Supermarkets in Shetland - prices, ethics and experiences

[unlinkedstudent]

Well to be quite honest, I don't find Tesco (and definitely not Co-op) to be the cheapest when compared to one of the other main supermarket chains. On the rare occasion when I did venture into a Tesco when I lived down sarf, they were always about £5 to £6 more expensive than Sainsbury's.

 

I never found the veg section to be as fresh in Tesco as in the Sainsbury's either.

 

We do tend to alternate between Tesco and Co-op, and most definitely also use the local shop.

 

I've never really bought a huge amount of clothes from supermarkets as they never last.

 

Re the petrol saga. I do have concerns as to what effect Tesco selling juice will have on the forecourts outside of Lerwick. I only venture into Lerwick about once a fortnight and whilst I would like to see cheaper prices, I would hate to see rural garages close. Now don't read that wrong, I wouldn't like any business to go bust in town either but for those folk living outwith of Lerwick who don't work in the town, I think I can safely say we do rely on the local forecourt(s).

[filskadacat]

On the rare occasion when I did venture into a Tesco when I lived down sarf, they were always about £5 to £6 more expensive than Sainsbury's.

 

I never found the veg section to be as fresh in Tesco as in the Sainsbury's either.

Obviously the figure by which one's shop appears to be cheaper will vary according to weekly expenditure. But when the boys were still at home and I spent an average of £100 a week in Tesco's 5 miles from here, had I undertaken those same purchases in Sainsbury's 3 minutes away across the traffic lights it would have cost me £120. So I never did.

 

As for the veg - all the prep stuff comes from the same place - well, in Scotland it does. My husband spent a decade delivering it before he retired last year. There are various grades, of course - M&S at the top, Tesco's and Sainsbury's at the same level lower down.

[unlinkedstudent]

^^ I think a lot can also depend on the individual store (especially re fruit & veg) - one of the big Tesco stores in East London was always particularly filthy and after 3 visits of seeing rotten fruit, I never went there again.

[shetlandpeat]

From a grocers to a catalog shop. You go to buy basic food stuffs but you can get sucked into the promos.

Booths always put the price per 100g on the price labels, this gives some comparison.

The worry is too that the Government, as voted in by Orkney and Shetland want to drop the traffic light labeling system.

You will be very suprised how the levels of salt, sugar and fats are in allot of products.

Pizza packaging can give the wrong impression, some will say 600 calories PER SLICE, and they quote 6 slices in a packet.

Also, bottled beer from Shetland costs 20p more than stuff from Kent, but it is cheaper abit in the co-op.

[DizzyKipper]

Anyone know when tesco home deliveries are coming back. We keep getting fobbed off by customer service staff They said 2 weeks, 2 weeks ago. And they are still saying that. It was a van problem apparently. Thought they were big enough to get it fixed.

 

I believe tesco had to take on the deliveries when they took over. I'm surprised more don't use it, although the fact that they are not allowed to have tesco livery on the van means probably not that many are aware of it.

 

I know there are tesco haters out there, but you try doing a big shop with two buses, it's not funny. Having a stockpile is good esp when the weather turns bad.

 

I really don't know what we'll do if they stop it

[Guest SJP17]

Never knew they did deliveries in Shetland ?

[crofter-amy]

Supermarkets give us food at prices which are unfair to the producers. They fool folk into thinking they are getting good buys but really most of what I see in there is unhealthy junk. I would rather have food that's good than cheap.

[DizzyKipper]

So would I. All our meat is local, and we'd love to buy fresh produce here. We used to grow our own down south, and will try it again here next year. The fruit and veg at both co-op and tesco, is usually quite poor - parsnips that can be bent double etc. Some is Ok. We'd love to visit farmers markets etc but most need a car

 

Tesco deliver but they are restricted. They are not allowed to advertise, or mark their van with tesco livery. You have to pick your shopping and pay instore (no tesco.com here), and then it's taken away and delivered in the afternoon. I certainly don't agree with tesco sourcing policies, but 'needs must' as far as delivery is concerned for us.

 

I'm surprised more don't use it, the manager told us not many do. They have to provide it, it's a condition of them coming to Shetland when they took over from Safeway.

 

I can see families doing their shopping early on a weekend morning, and rather than having to go home or leaving all the food in a warm car, go shopping in town instead for all the stuff they'd rather buy locally

[Guest Anonymous]

most of the country shops deliver where about are you dizzykipper

[DizzyKipper]

Quendale, but I'd have to walk 2 miles there and back to get to it.

 

It doesn't have all of what I need we need though, especially the larger size packs of things that are easier to store and work out cheaper.

[Guest Anonymous]

mainlands are pretty good at getting what you want all you have to do isk ask politely, and I'm pretty sure they will let you fone in an order,I know my local shop does

[DizzyKipper]

The size of a 'big shop' we'll need to stock up again would clean them out. Fruit, veg and meat etc I prefer from Shetland, but ordinary groceries like toilet rolls and tins are much cheaper at tesco. I know there are arguments for buying locally to help the outlying stores, but doing all the shopping at mainlands might be pushing it

 

I would prefer Co-op delivering to tesco, but only tesco do it. Delivery is free. I just wish they would get their van fixed. I hope they are just not trying to wriggle out of the service they are supposed to provide.

[Guest Anonymous]

but ordinary groceries like toilet rolls and tins are much cheaper at tesco.

 

really are you sure last time I was in mainlands they were selling andrex bog roll cheaper than tesco, and if you check the prices you may just find quite a lot of things cheaper in mainlands. enough in fact that the odd thing that is dearer is compensated for by the many that are not.

 

Unless of course you are only buying the deals from tesco and who really needs 2x2ltr of coke and 2xfrozen pizza when in fact you can make a fresh pizza better and cheaper and the coke goes flat if not drunk in a couple of hours after opening.

 

I only ever read the papers when I'm at work but while doing so I checked out tesco's ads and everything that they were promoting was cheaper day in and day out at my local store.

 

If money is tight then I would say that most of the stuff on deals at the supermarkets are definately not essential so would not be on my shopping list.

[DizzyKipper]

ok I confess don't shop at Mainlands very often, I've only been in four or five times, for the reasons stated before. I'm going back to an article I read somewhere (ST?) that compared prices in local shops around the isles. It was before we moved up, so I didn't really know where the shops were, but all the shops were seemingly more expensive than town, some more than others.

 

As you rightly say the offers are only a bargain if you would normally buy them, otherwise you have parted with money you would have used elsewhere. The shop was probably overstocked or the products near their display until date, etc.

 

I might try and get over to Mainlands for another mooch about

[Ghostrider]

All our meat is local, and we'd love to buy fresh produce here. We used to grow our own down south, and will try it again here next year. The fruit and veg at both co-op and tesco, is usually quite poor - parsnips that can be bent double etc. Some is Ok.

 

Quendale....

 

Probably the biggest local commercial producer of veg has his growing, depending where in Quendale you are, either all around you, or at least much nearer to you than Mainlands.

 

I'd be surprised if you contacted them if they wouldn't be willing to sell you some of whatever veg they do that you're interested in, seeing as you're in the neighbourhood..