Tesco Announce Record profits!

[yorksrob]

who can't afford an entry level Ford Ka (to repeat my example)?

I can't afford to run a car and own a house. So naturally I choose the house.

With regard to the Supermarkets, I find the choice in the local Tesco's fairly lacklustre. Give me Morribobs anyday. At least it sells the Dynamite Hot Stagg Chilli.

 

[me123]

Ryanair and Easyjety. Ive made a stand against them. Have never used either of them, and never will.

That's all fair and well. But what about people who don't really have a choice? Let's say I wanted to fly from Glasgow to Amsterdam in a months time. Well, I could fly KLM; a well renowned airline. OK, their short haul offerings aren't all that spectacular, but it's not a budget airline experience. Well, if I'm flexible with my times on those days, I could get from as little as £108.44; but they're crap flight times (late at night). More reasonable flight times are much dearer (as much £336.40).

Now, no-one else goes Glasgow-Amsterdam. But you can go from Edinburgh, just down the road. easyJet fly to Amsterdam from there. OK, I need to add £18 on to get my bag on the flight, and we all know about how these budget airlines work. And, as you navigate through the garish orange search engine, they try to sell you everything you can possibly think off. But it's only £101.98. Not much of a difference if you can put up with the crap flight times from KLM, but quite a bit if you want to travel at a more civilised time, even counting in the extra journey through to Edinburgh.

It may be all well and good for people to say "I boycott company X", but people use them for a reason. If you can save over £100 per person per flight (which can easily do with budget airlines), well that's a lot of money. Even a lot of principled people can't ignore that difference.

And it's the same with supermarkets (veering back on topic!). You may not like Tesco. Neither do I; I actually boycott them because I don't think they're a very good place at all. I find reason to complain almost every time I set foot in my local store, and I just don't go any more. But a lot of people like Tesco. Some won't have any choices; some towns have only one supermarket, and travelling 10 or more miles down the road isn't feasible. A lot of people like clubcard; getting vouchers through the post every few months is always a morale booster.

Whatever you do, there's some reason that these companies come out on top. You and I can stand by with our principles, but at the end of the day it comes down to cold hard cash for most people. I like good customer service from my supermarket, hence I don't use (my local) Tesco. But many customers just want good deals, and in these hard times saving money is going to come first for many households up and down the country. And if that means compromising their principles, it's a decision they may have to take!

What is interesting with Tesco is that they've actually lost a small share of UK market share (albeit a very tiny share). They've actually started to grow more in foreign markets. Thankfully, I don't think they can do much more over here.

 

[WestCoast]

Ryanair and Easyjety. Ive made a stand against them. Have never used either of them, and never will

It may be all well and good for people to say "I boycott company X", but people use them for a reason. If you can save over £100 per person per flight (which can easily do with budget airlines), well that's a lot of money. Even a lot of principled people can't ignore that difference.

Indeed, if you don't live in the London area or don't wish to travel to Heathrow or Gatwick you can forget non-stop flights to many European destinations on 'non-budget airlines' - these days the likes of BA aren't interested in serving anywhere but London, preferring to channel everyone through their congested Heathrow hub. Regional airports are firmly controlled by budget airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 (plus FlyBe for domestic traffic, although with their prices they are hardly 'budget').

 

[jon0844]

I don't suggest everyone boycott Ryanair (or any other airline) but I don't like the way the company is run, with management always looking to trick people and find new (and often borderline illegal, or at least finding loopholes - even if it is legal) ways to charge people.

With all the tricks that Ryanair employ, you can wind up paying a lot more than you thought. Or, maybe you will be aware before you pay - but by then you decide to fly anyway instead of cancelling. When they introduced a booking fee of £5 per person, per flight for a debit card - that was the final straw. Now the EU is supposedly trying to make it illegal.

The upside seems to be that the EU seems to be bringing in new legislation to protect the consumer, often as a result of what companies like Ryanair do. Even the way the websites try and trick you into paying more by pre-selecting things you didn't ask for is underhand, even if it is legal.

Easyjet, by comparison, has a LONG way to go before it gets as bad - in my personal opinion, which people are free to disagree with. Also, Ryanair make TOCs look like amateurs when it comes to timetable padding! And they play cheesy jingles to announce an early arrival when you can clearly see that it doesn't take eight days to fly to Stockholm.

But, all said and done, when my wife needed to fly to Sweden at very short notice - she did fly Ryanair as they had a flight that went at the best time.

 

[WestCoast]

I like good customer service from my supermarket, hence I don't use (my local) Tesco.

If you see my previous post you'll see I'm no Tesco lover.

But actually, I think Tesco aren't bad on customer service, whenever I've had to return something electrical on a warranty scheme they've been pleasant and efficient. My local stores seem tidy and efficient. OK, the staff aren't brilliant but they attempt to help you. They always seem to have oodles of tills open e.t.c. They offer a reasonably generous loyalty scheme as well. It's easy to see why they are popular.

On a visit to a supermarket I want to be in, get the stuff as quickly as possible and get out! This is why I like the budget retailers (such as Aldi) as they are smaller and faster and frankly I'll sacrifice any supermarket "customer service" for consistently lower prices (not just "offers") and reliable quality.

Also the 'waitrose' crowd annoy me, some people really do think they are something special just because they are shopping there. In NW England, we don't have any Waitrose supermarkets - we have an excellent chain called Booths which really tries to sell local produce. I think it far exceeds Waitrose.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

With all the tricks that Ryanair employ, you can wind up paying a lot more than you thought. Or, maybe you will be aware before you pay - but by then you decide to fly anyway instead of cancelling. When they introduced a booking fee of £5 per person, per flight for a debit card - that was the final straw. Now the EU is supposedly trying to make it illegal.

I am no huge fan of Ryanair but I have taken advantage of their great deals. You will pay no extra fees above what you see on screen after selecting the flights if:

1) You pay with a Prepaid Mastercard debit card - available worldwide from fairfx

2) Take no luggage beyond the 1 10KG hand luggage bag.

3) Decline all their insurance, priority boarding e.t.c

4) PRINT out your boarding passes

Follow their rules and you will be fine. Take out your own insurance if you are worried about delays or cancellations. I'm afraid it really is that 'simple' - to be honest I think their T&Cs are easier than railway ticketing. The media do blow it all out of proportion.

Also, Ryanair make TOCs look like amateurs when it comes to timetable padding! And they play cheesy jingles to announce an early arrival when you can clearly see that it doesn't take eight days to fly to Stockholm.

There are guideline flight times that are set out by ICAO - which all airlines follow including Ryanair. Padding is actually good for the traveler, it means less delays and it is needed because the turnaround times are so short, they rely upon arriving early to leave on time.

Plus, Ryanair are now the largest airline in the world by international passengers carried. However, their growth is slowing and they are now working on their fare yields - improvements to the 'product' may be on the horizon.

 

[jon0844]

I know what you'd have to do in order to avoid all the fees, but there are too many hoops to jump through - and I don't fancy having to change everything to comply.

Far easier to fly with someone else, even if means paying a bit more. It's worth noting that I can get flights to Sweden with BA for just £20+taxes (the taxes are obviously the big bit) and the only 'gotcha' is baggage if you're overweight or take more than one bag. SAS also do some good deals too.

Another option is Easyjet to Copenhagen and the X2000 to Stockholm, but that can be very expensive so doesn't really offer much.

Oh, and - yes - Tesco has very good customer service. They go beyond what they're required to do as it is worth taking a hit at times (such as those times when someone might be trying something on, perhaps returning a product not even bought at Tesco without a receipt) to maintain what is still a very good reputation with Joe Public. Ryanair do the opposite, with the 'well what do you expect?' attitude that people seem to accept, as if paying only £50 for a flight in some way means you should be shafted. Ironically, the people on the plane that paid a LOT more (and they obviously exist or the pricing model couldn't work) can get equally bad service, even having paid more than a 'big name' airline.

The fact that two companies can have a totally different approach to customer care and make loads of money must keep students busy when doing business studies or learning about marketing.

 

[WestCoast]

Far easier to fly with someone else, even if means paying a bit more. It's worth noting that I can get flights to Sweden with BA for just £20+taxes (the taxes are obviously the big bit) and the only 'gotcha' is baggage if you're overweight or take more than one bag.

Except if you don't live near Heathrow forget BA (sorry, London Airways). Manchester Airport built a terminal for BA, they now serve just two destinations directly, Heathrow and Gatwick. :roll: Manchester Airport fills a daily Airbus A380 to Dubai, the largest passenger aircraft in the world, the demand is there. It's a bit like British Rail serving the South East only.

I fly regularly and I haven't flown BA for 8 years, in fact I actively avoid them!

SAS would be an option from Manchester. KLM fly to more destinations in the UK than BA do and I'd rather connect through Amsterdam than Heathrow anyday.

Interestingly enough, last year I was asked to help make a group booking on a Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Southern Italy. The lady on the telephone in Dublin was very pleasant and everything went smoothly, one of the names needed changing slightly a few days later I rang up again expecting a massive fee. The guy said as it was only a few letters he would waive the fee! So they can do customer service if they want to..

I know what you'd have to do in order to avoid all the fees, but there are too many hoops to jump through - and I don't fancy having to change everything to comply.

I bought a bag to the exact dimensions of hand luggage and have used it a few times (it's fine for other airlines as well). Plus, the payment card thing is really easy, it's all done online. you just transfer money to that card instantly from another bank account. Ryanair is like IKEA, it's completely different, if you're willing to sacrifice what you have been used to it can be great value.

 

[asylumxl]

In the future it may well be that the average person quite simply won't be able to afford a car. Then there will be no choice but to use public transport/cycling for all journeys.

In the future?!

I can't afford one now

 

[Old Timer]

....Not much of a difference if you can put up with the crap flight times from KLM, but quite a bit if you want to travel at a more civilised time, even counting in the extra journey through to Edinburgh.....

KLM are not aiming specifically at the EDI to AMS leisure traffic flow. Their Cityhopper service is aimed as a feeder into and out of their long haul flights from/to Schiphol and also for business travellers who want AMS or an alternate location and still have sufficient business time, which is why they fly generally at the times they do.

 

[jon0844]

How long until Ryanair changes the prepay Mastercard you need to use to avoid the fees?

The only reason you have to do this nonsense is so they can keep the booking fee off the fare price, as they can claim the booking fee is avoidable. Sure, you should make the effort to save the money, but tomorrow it might all change.

That's the reason I don't support Ryanair, as I don't want this business practice to become the norm - or else everything you do will be a mission.

I accept BA works for me, and YMMV - and I know plenty of people who boycott BA. Indeed, I did years ago when their service was terrible (IMO, they're pretty good now - at least short haul) and given a preference always flew Virgin.. but now for the long haul flights I rarely get a choice, as it's either someone else booking/paying or I have to go by price.

Such is life.

 

[me123]

KLM are not aiming specifically at the EDI to AMS leisure traffic flow. Their Cityhopper service is aimed as a feeder into and out of their long haul flights from/to Schiphol and also for business travellers who want AMS or an alternate location and still have sufficient business time, which is why they fly generally at the times they do.

There are plenty of KLM flights from Glasgow - up to 5 a day. But the only ones that can come close to competing with budget flights in terms of price are the late evening departures (on the days I looked at anyway). The others were more expensive for a single than they were for a return by KLM. It's a perfect example of how budget carriers are doing so well despite all the negative publicity; rock bottom prices. People are prepared to put up with it when they're paying a fraction of what they would on a more traditional carrier.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

If you see my previous post you'll see I'm no Tesco lover.

But actually, I think Tesco aren't bad on customer service, whenever I've had to return something electrical on a warranty scheme they've been pleasant and efficient. My local stores seem tidy and efficient. OK, the staff aren't brilliant but they attempt to help you. They always seem to have oodles of tills open e.t.c. They offer a reasonably generous loyalty scheme as well. It's easy to see why they are popular.

My own Tesco used to be really good. Then they moved into the 24 hour store, and staff morale just hit the floor. And it showed. The place is a disaster zone. if you ask someone where something is, it's obviously a major problem for them and they give you the feeling that you're getting in their way. When you drive in, there are trollies strewn everywhere in a scene not unlike the local canal. I have had to return several packets of "fresh" meat which rotted before its sell-by date, and was told rather rudely that I should have put it in the freezer; if I'd wanted frozen meat, I'd have bought it. The checkouts are hardly every open. They removed tills to introduce self scan, but they've done it on a "remove one till, introduce one self scan" basis, so all the benefits for the customer are lost. The operators never make eye contact with you, and in some cases are just downright rude. Most of the staff don't seem to have uniforms, which isn't necessarily their fault but it's totally unprofessional.

Of course, this experience is only relevant to Tesco Coatbridge; other stores may be considerably more friendly!

 

[Yew]

Now im a member of tesco staff, and I would say our customer
service problems come from the top.

The I dont queue causes lots o problems. Steff from departments get called to checkouts, these staff dont really like working on checkouts, as it means they will have to work harder when then get off the tills. Hence they are grumpy, and bad service.

The the remainign staff on departments have lots of pressure to do as much work as possible, so dont want to be directing customers too much. Hence bad customer service.

And in quieter times Tesco has no dedicated customer assistants, so It speople who are paid to do other jobs trying to do their best to find stuff for people on otherdepartments (the amount fo times ive been asked for somthing the other side of the store, that I,m not exactly sure where it is. But I dont want to tell htem to ask at customer service, as they will think im fobbing them off, and there is a big queue.

Thats without getting on the to illegal entrapment policies used by police for alcohol sales. Loses spirits in the store, and generally the government is too woried about a bunch of 16 year olds getting a little bit of vodka compared to the damage it does. However thats anoother debate, if you want me to share my views, lets makeanother thread

But overall , Tesco is too target based, and too profit based, and not customer based enough. Also not staff based enough, at my store, helath and safety is very flimsy. You want akickstool or kneeling mat, No chance. Ask a manager for the tools you need for your job, They are too busy trying to make themselves look goood to senior management. For example PDA's. that my job is entirely based on, There where problems with the amout of pda's? What do they do, Order new ones as soon as possible, or order a few at a time so it might slip under the radar. Guess who is exxpected to do his job? Of course allowing open acess to the Cabinet where they are stored, instead of needing a manager, so they arent stored in the green trays by staff, then thrown in hte compactor accidentally by other department staff. Never comes across, as obviously its somone stealing them not the much more likely circumstance ive outlined above


Sorry if that is a bit random, but its a lot of stuff i want to say, and too little concentration to do it

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Thats without getting on the to illegal entrapment policies used by police for alcohol sales. Loses spirits in the store, and generally the government is too woried about a bunch of 16 year olds getting a little bit of vodka compared to the damage it does. However thats anoother debate, if you want me to share my views, lets makeanother thread

I'm sure they are legal - otherwise the CPS wuld never put the case forward, and if they did it would be easily shot down by the defence advocate. The number of sucessful prosecutions suggests otherwise. If shops are selling alcohol illegally then they should be dealt with. The law is there for a reason.

 

[Yew]

I'm sure they are legal - otherwise the CPS wuld never put the case forward, and if they did it would be easily shot down by the defence advocate. The number of sucessful prosecutions suggests otherwise. If shops are selling alcohol illegally then they should be dealt with. The law is there for a reason.

Sorry, I dont know much of legal stuff. However it seems that trying to catch retaillers out purposefully, even in areas where there is little problem with alcohol seems wrong. I defy anyone to say they didnt have a drink before 18. And countries with lower drinking ages have lower alcohol abuse. Look at the USA, then at france/spain.

I think there is somthing one the net by the ceo of wetherspoons, saying that essensially the givernment/police/council are persecuting places with alcohol liscences to try ang get some extra dough.

Anyway, this is a bit of a tangent. Back to tesco

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Sorry, I dont know much of legal stuff. However it seems that trying to catch retaillers out purposefully, even in areas where there is little problem with alcohol seems wrong.

There's a big problem with alcohol in this country. And shops contribute to this in a major way.

I defy anyone to say they didnt have a drink before 18.

That's because in certain circumstances it's legal to have a drinkbelow 18 in this country.

And countries with lower drinking ages have lower alcohol abuse. Look at the USA, then at france/spain.

France and Spain have a far smaller population than the USA, so it goes without saying that there are likely to be more problems in the US than in smaller countries.

I think there is somthing one the net by the ceo of wetherspoons, saying that essensially the givernment/police/council are persecuting places with alcohol liscences to try ang get some extra dough.

He's just sore that his company has been caught out so many times. If someone is proved to be selling alcohol in a pub contrary to the terms of the law and their licence then they deserve all they get. It's not about making money, it's about enforcing the law.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Re: Alcohol Licensing in England & Wales.
Under 18's.
The consumption of alcohol is not Licensable, therefore the consumption of alcohol, by anyone of any age, is not an offence unless there is a local policy specifically prohibiting it in a particular public place; on private land, a company is likely to have a policy prohibiting alcohol on their property (eg a workplace, but this isn't a legal matter unless safety regulations are triggered).

The sale of alcohol to a person under 18 is an Offence.

Test purchases.
It is the responsibility of Local Authorities to issue and monitor Premises Licences and Personal Licences and their Licensing and Trading Standards officers will conduct test purchases in accordance with strict guidelines, accompanied by a Police Officer, in response to reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence may have been committed.

Re: Tesco
My concerns are that Tesco and other large operators have brought down the price of alcohol to a bare minimum and make it available in nearly all of their many stores. This a) increases the attractiveness of consuming alcohol in large quantities, b) increases the shift from social drinking (in pubs etc) to private drinking, and c) erodes the market for independent retaillers (in just the same way as supermarkets erode the market independents sellng food and other products). But Tesco is little different from any of the others.
Where Tesco has been making worrying developments is their support for mixed leisure, residential and retail property development where the supermarket and its parking facilities are given prominence over the residential elements of the development.

[I'm just waiting for my Tesco shares dividend to come though, now. You may call me a hypocrite if you wish!]

 

[Yew]

Hey all, Ive made a thread in general discussion for the stuff to do with alcohol, if one of you guys would be able to quote the posts on it I would appreciate it (i dont know how to use the multi quote thingy)

 

[DavidBrown]

With regards to alcohol at Tesco, I notice that the the traditional 'big pack beer' offers, which used to be 2 for £16 or 3 for £20 for 18 bottles or 15 cans, now only have a 2 for £16 offer on smaller packs. You could look at it in one of two ways - either that it will make more money for Tesco, or it's the beginning of the end for cheap booze.

 

[SS4]

Hey all, Ive made a thread in general discussion for the stuff to do with alcohol, if one of you guys would be able to quote the posts on it I would appreciate it (i dont know how to use the multi quote thingy)

Click that image on any posts you want to quote and regular quote on the last post.

With regards to alcohol at Tesco, I notice that the the traditional 'big pack beer' offers, which used to be 2 for £16 or 3 for £20 for 18 bottles or 15 cans, now only have a 2 for £16 offer on smaller packs. You could look at it in one of two ways - either that it will make more money for Tesco, or it's the beginning of the end for cheap booze.

I've noticed that throughout most stores, I think it's due to making more money with the rise in VAT and possibly duty, I can't remember the budget.
It could also be due to inflation, I've noticed that Poundland sell multipack of crisps in 5 whereas it used to be 6 so the price can be held

 

[ACE1888]

I'm happy to go along with the profits at Tesco, I've worked for them since May 1984....did nearly leave around 5 years ago though, for a 'Conductor' job with FGW, made the last 10 out of 120 + applicants!