Tesco a rant

Gavin83

CWCDiver wrote: »

If you cannot see why three people in these positions of responsibility would be more credible then I think you need to readdress your way of thinking.

I cannot imagine a situation in which we would conspire together to raise a complaint with Tesco about lorries breaking the law and endangering the public and property.

Tesco have had their chance to rectify the situation and they (in the form of the local manager) denied it had ever happened.

I meant more in a general sense than this particular example as it should be obvious to the manager considering several people have complained and there would be no reason to make it up.

However I really don't think you can apply more credibility to certain professions and I don't feel I need to adjust my thinking on this. We really can't live in a society where this form of thinking takes place. Is it really acceptable if a vicars story is always taken as truth over the story of a postman for example? Everyone is capable of deceiving others and capable of illegal activities and I don't see why the story of one of them professions should be believed over anyone else, which is how the original post came across.

I'd always take the word from a policeman, vicar or doctor on the same footing as any other job and I really don't understand why is should be any other way.

ZenUK

If you really believe the daily run of tesco lorries thorough the road are causing subsidence then get a structural engineer report commissioned. Gather evidence then claim off Tesco's Public Liability insurance. Home insurance usually cover £50,000 legal expenses but check small print.

Typical policy link pdf

missminx

The driver's tachograph would back you up as his driving speed and route times will be different according to the route taken. Is there much difference in distance between the routes? This would back you up.

mad_dr

Ah - one of the witnesses was a policeman - no wonder the manager didn't believe them!

As for readjusting the way of thinking when it comes to considering the aforementioned professions as being more trustworthy than others, I'm afraid that the actions of many people in these particular positions recently has made a lot of people do exactly that.

And of course, we should all bear in mind that the actions of a few shouldn't condemn the rest... I'm sure that the OP would agree.

Good luck with the HGVs!

liam8282

CWCDiver wrote: »

I live on a road with a weight restriction.

This is in place due to the number of very old properties in the street that have a basement, in the past there has been subsidence on the street due to the weight of vehicles travelling down it.

The Tesco lorries are constantly violating this weight limit, despite there being another route available to them out of the village.

Last weekend one of the lorries was stopped by an elderly resident , the driver of said vehicle launched into a string of abuse at being delayed and proceeded to then drive half on the pavement to get around the obstruction in the road.

The manager of the local branch of Tesco has been approached during the week, and has informed us that NO Tesco vehicles ever use the street, and that we are making it up. He was informed that we all witnessed it and he said we were making it up and asked us to leave.

This week there has been even more lorry traffic from Tesco and the manager refuses to engage in conversation about it.

An email has now been sent to Tesco HQ.

Grr bloody bunch of muppets.

It is the police that should be enforcing the weight limit restriction on the roads, not Tesco.

Yes Tesco should have a word with their drivers about it, but ultimately it is the police that you have to contact if you want the HGV's to stop using the road.

If you are in the police, why wasn't this your first port of call?

Next it will be complaining to Tesco about their customers driving through your village....

Azari

liam8282 wrote: »

It is the police that should be enforcing the weight limit restriction on the roads, not Tesco.

Yes Tesco should have a word with their drivers about it, but ultimately it is the police that you have to contact if you want the HGV's to stop using the road.

If you are in the police, why wasn't this your first port of call?

Next it will be complaining to Tesco about their customers driving through your village....

Well, the first thing the police would do would be to contact Tesco and ask them to ensure their drivers obeyed the rules.

So it was perfectly sensible for OP to contact them first and, had the Tesco manager shown a bit of nous and responsibility, avoid wasting the time of the local police.

I would have thought that all Tesco managers would be under strict instructions to use a standard procedure for community relations incidents such as this.

liam8282

Azari wrote: »

Well, the first thing the police would do would be to contact Tesco and ask them to ensure their drivers obeyed the rules.

What they wouldn't go to the road in question and see if any HGV's were actually using it? Wouldn't they need to substantiate the claims first?

Azari wrote: »

So it was perfectly sensible for OP to contact them first and, had the Tesco manager shown a bit of nous and responsibility, avoid wasting the time of the local police.

The OP said they are actually in the Police force, so they should know that it is the Police force that enforces weight restrictions on roads, not the Tesco Manager. So not that sensible really.

Would the OP have contacted the Tesco Manager if he had seen a person in a Tesco uniform fighting in the street?

Would they have contacted the Tesco Manager if he had seen a Tesco Lorry speeding?

Well, by the looks of it they probably would, but it wouldn't be the sensible thing to do.

Azari wrote: »

I would have thought that all Tesco managers would be under strict instructions to use a standard procedure for community relations incidents such as this.

I would have thought so too, but as we only have the OPs word on the matter, I guess we will just have to make our own minds up.

The OP (a police officer), a vicar, and a GP, walk into Tesco, confront the Manager, with no proof. No doubt the Manager will have been somewhat intimidated at 3 people turning up unannounced and confronting him, casting allegations, no doubt being argumentative, again with no proof. The Manager denied it ever happened, fair enough as there is no proof, and asked them to leave. Seems very reasonable to me.

The OP needs to get proof and go to the police if he wants anything done about the drivers who are committing a driving offence (rather than going to Tesco to complain to the manager).

The Tesco manager may not even have any authority over the drivers anyway, the Manager will be the store manager, and the drivers will not be employed by that Tesco store.

Azari

liam8282 wrote: »

What they wouldn't go to the road in question and see if any HGV's were actually using it? Wouldn't they need to substantiate the claims first?

Yeah, of course. Just phone up the police and they will send a car along with a couple of officers to sit there for a few days until to see if a Tesco lorry appears.

The OP said they are actually in the Police force, so they should know that it is the Police force that enforces weight restrictions on roads, not the Tesco Manager. So not that sensible really.

Two of the things that make a good police officer are avoiding unnecessary confrontation and good use of time. If they can solve the problem by having a quiet word with someone that is what they'll do.

Would the OP have contacted the Tesco Manager if he had seen a person in a Tesco uniform fighting in the street?

Not the same thing at all. In that case the employee would not have been acting as part of his employment duties.

Would they have contacted the Tesco Manager if he had seen a Tesco Lorry speeding?

Again, very likely. A lot of companies actually solicit comments on their driver's behaviour. If any decent manager was informed of an incident where one of his drivers was speeding he would certainly act on it as companies don't want bad publicity.

And, again, the police are not going to set up a speed check on a minor road just on the off chance that a Tesco lorry is going to commit an offence. They would need a lot of reports over a significant period to prompt them to devote the manpower to that.

The OP (a police officer), a vicar, and a GP, walk into Tesco, confront the Manager, with no proof. No doubt the Manager will have been somewhat intimidated at 3 people turning up unannounced and confronting him, casting allegations, no doubt being argumentative, again with no proof. The Manager denied it ever happened, fair enough as there is no proof, and asked them to leave. Seems very reasonable to me.

If you think that's reasonable, I think that tells us a lot about you, to be quite honest.

The Tesco manager may not even have any authority over the drivers anyway, the Manager will be the store manager, and the drivers will not be employed by that Tesco store.

That has already been pointed out.

However he should have passed the complaint to the appropriate manager.

What he most certainly should not have done was accuse three of his customers of lying.

I'll bet if any senior Tesco management are reading this they are breathing a hugh sigh of relief that you don't work for them.

liam8282

Azari wrote: »

Yeah, of course. Just phone up the police and they will send a car along with a couple of officers to sit there for a few days until to see if a Tesco lorry appears.

Probably not, but at least you would be complaining to the people who can actually enforce the road regulations and can actually do something about it.

Azari wrote: »

Two of the things that make a good police officer are avoiding unnecessary confrontation and good use of time. If they can solve the problem by having a quiet word with someone that is what they'll do.

So you call approaching the Tesco manager, off duty, with 2 other people, avoiding confrontation?

Or are you actually pointing out that the OP may not be a good police officer?

They did not solve the problem. They caused unnecessary confrontation. They complained to the wrong person. They wasted their time.

Azari wrote: »

Not the same thing at all. In that case the employee would not have been acting as part of his employment duties.

Fair enough, a bit of an exaggeration on my part. But I think you get the point.

Azari wrote: »

Again, very likely. A lot of companies actually solicit comments on their driver's behaviour. If any decent manager was informed of an incident where one of his drivers was speeding he would certainly act on it as companies don't want bad publicity.

Maybe if the OP had of approached the drivers manager, and not the store manager that might have been a step in the right direction.

But as the OP is specifically commenting on a driver of a HGV, driving on a weight restricted road, that is a driving offence that should be reported to the appropriate authorities. As I said, Tesco do not enforce road regulations, neither do their store managers.

Azari wrote: »

And, again, the police are not going to set up a speed check on a minor road just on the off chance that a Tesco lorry is going to commit an offence. They would need a lot of reports over a significant period to prompt them to devote the manpower to that.

Again, I think you got my point.

But to add to this, have you thought that the actual number of HGV lorries actually driving down this road is too insignificant for the police to investigate.

The only people bothered may be the OP, the vicar and the GP. They may have never complained, but have a bee in their bonnet over this one particular driver who dared to argue with them, when they would not move an obstruction out of his way. Sounds to me, like one of the 3 has delibrately parked in a way as to cause an obstruction, therefore causing more confrontation. A pattern emerges, they seem to be a quite confrontational bunch these 3 pillars of the community.

Azari wrote: »

If you think that's reasonable, I think that tells us a lot about you, to be quite honest.

What exactly do you think it says about me?

Because I think that proof is required before acting on a random complaint, what exactly does that say about a person?

Azari wrote: »

That has already been pointed out.

However he should have passed the complaint to the appropriate manager.

What he most certainly should not have done was accuse three of his customers of lying.

You only have the OPs word that the Manager has accused them of lying, perhaps they could be exaggerating slightly? They are venting about the Tesco manager after all.

What exactly did the 3 people say when they confronted the Tesco Manager? It is very vague and all hearsay, you believe what you want.

Personally I believe a more likely train of events is, the 3 people went into tesco all guns blazing. They started ranting about HGVs driving down their street. The manager probably didn't even know what they were talking about, asked for some proof or evidence of their claims, the 3 didn't have any, so argued some more, so then the manager asked them to leave.

Azari wrote: »

I'll bet if any senior Tesco management are reading this they are breathing a hugh sigh of relief that you don't work for them.

Yes, but they will be headhunting yourself, they will want to sign you up as the head honcho customer relations director, you should expect a knock at the door any second.

Or maybe not.

CWCDiver

liam8282 wrote: »

What they wouldn't go to the road in question and see if any HGV's were actually using it? Wouldn't they need to substantiate the claims first?

No, of course they wouldn't. My local policing unit is massively undermanned and this is not a priority for them, they are busy dealing with actual life or death 999 calls, they do not have time to sit on a quiet residential street for hours on end in the hope a Tesco lorry will go past.

The OP said they are actually in the Police force, so they should know that it is the Police force that enforces weight restrictions on roads, not the Tesco Manager. So not that sensible really.

I have no idea who enforces weight restrictions, it is nothing to do with my specialisation however I know the Tesco manager could quite easily stop the issue being an issue.

Would the OP have contacted the Tesco Manager if he had seen a person in a Tesco uniform fighting in the street?

Yep

Would they have contacted the Tesco Manager if he had seen a Tesco Lorry speeding?

Nope

Well, by the looks of it they probably would, but it wouldn't be the sensible thing to do.

Why on earth would it not be the sensible thing to do?

The OP (a police officer), a vicar, and a GP, walk into Tesco, confront the Manager, with no proof. No doubt the Manager will have been somewhat intimidated at 3 people turning up unannounced and confronting him, casting allegations, no doubt being argumentative, again with no proof. The Manager denied it ever happened, fair enough as there is no proof, and asked them to leave. Seems very reasonable to me.

How very odd, you clearly have !!!!!! all idea of customer service.

And in relation to "turning up unannounced and confronting him, casting allegations, no doubt being argumentative, again with no proof" yes we turned up unannounced, and we weren't casting allegations, we were informing him that members of his organisation were breaking the law, and endangering safety while they were representing the organisation for which he is the local most senior person.
And no, none of us were argumentative.

liam8282 wrote: »

So you call approaching the Tesco manager, off duty, with 2 other people, avoiding confrontation?

There was no confrontation, in actual fact it was to prevent confrontation that we went there.

Or are you actually pointing out that the OP may not be a good police officer?

I am a brilliant police officer.

They did not solve the problem. They caused unnecessary confrontation. They complained to the wrong person. They wasted their time.

How is he the wrong person, he is the MANAGER of Tesco, even if I made a complaint to the trolley boy it would have been the right person.

The only people bothered may be the OP, the vicar and the GP. They may have never complained, but have a bee in their bonnet over this one particular driver who dared to argue with them, when they would not move an obstruction out of his way. Sounds to me, like one of the 3 has delibrately parked in a way as to cause an obstruction, therefore causing more confrontation. A pattern emerges, they seem to be a quite confrontational bunch these 3 pillars of the community.

You're an idiot, the obstruction was actually an elderly owner of a cottage further up the street who has had significant subsidence due to vehicles breaking the weight restriction. And yes before we went over to Tesco there was quite some agreement from almost every other house on the street that it was a problem.

You only have the OPs word that the Manager has accused them of lying, perhaps they could be exaggerating slightly? They are venting about the Tesco manager after all.

The manager quite clearly said we were making it up and that it didn't happen, simple as that.


I had hoped that this issue could be resolved by going and speaking to the manager of, and therefore the local representative of Tesco without the need to 1. waste the time of the already very overstretched police force, 2. without needing to cause huge expense to the legal system, 3. without getting any drivers into trouble and 4. without needing to cause any unnecessary ill will between Tesco and the local community. I like to think of it as a common sense approach to policing, just because something is an offence doesn't mean it will warrant the full force of the law.

But you are quite correct it is a police matter so next time I see it happen I shall go and deal with it.

Oh just a little FYI, Tesco customer care people did seem to think it was an issue for the store manager to deal with.

" Our new store manager has addressed this matter with his Store Director and they have identified each of the Distribution Centres responsible for delivering to our store. My colleagues are arranging meetings with each of the Depot Managers, looking at what can be done to ensure drivers do not continue to use your street in the future."