Tuesday, January 03, 2012

The Co-op

Swanage co-op: welcome to The Gulag

Another new year, and another five day stretch of empty shelves in co-op. A display of fresh goods that any Russian store would have been proud of 30 years ago.

The years most predictable event (the end of he year) not only bought the anticipated crowds, empty shelves, but also some underhand cad like behaviour in the store.

Today my wife managed to get the last two (yes two) peppers, smiled and enjoyed her little shopping victory in the face of such adversity, but upon arrival at the checkout found only one pepper in her basket.

Someone had taken her pepper from the basket! Filched her fruit, pinched her pepper... Shocking.

Co-op will tell us they lack storage space. I would point them at the vacant business units in town. They either don't know what they are doing, or don't give a hoot.

"Когда мы вешаем капиталисты продадут нам веревку"
“When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope”
But only if they have any in stock.



Posted by Anonymous to swanageview at 3/1/12 7:17 PM
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42 comments:

David Furmage said...

Did you or your wife not inform the police your pepper was stolen , maybe ask the store if they can have a look on their CCTV to see who the pepper thief is .As for empty units in town , yes in theory a great idea. Though it's not , one is health and safety as most produce has to be in a cold store around 4 to 5c. Second is security of the units , your talking about alot of stock that could easily be stolen or the units could be damaged. Thirdly as it's alot of stock I think it would be a tad expensive to run all these units.

3/1/12 8:22 pm
Anonymous said...

But was the pepper stolen? Your wife was yet to own the pepper, the co-op still did. So assuming the person who took it from your wifes trolley/besket nicked it from CO-OP was it ever stolen?

And heres some advice. If you don't like shopping in co-op, if you have problems with the service it offers, shop somewhere else. It's not hard.
Most supermarkets do home deliveries these days too.

I mean if you're watching TV and a programme comes on you don't like, do you continue to watch and get annoyed or do you change the channel?

3/1/12 8:30 pm
Anonymous said...

Original poster here.... Like many locals we prefer to support local business even if its a national chain as it secures jobs in our small town.

David... Whatever distribution co-op have in place to keep other stores stocked can be used to stock swanage. Send another lorry or two, order more stock, get a secure refrigerated local warehouse. It's all feasible.

What is stupid is annoying the local customers every damned year, gradually pushing us into the hands of tesco home delivery. One less local job, another delivery van stuck in Sandford traffic. Or another car journey to wareham if we take our trade out of town.

Personally I think they should deliver on one of those magnificent delivery bikes you have.

3/1/12 8:42 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

I like the self service tills at the Co-op. The person in front cannot keep you waiting telling their life story to the assistant.The assistant cannot serve the person behind you first. "You don't mind if I serve the person behind first do you? He works here and has only got a few items." You can check that the price you are paying matches the price on the display. You can get rid of your loose change. You can go at your own pace instead of having the goods hurled at you before the person in front has finished packing so it looks like you are holding up the queue. It is a pity that the staff don't leave the bags open at the self service tills either.

3/1/12 8:54 pm
Anonymous said...

"And heres some advice. If you don't like shopping in co-op, if you have problems with the service it offers, shop somewhere else. It's not hard.
Most supermarkets do home deliveries these days too."

Pretty usless advice.But here's some for you - if you don't like people expressing their opinions maybe you shouldn't read them.Maybe you should read a Daily Mail blog instead.

3/1/12 9:09 pm
Anonymous said...

The self-service tills at the Co-op mean fewer jobs. That is a huge issue in a town like Swanage.

3/1/12 9:11 pm
Anonymous said...

"And heres some advice. If you don't like shopping in co-op, if you have problems with the service it offers, shop somewhere else. It's not hard.
Most supermarkets do home deliveries these days too."

Pretty usless advice.But here's some for you - if you don't like people expressing their opinions maybe you shouldn't read them.Maybe you should read a Daily Mail blog instead.

Well hang on, what a stupid point. If I never expressed an issue with people discussing their opinion, thats exactly what I come here for. Opinions and debate.

What I suggested was that if someone didn't like a service, or a programme or whatever, use/watch a different one. I drew an accurate comparison, and it's hardly advice, or useless.

And I generally avoid the Mail at all costs, but it's blogs are full of comment and opinion.

Like many locals we prefer to support local business even if its a national chain as it secures jobs in our small town.

I agree, we should support locals and local buisnesses/local job providers, but not if they are bad at the job/don't offer a good service.

If we don't support the bad ones they'll either get better so we do or be replaced by something better.

3/1/12 9:17 pm
Anonymous said...

There are only bloody four for gods sake.

And the amount of people too thick to use them properly means staff are needed to help them out.

3/1/12 9:17 pm
David Furmage said...

All the ordering for the store is not done at the store it is done at their head office. So maybe email them with your complaint , I am sure their will take on your comments.

The head office is at

New Century House
Manchester.

Or go on their webpage to see details.

3/1/12 9:43 pm
Anonymous said...

I was going to post about the lack of goods in the co-op but you beat me to it. Best thing to do is boycot them diffucult I know but we try to.

But they are "good with food"

3/1/12 9:55 pm
SillyWhim said...

I have said it before and I will say it again:

IF you are retired in Swanage, here is the deal:

-use your bus pass and take the 40 service from Swanage to the Asda. You will find a lot of your firneds on board.

-alight at Asda in Poole.

-Have a cuppa; go into town (suing the free ASDA bus) and perhaps book a ticket at the Lighthouse, or just chill

-have lunch. Poole is full of venues.

-Buy your week's groceries at Asda. Board the 40 bus right out front. Return to Swanage. Have a cuppa and feed the cat.

Cheap. Cheerful. A fun day out for little money.

3/1/12 11:26 pm
Reece de Ville said...

After seeing the empty shelves for several days running, sorry, going to shop online now.

I support local businesses and buy local wherever possible, but if the local business cant support me or my family with fresh food or indeed any food, then I've no problem whatsoever with shoppIng online.

The manager today was overheard apologising to a shopper saying he simply hadn't ordered enough stock. That's a poor mistake to make and just not good enough.

Indeed, 'if you don't like it, shop elsewhere'. Great advice, going to try it.

3/1/12 11:35 pm
Houseofmowlem said...

I think the original culprit should be pepper sprayed

4/1/12 7:32 am
Houseofmowlem said...

And also why does every post have to end up with people attacking other peoples views.

How about starting your post

"I respect your views but....."

4/1/12 7:35 am
Robin from Swanage said...

It was a good point about shopping somewhere else if you do not like the service in the Co-op. Many people buy their food and drink at shops like Arkwrights and the Court Hill wine shop. Shopping on-line requires a mimimum order of £50 and you have to be in for the delivery. The service, choice and quality of food is much better at Waitrose, Sainsburys and Marks and Spencers where the assistants pack your bags for you but it is a long way to travel.

If the Co-op staff are concerned about the self service tills taking away their jobs why do they use them for their own shopping?

4/1/12 8:00 am
David Furmage said...

I must say there is one thing that gets me about shopping , I think all plastic bags should be banned from town. Can't stand them!

I personally have never had any problem with our local shops and will carry on using them:)

4/1/12 9:10 am
Anonymous said...

I personally have never had any problem with our local shops and will carry on using them:)

Obviously never shopped at the co-op then and its the managers responsibilty to order not head office. as stated by the previous manager last summer.

I dont know why people consider the coop a local shop, its a national chain a local shop is run by local selfemployed people. But hey its what ever you want.

4/1/12 10:00 am
David Furmage said...

Shop in co-op all the time , pop into arkwrights now and then to do my electric key;) like to support any local shop.

4/1/12 10:41 am
Anonymous said...

I've never had a problem getting what I went into co op for.

4/1/12 10:57 am
Robin from Swanage said...

Have you tried getting bread from the Co-op? A few years ago they used to give out free bread vouchers if they ran out of bread. I used to call in at 19:00 and got a voucher every time. Then I called in at 08:30. The shelves were stacked with bread and then a customer filled a trolley with bread and there was none left for me. Now I go to Arkrights if I just want bread.

4/1/12 1:42 pm
Anonymous said...

Yea, plenty of times, fresh baked or not, rolls, wraps, loaves, baguettes, never had a problem.

4/1/12 2:43 pm
David Furmage said...

" Obviously never shopped at the co-op then and its the managers responsibilty to order not head office. as stated by the previous manager last summer."

Actually the system has changed since last year , and all the ordering is done at head office. Plus the manager at the co op now is from Sommerfields , so everything can't run smoothly all the time.

4/1/12 7:36 pm
Anonymous said...

Actually the system has changed since last year , and all the ordering is done at head office. Plus the manager at the co op now is from Sommerfields , so everything can't run smoothly all the time.

Strange that, as a familly member was only in there yesterday and heard a manager apologise to customers because HE had not ordered enough stock? and if it has changed since last year why is there still a problem? As least that miserable old git has gone.

4/1/12 9:13 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

The previous manager barked at me when I pointed out to him that I had paid the full price for a bottle of wine that was advertised at half price on the shelf and that only 3 check outs were open when there were about 50 customers waiting to be served. Why isn't the name of the manager on the till receipts any more? Is anyone managing the Co-op? Have you tried getting a small bottle of Tropicana to go with the £3 meal deal or a small bottle of Jacob's Creek red wine for the two bottles for £3 offer?

5/1/12 8:06 am
Anonymous said...

With modern stock control systems it should make no difference where the ordering office is situated. Why the co-ops computer system fails to predict seasonal peaks in demand is a question they need to look at as they are loosing sales. Hasn't it always been the case that there is a lack of fresh food and bread in the shops after the Christmas break? Perhaps people like bakers have a break as well.

5/1/12 10:53 am
SillyWhim said...

'.....red wine for the two bottles for £3 offer?'

Wow!

The Co-op IS selling Hirondelle again!!


Next.....the return of Vesta ready meals! The Clash. The Bay City Rollers! 3 quid for two bottles!

5/1/12 12:29 pm
Seeview said...

My apologies,I was the poster who told Anon at 8:30pm their advice was useless.

I still think it is, because I am just fed up with the attitude it reflects, but I admit there was no need to be so rude.

However,the answer to everything isn't "if you don't like it move/go somewhere else/p*ss off/whatever".

The Co-Op, like several other local shops and businesses sometimes provides very poor service despite charging about ten per cent more than businesses outside Purbeck.At the Co-op, stock items appear and disappear seemingly at the whim of management (local or national).They are frequently out of stock of things for weeks and even months at a time, although they always seem to have generous stocks of bottled water and fizzy drinks.They often fail to have absolute basics like milk (twice in 2 weeks recently)and seem at times to want to encourage their customers to use Budgens, whose pricing policy is bewildering.

Oh, and despite having the cash machine removed after the robbery, the last manager failed to increase the till floats so that people could get money out in the mornings.Pathetic.

Is this all unique to Swanage Co-op?Unfortunately not, I recall a period a few years ago when the Wareham branch had sold out of all kinds of rice for 3 weeks and I can't help but wonder whether the dimwits in charge don't just use the ethical tag to disguise their utter incompetence.

The Co-op is effectively the only halfway decent supermarket for ten miles so locals have little choice but to shop there.Especially,if they wish to use other local shops as well.If the Co-op is serious about its ethical stance it really needs to stop behaving like a small, badly run, corner shop, and start treating its customers as if they matter.Not everyone is able and willing to pop in and out several times a week just to get their shopping.

That's why I found the advice useless,because we don't want to shop online or in Poole, we want the convenience of shopping locally, but we would just like the Co-op to get its act together and provide a decent service to its customers.Telling people to shop elsewhere isn't going to solve the problem.

My advice?We should complain - in store or to head office - and keep on complaining until things get better.

Rant over.

5/1/12 1:04 pm
Seeview said...

One other thing intrigues me about the Co-op - does the management not trust the staff?It is the only supermarket where if I get cashback a form has to be countersigned by two members of staff and the customer.Everywhere else I just initial the receipt or don't even have to do anything at all.

I think if I worked on the tills at the Co-op I would be demanding to know why the manager didn't trust me.

5/1/12 1:08 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

The Co-op is fully stocked now. Have you got your hot cross buns yet? The Co-op wants us to stock up early for Easter in case they run out. Be careful when you buy Birds Eye Traditional Meals. Two days ago you got a discount for buying two. Now it only applies to two Traditional ROAST Meals. Watch the small print.

A few years ago I could not get any cashback because the till had run out of change. I rang up the former manager who said the assistant should have got the money from another till. After that the person at the till has warned me if are short of cash as soon as I joined the queue so it seems word got around.

5/1/12 1:48 pm
Anonymous said...

I reckon the pepper was filched because the person who filched it had given up trying to find a "legit" one (despite the fact that there were only two left in the shop... I find it impossible to find anything in the Co-op since they reorganised the shelves. It makes no sense anymore...

7/1/12 3:51 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

The Co-op reorganises the shelves so people will buy other things while they are looking for what they want.

I saw a management note to the assistants ordering them not to tell customers how to get a 2 for 1offer if only 1 item is left.

Keep an eye on the best before dates. The best before date for my hot cross buns is tomorrow: Sunday 8th January.

7/1/12 7:56 pm
Anonymous said...

Forget complaining about the co op. You wont find one anywhere that is any better than a second rate convenience store. Swanage needs a proper supermarket (sainsburys?) but perhaps trade wouldnt justify one for the company.

8/1/12 2:01 pm
SillyWhim said...

The Dutchy of Wareham shot down a proposal for an out of town proper supermarket for the Purbecks (wouldn't supermarket petrol be nice?). Seems some 'luvvy' got involved and got the minions to say no.

The Worgret roundabout has enormous advantages for such a site. I have no idea whether that location can be revisited in a few years' time or not. There really is little incentive for any major supermarket to invest in Swanage - the end of the line, in more than a few ways (a point we love, by the way!).

I still encourage the Poole/Asda morning out for those with time and a W&D pass.....it could become a social club of sorts!

8/1/12 9:19 pm
David Furmage said...

That has alot to do with the " Save Wareham Fields " campaign.
If anything this link to this subject has been sent to co-op headoffice , so we might see these complaints been dealt with :) .

9/1/12 9:40 am
Robin from Swanage said...

The Co-op's sandwhich meal deal offer involves buying a sandwhich, a sweet course and a drink for £3. The most popular drink is a small bottle of Tropicana. They have sold out of Tropicana again so no-one is buying the meal deal sandwhiches and the Co-op is having to sell them at half price when they reach their sell by date.

10/1/12 3:25 pm
Anonymous said...

I buy Tropicana. Fresh squeezed right here. Not that fake UK stuff. Less than 2 quid a half gallon.

I spend my winters in Florida. Where petrol is 45 p a litre. And where you can buy a 2 br condo for the price of a conservatory extension up the High Street.

Sitting here, overlooking the Gulf sunset, 78 degrees....

10/1/12 11:18 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

The Co-op said that the reason there are no small Tropicana bottles is that the fan has broken in the refrigerator next to the sandwiches.They said that the manager's manager had told them to rearrange the shelves to improve customer flow. There is a notice telling people not to leave their dogs in the foyer.

20/1/12 7:57 am
Robin from Swanage said...

The Co-op has removed all the milk bottles from the shelves to put new bar codes on the milk and put the price up to 52p per pint. Has anyone noticed how much the prices are increasing?

22/1/12 5:06 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

Su told me off today for leaving my basket on top of the trolley counter. Not much Spitfire beer left at £1.29 a pint. No wonder Mr Neame is not making much profit.

23/1/12 2:32 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

What is the point of sending out free carrot cake coupons if there are none in stock?

10/2/12 5:34 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

Carrot cake back on shelf today so I had to go to manned till to reclaim voucher. Only two trolley tills open. The one I was queueing at broke down so the check out girl just sat there instead of closing till and opening another one. I went to basket till. Card machine asked if check out person made eye contact. No. Did he help to pack bag? No. Co-op were doing special offer for Spitfire and Bishop's Finger but there were none on shelves. Poor old Mr Neame will still be making a loss because he only makes 3% profit on beer sold at full price. 90% goes on tax.

12/2/12 6:07 pm
Robin from Swanage said...

"Which" has found that the Co-op is the worst supermarket. Today the Co-op was packed. There was still no Spitfire or Bishops Finger on the shelves. There were queues everywhere. I used the self service checkout but it would not register my cherries. A voice kept on saying "help is on the way" but no-one came until I called out to someone. The chap behind was not happy about being held up.

14/2/12 1:55 pm

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