Tesco - 5th RANT

OK, so last week I ranted about ASDA but actually I've only ranted about ASDA once.


This is my 5th rant about TESCO!!!


About a week ago I filled my car up with TESCO petrol.  I like TESCO petrol stations because they are usually cheaper than any other petrol stations.  And when I hand over my 'TESCO club card' I get 'points'.  Yay!


A few months ago TESCO were running some sort of scheme whereby you got money off petrol if you spent a certain amount of money in store.  I have to say the TESCO employees, both in the supermarkets & in the garages, were really good at telling the shopper how much money they were going to get off their petrol and what date they had to buy the petrol by.  It was actually one of the things I liked about TESCO. 


Obviously I did not RANT about it because I am a 'RANTING middle aged spinster' and that was one aspect of TESCO that I was really impressed with.


But guess what happened today??????????????????????????


I spent a fortune in TESCO and the very lovely checkout man said, 'Do you know that you've 6p a litre off petrol until tomorrow???'


Duh??!!!  No I didn't know.  I thought that scheme had ended ages ago???????????


Nobody has told me and when I filled up my tank last week at a TESCO petrol station nobody told me?????????????  I gave them my 'club card' (which is normally when they tell me if I have any discounts).


Seriously not happy............................


Is TESCO still running these 'offers' but not actually telling anyone about them, so that they can say that the offers are there but the customers are not taking them up????  OR have TESCO seriously lost the plot???  Well we've all seen the news reports that TESCO are losing money???


So, I echoed these thoughts to the very lovely TESCO checkout man and asked how long the 'petrol scheme' was running for.  He said it had been extended until the end of May.


Get a grip TESCO - does anyone actually know this??????


Today, I received through the post, a load of TESCO vouchers giving me £7 off a £50 shop until 10th May.  OK I will go and buy a load of wine but will wait till they have their 25% off 6 bottles on  And then 5 more vouchers giving me '£5 a week off a £50 shop' up to 14th June.  Is that really going to make me want to shop at TESCO every week for the next couple of months?????  I don't think so.


Much as I RANTED about ASDA before. Their policy of low prices, good quality foods, no gimmicky club cards, etc......................  It works for me.

ASDA

Today I am going to have a RANT about ASDA.


I love ASDA.  ASDA is my most favourite supermarket ever.  And until about 6 months ago my nearest ASDA was about 25 miles away so I didn't often go to ASDA.


I now have an ASDA about 6 miles away.  Whoopee doo.  OK it might not be a big huge massive ASDA.  But it's ASDA and I was really excited when it first opened.


After my latest shop in ASDA I might not bother to return.  I only popped in because they were advertising 6 bottles of wine for £25.


Sooooooooo.....................  Into ASDA I go, and I think I might as well pick up some 'womans weekly mags' at the same time.  Most supermarkets have these by the entrance next to the newspapers.  Were they there?  No they were not.  So I spot an ASDA employee just standing around doing nothing.


Me:  Where are your magazines?
Him: Aisle 10 (which is right at the other end of the store).  Would you like me to show you?  I'll take you there.
Me:  No, it's OK, I'll find it. I've got other stuff to buy first.  (How stupid to have newspaper & some magazines at the entrance to the store and everything else at the other end???)
Him: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Me: No thank you.
Him: You've obviously just started shopping (I only have mushrooms & milk in my trolley)
Me: Thanks for your help.


So I trundle around ASDA and pick up a few bits & bobs (including 6 bottles of wine).


And then I go looking for a 'checkout'.


We are very 'high tec' down here in the Southwest???  There were 4 'proper' checkouts open.  BUT there were 15 self service checkouts available.  Well, I don't do 'self service checkouts'???  Why should I?  It is so so annoying when one goes into a shop and no-one is around to serve.  It's almost as annoying as getting an automated reply when you phone someone.


So I join the  shortest queue to get served by a 'real life person'.  Unfortunately the 'fat person with a squealy brat, in front of me, had bought pretty much everything in the store.  I look at what she has in her trolley and think; 'Jamie Oliver you haven't made much impact here.'??? 


..................And then I look at my own trolley which includes 6 bottles of wine, 3 trashy magazines, 3 big bags of crisps, 1 jar of cheese dip, mushrooms & a litre of milk (see I can do healthy?)


But what annoyed me most about ASDA today was the 'checkout procedure'.  I absolutely hate, hate, hate my local Tesco and I thought when ASDA opened I would love it.  But actually I don't.  At least in Tesco they will open an extra till if there is more than about three people in a queue.


So today...................  the checkout operator was actually the same ASDA employee who'd been standing around when I first entered the store.  He was the one that I'd asked where the magazines were.  ......................And he was still in 'mega friendly chatty mode' while he checked out 'fat persons' shopping.


I'm all for customer service and all that.........................  but efficiency would be nice too.


I actually stood in the queue behind 'fat person' for 15 mins before I got served.  I now know what her squealy brat likes to eat, I now know a lot of 'personal facts' about the ASDA employee.  OK I won't divulge them here.  And then, after ASDA employee and FAT customer had finished discussing everything under the sun....................  Her junk food shopping came to £40+.


..................And guess what?  Her credit/debit card was rejected????????  Grrrrrrrrrrrr.............  more waiting.


Fortunately, 'fat person's', even 'fatter mother', was also in the store so she just yelled for her mum who came and rescued her and paid for her shopping.  ...............And the whole of the time this was going on; I was just thinking....................  Jeremy Kyle..............  why don't you just broadcast your show from ASDA?????


So 15 mins later, 'Mr Friendly I want to win the Asda employee of the month', starts checking out my trolley. 


6 bottles of wine???  Are you over 25 years of age he asks????  I feel like bashing him in the face!  My reply - 'Do I really look that young?  I think you'd better call your supervisor to check out my ID'.


'Mr Friendly I want to win ASDA employee of the month', laughs nervously.


OK so I do still like ASDA.  But I HATE self service tills and I HATE shop employees who are just trying to win the 'employee of the month award'.


ASDA - please get rid of all your self service checkouts and employ a few more real life people??!!