M@S Poor response

Azari

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Provided that the sell by date is shown on the packaging, surely it is up to prospective purchasers to look and make a decision before they decide to buy.

peachyprice wrote: »

OP chose to buy it, they didn't have to, they could have rejected it there and then if the date wasn't sufficiently long enough for their needs.

I know that a lot of the people who post on this forum are quite perfect and would never dream of purchasing anything without first reading all the suppliers terms and conditions and every piece of 2pt and larger printing on the packaging but, for most people, this is a bit too much effort when you may be buying a trolley full of items.

People have confidence that companies - particularly premium suppliers such as M&S - will sell them high quality, fresh food.

They don't expect to have to read every label to check that they haven't left something that's been of the shelf for a fortnight to be picked up by an unwary shopper.

Their complaint wasn't the short life it was the fact it wasn't reduced. Presumably it doesn't become any fresher just because it's half price?

Which is why a specifically said that I didn't think compensation was the salient issue.

Although, realistically, nearly OOD items are usually reduced and this serves as a warning not to buy them if you are not expecting to use them for a few days.

peachyprice

Azari wrote: »

I know that a lot of the people who post on this forum are quite perfect and would never dream of purchasing anything without first reading all the suppliers terms and conditions and every piece of 2pt and larger printing on the packaging but, for most people, this is a bit too much effort when you may be buying a trolley full of items.

Why are you rambling on about 2pt printing and T&C's? One date, clearly shown on the front, is all that had to be read, it's really not that difficult for most people.

Money-Saving-King

Azari wrote: »

People have confidence that companies - particularly premium suppliers such as M&S - will sell them high quality, fresh food.

If it's not out of date when you buy it then it is fresh!

Azari

peachyprice wrote: »

Why are you rambling on about 2pt printing and T&C's?

Because people such as yourself who ridicule and belittle others for not reading one thing typically take every opportunity to ridicule them for anything else they may not have noticed.

One date, clearly shown on the front, is all that had to be read, it's really not that difficult for most people.

It's not difficult for anyone.

What some people here do not seem to have the wit or intelligence to comprehend is that if you habitually buy something from a certain supplier and it is always fresh, and has a week to go before its sell by date, not everyone checks said sell by date every time.

It may be that you have some form of OCD or other paranoid condition that causes you to obsessively check sell by dates or other items of information but you need to understand that that is not normal. Most people tend to trust others to maintain a standard.

Azari

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

If it's not out of date when you buy it then it is fresh!

That merely demonstrates that either you don't understand sell by dates or you don't really fully grasp the concept of 'fresh'.

shaun_from_Africa

Azari wrote: »

People have confidence that companies - particularly premium suppliers such as M&S - will sell them high quality, fresh food.

So what would suggest that M&S do in future?
Maybe lower the time that food is on the shelf by having a shorter shelf life perhaps, except this wouldn't work if people still complain when they find that they have purchased items on the last day of the now reduced shelf life.

I know that a lot of the people who post on this forum are quite perfect and would never dream of purchasing anything without first reading all the suppliers terms and conditions and every piece of 2pt and larger printing on the packaging but, for most people, this is a bit too much effort when you may be buying a trolley full of items

I don't generally look at the sell by date but rely on retailers to only have in date food on their shelves (as was the case with the item in question) and if I buy something that turns out to have a short life left, I will not blame anyone except myself as I am willing to take responsibility for my own actions and inactions. Isn't this one of the responsibilities that comes with being an adult?

Azari

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

So what would suggest that M&S do in future?
Maybe lower the time that food is on the shelf by having a shorter shelf life perhaps, except this wouldn't work if people still complain when they find that they have purchased items on the last day of the now reduced shelf life.

They don't need to do anything different to what they do now.

This would just have been an anomaly. It's well known that this happens with all food suppliers from time to time. An odd item or two is missed when they check for close to outdated goods.

All I am saying is that it's not unreasonable to be a bit miffed if you happen to get caught unawares with something at the very edge of its sales window.

I don't generally look at the sell by date but rely on retailers to only have in date food on their shelves [do you understand the difference between 'sellable' and 'fresh'?] (as was the case with the item in question)

and if I buy something that turns out to have a short life left, I will not blame anyone except myself as I am willing to take responsibility for my own actions and inactions. Isn't this one of the responsibilities that comes with being an adult?

It seems to me rather more that it's something that comes from having a peculiarly naive and simplistic view of the world. One that insists that if there is a problem then one party must take the entire blame. Whereas those with a rather more sophisticated outlook understand that whilst you may wish to blame yourself for not checking you can also reasonably complain when the other party fails in some aspect of their performance that you can normally rely upon.

But, you just enjoy yourself at the meetings of the 'holier than thou' squad and take comfort in the fact that you are oh-so-much-better than the normal run of people.

stephen77

Azari wrote: »

And many of them are criticising without even understanding the problem. If you shop at a premium outlet such as M&S you expect the food to be fresh.

.

The food was deemed sellable on the date. Otherwise it would have been given a shorter shelf life.

Products sold will have been tested at end of there life before being sold. Commonly products will be tested a few days past the use by date as well as a little safety margin.

I fully understand the concepts of product shelf life and how they are worked out and validated.

peachyprice

Azari wrote: »

Because people such as yourself who ridicule and belittle others for not reading one thing typically take every opportunity to ridicule them for anything else they may not have noticed.

Exactly who have I belittled and ridiculed? No-one.

I've bought stuff with a short code, I'm sure most of us have, but I didn't write expecting a refund for something that was entirely my own fault, and I didn't rant on an internet forum, I just made a note to myself to be more vigilant in the future.

It's people such as yourself who are responsible for the ridiculous culture we now seem to have that nothing is our own fault, that we're entitled to compensation at every turn. What happened to good old common sense? Oh, that's right, we don't need it because there will always someone in the internet to back us up when we can't exercise common sense.

ILW

Azari wrote: »

That merely demonstrates that either you don't understand sell by dates or you don't really fully grasp the concept of 'fresh'.

Please explain your concept of "fresh".