Real life MMD: Time to tell on the veg hoarders?

cplatten

rinabean wrote: »

This question is bizarre. How could anybody who is not staff of a supermarket know what anyone is doing for several hours in one? Seems like they're one of these "stockpilers", but they don't have sharp enough elbows to get anything themselves.

I see what you are implying but I used to do small, regular shops as it was on the way home from work and you would see the same people hanging around between 4:00 - 6:00 and see the greedy behaviour. As mentioned before they were usually Eastern European and in groups and never bought anything full priced.

Plus, the supermarket had a Starbucks coffee shop and it was easy to have a coffee and watch all manner of behaviour in the store and at the pharmacy over a period of time.

Fujiko

rinabean wrote: »

This question is bizarre. How could anybody who is not staff of a supermarket know what anyone is doing for several hours in one? Seems like they're one of these "stockpilers", but they don't have sharp enough elbows to get anything themselves.

I have just checked the date and it is not 1st April! I too would love to know exactly who has the time to spend "hours" in a supermarket just watching other shoppers. Surely this defeats the whole point of supermarket shopping? Perhaps a member of staff with an axe to grind? Please, give us a more credible question next time.

cplatten

Fujiko wrote: »

I have just checked the date and it is not 1st April! I too would love to know exactly who has the time to spend "hours" in a supermarket just watching other shoppers. Surely this defeats the whole point of supermarket shopping? Perhaps a member of staff with an axe to grind? Please, give us a more credible question next time.

This is a credible question. From the people posting here it seems that a number of us have seen this behaviour in supermarkets.

At the Sainsbury's I used to go to, it was so regular you couldn't miss it. It was obnoxious, brazen and aggressive at the most busy time of day so it was easy to see. The "shoppers" would get into arguments with the supermarket staff saying that it was their "right" to have reductions on food going out of date. It would take a strong manager and the intervention of the security guard to stand up to these "customers". I got talking to one of the store managers about it and they were just so fed up with it.

Especially, as it was their flagship store, and a nice place to shop at all other times. But it was still South-East London.

MC_Emily_2

If this really is a problem, surely the best way to deal with it is for the store managers to stop reducing items altogether until the undesirable 'customers' go away. If the sharp practices are giving the stores a bad reputation, surely the managers would rather see a minor dip in profit on the reduced items, by not having undesirables in, but a larger profit in full price items, by not having good customers put off? That would appear to be common sense to me.

stphnstevey

If somebody wants to put several hours in for meagor savings, then to be honest, let them! Be thankfull you have something else in your life

PS - I'd be interested to know the best times to go to hopefully pick up bargains?

cplatten

That is one of their options. The store in question tackled it best by stopping the practice of marking down at regular times, even though the "customers" with the full trollies would still approach any staff nearby and hassle them to try to find out when the person with the stickers was coming around!

Stores don't have to reduce items, but it is a better policy than letting food go to waste and not everything (such as uncooked ready meals) can be easily redistributed to charities.

tallgirld

Stockpiling fruit and veg for hours!! I think that's really sad.

I wouldn't say anything to the management. Sounds like they need it more than you.

cplatten

stphnstevey wrote: »

PS - I'd be interested to know the best times to go to hopefully pick up bargains?

I believe there is already a thread on the Forum if you want to search for it.

It depends on the store and their attitude to reductions. It also depends on the sort of customers they have. I find, personally, the better the area, the less likely you are to find "undesirables" - which leaves more bargains for me!

I shop in a posh supermarket in a posh area now. I get lots of bargains because the clientele are too posh to have to save money! You know - the type that will only buy one item even though they are on offer as a BOGOF! They don't even bother looking at the offers - let alone being pushy over reductions.

So much less stressful and we get really top quality food reduced a few hours before they close in the evening.

I've gone full circle since the infamous Sainsbury's...

SuzieCantSleep

gobbythehouseelf wrote: »

Years ago I worked in a supermarket and had to do the reductions. After experiencing the "horders" who used to collect the items and then stick the under my nose to reduce I used to collect all items that would be reduced in a trolley, take them to the store room and reduce the items. I then just pushed the trolley out to the hoards. It was like watching a shoal of piranhas but it stopped those people who used to walk around with their trolley collecting items and waiting for a final reduction. Definitely tell the store management - these people are ruthless. I have many more stories of the tricks people get up to!

yeah I used to do the reductions on the bakery and that's exactly what I used to do, you could get hurt if you weren't careful!! lol
Having a crowd around you shoving things under your nose also turns a 10 minute job into a half hour one!
Tell the managment

Carriannelouise

There is a lady who frequents my local tescos and she arrives at around 4pm, she will stay in the isles talking to her friends until 11pm! all the while scouring the shelves for anything which is going out of date or coming up to the sell by date. She then goes to the staff which know her and they stand there reducing the lot for her! she literally does it every day and when staff tell her not to do it she pretends she can't speak english!!!

She drives me bonkers, she has snatched things from my hands before now, she is very rude and will ask customers "if they really want that as its out of date tomorrow" she is really rude and will fill her trolly every day (god only knows what she does with it all). she is quite a large lady in both senses of the word very tall and wide and has been known to push others out of the way if she sees something being reduced. she will use her trolly and family members to block in the reduction shelves so no one can get in, she will just stand there loading her trolly. at the end when she goes through the till it bearly ever comes to more than £20 for the lot...

I have told the manager on endless occasions as have others but they maintain that she is a good customer and comes from a different culture and doesnt speak english! she does very well, but gets away with it. she is still there every evening parked in a disabled bay with no badges. i have recently stopped using that tesco because of it, it got to the point that you couldnt get a look in as she was just snatching anything and everything off the shelves even snatching from under your nose saying that she had it first!. horrible and it is a horrible situation to be in, it makes everyone feel uncomfortable i say tell management and if you dont get any joy there than maybe shop somewhere else if you can x