Am I evil?

[baldowrie]

being the skeptic I am I have to ask, why? What is the purpose of this survey?

[Tomr]

General interest

[baldowrie]

fair enough

[Cheezy]

I've been slow to find this soap box, but better late than never!.

Firstly I'll have to 'fess up :
I have some irrational hate of Te###'s. And it is my opinion that this website at times is very anti them compared with other supermarkets.
Our shopping habbits are to use Sa*nsbury's (our closest supermarket) for the essentials. I buy from the market what veg I don't produce on the lottie, I buy fish also from the market, I buy cheese and local bacon and sausage from independents , and most of my meat direct from a local organic farm.We have local organic milk and eggs delivered on the door step.

My irrational hate is based on a number of factors:

1. I firmly believe in seasonal, local produce. It my experience that all supermarkets don't support local producers enough (some like Wa#trose and Morr*son's go some way). Tes*o's being the UK biggest I dislike the most. This might also have something to do with the British physique of supporting the under dog and knocking the top dog.

2. I have seen several TV documentaries on the activities of T , in regard to land grabbing/bullying/not listening to people. THese have coloured my judgment. Whether or not they are impartial/unbiased reports I don't know. I have not seen any on the other supermarkets.

3. T's owns our town centre!. Or at least a large bit of land. They tried to "buy" the council by offering to knock down the rather nasty 1970's council offices which happen to be right at the centre of all the shops and markets and build a huge shop, in return they would re-build the council offices some 200 yards away on the land they already own (which know one realised was bought by their holding company when the aution house with carpark burnt down around 4 years ago!.). Included in the build were flats and a large on the roof car park. This would choke up our ring road and kill off a lot of the small independent shops and market traders who are concentrated near by. Thankfully the outrage was huge and the council backed down. Unforunately T's wont sell the land, and so we have a large eye sore of a building plot. And no other plans to do anything. I suspect the council will try again in a few years time.

4.I have been in T's and bought the occasional sandwich or item I need when travelling (we don't have one in Darlo...yet see above, I believe that only Harrogate and us are the only towns not to have one in the whole country!!), and I have bought half price wine on line. It is my opinion that they are not that cheap, but worse still there quality is pretty poor as well.

You may say we're lucky to get local organic milk and egg's delivered on our door step, and to have small independent shops and a good indoor market, and local organic farms, but don't you think that fact that upto only 10 years ago Darlo only had 4 supermarkets for 100,000 people!. All situated on the out shirts of town.This can't be a coincidence.
We now have a Sa#nsbury's (was a S*feways) in the centre, a C@-OP,three horrendous Morr*sons, an &SDA,L*dl,N*tto,Ald*,plus a load of mini S*nsbury's which we're Bells stores. We don't need any more supermarkets. Market traders and independents are suffering. And choice is reducing.

[Thomzo]

OK - here goes. I don't suppose T*sco is any worse than the others but having worked for two companies that supplied them I can tell a few tales. If I don't post again, you will know that they have tracked me down and .....

You know those buy one get one free offers? Well don't think that the supermarket loses out. It's the manufacturer that has to foot the bill. The supermarket decides what and when they discount and they pass on the cost down the supply chain. Ultimately it's the farmer that pays.

Don't think that you get a nice long term written contract to supply them. They will only place one order at a time. If you p*ss them off or they find a better deal elsewhere, you lose their business.

This one is illegal but it happens. If you supply one particular supermarket, they prevent you supplying their main competitor. Obviously this isn't the case if you are a big brand like Cadbury's but for the smaller brands and the suppliers of their own brand products, this is definitely the case.

They have a system called "drop and drive". The delivery driver drops of the goods and drives off. They will not sign for the goods. That way, if they dispute that they received something, the supplier has no proof that it was delivered. Again, the supplier foots the bill for goods that go missing in their warehouse.

Oh and payment - well that's totally at their discretion. They pay when they feel like it and not before.

Zoe

[baldowrie]

T***o don't have exclusive rights on those kind of practises, they all do it including the likes of M&S who are supposed to be a 'cut above' in some eyes!

Payment at their discretion...common working practises in large faceless companies, and those striving to be. Not right, but very common.

So far I have only reason why T***o is slated here that are either totally personal or no worse than any other supermarket or large high street store. However Cheezy, some of your comments you have made confirmed what I already think!

I am not defend the retailer, or any others, but think it the constant jibe about one particular serve no other purpose but to give them free advertising and irritate other forum users who I can virtually hear say 'oh no not T***o's again!'

[Stonehead]

Stoney - where do you order your spices from, I am in desperate need of somewhere I can bulk buy. I used to go to the chinese supermarket in Glasgow, but it is to far a journey now. (a normal jar of coriander seeds last 2 meals in this house... )

Sorry for the delay - busy, busy, busy.

I get spices from Seasoned Pioneers - which has a superb range with many organic spices, good service (if they don't have a spice listed, ask and they'll almost always get it) and reasonable prices for the quality of the spices (much better than almost anything else I've come across). Quite a few professional chefs source their spices from Seasoned Pionners.

[Stonehead]

OK - here goes. I don't suppose T*sco is any worse than the others but having worked for two companies that supplied them I can tell a few tales. If I don't post again, you will know that they have tracked me down and .....

You know those buy one get one free offers? Well don't think that the supermarket loses out. It's the manufacturer that has to foot the bill. The supermarket decides what and when they discount and they pass on the cost down the supply chain. Ultimately it's the farmer that pays.

Don't think that you get a nice long term written contract to supply them. They will only place one order at a time. If you p*ss them off or they find a better deal elsewhere, you lose their business.

This one is illegal but it happens. If you supply one particular supermarket, they prevent you supplying their main competitor. Obviously this isn't the case if you are a big brand like Cadbury's but for the smaller brands and the suppliers of their own brand products, this is definitely the case.

They have a system called "drop and drive". The delivery driver drops of the goods and drives off. They will not sign for the goods. That way, if they dispute that they received something, the supplier has no proof that it was delivered. Again, the supplier foots the bill for goods that go missing in their warehouse.

Oh and payment - well that's totally at their discretion. They pay when they feel like it and not before.

Zoe

Thanks for that - I keep telling people that this is the sort of thing that goes on, but few people really believe it. And A**a? Google Wal-mart... the other supermarkets do it too, as baldowrie observes, but sheer size gives the biggest companies even more leverage.

Also, if you really want the horrors, have a look at the various food hygiene cases that have emerged from the major supermarkets of late.

[baldowrie]

Stonehead

Also, if you really want the horrors, have a look at the various food hygiene cases that have emerged from the major supermarkets of late

I have seen some of them.....................there are now certain foods I will not buy and a lot of them are from the deli counter!

[Stonehead]

And food prices are about to go through the roof - the Yorkshire/East Riding floods in June, followed by the latest ones have wiped out swathes of British crops while poor weather elsewhere in the UK is resulting in reduced yields. The loss of hay, sileage and fodder crops means less food for livestock. And poor weather in Europe means less food can be sourced there as well.

Less food means higher prices - and with huge areas of cropland being converted to biofuels, it's going to get worse.

Of course, people will blame farmers for higher prices but as almost all farmers are now contracted, they'll get paid the same price regardless of how high prices go. Who will benefit from higher prices...

[ina]

Thanks for that - I keep telling people that this is the sort of thing that goes on, but few people really believe it. And A**a? Google Wal-mart... the other supermarkets do it too, as baldowrie observes, but sheer size gives the biggest companies even more leverage.

Also, if you really want the horrors, have a look at the various food hygiene cases that have emerged from the major supermarkets of late.

I can only recommend again and again - read "Shopped" by Joanna Blythman. It's all in there. Should be on the reading list for every secondary school, in my opinion...

[ina]

Stoney - where do you order your spices from, I am in desperate need of somewhere I can bulk buy. I used to go to the chinese supermarket in Glasgow, but it is to far a journey now. (a normal jar of coriander seeds last 2 meals in this house... )

Ann, we get our spices (plus all sorts of other stuff) as a co-op from SUMA at wholesale prices. The NEEPS co-op will be too far north for you - although one of our members comes up regularly from near Edinburgh. There might be a co-op nearer you - you could ask SUMA (or other wholesalers of organic/wholefood stuff).

PM me if you want to know more.

[Thurston Garden]

I can only recommend again and again - read "Shopped" by Joanna Blythman. It's all in there. Should be on the reading list for every secondary school, in my opinion...

Wot Ina said....with bells on. Get down the library now! It is a real eye opener!

[the.fee.fairy]

I can only recommend again and again - read "Shopped" by Joanna Blythman. It's all in there. Should be on the reading list for every secondary school, in my opinion...

Wot Ina said....with bells on. Get down the library now! It is a real eye opener!

Thirded!!
Also - read Bad food Britain - same author. It is an interesting book that will make you think twice about what you're havng for dinner!

[Thomzo]

Just remembered another rumour that I heard while in the industry. This was about M&S. If they contract to buy a field of a certain fruit or vegetable and then reject it, the farmer can't sell it to anybody else. He has to destroy it AND he doesn't get paid.

Zoe