Supermarkets discussion

[jon0844]

Unless I go in to Sainsbury's and buy something small to get vouchers that I can immediately use, I find their vouchers pointless and even insulting.

They pretend to reward me, but if I spend £50 and they churn out a voucher to say I can get nn nectar points if I spend £80 in the next week or two, they're taking a pretty good punt (well, they can see my shopping history) that I'm not likely to be returning - and to expect me to go back and find £80 worth of goods (and if on offer, I must ensure my total bill is £80 or more) in such a short time.

I get that this is their whole intention, but it's hardly rewarding people. Hence, go in, buy a bar of chocolate or whatever and then use the voucher(s) there and then.

 

[dangie]

Supermarket car parks.
People complain, quite rightly, about able bodied and child free motorists parking in disabled and parent & child places.

Now I understand why disabled spaces are close to the shop, less distance to walk. This goes without saying.

But parent & child places do not need to be next to the shop. Yes they need to be wider than standard places, but not next to the shop.

The only way to stop idle thoughtless uncaring individuals from taking up parent & child places is to situate them farther away from the shop. I know this isn’t getting to the root of the problem, but it could stop it from happening.

 

[Ediswan]

But parent & child places do not need to be next to the shop. Yes they need to be wider than standard places, but not next to the shop.

I have always assumed that part of the motivation for putting those spaces where they are is to reduce the opportunites for interaction between children and moving vehicles.

 

[507021]

Aldi lose out for me because my nearest store is a distance away and hard to reach which is a huge disappointment as I love them, if they would offer some kind of delivery service even if this was through a partner such as ocado or deliveroo I'd be happy

It'd be great if Aldi were to offer a delivery service, but if they did, their prices would have to increase to cover the costs of running one in-house or paying a partner to run one on their behalf. One of the reasons I stuck with Iceland until several months ago was the delivery service, but in the end I gave up because the cost difference between a weekly (large) family shop there compared to Aldi became ridiculous. On saying that, my daughters have said they prefer Aldi products anyway, which is a bonus.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Tesco do the same. Clearly I don't know how much you normally spend but with Tesco my minimum spend was the 'usual' spend rounded up to the next ten, so, say I normally spent around the £20 mark, it would be £30, which I met occasionally.. Now it is the next ten up again, so £40 so no chance. I have to carry the shopping home (two bus rides to my nearest decent size Tesco). Sainsbury's have always been much higher than normal spend so vouchers get recycled.

When my wife was alive, there were two of us at home, but since 2021, my shopping is only for one now. I only do a major shop at Sainsburys once monthly, when "big items" make the bill quite sizeable. I use local shops for regular small purchases of basic necessities.

 

[Acey]

It'd be great if Aldi were to offer a delivery service, but if they did, their prices would have to increase to cover the costs of running one in-house or paying a partner to run one on their behalf. One of the reasons I stuck with Iceland until several months ago was the delivery service, but in the end I gave up because the cost difference between a weekly (large) family shop there compared to Aldi became ridiculous. On saying that, my daughters have said they prefer Aldi products anyway, which is a bonus.

Indeed,I remember a time when Iceland were reasonably cheap,now ( apart from a few of there " buy x for x " promotions I find them quite expensive !

 

[dangie]

I have always assumed that part of the motivation for putting those spaces where they are is to reduce the opportunites for interaction between children and moving vehicles.

That could possibly be correct. Unfortunately it often doesn’t work due to those mentioned in my original post. Situate them farther away and they’re more likely to be unoccupied when a parent & child needs them.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Indeed,I remember a time when Iceland were reasonably cheap,now ( apart from a few of there " buy x for x " promotions I find them quite expensive !

I do find their frozen Chinese meals, such as Chicken and Rice, Special Fried Rice, etc, at £4.00 for 2 items, to be very reasonable and a bigger individual sized serving than similar items from the Chinese takeaway. Just over 5 minutes cooking time from frozen in the microwave.

 

[507021]

Indeed,I remember a time when Iceland were reasonably cheap,now ( apart from a few of there " buy x for x " promotions I find them quite expensive !

Just a bit. Our weekly food bill is £20-£30 a week cheaper since we switched to Aldi, which adds up over a month and indeed a year.

 

[takno]

Just a bit. Our weekly food bill is £20-£30 a week cheaper since we switched to Aldi, which adds up over a month and indeed a year.

To be honest I'm a bit surprised you ever found them reasonable for a full shop. They've never been great for non-frozen stuff. It's just that the frozen stuff has also now been pitched at a point where you need the multibuys to get normal pricing. If I can empty the freezer enough spend 30 quid I might put an order in at some point for stuff I can't get elsewhere, but otherwise I don't really see the point.

 

[Mojo]

It'd be great if Aldi were to offer a delivery service, but if they did, their prices would have to increase to cover the costs of running one in-house or paying a partner to run one on their behalf.

I suppose they could levy a delivery charge but given Aldi charge £4.99 for Click & Collect which is already more than most supermarkets charge for a home delivery, it wouldn’t be worth it for them.

The infrastructure they have set up for the Click & Collect is very primitive and I suppose it wouldn’t be too challenging for them to expand it, but again maybe they know its limitations. I tried it once during lockdown; there were a number of things that were not available and not substituted but the girl that brought the stuff to my car said that if I went inside they’d probably be there. When I got to the checkout the store manager who was operating the till took one look at the conveyor belt and said “you must be Mr ___.” He explained to me that they get the list of online orders overnight and that they pack the bags up before the shop opens. The issue being that if the item was not in stock when the shop closes overnight then it won’t get packed, but they have a delivery come early morning so the items are probably in stock but not when they do the picking for online orders.

 

[gg1]

My local Asda (as Asdas go, one of their larger stores) seem to have taken the decision to downsize. They're currently in the middle of an internal rejig of the store layout and in the process are removing a number of aisles. So far they've dropped one each of the fruit/veg and the refrigerated aisles, moved the toiletries from upstairs to downstairs (displacing the stuff which was in those aisles in the process) and the freed up space upstairs appears to be being utilised for a bigger waiting area for the pharmacy and opticians (hard to be certain though as that bit still appears to be a work in progress).

As an added and unrelated bonus, when I completed my 'scan and go' shop yesterday and attempted to pay, the handset locked up, staff couldn't fix it and said I'd have to unpack everything and scan it all again.

 

[jon0844]

I've seen Tesco also removing some aisles to create a VERY open and spacious fresh produce section. It looks odd, almost unfinished*, but it appears to be very much intentional and planned.

* Given many shops have traditionally packed in as many aisles to stock as many lines as possible. Open spaces means less stock in the store, and not all stores have huge stock rooms.

 

[route101]

Only vouchers for me for Nectar that I use are the x2 points on fuel. My local Sainsburys has removed more manned tills in favour of an extended bank of self scans.

 

[507021]

To be honest I'm a bit surprised you ever found them reasonable for a full shop. They've never been great for non-frozen stuff. It's just that the frozen stuff has also now been pitched at a point where you need the multibuys to get normal pricing. If I can empty the freezer enough spend 30 quid I might put an order in at some point for stuff I can't get elsewhere, but otherwise I don't really see the point.

Originally it was very good value for my needs, as the money I spent in Tesco on a family shop could be spent in Iceland and I'd get quite a bit more for my money. Even as my family got larger before the cost of living increase, Iceland was still a fair bit cheaper than my nearest large supermarket. It's only been since 2021 when it's no longer been good value for money, and in hindsight, I probably should have switched to Aldi then. I expect what's also helped is Aldi having a far more comprehensive own brand range, including canned and fresh goods, which they can control the pricing of.

I suppose they could levy a delivery charge but given Aldi charge £4.99 for Click & Collect which is already more than most supermarkets charge for a home delivery, it wouldn’t be worth it for them.

The infrastructure they have set up for the Click & Collect is very primitive and I suppose it wouldn’t be too challenging for them to expand it, but again maybe they know its limitations. I tried it once during lockdown; there were a number of things that were not available and not substituted but the girl that brought the stuff to my car said that if I went inside they’d probably be there. When I got to the checkout the store manager who was operating the till took one look at the conveyor belt and said “you must be Mr ___.” He explained to me that they get the list of online orders overnight and that they pack the bags up before the shop opens. The issue being that if the item was not in stock when the shop closes overnight then it won’t get packed, but they have a delivery come early morning so the items are probably in stock but not when they do the picking for online orders.

That's it really, if it's £4.99 for click and collect, I can't imagine a home delivery being significantly cheaper than £10. The price of click and collect also seems a bit expensive for the sake of saving me the 30-40 minutes it usually takes for me to do a weekly shop, especially if your experience is anything to go by.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Think that 'Iceland' were named, earlier in the year, as the UK supermarket where prices have risen the fastest in 2022.

Not sure that they've improved all that much in 2023.

 

[Kite159]

Only vouchers for me for Nectar that I use are the x2 points on fuel. My local Sainsburys has removed more manned tills in favour of an extended bank of self scans.

Same with my local big Tesco, replaced manned tills with 3 areas for self scan (1 for "scan as you go", 1 for trolley & 1 with baskets). Which is all fine until they are short staffed and only have the basket 'bank' open causing issues with trolleys.

 

[Gloster]

Today I picked up two of the same item marked as on offer at two for £3 (normal price £1.89 each), but when I put them through the till they both came up at the normal price. The member of staff went to check and confirmed that I was correct, so the price was amended on the screen and I paid no more than I should. But this also happened two days ago and I alerted the staff then. I wonder how many people would include the offer in a large shop and fail to note that the discount hadn’t been applied. This is not the first time this sort of problem has arisen, so I check and watch all such offers carefully.

 

[gswindale]

Had the misfortune of popping into Lidl this afternoon.

Firstly it was a pain trying to park as the car park probably only had 20 spaces in!

Secondly there were a maximum of 6 manned checkouts of which at least 2 were closed, so large queues forming at the others and no self service checkouts for those of us with just a few items.

Suffice to say I won't be visiting Lidl again if I can help it until they improve the checkout experience by introducing some self service checkouts.

 

[RuddA]

Two of my three local Lidls have self service and I'll go to those occasionally. The other, newest, store doesn't and I avoid that one.

 

[david1212]

I've seen Tesco also removing some aisles to create a VERY open and spacious fresh produce section. It looks odd, almost unfinished*, but it appears to be very much intentional and planned ....

In my local superstore removing all the racks placed at least one side of the entry / exit to most aisles would be a good start to making it easier to move around.

Had the misfortune of popping into Lidl this afternoon.

Firstly it was a pain trying to park as the car park probably only had 20 spaces in!

Secondly there were a maximum of 6 manned checkouts of which at least 2 were closed, so large queues forming at the others and no self service checkouts for those of us with just a few items.

Suffice to say I won't be visiting Lidl again if I can help it until they improve the checkout experience by introducing some self service checkouts.

My local Lidl is the same. I don't buy much there so a pain waiting for a couple of full trolley loads to be scanned when I only have literally a handfull of items.

I was on holiday in Paignton where they do have self service checkouts including a couple with only a small bagging area so mostly I was quickly through. When a delay it was because multiple self service checkouts threw their toys out the pram at the same time!

 

[Typhoon]

Today I picked up two of the same item marked as on offer at two for £3 (normal price £1.89 each), but when I put them through the till they both came up at the normal price. The member of staff went to check and confirmed that I was correct, so the price was amended on the screen and I paid no more than I should. But this also happened two days ago and I alerted the staff then. I wonder how many people would include the offer in a large shop and fail to note that the discount hadn’t been applied. This is not the first time this sort of problem has arisen, so I check and watch all such offers carefully.

One of the reasons I use self-service is that I scan items in the order I want to, and check that offers are actually priced correctly (I only ever do basket shops because of the need to carry the items home). I find disparities not infrequently, some particular supermarket branches are worse than others. I suspect the problem in at least some is that they have cut staff back to the bare bones and they don't have time to check all the labels. I've been to a customer service once over a particular item, the minute I started to produce it, the assistant saw what it was and started to issue the refund. She had seen it before. I really feel sorry for some staff who are having to mop up after problems caused by their systems. As you rightly say, anyone with a big shop, perhaps accompanied by children and desperately trying to pack the items as they come down the conveyor belt, is unlikely to spot any discrepancy.

Another problem I came across recently, was an offer for bottles of fruit squash to be diluted - three labels indicated £2.25 or two bottles for £3, the other £1.75 each. There were only three flavours on the shelf, and someone (presumably a staff member)had spread them out so therw was no gap for the missing flavour so some of the £1.75 bottles were very close to the offer labels. I reckon there is a fair chance some people will have bought two bottles and ended up paying £4 (£2.25 + £1.75).

You need your wits about you when supermarket shopping.

 

[Red Onion]

I’m amazed that the entry gates in my local Tesco still work. They are frequently either held open by customers entering to allow those just visiting the kiosk to exit or simply just pulled open by the latter. There used to be an exit gate next to the kiosk but it’s been ”sealed up” now.

Still very much puzzled as to why they are there. Staff seem to have given up shouting at folk trying to go back through them after visiting the kiosk.

 

[jon0844]

I've pulled the entry gate open to exit at my Tesco, right in front of security who said nothing. I had gone in with bags but they didn't seem to be bothered about whether I had anything in them.

I went in, saw the hand scanners were turned off two hours earlier than the sign indicated and decided not to bother.

(I've actually done this more than once as I stupidly assumed it was a one off, but after the third time I spoke to staff who said everyone knows they turn them off at 10pm, not midnight. I suggested they change their signs but apparently that's not necessary as everyone knows...)

 

[DannyMich2018]

One of the reasons I use self-service is that I scan items in the order I want to, and check that offers are actually priced correctly (I only ever do basket shops because of the need to carry the items home). I find disparities not infrequently, some particular supermarket branches are worse than others. I suspect the problem in at least some is that they have cut staff back to the bare bones and they don't have time to check all the labels. I've been to a customer service once over a particular item, the minute I started to produce it, the assistant saw what it was and started to issue the refund. She had seen it before. I really feel sorry for some staff who are having to mop up after problems caused by their systems. As you rightly say, anyone with a big shop, perhaps accompanied by children and desperately trying to pack the items as they come down the conveyor belt, is unlikely to spot any discrepancy.

Another problem I came across recently, was an offer for bottles of fruit squash to be diluted - three labels indicated £2.25 or two bottles for £3, the other £1.75 each. There were only three flavours on the shelf, and someone (presumably a staff member)had spread them out so therw was no gap for the missing flavour so some of the £1.75 bottles were very close to the offer labels. I reckon there is a fair chance some people will have bought two bottles and ended up paying £4 (£2.25 + £1.75).

You need your wits about you when supermarket shopping.

I completely agree. It's just so annoying if you use a shop such as an Aldi or Lidl, B and M or Iceland which doesn't have a self checkout and you're asked if you want a receipt cause you may unknowingly have paid more than what the shelf says. I always ask for one particularly if I'm buying quite a few bits.

 

[Trackman]

Today I picked up two of the same item marked as on offer at two for £3 (normal price £1.89 each), but when I put them through the till they both came up at the normal price. The member of staff went to check and confirmed that I was correct, so the price was amended on the screen and I paid no more than I should. But this also happened two days ago and I alerted the staff then. I wonder how many people would include the offer in a large shop and fail to note that the discount hadn’t been applied. This is not the first time this sort of problem has arisen, so I check and watch all such offers carefully.

I always watch out for this as it's happened to me before, think it was M&S.
Also watch out for this online, I amended an order once and the 2 for £5 offer (or whatever) had disappeared. I asked about this, they still have to honour it if you don't amend the order. It's like price decreases and other offers.. say you buy a £15 joint of meat, and on the day of the delivery it's only £10, you will be charged £15 as you have already checked-out. Always worth checking.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I always watch out for this as it's happened to me before, think it was M&S.
Also watch out for this online, I amended an order once and the 2 for £5 offer (or whatever) had disappeared. I asked about this, they still have to honour it if you don't amend the order. It's like price decreases and other offers.. say you buy a £15 joint of meat, and on the day of the delivery it's only £10, you will be charged £15 as you have already checked-out. Always worth checking.

This.

And also if lack of availability causes a substitution which in turn means a multisave or linksave isn't triggered. Ocado used to be a nightmare for that

 

[RuddA]

Supermarket car parks.
People complain, quite rightly, about able bodied and child free motorists parking in disabled and parent & child places.

Now I understand why disabled spaces are close to the shop, less distance to walk. This goes without saying.

But parent & child places do not need to be next to the shop. Yes they need to be wider than standard places, but not next to the shop.

The only way to stop idle thoughtless uncaring individuals from taking up parent & child places is to situate them farther away from the shop. I know this isn’t getting to the root of the problem, but it could stop it from happening.

Since they closed the secondary entrance at Norwich Sainsbury's Queens Road the main section of child and parent spaces are nearly the furthest from the main entrance. Sometimes only 1 of 7 spaces are being used. There are 4 closer spaces which get taken first, but there are also normal spaces which are closer to the entrance than these.

 

[Trackman]

This.

And also if lack of availability causes a substitution which in turn means a multisave or linksave isn't triggered. Ocado used to be a nightmare for that

Asda don't punish you for this, for example 2 Casey Jones burgers for £10 which should be £6 each, they would charge you £5 if only one was delivered.

 

[Mojo]

My local Sainsbury’s has had a layout change. Rather bizarrely they have moved the clothes and home items to by the main entrance, meaning that the fruit and veg has been relocated to two aisles back.