantage of it, regardless of their ability. Publix, believing that such a service is something that customers should expect from a grocery store, maintains a no tipping policy, in which it asks customers not to tip associates for providing services.

Maybe if you're not comfortable doing it in the context of the article, do it here. I would love to find out how it got in. Bastique▼parler voir 13:25, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pharmacy

"Publix pharmacies have a "face-to-face" policy; a Publix pharmacist, during working hours, is always available to answer any questions you have regarding your prescription or other health issues. "

In order for the pharmacy to be open, a pharmacist must be on duty. That's how pharmacies work. You can't dispense RXs w/o a pharmacist. How is this a special service publix offers? This is a requirement of current laws & regulations...

Trying to emphasise the interaction with the customer. It really does sound like this is coming from Publix PR, but to be fair, it seems they should be able to have a shot at informing people about company policies and operations.

[edit] barcodes ??

"In 1980, Publix became the first large grocery chain to utilize Universal Product Code scanning in all its stores."

Is there a source on this? I know A&P and Winn Dixie were members of the group that developed UPC... did Publix really beat them to the punch of rolling this out?

Bar Codes were developed by IBM. Publix was one of the First to roll out bar code scanning technology. The source for this is in company literature they circulate to new hires. Universal Product Code & Bar code --68.207.206.69 08:42, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
Trying to find a source on this. It seems that it wasn't the first to have scanning, but the first chain to have electronic scanning, rather than mechanical scanning, at all its store in Florida. Filpaul 14:41, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bank of America

The article states, "In 2006, Bank of America banks pulled out of Publix supermarkets". This is false, as stated. I bank at a Bank of America inside a Publix. If BoA pulled out, they pulled out just a few hours ago. CyberAnth 23:46, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

BoA made the decision on their own, and is currently in the process of closing their in-store locations. They can't close them all overnight. Filpaul 16:46, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
According to which source? CyberAnth 19:28, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
BoA [3] "Over the next two years." So the wording in the article is incorrect. Filpaul 03:15, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Status, etc.

Are there still concerns that would prevent a re-nomination for Good Article status? I took the third paragraph and moved it to an "Awards" section (probably needs a different title but that was the best I could think of) as IMHO it shouldn't be at the top like that. Anything else need fixing/tweaking?

Also, should Crispers have its own article started, perhaps? - Aerobird 21:34, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Large sections remain un-cited. I would not so much as even think of re-nominating it until that is remedied. See WP:RS. - CyberAnth 00:02, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
I have added section tags to the article regarding non-referencing. CyberAnth 06:31, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
Virtually all of those "unreferenced" things can be "referenced" from the Publix website, which is listed in the external-links section. We need to use common sense instead of reference overkill. - Aerobird 15:22, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
I don't believe that the Other Localizations section can be found on the Publix site, it seems to be OR. And, in speaking with a Crispers manager, I learned that Publix owns 98% of Crispers Restaurants, Inc. Filpaul 00:47, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nomination for GA

The POV issues have seemingly been rectified, and while there could be additional references, they're IMHO succiffient at the moment, so I've re-nominated the article for Good Article status. - Aerobird 15:31, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] GA on hold

I have put the GA nom on hold for up to seven days so that you can fix a few issues I have identified. As a note, the article has far too many sections for an article of this size, so some of my suggestions deal with consolidating these. The things I have identified as needing fixing are:

  • In the lead, the company name only has to be bolded once, whereas you have bolded it at the beginning of both sentences.
  • The image of the Publix logo needs to have a Fair use rationale. In addition, the image needs source information (where did it come from?)
  • The sentence, "Publix's main competitors are Albertsons, Food Lion, Kroger, Sweetbay, Wal-Mart, and Winn-Dixie" should be moved either to the bottom of the "Market" section. Alternatively, you could move it to the bottom of the "History" section and change the wording slightly to say, "Today, Publix's main competitors are..." etc.
  • Also in the Market section, please provide a citation stating that in-store photo labs are being phased out.
  • Check (as in "check cashing") should not be capitalized. The same thing goes for "money" in "money order", as well as "lottery" in "lottery tickets".
  • Please explain in the article what coin2cash is (or wikilink to the appropriate article, if one exists). I live nowhere near a Publix store, so I have no idea what that is.
  • The article cannot be promoted unless there are appropriate citations in the "History" section. Currently, there are none, which would fail the article under the criteria of being well-referenced.
  • The "Pharmacy" and "Publix Sabor" headings should be minor headings (i.e. ===) instead of major headings (==).
  • The "Other localizations" section should be eliminated. The first sentence can be moved to the end of the "History" section, and the second sentence can be moved to the end of the "Market" section.
  • "New Projects" should be renamed "Current projects", which I believe better summarizes the information presented, as well as proper capitalization (in a heading all words after the first (with the exception of proper titles) should be lowercase as per WP:MSH).
  • The "Online shopping" section should be eliminated, and the sentence should be moved to the appropriate place in the "History" section.
  • The "Awards" section needs citations that state that state that Publix has won those awards.
  • For some reason, the "Controversy" section is in reverse-chronological order. Swap everything so that it goes from earliest at the top to most recent at the bottom. As well, replace the "citation needed" tag in that section with a proper reference.
  • The text size of the references was too large (I fixed it). For future reference, too make the reference text the correct size, your references section should look like this:
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>

Those are the things that need immediate attention before this can become a GA. There are also too many "stubby" sentences that seem more like Infodumps (no offense) than anything else. While I would like to see this rectified in the near-future (it is criteria 1a of WP:WIAGA), the prose is good enough to pass GA, as far as I can tell. Trying to get it passed as FA though, would be impossible with the prose at its current state, just to let you know.

Once the above listed items have been fixed, I will pass the article as GA. Happy editing, Green451 02:17, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank you very much for pointing all these issues out! I've worked on many of them, but I'll need some help from everybody on citing sources. Filpaul 03:46, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
Don't wikilink solo years, example, 2006 M3tal H3ad 04:06, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] coin(s)2cash

I removed the reference to this service, as (1) it isn't provided at the service desk (IIRC) but rather at one of those little vending-machine thingies, (2) therefore it's not a particulary notable service, and (3) most of the Google hits were with regards to Internet marketing thingies with the same name...

(The 'service' being referred to is a small vending machine where you can put coins in a slot and - with the removal of 'a small fee', of course - it exchanges them for paper money.)

- Aerobird 14:21, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

I might agree with [[User:Aerobird|Aerobird], the coin machine is'nt worthwhile in the same way that the Soda machines and Glacier (Brand) Water Dispensers aren't really a notible feature or draw to the store.--68.207.206.69 02:29, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Saw a machine in Publix today, it's "Coins to Cash" spelled out that way, FYI. - Aerobird 04:36, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

The proper name for the machine is the Self Service Coin Counter and, while also staffed by the service desk, is Publix developed. This isn't a outsourced vendor deal.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.121.240.239 (talk) 04:52, 23 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Publix Industry Firsts

(Portions of "Publix Industry Firsts" may belong under the Company History Tab) --68.207.206.69 02:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Air Conditioning

Air Condtioning was the first retail or grocery establishment to implement Air Condtioning in to it's stores. This provided a welcome relief to the poulous majority who lived in hot and humid florida but did not have any sort of cooling at home. Customers would often come to the store just to get an "air conditioning experience". It proved to be very popular and drew customers in away from the competition.--68.207.206.69 02:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Presto

Publix Presto may be worth mentioning. The company was the first grocery store to (1981 or 1982) to implement atm's in their store. Presto runs on it's own financial network and is a subscriber to other various bankning networks.--68.207.206.69 02:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Electric Doors

Some time in the 1930's George Jenkins decided that it would be nice if his customers did not have to open the doors for themselves. The First Electricly opening doors were installed in a Publix Supermarket.--68.207.206.69 02:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Coining Supermarket

George Jenkins was the man who coined the word Supermarket--68.207.206.69 02:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

I'd love to find sources on these. I believe he coined Super Market, to be better than the competition. Filpaul 04:26, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Filpaul, Get a job at Publix; As part of the Training and occasional (instore-after hours) seminars they will tell you this stuff and from time to time it is printed in the companys monthly newsletter that is given to employees. I guess that if you went to customer service to ask them for a copy and explained to them that you were working on the Publix Wiki article, they would probably give you a copy of that months issue.--68.207.206.69 02:45, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I actually do work for Publix, and teach Orientation class. I meant we need neutral, verifiable, non-original researched sources. Filpaul 05:03, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
Precisely. All or even a scant majority of Wikipedia readers cannot "get a job at Publix" nor would they be inclined so, to verify an article's claims. Nor would they, and neither should they, trust company-produced information that assert such claims. Such things must be sourced to reliable secondary sources. See Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources_.28online_and_paper.29. CyberAnth 10:21, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ice Cream

The ever popular Publix Premeium Ice Cream is produced in house at the Company's Self run dairy processing plant. All new flavours are developed in house by woman named Laura (forgot last name). Suggestions, comments, and requests for discontinued flavors to be brought back can be mailed directly to Laura's office.

[edit] Failed GA nom

Unfortunately, I have had to fail this GA nom because all of the changes I requested have not yet been implemented. Work on improving the article, and when you take it back to GA noms, I will be happy to review the article again and (hopefully) pass the article as GA status. Happy editing, Green451 17:22, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removed Unsourced

I've removed these statements, after much searching for sources. If you can find a source please return them to the article. Filpaul 03:09, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

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