Tesco Money Card...

Due to the fact that my problem Quorn Lasagne wasn't an actual Tesco product, I wasn't really expecting much of a response out of them regarding my 'unwanted item'; however, this morning I received an apologetic letter with a £5 Tesco Moneycard attached (no idea what a Moneycard is - must google to find out more.....!!!)

"I'm very sorry that you have found a foreign body in your Quorn Lasagne. I understand how concerning this must have been for you." (Actually, now they've called it a 'foreign body' I don't think I ever want to eat another quorn lasagne). The £5 was to cover the cost of the product, which although I can't remember the actual price, was certainly under £2.

The also said that as it wasn't a Tesco product they can't deal with this personally (which I fully accept) and that the supplier should be in touch within 21 days. I have a freephone number to ring if this doesn't happen.

At my age I'm not easily impressed by much, but I have to say that Tescos have done a jolly good job regarding customer relations this time. Credit where it's due - well done Tescos!

Social Service...

Despite living in the middle of a large housing estate, there’s a distinct lack of anywhere to meet friends for coffee in the vicinity. Not wishing to compete for space with the local mums and tots brigade at the nearby Community Centre, and fancying a coffee ‘out’ rather than ‘in’ a friends kitchen, it’s nice to know that my local Tesco has a jolly nice café where two middle-ages chums can while away a couple of hours gossiping and generally putting the world to rights.

With a self-served cappuccino and a latte, and a clean table right by the window, it was a real pleasure to be able to chill out and enjoy the company of a good friend, knowing that neither of us was going to be lumbered with washing up the cups. I really ought to do that more often…

Mystery Ingredient...

I happen to like frozen quorn lasagne, and tesco are happy to supply me with this tasty, veggie-friendly meal in their freezer aisle at just £1.49 per box, which suits my taste buds and my budget perfectly….until today.

While munching my way through my low-fat, low-calorie, microwaved lunch, I felt something distinctly un-lasagne-like in my mouth and immediately spat it out. It felt like an old toe-nail clipping, but thankfully it wasn’t!! On closer inspection, although I could tell it wasn’t anything horrific, I couldn’t actually decide what it was, so out came the pen & paper and I wrote a brief but stroppy letter to Head Office. In cases such as this, an email simply won’t do. You need to provide the packaging along with the offending item so that they can investigate fully.

While I fully accept this was not a tesco branded product, it was purchased in one of their stores and they need to be a tad more vigilant in regards to quality control when buying in food products from other companies. I've now stuck a second class stamp onto the envelope, and selotaped the offending item to the letter – that should keep some work experience person with a magnifying glass occupied for hours. I’ll be interested to see how long it takes for the powers that be to respond…

The lure of a big, red SALE sign…

I had no intentions of purchasing anything other than the groceries which were on my list when I entered my local Tesco store this morning, so what exactly was it about the big, red SALE sign that lured me over to the homewares aisle? I pride myself on not being sucked into any obvious ‘bargains,’ which are simply the remains of the stuff which was too unpopular to be sold at the original price, but some hypnotic force lured me off track and I was hooked.

I’m a microwave person… if it doesn’t go ‘ping’ I don’t eat it… so why on earth was I drooling over roasting tins?! It was as if I had a little devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, whispering in my ear “£2 for a good quality tin – and it has a rack with it!”….”Walk away, you’ll never use it!”…”Christmas is coming and you’ll need to cook a turkey”… “You have more than enough tins already”…..

Needless to say, I was temporarily hijacked by an insane whim and I am now the bemused owner of not one, not two but three new roasting tins ….each with a rack!