Foords_Chocolates

Perhaps we better start a thread about getting Boots closed down then, being a world wide company.....

More likely probably because they have better things to do with their time. I lived in an area with Sainsbury, Tesco and Co-op all in a few miles radius along with many, many independants surviving without a problem. I am not saying that Tesco are angels, but just that the situation in Shetland is a very different kettle of fish.

I bet Muppet, Colin and Shetlander live on mainland Shetland......

Oh, and a footnote:- I will no doubt shop at Tesco as I shopped in Sommerfields and shop in Co-op. I tend to use the supermarkets for anything I want in bulk such as bread, dog food, etc and then local shops for everyday things such as most foodstuffs, cleaning products, etc etc. I do this because one of my local shops (Hendersons of Unst) is actually cheaper than the supermarkets on most products, and we also have on Unst three shops in which if you cannot find what you want, you probably don't need it anyway and that sell things you cannot get on Lerwick anywhere. I am sure most people who live outside of Lerwick do likewise, and so the out-of-town shops would never be under threat from any supermarket. The shops in Lerwick offer a local service in a town location. They were here when Morrisons were here, when Sommerfields were here and now whilst Co-op are here so I really cannot see how Tesco is suddenly going to force every shop in Lerwick to close. I want to be able to buy jeans for £3 to dig the garden or work on the car rather than £40 a pair - anyone on this forum who says otherwise either has too much money or too many pairs of jeans! This will not stop me buying a newspaper at Leslies, a sandwich at one of the sandwich shops or toiletries at Boots though, and so to me it seems as though a great deal of fuss is being made about a situation that everyone could use to their advantage if they were not so keen on cutting off their noses just to spite their face. With the credit crunch and the increase in the prices of everything over the past year, our ingredient prices have gone up 16%. We cannot increase our prices by that much, so we will look around for good value and whether it is local, Tesco or the internet that is where we will shop. Customer service is worth paying for, and customer loyalty cannot be bought, only earned. I do not believe that Tesco opening will reduce the number of visitors to Shetland - in fact, IMHO I have never heard such rubbish. On mainland UK, competition is very tight for customer loyalty, with many supermarkets and many chainstores - up here, it is a completely different story. Tesco coming will not, as some are predicting, force local shops to close as the locals either give a customer service that cannot be matched or a full range of products as opposed to just a few of any certian type. For instance, if Tesco sell kettles at £5 then that does not mean that Hydro, Bolts etc will have to close - that is a ridiculous notion. I think there are some people who are making a mountain out of a molehill here, for whatever reason. One thing is for sure - Tesco are going to open and if you wish to use them you will and if you don't then you won't. Seems to me that life is too short to spend marching up and down with placards and that there are other issues such as the price of fuel in Shetland that demand more support than a 'We hate Tesco' campaign.

I feel I should just make the point here that when I spoke of cheap crap in my last post I was simply quoting Sheltie Celt. There are many times when these two words can be split - crap is not always cheap, and just because something is cheap it does not mean it is crap or not up to the purpose it was designed for - it should also be noted that anyone buying cheap should not expect the item to last a lifetime and I think we are all sensible enough to realise that you get what you pay for in life. For example, I get my son to send me parcels of Tesco jeans at £3 a pair. I don't expect them to be fashionable, or to last more than 6 months, but it sure beats paying £40 for a pair of jeans to dig the garden in. As far as I can see, SIC have been very unfair to Chris and there has been some mis-judgement in products on his part, but at the end of the day he tried and that is worth a round of applause. NO-one who posts here knows the full facts, only what they read in the paper so therefore no-one is in a position to judge, but as someone who has bought stuff from Chris before I too will be sad to see the store close. They might not always have the things you want, but when they do it is always a bargain.

We are not selling to Tesco despite Tesco contacting us concerning us doing so. We do believe that the small retailer is important in community life, be it in Unst or anywhere in Shetland and we are greatful to all those smaller retailers in Shetland that have helped us grow our business over the past four years and for al the fabulous support they have given us. THAT is why we would not supply Tesco, as we would not supply the Co-op or any chain store. If these smaller stores were to close, the impact on our busines and many others would be immense. Marooned and Infiltrator - thank you for your support and I hope you enjoyed your visit Marooned. We do what we can and try to support community events across Shetland with more raffle prizes and donations than I care to try and count. The people of Shetland and the traders of Shetland are why we are still able to do what we do, and we thank everyone for that.

Don't worry, we'll send you some.......

I have to agree with Ghostrider, and in response to Sheltie Celt - it is great having cheap prices, but pointless if it is for crap products. Better off spending a little more and getting worthwhile merchandise surely? It is funny though how no-one on this thread has been complaining that Chris Hodge has threated to close local businesses by selling cheap products, unlike the furore of complaints about Tesco possibly doing the same....

Why should the arrival of Tesco threaten any local stores like Leslies and Lochside? In theory, it is just a supermarket just like Sommerfields and Morrisons before them. The only way that local stores would be affected is if Tesco priced really cheaply, and they have already stated that the prices will have a smal premium because of the location. Seems to me that a lot of fuss is being made by folk who know nothing about it, and who no doubt happily used the previous supermarkets and still used local stores too. Jumping on the press bandwagon of Tesco being bad is just nonsense, and the bottom line is simple - those folk who do not want to use Tesco will not use Tesco, others who want a bigger choice than the local stores can give will use Tesco but I suspect will still use local stores promarily for the convenience factor. However, I suspect that many of those complaining about Tesco will be found happily shoping in the store sooner or later....

^^^^^^^^ hear hear!!

'Sticks its oar in'? What a stupid comment. The fact Tesco are opening and that Co-op are upgrading their store is excellent news for all Shetland folk, and will give us more choice and better service than the Lerwick based supermarkets have ever given before.

Brimful of Asher...

In case you had not realised, we don't have an ASDA. Tesco coming is great and will not only improve the competition from Co-Op but will give us a wider choice of goods.

If ever there was a good reason for independance from Scotland, it has been on the news all day - Glasgow Rangers football 'fans'.

Good question khitajrah, but is it me or has this thread gone a bit off topic?

We have rats in one of our byres, and hey seem to be avoiding the traps I have put down baited with peanut butter. I cannot use poisons as we have many dogs and I would not want to take the chance of one of them getting hold of a poisoned rat, so does anyone have any ways that they have got rid of these pests? Any suggestions gratefully received!

Drewloe, if you contact Jane MacCaulay she will happily give you the full story - you will find her listed in the Unst Directory

I think Tesco should be allowed to sell clothes - I get relations in England to send me parcels of £3 jeans as at that price it does not matter if they only last 6 months, but generally they last a lot longer. Most comments on this thread have been about price, but what I think most folk want is selection - the current supermarkets are always limited on their stock and half the time the shelves are empty, so IF Tesco can give us a wider selection of products then I wish them well. We shop for most stuff at local shops, one of which is constantly lower in price than Co-op, but sometimes it would be nice to get a change.

I presume you have never been to a Tesco store then. [mod]Merged to TESCO thread[/mod]

Somehow I think that completely the reverse will be true.

Lets find out who in Shetland is cheapest - here in Unst it is £123.4 for unleaded, not sure on Diesel

My opinion, no one elses. Since I presume this comment is directed at me, I don't have livestock - livestock live in fields and do not need constant attention. We have dogs - lots of them that live indoors and are pets, not working dogs. They cannot be left from early evening to early next morning without the need for them to go out to do what doggies do, hence my restriction on time. And before anyone says it, yes, it IS my choice to have dogs - it is nothing to do with anyone else and therefore is no-one elses business. However, if the world was a better place then I would not have so many since most of them are rescue dogs and so are often more nervous than usual, and cannot be left for long periods of time. Lets let the thread end with this. I genuinely hope that everyone who can get to a concert has a good time, and wel done to the Festival committee for another years organisation, a task which I doubt comes without stress and the need to spend a lot of time sorting. I will wait for 2009, and enjoy the concert then.

Why, because you think that no-one on Unst is allowed an opinion or allowed to want an event up here? I hope that everyone who is able to get to one of the events has a great time, and the Festival Committee have no doubt done a great job as far as attracting new and exciting acts to the festival and well done to them - we are all aware that they do this on a voluntary basis and should be credited with this. Thank you Mhari for the information you put on the thread, especially about the halls over-stating their capacity! However, the point of this thread was to try and get a little understanding for those of us who cannot get across the islands to a concert, and to try and emphasise how easy it is for those on the mainland in comparison. It seems though that certain forum posters just want to argue and feel that their views are the only ones that count and that everyone else should abide by them as opposed to taking a wider and more considerate view. Never mind, I will know in future before starting or replying to threads on Shetlink.

I think we are reading different forums if that is how you are interpreting this particular one. Frankly, I simply wanted to be able to attend a festival event. It would seem that in the opinion of many on this forum that I am not allowed to request such a thing, so fair enough, you are all entitled to your opinions - just don't read or type rubbish like the quote above when it is clearly untrue.

I was at the event in Unst in 2006 - and folk were standing because therer was no room to sit down, so I am not sure why you think it did not sell out? However, with a 3-4 hour concert and the endless wait for near impossible ferries, I cannot be away from the house for that long with many animals and the business to consider. Glad to see though that it is not just me who would like to see a concert here