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

JayD

I think the people who do the stockpiling must be pretty desperate. Times are hard. Leave them to it.

tramsay

I'm amazed that people hang around in supermarkets for hours, that is surreal

MC_Emily_2

Perhaps they can't afford to heat their home? However, I'm still waiting for someone to explain how these people 'stockpile' the items!!

madeofhonour

Surely it would be much fairer both to customers and staff if the supermarkets could set aside a small amount of room for a 'reduced items' counter - like the deli and the fishmonger/butchery ones, with staff serving behind the counter.

More protection for the staff - the customers all have a chance to buy something - and there'd be less of the ones who are hoarding great quantities!

MC_Emily_2

But just HOW are they 'hoarding great quantities'?

mimipa

Well I posted the original question and I'm surprised by how presumptuous some ppl are! Anyway, I thought I'd clarify:

I don't hang around myself for hours. I happen to do the weekly shop on weekend afternoons when i'm not working, so I see the same folk each time. Some of the regulars have actually said, to justify their behaviour, that they've been lurking around since the store opened so they're somehow entitled to it. I feel bad for the mother who drags her kids around all day to guard the trolley but there you go. fair enough, but it seems a little warped to withhold things that others might want to buy, albeit at a higher price, simply because they know it'll get marked down if it doesn't sell.

As for people 'needing' the bargains, I know it doesn't apply to everyone, but plenty of the hoarders have a disposable attitude- if you buy a pack of spuds for 7p and only eat a couple before binning the rest, they see it's no great loss. I know a few of the regulars as neighbours and so on, who live alone or with their partner, so I've no idea what they do with all that food. From my perspective, I take care of three disabled adults and am the only one able to work in my household, so these bargains are vital to ensure we can all have a healthy diet. We don't buy more than we need and if there's anything I can preserve, I do that. But like a poster mentioned about the avocado incident, I see plenty of people who'll nab a dozen boxes of strawberries simply because they can. When it gets nuts, I just leave the fray, but it really isn't appropriate.
They do seriously get aggressive and it is unpleasant. I don't have much time to go shopping and I go to the nearest place rather than trekking halfway across town. I'm working hard to improve our financial situation so we don't need to rely on these bargains, but while we do, I don't want to feel intimidated in a supermarket of all places.

purple.sarah

If they're aggressive definitely report it. People get very competitive around the reduced section at the store I work in, crowding members of staff and insulting or intimidating other customers! I was once nearly hit by a trolley when I was walking past and a woman threw it to one side to dive on a reduced pork chop! I like a bargain and always have a look at reductions but they're way OTT! I really think the store should have security on that aisle at reduction times! I have also seen people lurking for a long time in the area, while I would just do the rest of my shopping and check back periodically. I don't understand how they are hoarding items for hours though because in our store the assistant only reduces the items that are still on the shelf, they won't reduce them if they are already in a customer's trolley, suggest this store adopts the same policy if they do not already. If a few people are buying up everything that is unsporting, but harder for the store to stop because they want everything on the reduced section to be bought up or it will just be wasted. Report unpleasant behaviour by writing a letter or speaking to a manager.

BJV

I am not so worried about the other shoppers, after all they are all in the same position looking for a bargain and trying to make their money go further.

What upsets me is the looks you get from the staff. They normally seam to be early twenties and seam to enjoy the fact the you are at there mercy. ESp the meat.

I was in Tesco's last week and I heard a staff member being trained on how to reduce the items by another member of staff.

Lets put it this way they did not have any regard for shoppers and an even lesser one for anyone trying to find a bargain.

Edwardia

I was in Sainsbury's on Tuesday evening and there were two assistants who had barricaded themselves in against the chillers as they reduced, with waist high trollies in front of them so that the bargain hunters couldn't get to the stuff before they had reduced it all.

Had made myself a list of organic produce I wanted, some of which was on special offer. Wasn't having much luck finding it much don't normally use that branch so asked an asst. She very kindly grabbed stuff for me, and went through my list to make sure we had gathered as much as they had.

She spotted that I had some organic strawberries which were that day's date in the trolley so she reduced them for me

She also told me the best time to buy organic veg/fruit was in the morning and suggested another store with a bigger range which would deliver to my town.

I got some YS organic stuff at Waitrose today and it was just mixed in with the other food. I think maybe that would be a good idea to discourage these people.

I don't usually buy loads of anything on offer, but today in Tesco I bought all the Moo organic UHT milk on the shelf saving 20p per litre