Publix on Friday issued a statement about the calendar it stopped distributing after some customers complained:
Since 2005, Publix has offered our customers in the Miami Division, Key West to Vero Beach, a free calendar with valuable coupons inside. The intent of the calendar was to say ‘Thank you’ to our customers for shopping at Publix and offer them valuable savings. Fans of the calendar have spread the word to their friends, and now customers across our five states request to receive it.
We have made a conscious decision to pull our free calendars for 2010 from our stores due to the omission of Pearl Harbor Day.
When we source our calendar, we ask our supplier to include: National holidays, Independence days, New Year’s, Heritage months and Jewish high holidays.
Based on customer requests, our calendars have grown to include Boss’s Day, Administrative Assistant’s Day, Chinese New Year and Islamic New Year. Since first being included in 2006, the Islamic New Year has fallen on other dates (2006 (1/31), 2007 (1/20), 2008 (1/10), 2009 (12/18). In 2010, Islamic New Year will fall on December 7.
While no one can disagree that Pearl Harbor Day is an important day of remembrance for our country, our free calendar has never included Pearl Harbor Day since it is not a national holiday. Based on feedback we have received this year, if a free calendar is produced for 2011, we will also include Pearl Harbor Day.
As an aside, all the discussion prompted us to research other 2010 calendars. Only one thing is consistent — inconsistencies. No two calendars are exactly the same; some note the New Year’s holidays, others don’t; some include Patriot’s Day and other’s don’t; and unfortunately, a vast majority of calendars do not include Pearl Harbor Day.
As your community grocer for over 79 years, we would never knowingly disappoint you. We truly regret and apologize for having done that. Our intent was never to exclude important dates or to reduce the importance of any one day. Since our customer base is very diverse, we make every effort to do the right thing, for the most people.
Source: Publix Super Markets Inc.
