Has Sainsbury's lost it?

[Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downst]

At the checkout this morning, the queues were three deep, apart from one with only a single customer and as I approached it the lady said that she was closing, and I had to queue elsewhare.

Have Sainsbury's lost sight of their business being the serving of customers, for that lady then walked up and down, stopped to write on a slip of paper, then continued to walk up and down.

Perhaps Sainsbury's have more important things on their mind than goodwill from their customers?

In Lidl in Melksham, if there are queues, then even the shop manager stops what he is doing in order to man a checkout.

When I was a volunteer barman at a private club bar (not paid but could have two free pints), if there were customers waiting to be served, we did not wash glasses and we did not stack shelves unti all customers had been served.

[spuorgelgoog]

Tesco have the opposite approach.

They have staff sitting on checkouts twiddling their thumbs.

Owain

[Bob Eager]

The Aldi approach is that there is a 'list' for checkout duty. The person on the end checkout (pretty well always open) can see all the checkouts, and they can press a button to initiate opening of a new one, etc.

The list includes everyone (with a stated order on a given shift) who isn't currently handling frozen food.

It works well.

[R D S]

I read that Sainsbury's have decided they need to compete with Lidl etc. Ie. everything cheaper but no service whatsoever.

In Lidl in Darwen if the queues aren't past the conveyor and blocking free movement of shoppers the staff will close a till and do something else. It's a joyless experience but it's well documented that people prefer that to spending 10p more on a bag of carrots.

[Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downst]

But Tesco's (and also Lidl's) products are generally of a lower quality and in a reduced range compared to Sainsbury's, but one area where Lidl really scores is in tinned soups.

Tinned soups from Sainsbury's, which includes famous names such as Baxter's, are watery and thin in comparison to the soups from Lidl which are packed full of ingredients and at one half to one third of the price.

So, even on Sainsbury's days such as this morning, I also nip into Lidl to stock up on soup and tins of fish, the latter being much more succulent than John West the leading brand.

[Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downst]

In Chippenham, Aldi opened only recently and is up a blind alley where the traffic has been buggered up by the county council installing traffic lights on the juncion giving rise to huge queues where there were none before.

[Jethro_uk]

You could always have a laugh with their scan'n'shop, and wonder when the

1990s will call and want it back :)

Depending on the store, I much prefer the self service tills. But the longer ones where you can put your shopping crate, and scan fill and go in the blink of an eye.

I'd love to swerve Sainsburys. But annoyingly there is one item that (currently) only they do, that we enjoy eating. I have looked everywhere in the local area for an equivalent and amazingly it is unique ... which I had confirmed by a fellow customer last week who overheard me talking to SWMBO.

I realise in the spirit of DIY I should strive to make the item at home, and to hell with Sainsburys. But (previous thread convergence) domestic ovens simply aren't up to it.

[Richard]

and what is this mysterious delicacy?

[John]

Fascinating. Do tell what this unique and oven-defying ambrosia is.

[charles]

are you sure it's the lights that have buggered up the traffic. A newish Aldi in Guildford causes that problem on ajunction where there was none before - and no lights.

[Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downst]

Lots of other shops up that same blind alley and were not a problem before the traffic lights appeared.

[David Wade]

I think so. Just to make things better in ours they removed checkouts to make way for an in-store argos were there always seems to be two staff and no customers. Recently more were removed to make way for the "scan and shop" thing....

We don't have a nearby LIDL but in ALDI there are often queues and although they call staff they seem reluctant to open a till..

Many years ago When I was doing holiday fill in at Butlins if it was quiet we had to do something. No idea how many times we washed the spirit glasses...

[Scott]

Could it be that Aldi has attracted significant extra traffic?

[Scott]

Are you saying Baxters in Sainsbury is different to Baxters elsewhere? Otherwise, the more plausible explanation is that Lidl soup is packed with thickeners and additives.

[Jethro_uk]

If I told you, they'd stop doing it.

[ARW]

I wish Screwfix would stop doing customer service. The smaller of the Barnsley branches has 3 tills. All of them taken up by pillocks going through the catalogue with a sales assistant.

[Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downst]

The trafic lights were installed AFTER Aldi opened. There was no problem until the traffic lights came. I avoid that end of town now even though it had been my stomping ground for the past 45 years.

[Gareth's was W7 now W10 Downst]

Not at all. It would not surprise me if Sainsbury's soups are produced in the same factory as are Baxter's.

The more plausible explanation is that Lidl soups are packed with vegetables; try for yourself (at 1/2 to 1/3 of the price)

[Richard]

<snip>

Oh well, that's better than you having to kill me I guess.

[Richard]

For that part of town, every cloud...