Posting on Grabbit

nikkilala_2

Anyakitten, I think you have just echoed the thoughts of an awful lot of people on the forum, so thank you.

artha

anyakitten wrote: »

Apologies Artha - my spelling is as bad as my typing. I actually meant illaudable now that I've used spell checker.

I have only been using MSE since July 2011 and I find that the majority are well balanced and have much preferred the politeness of this site to others, for example HUKD which I find quite critical. This has changed though within the last couple of weeks-ish where I find that forumites have moaned at other peoples efforts to alert others to money saving opportunities because they don't like that they are at a lot of the same stores. This has culminated in this weekends moving of posts to other boards which is really difficult to follow. I hope that the site can put this behind them and go back to what it once was

I also have to say my findings are exactly the opposite to you. Before this site made me think to check them I never used to check my receipts. Sainsburys is the nearest supermarket to me and since I began to check I have never been overcharged there, whereas in the past 3 months I have been overcharged 5 times in Tescos - completely innocently. Again only my opinion but I do know there are some who have found it to be the same.

I also think that press coverage is very subjective as the media tend to chase stories which will gain the most subscribers. A story every time someone is overcharged isn't newsworthy unless there is some form of large action against an organisation - for example when Tesco was fined 600 Euros recently in Ireland for 8 separate overcharges - or when they were fined £18,000 when they underfilled petrol tanks in South Wales for 9 months. Or again massive undercharges such as with chocolate oranges which made the Daily Mail. I'm sure there is press coverage for other supermarkets too.

I have to say the grabbits board never seems to have as many other supermarket glitches as Tesco though. Maybe we all just love Tesco so much we don't shop in other supermarkets

Thank you for taking the time to post and provide that factual information. I was beginning to despair that every time I posted something that challenged peoples views or made them think I only got abusive or very shallow replies and no evidence. I hope you went back and got the DTD on your overcharges just as I would.

As to the overcharges making the press I'm very surprised that with the persistent reports about apparent overcharging that it hasn't made the news. When energy companies do it then it soon hits the headlines albeit in the red tops or daily mail who are always hungry for company bashing stories.

Once again thank you. Perhaps I might have to rethink my Tesco overcharging bias

Milo90

artha can i just point out that if you simply put 'tesco overcharging' into google you'll find plenty of results, 170,000 in fact, ignore the top one as that is to this board, and the results go back years.

Here's just one of them
http://www.freewebs.com/sql-provida/policy.html

You say "I'm very surprised that with the persistent reports about apparent overcharging that it hasn't made the news" but i think you have missed the fact that it has made the news several times, maybe you've not seen it but i can assure you it has.

artha

Milo90 wrote: »

artha can i just point out that if you simply put 'tesco overcharging' into google you'll find plenty of results, 170,000 in fact, ignore the top one as that is to this board, and the results go back years.

Here's just one of them
http://www.freewebs.com/sql-provida/policy.html

You say "I'm very surprised that with the persistent reports about apparent overcharging that it hasn't made the news" but i think you have missed the fact that it has made the news several times, maybe you've not seen it but i can assure you it has.

OK point taken. Thanks for that

artha

Milo90 wrote: »

artha can i just point out that if you simply put 'tesco overcharging' into google you'll find plenty of results, 170,000 in fact, ignore the top one as that is to this board, and the results go back years.

Here's just one of them
http://www.freewebs.com/sql-provida/policy.html

You say "I'm very surprised that with the persistent reports about apparent overcharging that it hasn't made the news" but i think you have missed the fact that it has made the news several times, maybe you've not seen it but i can assure you it has.

Hey, you're absolutely right about the number of incidences. I do however note that your link is to a site that is vehemently anti tesco and may have a bit of bias;). What I still don't understand, from my background in statistics, is why as a large volume shopper at Tesco I have escaped the overcharges. It may be that all of my shopping is done at a store that is very well run (or not depending which side of the fence you are on) and possibly explains why the multitude of opportunities that are posted never seem to be available in my store.

A little while ago I did eavesdrop on the group staff sessions that take place every morning in my store and heard that the main board were visiting in a few days time to look at how the store was run. With hindsight perhaps this was to see what lessons could be learnt for the group?

Wings_of_Ambition

I am a Grabbit Board Guide.

My current policy is this: if something is a short-term offer, it can stay on the Grabbit board. If it is not short-term, e.g. a permanent price reduction or a good permanent deal or even a VERY good permanent deal, it will be moved, regardless of how many people may miss it. If it is not a short-term offer, it is not a Grabbit, and should not be on the Grabbit board.

As for the poll, I am taking little notice of it, and my reason is this: I have read many threads over the past few days where arguments about this board have been taking place, and have seen many, many posts almost begging people to go and vote 'Yes'. As such, my personal opinion is that the results are skewed and irrelevant.

MSE Andrea's post at the beginning of this thread sums up the wishes and views of the MSE team, and it is this on which I have based my policy regarding the moving of threads.

I'd like to remind you that BG's are volunteers (I have a full-time job, and do this to help a site I love), and usually long-term members of the forums. This:

cambermam wrote: »

Maybe board guides will realise that we all care about our forum and learn not to change things without asking the people who make this place the success it is.

...is not appreciated. I'd like to remind you that it is not YOUR forum or my forum. It belongs to MSE and they will decide how it is run. Don't forget that.

I understand that emotions on this subject are high, but the truth of the matter is that you cannot please all of the people all of the time, and EVERYONE needs to accept a level of compromise. Even now, I still get PM's every day from users with lists of threads which they think should be moved off the Grabbit board. Some of these are valid, some are not. Only a short while ago, the main complaint of the board was that every thread was a Tesco thread. Now it has swung the other way, with the loudest complaints being that there are too many threads being moved. It is a delicate balance, and there are just 5 Grabbit BG's (possibly 4 after the disgusting abuse directed at our most recent recruit) to deal with it all, so we may not get it right all of the time.

I hope that clears up a few things, and goes some way to explaining what criteria I personally use when deciding whether to move a Grabbit. I welcome any questions or comments via PM, but any abuse will, as always, be reported.

Wings

[Deleted User]

Sounds good Wings , as in if it is a short term offer it stays put from now on???

The grabbits which were moved WERE short term offers , sometimes VERY short term as in you blink you miss it and if you don't SEE it you definitely miss it! lol

The spirit of MSE is helping each other save money and tbh it was frustrating to see valid grabbit offers being moved away from the grabbit board so harder to find , if at all , and so the posters efforts and the benefit to MSE'ers was diminished

I do not agree with abuse of any kind on MSE or otherwise but do understand why so many people were upset ..... There are ALWAYS going to be some people who write to you complaining there are too many Tesco threads , I understand that but the majority of people on the grabbits have a enough patience to filter through the deals knowing that although it may not benefit them personally those threads are a HUGE benefit to other people and I do feel upset when those who are finding it difficult due to the price of food etc would potentially miss out on saving money on their shopping to feed their families..

Thanks for all your hard work , know it cannot be easy , but the 'sudden' change did throw people alot as things were running pretty smoothly before a large amount of the grabbits were suddenly being moved out of the blue!! :eek:

[Deleted User]

bobajob_1966 wrote: »

Then they need to get out more - very upset by some posts being moved on an internet forum, really?

Yep , if you read the posts dotted around the forums on this subject you will find that yes , alot of people are upset by the moving of valid grabbits.... ( enough to start a poll as well )

I for one do have a life , hardly ever shop at Tesco's , but like the fact that if a fab deal is posted some kids out there are going to get some good hearty meals this winter :D

( eg pork mince shepherds pie with veg .... the pork mince grabbit disappeared so hardly anyone could find it , including myself even though the price will be back up by the time I go to T's on Friday! lol )

My daughter is a working single Mum and she finds it difficult to manage even on an average wage so I often tell her about the deals I find on here , the key is finding them & if they are all moved all over the place it makes it difficult to find and the fact that I DO have a life ie am a very busy person as many are on here means I do not have the time to hunt around the forums for deals..

[Deleted User]

artha wrote: »

I think they do get out but spend most of their time in Tescos which is why moving a few posts affects their whole life;)

Artha , I was defending your post but aren't you generalising here? .... I personally only shop in T's about once a month as like many people I don't have one nearby and moving the posts didn't affect my whole life but to a family on a low income it can make all the difference

Raven

A couple of really mature posts there from both Wings and cazzap, well done to both of you. :T



All I know is I'm struggling to find any bargains here on the grabbit the last few days and its becoming a lot of hassle to find posts that were here.

I use lots of other forums on the site and will continue to do so but I must say in trying to avoid ending up like h u k d thats exactly what it is starting to look like - except an old out of date version.


The Grabbit has always been a source of problems but its also always been a magnet for generating new visitors (who in time learn there is so much more to this site - unlike other already mentioned websites) why dont we just create a sub-forum on grabbit for Bargain Discussion that would in effect separate all arguing posters instead of neutering the grabbit board and potentially losing new users.


Back to my point, if I cant find the threads/topics/posts im after - how do we expect the new folk we advise to visit the site to find the stuff they are after?


I'm not a big poster (and if you notice - neither are many of the grabbit regulars!!! ) . . . . we all gravitate to other parts of the board but (imho) grabbit has worked well over the last few years in attracting and retaining new folk to mse.



Yes, once again - changes are needed but not to the long-term detriment of a fantastic website that was (in most peoples opinion) working really well up to about 14 days ago . . . .


Blame Terry's or Te$co but dont spoil the gateway to the site that is Grabbit, recommending folk to visit the "Shop but dont Drop" will never succeed as well in driving traffic - look at the numbers in the Gone subthread, compared to the grabbit over the past few days.


The figures are not good That said most posters are on the same side but just seem to dissagree about delivery surely this is not a sizeable problem that should upset the site.




Thats just my opinion and its nice to able to exxpress it, so thanks.