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Crowded Supermarkets

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Peter Mugridge

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Never mind power sliding - before the current generation of heavyweight trolley designs I would often tilt my trolley into a turn in order to get round the shop a bit quicker...
 
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Blindtraveler

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Aha! A pendatrollieo, the trollie that tilts!

I've always said that a supermarket that doesnt allow children under 12 would be a major success! The reason why screaming, yelling, moaning and I want'ing can be heard country wide is that kids just dont wanna go to asda in there free time! A store that offers facilities ranging from a play area for the little ones to a big screen of age appropriate films etc for older ones for free would be a major success not to mention making the shopping that bit easier!

On self scans, my other half loves m, and yeh ok there good, until they start spouting daft stuff and like with every other piece of technology that dares to talk to me in a bad way, I talk back! Problem is, i sometimes lose my temper lol!

Another, very personal rant is the total ignorance of other shoppers. They can, unless there blinder than me which would be hard, see that a man with a white stick, assisted by a store staff member or accompanied by a friend is coming towards them, yet do they care? Do they look? One word, NO!

All that said, i'm a modern man and dont mind shopping. More to the point I love a bargain!
 

jon0844

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The self scanners don't have much to go wrong.. a barcode scanner and a couple of buttons, with one allowing you to change your mind and remove it from the trolley.

I've only had one barcode give me grief (not even bent/creased), which is a shame as I'm always up for a challenge. In fact, they scan far too easy and you can scan from quite some distance too!

Not that I've been tempted to run it down an aisle pointing at the shelf tags!

I have always thought that RFID (NFC) tags in packaging would be the way forward, allowing you to simply throw everything in a trolley and go through a single 'scanner' at the end, but to be honest - the humble barcode seems just fine, and it's better to keep a running total instead of a single scan at the end (assuming we don't the scanners in the trolleys, but that would be very expensive and risky - given how easy it is to steal a trolley!).
 

Blindtraveler

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and check out the main road near my home to prove it! The idiots just lift it over the thingy that stops them. Grrrr!
 

WestCoast

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and check out the main road near my home to prove it! The idiots just lift it over the thingy that stops them. Grrrr!

I was wondering if the "trolley will stop beyond this point" would work! I doubted it....

Although one supermarket I once went to had a very long cattle grill and pebbled stones on a ramp - giving a bit of assault course to anyone wanting to nick a trolley! :lol:
 
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jon0844

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It does work if you don't lift the trolley, but even if someone doesn't lift them up, I've seen (well, heard) them being dragged even when the wheels have locked.

As Hatfield is a university town, we see rather a lot of trolleys left around the place.
 

Mojo

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Never mind power sliding - before the current generation of heavyweight trolley designs I would often tilt my trolley into a turn in order to get round the shop a bit quicker...
Glad I'm not the only one. I still lift up the trolley to tilt it around corners when in a rush.
 

causton

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It does work if you don't lift the trolley, but even if someone doesn't lift them up, I've seen (well, heard) them being dragged even when the wheels have locked.

As Hatfield is a university town, we see rather a lot of trolleys left around the place.

They're all new coin-operated ones now, so that shouldn't happen anymore! Plus in the last few months the system that stops them when they pass the red line didn't work in about 3/4 of the perimeter of the store (and you could always go past the gap around the back opposite Subway I believe) glad to see they're gone :D ...although my dad always forgets to bring the coin now.

My dad likes Morrisons but Asda is slightly cheaper because we get 10% off because my mum works there. My dad calls Sainsbury's expensive ( :roll: ) so no matter how much I love the idea of the Waitrose self scan, I don't think I'll get to do it anytime soon :(
 

SS4

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Ultimately you have to ask yourself if £1 is worth the cost of the trolley. Plus I've seen tokens which do the same job being used.

I would love to see under 12s banned or at least banned from certain sections of the store but I can't see it happening in real life because, when all said and done, it'll cost the supermarket customers and it would be near unenforceable. A better idea is to get rid of the parent and child parking spaces and given them over to disabled spaces or general use spaces.

I haven't tilted a trolley but it does sound like fun - although tilting at 125mph may be a bit tricky :p
 

Mojo

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One of the things MORrisONS removed from the store in my hometown when they took over from Safeway was the creche which was in one corner of the shop, behind the tills. It was fully staffed and supervised so parents would drop off their children (for a fee) and then collect them after they had done the shopping! I remember going there a few times when I was younger and from memory there was a huge soft play area, ball pit and a crafts area.

Parents would have a tag attached to their clothing (the ones used on the anti shoplifting devices) which was removed when they came to collect their children; presumably to stop children dropping their kids off and then going elsewhere, or forgetting to collect them!
 

Peter Mugridge

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presumably to stop children dropping their kids off and then going elsewhere, or forgetting to collect them!

We really must do something about the declining morality amongst teenagers...;)
 

jrhilton

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Anyone else find they go fewer mpg when using petrol from a supermarket station, compared to say a Shell station? A relation drives a private ambulance and they don't fill up at supermarkets for that reason.
 

devon_metro

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They probably use a cheaper grade of fuel, or Shell puts certain chemicals into their fuel to enhance it. They are a premium brand after all so you would expect superior performance.
 

me123

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Yes, supermarket fuel tends not to be as good as Shell and BP. The petrol retailers spend time and money investing in their fuel, whereas supermarkets tend to get the cheapest fuel they can get their hands on. It's not the main aim of a supermarket's business, remember.

TBH, I don't notice much of a difference (although I do drive a small car). If there was a clear choice I'd go for a "proper" retailer. However, there may not be another one for several miles, or the price may be better so any difference is negated. I do not, however, know if there's any difference with the "premium" fuels (compared to bog-standard Shell petrol), and if there is if it's better value for money.

In my area, there's BP and Shell. BP tends to be 2p/l more than Shell (although they've been the same as of late), and I would avoid it because I found myself filling up more than I would at Shell. I don't have calculations, but I reckon it has fewer mpg and costs more, so price doesn't necessarily correlate to performance.

(DISCLAIMER: I work in a supermarket PFS, but none of this information has come from there)
 

Peter Mugridge

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The question of premium petrol very much depends on the particular model of the car - in general, older "pre-electronics" cars reputedly do better from premium fuel than the more modern ones do. Certainly my car ( 14 year old automatic ) will consistenly do at least 50mpg with premium petrol in it compared to about 35 - 40mpg with the regular stuff.

But premium isn't just about performance; it's also very good for keeping the engine insides clean.

The downside is, it is premium performance fuel because it has more volatiles in it and if you have a half filled tank and the car is sitting unused for a couple of weeks, the volatiles evaporate from the fuel and lower the perfomance towards the standard fuels ( so incidentally yes petrol does in fact have a best before date! ), so if you do use premium fuel try to fill up just before you need it so that you have the freshest possible fuel in the tank for your long trips.
 

strange6

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The question of premium petrol very much depends on the particular model of the car - in general, older "pre-electronics" cars reputedly do better from premium fuel than the more modern ones do. Certainly my car ( 14 year old automatic ) will consistenly do at least 50mpg with premium petrol in it compared to about 35 - 40mpg with the regular stuff.

But premium isn't just about performance; it's also very good for keeping the engine insides clean.

The downside is, it is premium performance fuel because it has more volatiles in it and if you have a half filled tank and the car is sitting unused for a couple of weeks, the volatiles evaporate from the fuel and lower the perfomance towards the standard fuels ( so incidentally yes petrol does in fact have a best before date! ), so if you do use premium fuel try to fill up just before you need it so that you have the freshest possible fuel in the tank for your long trips.

Good advice is that. My Car is diesel and I always put Shell V-power diesel in it. Never smokes, excellent response, and keeps the engine injectors and insides squeeky clean. I only fill up every 2 weeks so an extra couple of pounds is well worth it per tankfull, especially if you aim to keep the car for a long, long time
 

jon0844

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While some additives may help, the higher octane fuel can be wasted on engines that won't detect the higher octane and adjust the timing accordingly.

My car can run on 92 or 95, but it recommends 98 and it makes a big difference, but on some cars it won't make any difference at all. I had a car (Focus RS) that didn't have a knock sensor and couldn't run on less than 98, although a later software update did mean you could supposedly run on 95 in emergencies, but without using the full power of the engine.

The same applies, as strange6, for diesel. I'm told that diesel sold in mainland Europe is often of a different composition too - which might explain why we managed to get a higher MPG than the manufacturer even quoted on its own figures! Normally you never manage to get what they say, not get more miles than they say!!
 

route101

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Yes, supermarket fuel tends not to be as good as Shell and BP. The petrol retailers spend time and money investing in their fuel, whereas supermarkets tend to get the cheapest fuel they can get their hands on. It's not the main aim of a supermarket's business, remember.

TBH, I don't notice much of a difference (although I do drive a small car). If there was a clear choice I'd go for a "proper" retailer. However, there may not be another one for several miles, or the price may be better so any difference is negated. I do not, however, know if there's any difference with the "premium" fuels (compared to bog-standard Shell petrol), and if there is if it's better value for money.

In my area, there's BP and Shell. BP tends to be 2p/l more than Shell (although they've been the same as of late), and I would avoid it because I found myself filling up more than I would at Shell. I don't have calculations, but I reckon it has fewer mpg and costs more, so price doesn't necessarily correlate to performance.

(DISCLAIMER: I work in a supermarket PFS, but none of this information has come from there)

I worked part time for Morrisons PFS and i got told there was additives added . I cant comment on that
 

me123

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I currently work part time in Morrisons, and I've not been told about any information regarding the content of our fuel (other than that one's diesel and the other's unleaded!).
 

route101

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I currently work part time in Morrisons, and I've not been told about any information regarding the content of our fuel (other than that one's diesel and the other's unleaded!).

Yeah , i remember some guy saying . I cant remember who he worked for . On the fuel Delivery Slips it stated the fuel came from Green Energy Clydebank.
 

T163R

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About trolley driving...I always thought that some people need a Trolley Driving License and signalisation ! :lol:
 
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I do all of our food shopping because I like pottering around just looking at all the varieties of stuff available. I find that the worst people in supermarkets are the over 70s if they are a couple.

They shuffle around getting exactly the same items every week but even so, they take 5 minutes over each one. Their problem seems to be that someone else might get the best of what is on the shelves, so they position themselves so that no one can get near what they are choosing.

If you try and come up on their left they will just shuffle a fraction left as they see you coming out the corner of their eyes, or right if you try the approach from the opposite side. The woman will tend to look at the dates on every item in that category, just to make sure they get the newest one.

With bread I have seen one old pair squeeze every sliced loaf on the shelves before deciding not to buy any. I imagine that all the old gits do this and by the time someone buys the last white sliced on the shelf it has been squeezed into a mush. Fortunately, I make my own bread so I dont have to bother with the stuff in packets.

Old gits also have a habit of stopping right next to a big trolley load of boxes used by shelf stackers, so that no one can get by in either direction, then they will stay there for about ten minutes looking at the sell by dates on cartons of milk.

At the checkouts they will moan continuously about having to queue, followed by a detailed inspection of others trolleys with the "that lot would feed us for a year" comment if someone arrives with a trolley piled high.

I have stood behind one moaning pair of gits who realised the checkout girl was a trainee, but not until they had put all their shopping on the conveyor. There followed a barrage of loud tutting about the slowness of this poor kid (which was rather ironic given their own movement around the store), before finally as they got to the next to be served, they just buggered off leaving all their shopping on the conveyor and me helpless with all this stuff which needed to be cleared by the supervisor.

Oh yes, we really should respect our elders - NOT.
 

strange6

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I do all of our food shopping because I like pottering around just looking at all the varieties of stuff available. I find that the worst people in supermarkets are the over 70s if they are a couple.

They shuffle around getting exactly the same items every week but even so, they take 5 minutes over each one. Their problem seems to be that someone else might get the best of what is on the shelves, so they position themselves so that no one can get near what they are choosing.

If you try and come up on their left they will just shuffle a fraction left as they see you coming out the corner of their eyes, or right if you try the approach from the opposite side. The woman will tend to look at the dates on every item in that category, just to make sure they get the newest one.

With bread I have seen one old pair squeeze every sliced loaf on the shelves before deciding not to buy any. I imagine that all the old gits do this and by the time someone buys the last white sliced on the shelf it has been squeezed into a mush. Fortunately, I make my own bread so I dont have to bother with the stuff in packets.

Old gits also have a habit of stopping right next to a big trolley load of boxes used by shelf stackers, so that no one can get by in either direction, then they will stay there for about ten minutes looking at the sell by dates on cartons of milk.

At the checkouts they will moan continuously about having to queue, followed by a detailed inspection of others trolleys with the "that lot would feed us for a year" comment if someone arrives with a trolley piled high.

I have stood behind one moaning pair of gits who realised the checkout girl was a trainee, but not until they had put all their shopping on the conveyor. There followed a barrage of loud tutting about the slowness of this poor kid (which was rather ironic given their own movement around the store), before finally as they got to the next to be served, they just buggered off leaving all their shopping on the conveyor and me helpless with all this stuff which needed to be cleared by the supervisor.

Oh yes, we really should respect our elders - NOT.

hahaha A classic and enjoyable read; one which i can relate to very well!
 

SS4

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I do all of our food shopping because I like pottering around just looking at all the varieties of stuff available. I find that the worst people in supermarkets are the over 70s if they are a couple.

They shuffle around getting exactly the same items every week but even so, they take 5 minutes over each one. Their problem seems to be that someone else might get the best of what is on the shelves, so they position themselves so that no one can get near what they are choosing.

If you try and come up on their left they will just shuffle a fraction left as they see you coming out the corner of their eyes, or right if you try the approach from the opposite side. The woman will tend to look at the dates on every item in that category, just to make sure they get the newest one.

With bread I have seen one old pair squeeze every sliced loaf on the shelves before deciding not to buy any. I imagine that all the old gits do this and by the time someone buys the last white sliced on the shelf it has been squeezed into a mush. Fortunately, I make my own bread so I dont have to bother with the stuff in packets.

Old gits also have a habit of stopping right next to a big trolley load of boxes used by shelf stackers, so that no one can get by in either direction, then they will stay there for about ten minutes looking at the sell by dates on cartons of milk.

At the checkouts they will moan continuously about having to queue, followed by a detailed inspection of others trolleys with the "that lot would feed us for a year" comment if someone arrives with a trolley piled high.

I have stood behind one moaning pair of gits who realised the checkout girl was a trainee, but not until they had put all their shopping on the conveyor. There followed a barrage of loud tutting about the slowness of this poor kid (which was rather ironic given their own movement around the store), before finally as they got to the next to be served, they just buggered off leaving all their shopping on the conveyor and me helpless with all this stuff which needed to be cleared by the supervisor.

Oh yes, we really should respect our elders - NOT.

That was a good read and one I could relate to. I've also noticed that this type don't let you and your pint of milk ahead of their trolley but then expect you to do the same in reverse
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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About trolley driving...I always thought that some people need a Trolley Driving License and signalisation ! :lol:

Nice to see our poster from France back on the forum again. Did the thread that you posted some while ago give you enough ideas for your holiday itinerary over here....you certainly reeived many replies.:D

I like the point that you make here, but sometimes it is not always the fault of the people pushing the trolleys, as some of the older trolleys have a mind of their own when you try to guide them up and down the aisles. However, this problem was MUCH worse 10 years ago.:cry:
 

HST Power

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I like the point that you make here, but sometimes it is not always the fault of the people pushing the trolleys, as some of the older trolleys have a mind of their own when you try to guide them up and down the aisles. However, this problem was MUCH worse 10 years ago.:cry:

As they say at Sainsburys...

Wonky Wheels? Let Us Know!
 

red circle

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I do all of our food shopping because I like pottering around just looking at all the varieties of stuff available. I find that the worst people in supermarkets are the over 70s if they are a couple.

They shuffle around getting exactly the same items every week but even so, they take 5 minutes over each one. Their problem seems to be that someone else might get the best of what is on the shelves, so they position themselves so that no one can get near what they are choosing.

If you try and come up on their left they will just shuffle a fraction left as they see you coming out the corner of their eyes, or right if you try the approach from the opposite side. The woman will tend to look at the dates on every item in that category, just to make sure they get the newest one.

With bread I have seen one old pair squeeze every sliced loaf on the shelves before deciding not to buy any. I imagine that all the old gits do this and by the time someone buys the last white sliced on the shelf it has been squeezed into a mush. Fortunately, I make my own bread so I dont have to bother with the stuff in packets.

Old gits also have a habit of stopping right next to a big trolley load of boxes used by shelf stackers, so that no one can get by in either direction, then they will stay there for about ten minutes looking at the sell by dates on cartons of milk.

At the checkouts they will moan continuously about having to queue, followed by a detailed inspection of others trolleys with the "that lot would feed us for a year" comment if someone arrives with a trolley piled high.

I have stood behind one moaning pair of gits who realised the checkout girl was a trainee, but not until they had put all their shopping on the conveyor. There followed a barrage of loud tutting about the slowness of this poor kid (which was rather ironic given their own movement around the store), before finally as they got to the next to be served, they just buggered off leaving all their shopping on the conveyor and me helpless with all this stuff which needed to be cleared by the supervisor.

Oh yes, we really should respect our elders - NOT.

All very true but on the subject of what I call 'bread manglers' (imagine what would happen if they did that in a bakers shop ) there are also fruit squeezers,just look at all the thumb shaped bruises on the apples.Also is it neccesary to examine every tin of beans on the shelf before choosing one.
 
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