Published on 12, July, 2020
Their are many things about supermarkets I dislike.
Things like the car park, the layout of and constant rearranging of the layout, people not being prepared to pay for their comestibles after waiting in the queue and then waiting until everything is rung up before hunting for their purse, the long queues, far too much choice in brands of goods. But my gripe today is about bread.
There is always plenty of sliced bread. But I don't like sliced bread except to toast. I like a nice fresh bakery loaf. Most times.I bake a loaf myself using a breadmaker. Bit with no yeast I found myself looking in the supermarket a full two hours before it closed both last night and today
And what did I find? The instore bakery had sliced all of a full score of loaves, both wholemeal and white leaving no loaves uncut. When I asked about this, I was told they 'have to' slice the loaves when they have finished the day's baking which put me close to meltdown. it does not make any sense to me as I am sure that many other customers would also prefer an unsliced loaf. I refuse to have a sliced loaf. I like my bread cut three inches thick so I can delight in the texture of the fluffy inner, feeling it melt away in my mouth. If I want sliced bread there is plenty of choice of sliced loaves, and I am quite capable of cutting it myself. Even a loaf sliced from the bakery loaf tastes totally different when it is cut into half inch thick slices rather than the chunks I like.
On both occasions they have lost a customer and I made do with a bowl of shredded wheat instead. And I will get some.yeast and continue continue to bake my own bread which will only be sliced at tje point of eating, and I can savour the flavour of a nice chunky piece.
What do others find annoying about supermarkets,, or is there anyone who thinks supermarkets are like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way.
Not a fan of supermarkets, either. It's not just the awkward car parks, the jostling crowds and the noise. It's also the way they destroy High Streets, take money out of local communities, hold producers to ransom and create a standardisation of products under the guise of offering 'variety'.
I live in a town with a population of just under 40,000 people. But we have a big Morrison's, a big Aldi's, a Co-op, two Tesco Metros, a massive new Sainsbury's.... and now Lidl seeking local approval for a new mega-store (and apparently most local people seem to be in favour of it!)
I worked for a short time in the Morrison's. It was a slave camp. The worst part about it for me was the need to cut corners all the time in order to meet deadlines. So I suppose I can see things a little from that side of the fence.
I wrote this one day...
SHOPPING CODES FOR SUPERMARKET CUSTOMERS (AS OBSERVED BY A SUPERMARKET WORKER)
If you pick up a product anywhere in the store, then later decide you no longer want to buy it, it’s fine to put it anywhere at all other than back in the place where you picked it up. DVDs, for instance, can easily be placed between milk bottles or on a stack of apples. This also applies if you are less than 3 yards away from the original place. Chilled or frozen products can literally be placed anywhere other than a chiller or freezer. Conversely, tampons and teabags chill down quite well if you put them in with the pizzas or ice cream
Similarly, if you pick a whole basketful or trolley-full of shopping and then decide you want none of it, it’s okay to abandon the basket or trolley anywhere at all in the store – though preferably in the middle of an aisle where people can fall over it. Don’t worry – the staff will happily put it all back for you
If you see a product without a price, ask a member of staff if they could go and check the price for you. While they’re away doing this, put the product back on the shelf and go somewhere else
Never pick a bunch of bananas that’s exactly the right size for you. Always pick a bunch that has one too many bananas, then tear the excess banana off and leave it in the pile of single, torn-off bananas that no one else wants (they’re usually browner than the rest)
If you come to the ‘Reduced Items’ section and someone else is there in front of you, it’s okay to reach across them and take whatever you want without asking
If you have children, shout at them a lot
If the product you want has already been bought by all the people who managed to get to the store ahead of you, ask a member of staff why there aren’t any left, then complain that they don’t order enough
If you see a member of staff waiting to restock a shelf, place your trolley in front of it and stand for ages looking at a swede or a can of soup so as to stop them from doing their work
Never look left or right at a check-out queue in case you happen to see the person standing beside you who was actually there ahead of you (before you decided to join the queue at the wrong place) and who is now looking ready to rip your throat out.
Never care about anyone else in the store, ever – including the minimum-wage hacks who are there to serve you. Your interests are all that matter because the customer is always right.
I hate it when people just dump stuff on any old shelf, it seems so rude. If I change my mind about something I have to put it back in the right place, not doing so feels so incredibly wrong.
For me the main thing I dislike is the noise, especially those stock cages rumbling and clattering. The local sainsburys is otherwise pretty good as it has nice wide aisles and diffuse lighting although any place sucks when busy.
That’s a bit obsessive isn’t it? Putting things back exactly where you found them? Why is it rude to put them wherever you want? I’ve never seen a sign saying put things back in the exact same place if you change your mind or you are rude. I guess we’re all different but I would definitely see putting things back in their exact place or near enough, obsessive and unnecessary, unless you enjoy walking around supermarkets.
Yes, I am naive but again, not totally stupid.
No, BlueRay. You're not stupid at all. You know exactly what you are doing.
Hi Blue Ray, sorry to hear that. I hope you change your mind.
Martian Tom said:faux-naivete-seeming comments that I find irksome
Yeah, being autistic makes it difficult for me to pick up on those things and even if I were to monitor my every word I would still get it wrong because I have different values to most people. But don’t worry, like I’ve said to others, I might be on the more severe end of autism, but I’m not stupid and I can take clear messages, finally, so I will stop bothering you. I thought I might be welcomed in a group of autistic people but you’re more like nt people than autistic people (to me) you seem to know what to say and what not to say, when to say it and when not to say it, what things offend and how to avoid them etc etc etc. I don’t have that manual which clearly makes me an autistic nuisance. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be. I only recent learned what one of those faux things are but I still don’t know all the things on the list so I’m bound to break the faux rules at some point, no matter how hard I try and clearly, that’s not accepted here. I guess I don’t belong anywhere on Earth after all. It seems I was right all along. I’m not made for a world that cares more about a tin of soup in its right place on a shelf, than people. Yes, I am naive but again, not totally stupid. I won’t trouble you good folks any more.