I’m going to let you in on a little known detail about the commissary.
Did you know that we can request specialty items?
If your favorite brand or grocery item isn’t found at your location, you are encouraged to request it and there are a couple ways to do so.
Where do you begin?
You can start with picking up a “Your Action Line” customer form available inside the commissary. It’s typically found at the front, most likely where customer service is located. Utilize this form to list your specialty items and return it to the commissary. Another way to leisurely request your specialty items is to submit your request via the Customer Contact Form online.
Commissary stock is done by the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) Sales Directorate. The Sales Directorate is in charge of the different contracts that are filtered out to your commissary location. Therefore, your request for specialty items, whether filled out online or submitted in store will get sent to DeCA headquarters. Also, the Sales Directorate researches and listens to the community to determine the best products for a particular location.
There is another avenue that can help you receive a specific product at your commissary and that’s working directly with your commissary management. DeCA suggests that you request a meeting with a manager during a shopping trip or you can call your commissary’s management team. Find the contact info for your location by using this link. By establishing a relationship with commissary management on the specialty items you need, it will allow them to relay the request to the Sales Directorate straight.
Whatever method you decide to use, be sure you have the specific Universal Product Code (UPC) of each product.
That’s the unique information typically located under the bar code that would identify your specialty items for the Sales Directorate to possibly work with distribution channels to acquire your requested goods. I would be as detailed as possible in explaining the product like other known names, description, etc. It’s helpful to work with commissary management personally because they can walk you through the process and might be able to offer you any insight in the process.
For commissary customers that are overseas, it’s more of a challenge due to international shipping and the fact that goods need to be in DeCA’s Catalog Master File before it can be added to OCONUS commissaries. since it takes much longer because of rules and regulations that are in place, the product’s shelf life and packing makes it difficult as well, so that’s a huge factor to consider if you are overseas requesting specialty items.
You stopped stocking the no bake key lime pie. We loved that.
With all due respect: is this a joke? The typical response is: We can’t get that item because we’re not allowed to carry it. We’re not a big enough store. At the Spangdahlem AB commissary, items would just stop being sold. When I’d ask about them, the answer would usually be: the packaging is changing or it wasn’t a good seller (even though it was often sold out), but we’ll try to get it (and they’d never get it).
I would like to be able to purchase Cesar canine Filets in sauce. Code # 2310023537.This comes in a 12
variety pack of 6 filet Mignon and 6 New York strip flavor. Tks.
Our Commissary her in Pensacola has stopped stocking the following items:
*Kirby Cucumbers
*Little Debbie Snack cakes (all varieties)
*Snyder’s of Hanover Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Pieces (2.25 oz bags) UPC 77975 01003..
I have repeatedly asked why these POPULAR products have been deleted and nobody has yet to answer my question… Answers I received were, “It’s a logistic problem, We have no control over what is stocked, and I don’t know.”
This is totally unsatisfactory and these products should be stocked again… This is the worst run commissary that we have used…We travel all over the USA and shop at commissaries in other states, and this one is, by far, the worst managed and stocked…
The problem I’ve found with the special requests is that they’re not agreeing to restock the item again so that you can make repeat purchases as necessary. Instead, they’re offering a one-time special order, so you either have to order a lifetime supply or keep repeating the painful ordering process over and over and over again.
These are NOT specialty items…They all have been stocked for several years… Maybe this isn’t the right forum for my complaint…