Supermarkets in Shetland - prices, ethics and experiences

[snurtmunchkin]

Well said!!

[Frances144]

Which part of my post treated you as an idiot?

 

I admitted I could not understand their pricing/packaging and weighing calculations. I do not recall under-estimating anyone else's ability, just my own as the information given is confusing, I find.

 

I stand by the fact that you can't buy a wide selection of individual fruit and veg, and have just had a conversation with a friend who agreed with me.

 

So, please, tell me which part of my post "treat those of you (us) who choose to go there as idiots, eh?"

[Queenie79]

My two penn'orth.

 

Tesco's - most veg is now pre-packed. You can just about choose your own onions and tatties and maybe the odd tomato. Everything else is packaged and priced in a way that confuses me (/kg, /package, /tomato?) so I can't make an informed choice without having to do higher maths.

 

Very few basic raw ingredients about. Lots of pre-made, pre-packed stuff. The art of actual cooking or food preparation will soon be lost.

 

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately Tescos as many others cater for convenience meaning people can just pick up prepackaged food without thought to waste/food miles/nutritional value.

 

A return to home cooked food with consideration to where it comes from and the impact of using it couldn't be more needed.

 

A somewhat exaggerated view of Tesco! My wife is a good cook and very often makes great meals from raw ingredients bought at Tesco and, no, I don't mean pre-packaged instant meals.

By all means continue to criticise Tesco and stay away from the place if you wish but don't treat those of us who choose to go there as idiots, eh?

 

I don't mean to treat those who shop in Tesco as idiots just merely have some concerns that people don't consider the ethical implications of shopping there.

[shetlandpeat]

The advantage of pre packeted vegetables is that they have a use by date or sell by. When these dates are close, perfectly good product is offered at half price or less, some times cheaper than loose product.

The labels on the shelves should tell you how much per 100 g per say.

you can compare this to loose, to those born before 1971 there are 10 lots of 100g in a Kg and a Kg is 2.2 pounds.

[daveh]

I was referring to the patronising comment:

Very few basic raw ingredients about. Lots of pre-made, pre-packed stuff. The art of actual cooking or food preparation will soon be lost.

 

Of course there are loads of "raw" ingredients being sold there. You can buy raw meat, vegetables, fruit, fish etc. You don't have to buy things that are ready-cooked. It was the suggestion that those who shop there will soon be unable to do "actual cooking or food preparation" that I object to.

OK?

[paulb]

the drawback of loose veg is it gets handled by the customer more. so chances are that it will get damaged. it would be nice if they did move away from the plastic wrapping.

[Guest posiedon]

the drawback of loose veg is it gets handled by the customer more. so chances are that it will get damaged. it would be nice if they did move away from the plastic wrapping.

Is that not a contradiction? You can't have it both ways.

[daveh]

I can recall regularly buying fruit from market stalls, in the past, where all the best fruit was on show but it was often the less "perfect" fruit that you found in your brown bags when you got home.

At the supermarkets, where the fruit is loose, at least you get the chance to buy the fruit of your choice. As for being previously handled by other customers, you should wash the fruit before eating anyway. If I don't like the fruit then I don't buy. If it is previously packaged, apart from not being in best condition, you can't see if the individual pieces of fruit are in good condition.

[Username]

i love tesco xxxxx <3

[Ghostrider]

I cannot believe seventy pages have been generated essentially "discussing" one retailer.

 

Its a shop, okay, a biggish shop, but still just a plain old shop nonetheless. Main motivation, to fleece as many people of as possible, of as much of their money in as possible, in as short a possible period of time as possible, for as little as possible in return. This is how retail works, and some retailers are better at it than others.

 

Yes, the retailer dominating these 70 pages may well have a few products no other local retailer does, just like any other shop, yes, they may have a few bargains, if you dig deep and bide your time, and don't get sucked in by the glitz, hype and sparkle, just like any other shop. They also have an amount of overpriced tat, just like any other shop, and they do their best with kidology and b/s, just like any other shop.

 

Use them, play them to your advantage, buy only their loss leaders, and "specials" that are "specials", and not "specials" that aren't so special when you do the sums, then walk, ignoring the "Buy MEEEE!" glitter, and do the same in every other retailer you can find.

 

There has never been a "perfect" shop below the Sound Brae before, and there isn't one there yet.

[daveh]

I cannot believe seventy pages have been generated essentially "discussing" one retailer.

 

There has never been a "perfect" shop below the Sound Brae before, and there isn't one there yet.

 

That could be another 70 pages worth !

[cecil]

odd there was none of this wailing when they put chris hodge out of buissness.

 

The traders ganged up against Hodge but are nothing when compared to Tesco.

 

Id say the ltca and shop owners have met their match this time , not quite the same as bullying Chris Hodge and forcing his buisness to close ! After the poor man lost virtually everything he worked for !

What goes around comes around !

 

Its good enough for the ltca after the way they treated Chris Hodge.

 

As for the Chris Hodge saga, that has been well-documented in Shetlink previously. The local traders just did not want the guy around despite the fact that much of what he was selling was tat.

 

Despite being the oldest shop owner on Commercial Street, I know nothing of any shops ganging up or wishing to see Chris Hodge go out of business. He was supplying a niche market that wasn't being catered for in Shetland and at one point I even supported him in the Shetland Times against the SIC for which he sent me a personal letter of thanks.

 

If you are a joiner you spend £60 on a hammer from Hays. If you knock in one nail every 6-months then a £2.99 hammer from Chris Hodge was more sensible.

 

Unfortunately there was not a big enough market for his low priced products and he simply ran out of money and went into liquidation. Why am I getting the blame?

 

Can we not just get on with our lives and forget about Hodge and Tesco.

 

Every item we sell in our shop, someone, somewhere in the world will sell it cheaper. Likewise, every item Tesco sell can be found somewhere selling cheaper as Asda and Morrisons are quick to point out.

 

So what! We are open 6 days a week including Bank Holidays and if people like what we sell and are happy with the price they will buy from us. To the rest who want to buy elsewhere - good luck.

[Guest Anonymous]

Well said Cecil.

If anyone had anything to do with Chris Hodge going out of business then a closer look at Caroline Miller and her husband along with an incompetant SIC planning department might be a place to start.

But hey ho Caroline has a share in Clives which is the only reason I haven't spent a penny in that shop for years, Which is a shame as Clive is a fine soul.

[Ghostrider]

^^ Add Hodge himself to that mix as well. Nobody twisted his arm to pay the rent he was paying, or invest the thousands he claimed he had in a building that wasn't his, and which he had nothing more than an alleged hand shake agreement would ever be his. Nor was his arm twisted to behave like the SIC and their rules didn't apply to him.

 

Certainly the council could have behaved in a far more welcoming, professional, competent and accomodating manner, and the Millers could have behaved far more honourably and ethically, but in their case at least, it has to be said, all is fair in business. Which granted doesn't do their reputation one iota of good, but at least gives them a reason for doing what they did. The council has no reason or excuse for their bumbling ineptitude.

 

Hodge himself though would have been wise to both try and second guess how the council might be all over his case, and be prepared with various "Plan B", and likewise have been prepared for anything with the Millers, given that in business nothing is sure and secure until its signed, sealed, and the ink is dry. If he had, whether he'd still be in business today is a good question, and if he was, how much longer he could remain so now that Tesco are cutting in to some of the market he filled, is another good question, but he would have at least lasted a bit longer than he did, and possibly have walked away with a bit more return for his trouble.

 

Whether or not the LTCA "helped" in any way to push Hodge out I'd say is largely irrelevant, as his own actions coupled with the business ethics displayed by the Millers and the usual gormlessness of the SIC was more than plenty to see him gone anyway.

[lerwick]

Our planning department had to renegue on Chris hodges planning i dont think the LTCA will have enough sway wth their planning meeting to do the same with Tesco. A list of all the shops in the LTCA would be good on shetlink shame on you all.