THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070473
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 60 lines
Jim Stalnaker, a tall, poised attorney dressed in chinos and a blue belt with tiny crabs on it, seemed slightly embarrassed Tuesday morning as he grasped a shopping cart handle.
He had cased the Farm Fresh store at Great Neck Shopping Center over the weekend. He had located expensive goodies and memorized the rules: No alcoholic beverages, no tobacco products and only one of each product.
Stalnaker had five minutes; five minutes to make his wife proud of his shopping prowess; five minutes in which to keep his composure or risk humiliating himself.
``Are you ready?'' asked a Farm Fresh official, wielding a stopwatch.
``Go!''
And off Stalnaker went. Powered by long, lanky legs, he took off so fast that store officials and cameramen scrambled to keep up with him, some of them giggling the entire way. Customers pulled their carts to the side, bewildered and slightly apprehensive.
Stalnaker's free grocery trip was due to his family's use of Farm Fresh's Gold Card, a frequent shopping program that rewards loyal customers. The Norfolk-based chain has given 20 or more Gold Card customers free shopping sprees.
Fostering customer loyalty is crucial at a time when competitors like Hannaford Brothers Co. and Harris Teeter Inc. are opening supermarkets in Hampton Roads, vying for a slice of the grocery market.
But Stalnaker and another winner, Janine Zaccaria, weren't concerned with such things Tuesday morning. They were thinking of the most efficient way to pile groceries into their carts.
Before their shopping sprees, both Virginia Beach residents had scoped out the store layout, mapped out routes and pinpointed desirable and expensive products.
Stalnaker, for example, slowed at the meat cases, his choosiness betraying him, as he hoisted steak after steak into his cart. Later, he loaded up on spices and a pricey, large can of extra virgin olive oil.
Total damage: $824.77, gratis.
Zaccaria, wearing comfortable walking shoes and shorts, snatched $549.76 in free groceries as her daughter, Gigi Decker, and grandkids, 6-year-old Anna and 4-year-old Taylor, trailed behind and shouted orders.
``Grab one of each,'' Decker yelled. ``Quick. Quick. Roasts. Anything. Anything you can carry! Down to the turkeys! Hurry - you've got to get to the detergents.''
Then five, four, three, two, one. It was over.
Zaccaria sighed.
``Isn't it nice?'' she asked.``Of course, I would have loved to have gotten to the cheeses and the gourmet stuff.'' ILLUSTRATION: D. KEVIN ELLIOTT color photos/The Virginian-Pilot
Janine Zaccaria of Virginia Beach
$549.76
Jim Stalnaker of Virginia Beach
$824.77 by CNB