Supermarkets discussion

[jon0844]

I think it's just that Asda (at least ours) has been getting progressively worse over the last couple of years (maybe longer) and it is a horrible place to go, with regular shoplifting that makes you feel uneasy, to staff that look like they hate being there even more than you. Staff post their experiences online, which seems to back up all the theories about how the company is going - which isn't good.

But Waitrose is indeed a nice place to shop. Like Aldi, there are limited numbers of product lines that makes shopping easier - but prices on many products are high (yet they do offers that can and often do undercut Tesco, Sainsbury's and others). If you shop with your phone/scanner, you can see the deals even if they're not correctly labelled - but I do find that when you get a random rescan, staff often aren't logged in to the appropriate app and then make you wait ages to be able to check the one or two items requested. But that's a first world problem.

 

[SteveM70]

I think it's just that Asda (at least ours) has been getting progressively worse over the last couple of years (maybe longer) and it is a horrible place to go, with regular shoplifting that makes you feel uneasy, to staff that look like they hate being there even more than you. Staff post their experiences online, which seems to back up all the theories about how the company is going - which isn't good

In the same way that some people say that dogs look like their owners, Morrisons and Asda are beginning to resemble their owners. Avaricious, short termists propped up with borrowed money and with no real idea how to run a large scale retailer

 

[jon0844]

In the same way that some people say that look like their owners, Morrisons and Asda are beginning to resemble their owners. Avaricious, short termists propped up with borrowed money and with no real idea how to run a large scale retailer

Exactly the same with many restaurant chains. Private Equity destroys them all eventually.

 

[Harpo]

Exactly the same with many restaurant chains. Private Equity destroys them all eventually.

Yes those places that tell you they've 'run out' of jacket potatoes. Tells you all you need to know about how fresh your food is.

 

[1D54]

They've only just sent out one of these regular mailings with vouchers in so it's probably on the way to @1D54 as we speak.

Nothing through the mail but i just logged in to my account and printed off 3 vouchers for a total of a tenner so happy with that.

 

[lookapigeon]

I think it's just that Asda (at least ours) has been getting progressively worse over the last couple of years (maybe longer) and it is a horrible place to go, with regular shoplifting that makes you feel uneasy, to staff that look like they hate being there even more than you. Staff post their experiences online, which seems to back up all the theories about how the company is going - which isn't good.

But Waitrose is indeed a nice place to shop. Like Aldi, there are limited numbers of product lines that makes shopping easier - but prices on many products are high (yet they do offers that can and often do undercut Tesco, Sainsbury's and others). If you shop with your phone/scanner, you can see the deals even if they're not correctly labelled - but I do find that when you get a random rescan, staff often aren't logged in to the appropriate app and then make you wait ages to be able to check the one or two items requested. But that's a first world problem.

It's always a case of what has private equity ever done for a company? You're not alone in your views of the staff in Morrisons / Asda being more surlier since the acquisition, I have noticed this too. The stores also seem more poorly maintained /scruffier, it is obvious that the debt pile is weighing down on them.

Agree that Waitrose is somewhat pleasant environment to shop, the staff and clients are more civilised and there is a lack of noise over the tannoy, both in terms of announcements and music played at top volume, which seems to be the order of the day in my local Asda.

I didn't shop at Waitrose often but it changed during the pandemic, as they seemed to be the only store that did have the items I wanted in stock, where the shelves weren't stripped bare. Price-wise for everyday items it varies and i will get certain items elsewhere as I know what they're wanting for it is over the odds.

The quality from the own brand items is very good, and meat keeps fresh. I remember I had an issue with meat bought from Lidl always spoiling in advance of the date - after a number of times taking it back for a refund I just stopped buying from there. One evening I found the reason, they were leaving the trays of meat in the aisle for quite some time whilst they were called to be on the tills etc.

 

[Bald Rick]

I think it's just that Asda (at least ours) has been getting progressively worse over the last couple of years

Your ASDA was rough as hell 15 years ago the last time I used it, it must be Valhalla now!

 

[jon0844]

Your ASDA was rough as hell 15 years ago the last time I used it, it must be Valhalla now!

The clientele is certainly another factor but you could mitigate by choosing when to visit to a degree. There are still times to best avoid, but the store is now bad for many other reasons than before.

It's very much a last resort shop now.

 

[DannyMich2018]

I visited B and M Bargains yesterday. Really surprised at the prices, a lot of food items are no or only little cheaper than the supermarkets compared to a year or 2 ago. Prices of Easter Eggs in there was insane, in fact more pricey than some other supermarkets, bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs nearly £5!

 

[ChrisC]

I visited B and M Bargains yesterday. Really surprised at the prices, a lot of food items are no or only little cheaper than the supermarkets compared to a year or 2 ago. Prices of Easter Eggs in there was insane, in fact more pricey than some other supermarkets, bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs nearly £5!

I’ve noticed the same. I think lots of things are still quite a bit cheaper than the supermarkets but it’s only branded items. I don’t buy food from B&M, Home Bargains any more. I much prefer going to one of the more upmarket supermarkets like Waitrose and M&S and buy their good quality home labels at a far lower price than you pay for branded food in B&M. For example Waitrose breakfast cereals are half the price of Kellogg’s and weetabix etc in B&M.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I visited B and M Bargains yesterday. Really surprised at the prices, a lot of food items are no or only little cheaper than the supermarkets compared to a year or 2 ago.

Often cheaper, for certain branded items, than the 'big' supermarkets, but sometimes only by a penny, or five pence, or so. On the other hand, usually not so competitive whenever the supermarket is running a price and/or loyalty card promotion.

 

[lookapigeon]

Beware of the specially made/modified sizes for the value retailers. Often it's smaller to try and fit the price bracket and may work out more expensive or not any cheaper at all!

 

[takno]

Beware of the specially made/modified sizes for the value retailers. Often it's smaller to try and fit the price bracket and may work out more expensive or not any cheaper at all!

That's true to an extent, although when it comes to things like Pringles a smaller tub gives me much the same level of satisfaction whilst being a little healthier.

I only have access to Poundland out of the bargain stores, and with them I find nothing in the food aisle is worth looking at, because either the prices are uncompetitive or the quality is awful. With everything else in there it's usually worth checking other places every few months, just to check you're still getting a bargain.

 

[Peter Sarf]

That's true to an extent, although when it comes to things like Pringles a smaller tub gives me much the same level of satisfaction whilst being a little healthier.

I only have access to Poundland out of the bargain stores, and with them I find nothing in the food aisle is worth looking at, because either the prices are uncompetitive or the quality is awful. With everything else in there it's usually worth checking other places every few months, just to check you're still getting a bargain.

I recently noticed Poundland had six dozen eggs at a rather cheap price. I did not need any so still wondering if the quality was there ?.

 

[takno]

I recently noticed Poundland had six dozen eggs at a rather cheap price. I did not need any so still wondering if the quality was there ?.

Six dozen eggs would make one hell of an omlette. Possibly another case where reducing the number of eggs to 50 would leave me feeling just as full, but with a few less calories!

 

[Peter Sarf]

Six dozen eggs would make one hell of an omlette. Possibly another case where reducing the number of eggs to 50 would leave me feeling just as full, but with a few less calories!

How did I type that ?.
Corrected.

 

[Brent Goose]

The Lidl local to work has also recently installed gates at the self service tills which require a receipt to open which is rather off putting if looking for a particular item.

We did wonder if the same receipt can be reused to save bother if wanting to leave having not purchased anything

 

[styles]

I recently noticed Poundland had six dozen eggs at a rather cheap price. I did not need any so still wondering if the quality was there ?.

My understanding from one of our local egg farmers, is that the 'small' eggs are rejected by the major supermarkets, so they end up getting sold off to budget chains.

Bear in mind that one person's 'medium' is another person's 'large'.

Aldi 6 medium eggs - 318g (£1.45 or £4.56/Kg) https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/...ee-range-medium-eggs-318g6-pack/4088600170596
M&S 6 medium eggs - 348g (£1.80 or £5.17/Kg) https://www.marksandspencer.com/foo...m-eggs/p/fdp60065701#intid=pid_pg1pip96g6r1c3

 

[YouLostAStar]

there is very good choice, much of it very expensive. That said, I don't think a "normal" shop ( fresh veg, milk, groceries etc) was much more than a more normal supermarket.

I find most products are reasonably in line with other supermarkets, the issue is doing a big shop but some items that I would usually buy cheaply elsewhere Waitrose just don't have a budget version of and that is what really bumps up the price of shopping there.

 

[Sealink]

For the first time in ages I went to Morrison's today, I'm normally a Lidl guy, and was absolutely gobsmacked at the prices. Long life milk, eggs, bread, sliced ham, way higher than Lidl. They do good Clayton's pies...but all gone! Couldn't even look at a cream cake for a treat without the wallet screaming.

But this seems to be a general theme, had a brew in my local on the way home and the general feeling was "Sainsbury's is cheaper, let alone Lidl/Aldi".

Wonder why Morrison's - which is supposed to be towards the "budget" end, is so expensive now??

Note that Morrison's is about 1/2 mile from me, Lidl 2.5 miles, but I prefer to go the extra, er, two miles for the savings!

Not all bad today, shout out to Deichmann shoe shops, saw a nice pair of ankle boots size 9, rang up the nearest shop, yes they had one pair in stock, saved it for me, two hours later I have some trendy (I think) ankle boots!!

I was comparing Ocado to Morrisons the other day, Ocado was nearly cheaper for everything. Nearly fell of my chair!

Sainsbury's has always been my preferred choice. As much as a huge company can be ethical I do think they try harder.

My nearest supermarket is Waitrose and as a consequence I see them constantly changing prices (upwards), especially on products that their app has suddenly given a discount voucher for.

I like Morrisons. No issues from me.

I do like their breads.

 

[AM9]

My understanding from one of our local egg farmers, is that the 'small' eggs are rejected by the major supermarkets, so they end up getting sold off to budget chains.

Bear in mind that one person's 'medium' is another person's 'large'.

Aldi 6 medium eggs - 318g (£1.45 or £4.56/Kg) https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/...ee-range-medium-eggs-318g6-pack/4088600170596
M&S 6 medium eggs - 348g (£1.80 or £5.17/Kg) https://www.marksandspencer.com/foo...m-eggs/p/fdp60065701#intid=pid_pg1pip96g6r1c3

There used to be a legal definition of large, standard, medium and small eggs when the Egg Marketing Board was in operation (with a 'little lion' on them). As you say, for some shops, the claimed size is what they can get away with and the budget chains are at the head of that queue. In those days, non-compliant eggs were directed to the catering and industrial (i.e. manufacturing) users.

In recent years I have been doing roughly a monthly big shop at Waitrose. I don’t find basic items any more expensive than at the other main supermarkets. I mostly buy Waitrose own label items and I find them very good quality. If you are shopping for branded items I think Waitrose would be very expensive. I enjoy shopping in Waitrose, the cleanliness and the layout of the store and the friendly and helpful staff. Living on my own I find them very good for selling smaller items like baked beans, tinned tomatoes etc at a very reasonable price. For example a small tin of Waitrose baked beans is 40p whereas many other stores only sell Heinz small tins at more than double that.

That's the thing with Waitrose, of course the expensive things they sell are expensive wherever they are sold. Over 90% of our regular grocery shopping is with Waitrose (because our local is just 300m away), so there are plenty of opportunities for treats. However, if comparing prices with the other established supermarkets, it should be done on the basis of value, not just a simple comparison of price. For example, the Waitrose lowest cost 'essential' range of products is in general of far better quality than the equivalent Tesco's 'Value' line or the Sainsbury's 'Basics' offering, - a better equivalent would be those competitors' mid-range own brand products. Waitrose's milk prices are higher because they claim higher welfare on their own farms, something that I've not seen challenged in any of the Tabloids so it must be a reasonable claim. I don't see such a consideration as a luxuary but obviously some aren't worried about animal welfare when they choose products.
Vouchers are issued weekly for my regular purchases (bread/milk/cheese/butter/fruit) so there's a reasonable reduction in total bills most weeks.

 

[Brent Goose]

Hamble Tesco now features a shipping container converted into a Pizza Express, is this widely a thing?

 

[takno]

Hamble Tesco now features a shipping container converted into a Pizza Express, is this widely a thing?

Shipping containers being repurposed into food outlets is fairly common - it was fairly edgy 15 years ago, and has grown fairly gradually. I haven't previously seen one used for anything quite as bland as a Pizza Express in a Tesco car-park though.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Hamble Tesco now features a shipping container converted into a Pizza Express, is this widely a thing?

Shipping containers being repurposed into food outlets is fairly common - it was fairly edgy 15 years ago, and has grown fairly gradually. I haven't previously seen one used for anything quite as bland as a Pizza Express in a Tesco car-park though.

I would agree with @takno.

Either actual shipping containers or similar modular or portable buildings (hello Portakabin copyright protection agents!) are quite common.

Locally a vacant factory car park sprouted a handful as 'container village Stoke' (Chatfield Place, Stoke-n-Trent 52°59'02.3"N 2°07'25.6"W).
A number are in use as a temporary market in Accrington whilst the real market hall is being refurbished / repurposed.
Nearby Rawtenstall has decided to do something similar having bought some structures second hand from Ashton-under-Lyne.

You also have those 'continental markets' which are large garden sheds assembled, dismantled, moved, reassembled as required.

I have seen several free-standing Timpson 'huts' adjacent to Tesco and they seem to be moving in that direction for cash-machine housing.

 

[johntea]

Of course some supermarket branches house things like McDonalds inside the entrance, basically like a mini shopping centre before you get to the supermarket bit!

Although on a similar note I did notice the other day Morrisons seem to have given up on their 'Market Kitchen' idea...

 

[Brent Goose]

The Hamble thing is the first, apparently

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/pi...t-grab-and-go-concept-in-tesco/698424.article

 

[takno]

The Hamble thing is the first, apparently

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/pi...t-grab-and-go-concept-in-tesco/698424.article

Well done them on inventing takeaway pizza. What will they think of next? Delivery probably.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Well done them on inventing takeaway pizza. What will they think of next? Delivery probably.

I can only imagine the USP is that it is convenient for customers shopping at Tescos !.
I am sure Tescos wont mind losing a bit of the car park if it acts as a magnet for the rest of their store.

Plenty of room for all those delivery bikes !.

I wonder if there is any thing to stop this type of thing taking over the fresh bakery area that supermarkets seem to want to get out of.

Maybe a Pizza Express container will appear at music festivals !.

 

[takno]

Maybe a Pizza Express container will appear at music festivals !.

There's lots of container-based takeaways and bars already that pop up at music and arts festivals. Part of the appeal of them for me is that they usually aren't a soulless national chain with an overly-familiar and desperately mediocre menu, but I imagine Pizza Express ones will go down well with some people.

 

[Peter Sarf]

There's lots of container-based takeaways and bars already that pop up at music and arts festivals. Part of the appeal of them for me is that they usually aren't a soulless national chain with an overly-familiar and desperately mediocre menu, but I imagine Pizza Express ones will go down well with some people.

I have always thought that Pizza Express are the best of the chain pizza companies BUT I prefer a small independent any day.