I've had the same experience. I'd select the cheapest possible chicken breast from Whole Foods and they replace it with air chilled, free range chicken breast. The difference in cost was quite significant per pound.
If you chose the cheapest possible option, it does seem inevitable that any replacement would be more expensive :-)
And, sorry that we were frustrating to you.
(engineer @ Instacart)
Which is why "send people to grocery stores" is going to lose out to more vertically integrated models.
there is no Ralfs [sic] API to plug into to give real-time inventory information
It's the same strategy as "unexplained" charges appearing at random on people's phone and cable bills. Concede one battle, win twenty others. Massive fraud being perpetrated every day gets a pass because:
1) each individual fraudulent act is so small the cost of fighting it is greater than the insult perceived by most victims
2) arbitration clauses
3) monopoly
4) corruption (kickbacks &c)
5) delegation of customer service to automated answering systems; it's easier to bilk your fellow man when he's invisible to you
Don't ever kid yourself, these policies are intentional and calculated, with malice aforethought. You can be certain spreadsheets and charts were created, examined and became the basis of an affirmative executive decision.