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.
Took me a while to realise why I was attracting unwanted attention at the checkout in sainsburys. I finally realised that I was arranging my shopping much too neatly and carefully on the conveyor belt. It was partly a way to distract myself from all the noise and chaos going on around me I suppose. Anyway, one day someone asked if she could take a photo of my beautifully laid out shopping and then hurriedly added "only joking" when she saw the expression on my face.
My checkout belt is more in a logical order than photogenic. Logical to only myself that is.
There is a right way:
1. all large/heavy items first - so they end up in the bottom of empty bags
2. all unbreakables (tins/packets) to fill in all the space around the bulky items
3. all the fragile stuff so it ends up on top
4. squashy/fresh stuff like bread - maybe in its own bag.
Also - in the boot of the car, all heavy stuff goes on the left - so if the load shift around roundabouts, it keeps the fragile stuff safe.
My stepdaughter drives me to the nearest large Sainsbury. She comes round the supermarket with me. I give her the shopping list, and she then directs where we go. At the checkout she packs the groceries , and I then pay by debit card.
There's a smaller Sainsbury in town which I've used a couple of times , and a Co-op that I've used once when I first moved here.
The biggest hassle at my old address was the behaviour of other shoppers going round the supermarket. Where I am now people are far less pushy. I mostly did an online shop though.
When I shopped in store I never used to make a list and ended up often buying stuff on a whim. The amount of choice tended to overwhelm me.
Here with a shopping list , and my stepdaughter guiding us round the aisles, it's far less overwhelming.
blank_smile said:Years wasted as a youngster playing tetris on the gameboy perfectly prepared me for the checkout.
Me too - the checkout people often comment on my amazing packing skills - I tell them I'm the European Tetris Champion 3 years running.
Spot on! This is my main contribution to the family weekly shop, after getting the kids their free fruit, helping by putting the garlic bread, milk and my weekly crisps in, the rest magically happens whilst I navigate the trolley and try not to over excite the kids!
Years wasted as a youngster playing tetris on the gameboy perfectly prepared me for the checkout. I even hear the music when I logically order the products, sometimes I even sing it..