If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Will someone tell Ciao!
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Will someone tell Ciao!
Member since:29.07.2007
Reviews:205
Members who trust:100
As they are Britain's biggest retail company they do get their fair share of criticism, along with their arch rivals Asda, Morrison's & Sainsbury's they all get blamed for putting small shopkeepers out of business, giving a rough deal to their suppliers & land banking.
However, as a mere man in the street on a pitiful wage I try not trouble myself with these problems, I have enough of my own. I hate food shopping & as my partner doesn't drive it means a weekly visit to the supermarket every week for the two of us to get it all over & done with. Just the other day I purchased a small carton of milk & a bottle of water from a corner shop. I'm all for helping the small shopkeeper & don't mind paying a few pennies extra for goods but this was daylight robbery. The milk cost me 92p (Tesco 36p) & the water 89p (Tesco 39p), it wouldn't have been so bad if the guy serving behind the counter could manage a smile but he had a severe attitude problem when I questioned his milk prices! I think if he had smiled his face would have cracked!!!
I have a moderate sized Tesco one mile away from home & I have to say they do rather a good job. Its open from 6am in the morning to midnight most days, the shelves are usually well stocked & the staff are actually quite good. The place is alwys clean & its always easy to get parked outside. Generally the prices are OK; I think Asda could match them on many goods despite price comparisons on each isle to state that Tesco are cheapest. I do notice that when the two of them have a price war, the prices do get reduced on fast moving items like mile & bread but Tesco increases the prices on other items to compensate, so I take these price wars with a pinch of salt (29p a pack). Just like the other supermarkets their vegetables are tasteless & buying meat from the butchery section is a 'hit or miss' affair. I like their wine section & their fresh bakery section is quite good despite the grumpy baker. Although its not a huge store they do offer many non food items, their CDs & DVDs are very keenly priced as is their books. They sell clothes, these are very competitively priced in particular children's clothes & adults underwear. I can but stamps there & I can even post letters as they have an internal post box. Their fresh flower section would put the local florist to shame for half the price & they have great selection of magazines.
The staff are always helpful when you can't find something, they employ many Polish staff who have trouble understanding English but they at least go & find help if they get stuck. Their check outs are very efficient; you never have to queue at all as they put extra staff on the check outs during busy periods. They provide self serve check outs which are really fast & have a 'check out captain' that will assist you to find the shortest queue. The Tesco clubcard is brilliant; I use my points for air miles which gives me free flights to Europe each year which for me is a big saving. You get loads of discount vouchers & vouchers to earn more points with; they even give you points for reusing your carrier bags & provide bags for life. Pity the Government couldn't take a leaf out of their book, rewards for being environmentally friendly instead of punishment & fines! They have two cash machines outside which never become empty (take note greedy banks) & they are free to use. Yes, I've had reason to complain usually about goods that are not up to scratch & not once have they questioned my decisions. They always offer a replacement item or cash back, no messing about. Gripes? The trolleys aren't always available as the young lads can be a bit slow gathering them up & that is about it. Like them or loath them, Tesco make the effort & for that I cannot criticise, they save me money & I can do most of my shopping under one roof once a week & that means a lot to me.
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Our nearest Tesco, is open 24 hours, and it's always busy, no matter what time I have been (never been in the middle of the night though).
The clubcard system is really good especially since they introduced the green club points. I do find it somewhat amazing though that so many people don't use their own bags. (lady infront of us last week used 15 new carrier bags) that's 15 points she lost out on, if she uses the same amount of bags each week that's rather a lot of points she's loosing out on. I do think their prices are pretty reasonable and am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. AS far as the everyday items such as milk etc. then Tesco is far cheaper than our local grocers.
vonney1967 27.11.2007 22:35
Well structured review so i rated it a very helpful, i do however find your comments on independant retailers a little harsh as my local independant is much cheaper than Tesco's is for milk and bread, a loaf thats 1 pound 30 in tesco is 1 pound 8 pence in my local shop and for 99 p you can buy the largest size of milk which in tesco sets me back atleast 1 pound 15.
Advantages: Open 24 hours, good range under one roof, staff are helpful Disadvantages: store is very big meaning a long walk if you are nipping in for a couple of things
Leigh1 05.06.2003 ·
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Review of Tesco (Shop)
Advantages: Clubcard, Great Value, Large Stores some 24hr, Convenient, Friendly Staff Disadvantages: Company too Big, Taking over, putting small shops out of business
TheHairyGodmother 18.02.2007 (18.02.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Tesco (Shop)
Nov 27th, 2007
exceptional by (5%):
very helpful by (89%):
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