Stop Messing About!...

Is it too much to ask that Tesco leaves products in the same aisle for two consecutive weeks, or MUST we continually be forced to play ‘hunt the onion’ EVERY time we enter the newly refurbished store? (A game which bears an uncanny resemblance to the tedious games of ‘hunt the salad cream’, ‘hunt the sweetcorn’ and ‘hunt the lavatory paper’ that we’ve been treated to in recent weeks).

After spending a kings ransom on advertising in the local press, announcing that the re-fit is now completed you’d think they’d at least give us poor customers a chance to get to grips with the new layout before they swap it all around again, but in their infinite wisdom Tesco seem to believe that familiarity breeds contempt. Erm….NO! Familiarity breeds CONTENT – a happy, relaxed customer who feels comfortable in your store. Take heed Tesco…

Topsy Turvey Tesco...

As creatures of habit, us shoppers generally resent any amount of change , so when your local supermarket announces a “re-fit” it fills your heart with palpable dread. These past few weeks have been utter torture, as salad cream has been removed from the condiments section and placed one week opposite school uniforms and the next beside baby food (neither of which locations makes any sense whatsoever of course). Finally it’s been re-instated alongside the ketchup and mayonnaise, but quite how long it’ll remain there only time will tell.

Shoppers who write lists do so in the order according to the route they regularly take around the store. This ensures that nothing is missed and that they complete the task with minimum distractions. However, even armed with the ‘ever so useful’ in-store maps and the ‘Can-we-help?’ people in their bright yellow jumpers I feel that my local Tescos has gone one step too far towards alienating it’s loyal supporters.

I know for a fact that friends with cars have long since jumped ship and are now frequenting alternative grocery suppliers, but for non-drivers like myself we’re not afforded that luxury and must therefore simply put up with the weekly game of hide-and-seek for the forseeable future.

As you can probably tell………I am NOT impressed…

Etiquette...

There seems to be a distinct etiquette regarding the new coin-operated trollies these days. Once your shopping is completed and you return to the bay to reclaim your £1 coin, it is apparently good manners to offer your trolley (with coin still in situ) to anyone who appears to be waiting for one, in return for the coin they were about to use.

This works well for those using money, however, for those of us with the foresight to have previously purchased a special reuseable token in order to avoid endless fumbling around in pockets, handbags and purses, there is the guilt trip to be endured.

As they watch you jamming your wire perambulator back into the pack in order to retrieve your personalised fake coin, you can only apologise to the frail old lady standing behind you, gripping her quid in her arthritic fingers, and offer to take her coin and unlock the trolley you have just struggled to lock up...