Waitrose no best before dates ... helping their profits - not me ?

[AndyCr15]

Two separate retailers banning the one person tells you the issue isn't with the retailer...

Unfortunately, some customers just take the p*ss. "These grapes weren't very nice"... "okay, but you still ate 90% of them?". Some will literally be bringing six or seven different items (or just the packaging) out of their bag asking for a refund and they'll do this every week. Obviously out of date is a valid return, but I'll guarantee that was maybe one item out of hundreds.

 

[200sols]

Waitrose banned someone for returning too many poor dated foods here I think, not sure, as its talking about amazon as well.

Amazon and Waitrose ban customer for complaints and returning too much

Big online retailers are barring shoppers – sometimes for reasons they don’t understand

www.theguardian.com

It's clearly the customer is wrong in this case. Banned by multiple retailers tells you all you need to know..

 

[the shadow]

My only complaints with amazon is payment declined i have to call them almost every order now

 

[jpaul]

Article doesn't explain what specifically they bought .. if you realised the waitrose online shopping was not delivering same quality of goods as shopping in person, then you'd stop using the service, and eventually figure out for yourself why it's poorer quality.

If the online service had a premium, maybe you would expect better quality (i'm sure fortnum&maisons would be good), but otherwise it grates that there is no reduction for shopping in person, we subsidise the onliners, and, personally, with 70% purchased via low carbon transport(bicycle) I think footprint is less than ICE delivery vans.
(high carbon bicycle is reserved for sport/leisure)

 

[Tephnos]

Amazon bans can be a pain in the ass. They ban you via value, so if you order a ton of normal things then order expensive stuff like a camera and it comes busted, that will hugely swing your account into the negatives.

Short story, don't buy expensive tech on Amazon.

 

[ubersonic]

Not sure this is for consumer benefit, I think the strategy is to just sell more product of questionable/anonymous freshness.

You're correct.

 

[platinum87]

From the supermarket point of view if the food is edible at time of sale they think there is nothing wrong with that. From their perspective they make same profit on food that about a day left vs same item that has about a week left. They annoyed with having to discount almost out of date food and throwing away out of date food, the campaign is promoting it in the name of less food waste, but it just transfers waste from the supermarkets to individuals.

There is no benefit from extending the life, except in low sales stores, as if you extend the 1st batch, the 2nd batch will be extended also.

So you'd have to increase the delay between the 1st and 2nd batch, meaning a store that sells lower volume can have the shelf full for a longer period.

The supermarket wants to have waste, it means they did not miss sales, if the shelf is empty they missed sales, this is much worse than having waste.

The entire purpose of this is basically just to say X is being done about Y.

I spend a lot of time as an investor reading documents produced by various companies, there is a massive amount of ****** about how they are doing various things, this is one of those things, and you can spin that into various reasons, to keep food prices down, to be more eco friendly, etc etc.

 

[chrcoluk]

There is no benefit from extending the life, except in low sales stores, as if you extend the 1st batch, the 2nd batch will be extended also.

So you'd have to increase the delay between the 1st and 2nd batch, meaning a store that sells lower volume can have the shelf full for a longer period.

The supermarket wants to have waste, it means they did not miss sales, if the shelf is empty they missed sales, this is much worse than having waste.

The entire purpose of this is basically just to say X is being done about Y.

I spend a lot of time as an investor reading documents produced by various companies, there is a massive amount of ****** about how they are doing various things, this is one of those things, and you can spin that into various reasons, to keep food prices down, to be more eco friendly, etc etc.

If thats what they want then they not doing a very good then, as the supermarket's around here are rampant with stocking issues on shelves.

 

[Doggie2k]

Well i usually really like the stawberry's from Waitrose but just bought a pack yesterday and whilst the top ones were fine the rest were off Not what I expect from Waitrose

 

[b0rn2sk8]

News flash, Waitrose probably get their strawberries from the same set of verities and growers as everyone else.

 

[jpaul]

shelf stock... Home delivery must be a god send too, for selling older, high value meat/fish, with use by dates;
are the pickers instructed to do this, or productivity demands will ensure it.

noted that the deliveroo instant grocery delivery fad during covid is officially a fad. .. people discovered increased cost of living.

 

[Semple]

The supermarket wants to have waste, it means they did not miss sales, if the shelf is empty they missed sales, this is much worse than having waste.

Although that might be their view, in reality it's probably not very true. When most people see an empty shelf they buy an alternative, they've gone out of their way to go to that shop, they're not likely to leave without purchasing anything.

So whilst bananas might have missed some sales today, apples will have gained some additional sales because that was a viable alternative.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

You probably under estimate how predictable consumers are.

The likes of Tescos know exactly what each of their customers buy individually and for the most part they are very predictable. It’s the sole reason why club cards exist, it’s to gather data, not give you a feel good discount, that’s them paying you for said data.

I doubt people would buy apples if bananas were out of stock. They’d either not buy them or go to the next supper market round the corner. Empty shelves are absolutely lost sales.

That said, I’ve found where there are shortages, and let be honest, there are lots at the moment, their competitors are also don’t have that product. At the end of the day, they are all shopping in the same pool.

 

[AndyCr15]

I doubt people would buy apples if bananas were out of stock

No, but there are often five or six options for bananas... and maybe only two of those options are out of stock, so the customer might buy one of the others. Or maybe a certain cod line is off sale, so they buy a haddock instead.

The likes of Tescos know exactly what each of their customers buy individually and for the most part they are very predictable.

Definitely true, and it works great on lines that sell plenty. No shop should ever run out of 1pt or 2pt Semi Skimmed milk. On lines that sell only a few items a week, it doesn't work so well as at those levels you can get spikes and then periods of no sales.

 

[Droolinggimp]

Well wasted by whom is the question, more of the waste comes from the shops and suppliers. The food I throw away are the ones that go off before the date, I either take it back for a refund or throw it away.
these days I have notice food going off faster. Change is always for the company, not the consumer.

Hold on a second. You buy food and put it your fridge or cupboard. Once it goes out of date you bin it or take it back for a refund? What the actual ****. Why would you do that? Once you buy it it is upon you to use it before it goes OOD. That is not a responsibility of the shop you purchased it from. They have ZERO reason to give you a refund.

 

[Droolinggimp]

On another note about UBD and BBD. That cream you see in the chillers in the shops, Elmlea, shop brands etc, you know, the ones that have 14 days life on it. Those creams magically have 28 days life during December and January.

Edit: this also applies to many many other products.

 

[AndyCr15]

Elmlea, shop brands etc, you know, the ones that have 14 days life on it

Well... Elmlea lasts a longer than that I think, but it's not proper cream (I just google'd Elmlea cream and it comes up with 'Elmlea Double Alternative To Cream' ). Proper fresh cream, shorter. And no, I've never seen them change shelf life...

Edit: this also applies to many many other products.

No, it really doesn't. They may produce different (similar) products that last longer, like Christmas (alcohol) creams, but the same line won't change life.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

On another note about UBD and BBD. That cream you see in the chillers in the shops, Elmlea, shop brands etc, you know, the ones that have 14 days life on it. Those creams magically have 28 days life during December and January.

Edit: this also applies to many many other products.

I see Elmlea in the shops but I have no idea who buys it and I am not sure would even want it. Actual cream is just better.

 

[jpaul]

[

Once it goes out of date you bin it or take it back for a refund? What the actual ****. Why would you do that?

he didn't say he waited to see if it edible on the bbd

]

Well... Elmlea lasts a longer than that I think, but it's not proper cream (I just google'd Elmlea cream and it comes up with 'Elmlea Double Alternative To Cream' ). Proper fresh cream, shorter. And no, I've never seen them change shelf life...

yes - I assume only reason people buy it is because they prefer the taste(!), or they are really paranoid about shorter bbf date of cream
when served some a week ago, I had thought it much cheaper than cream (and you now need a mortgage for that) ... but it's more expensive, perverse,
evaporated milk is more pleasant.

Maybe elmlea's got eco credentials, like oat milk, so people are prepared to give the company a big wedge, versus buying milk and a carbon credit.

 

[jpaul]

further surreptitious price increase

Lidl to sell misshapen drought-affected vegetables​

Last week the National Farmers Union (NFU) urged supermarkets to accept more "wonky" produce and be flexible with growers.
Farmers have been forced to lower their prices for smaller-than-usual fare, while some vegetables like cauliflowers haven't grown at all.
Mr McDonnell said Lidl would not be labelling drought-affected vegetables as "wonky veg"- as some supermarkets do - saying it creates a "false market".
In a statement, the supermarket added that remaining "flexible with variations" of vegetables at different times of year would ensure "perfectly good produce isn't going to waste"

if I thought the shape was the only thing impacted, I might not be concerned, but, we now have a product of poorer quality/durability on the shelf, 'anonymously', for the same price;

if you've inspected cauliflours recently you can already see this in action