Elite 11+ shopping and chat thread part 2½

curlgirl · 6 November 2018 at 12:08AM

silvercar wrote: »

I have £25 of tesco vouchers expiring this month. I can't think of anything I want.

In the past I have converted to Avios, but we have an excess of Avios at the moment, so this contribution would to small to make a difference.

I think if you can still phone them up and they will put them back into your account, giving you another 2 years to spend them. I have done this in the past.

Savvybuyer · 6 November 2018 at 1:19AM

pacifica9 wrote: »

Just had an email to say RSH will not be part of Clubcard after end of Jan.

On 31st January 2019, RedSpottedHanky will no longer be a partner of the Tesco Clubcard Scheme. This means that Tesco Clubcard points will no longer be redeemable against RedSpottedHanky vouchers.
In order to redeem your points, please create your RedSpottedHanky account using the same email address as your Tesco Clubcard account, before 31st December 2018.
Don't worry though, you have up until 31st January 2019 to redeem your current Tesco Clubcard points on our vouchers, and 6 months window to use them.

And another to say they are discontinuing their loyalty points.

RedSpottedHanky will not be continuing their loyalty points scheme into 2019. If you have loyalty points with us, don't worry, you have until the New Year to redeem them. Get the most out of your remaining points and redeem them all to use on your next journey.

Are RSH in trouble?

Good how they put it the opposite way (in fact I originally didn't even see the word 'not') but glad that you have written it out as what they really mean. It's an exercise of translation when the best light is put on closures/service reductions as if to make them look good or at least less unpalatable. I've noticed two that Lloyds Bank has done - one that one of my branches is now shut on Saturdays, or they might say "does not open", except their idea seemed to be to ignore the closure altogether and instead say "Here are our new opening hours...", presenting all of Monday to Friday inclusive opening hours and then, of course, Saturday now says closed. Only if you had the previous opening hours in front of you would you see the effective Saturday closure.

The other one is telephone banking - no longer staffed 24 hours (this has now been the case for several months), now staff from whenever time in the daytime to 11pm or whenever it is, to be fair why would you have staff working overnight for what must be fairly few calls/long durations between any calls I imagine, and, if they were just more honest and said staff aren't here - actually most people would probably think of the Bank as then worse and it would be more unacceptable to them, so that's the problem (and it's also I think a reason why politicians are forced into avoiding answering questions as if they told the true answer that we all know from their failure to answer people then wouldn't vote for them, but that's another matter) but to me if the Bank just told it as it is - namely "our staff aren't here" - I'd actually think that was more honest. Instead, this is how their automated service says "our staff aren't here to help right now should you need them" - can't say our staff aren't here as that is a negative thing, so, instead... "I can help you with that but, just so you know, our staff are here from [whatever hours] if you need help". Present it as our staff are here at such and such times. In other words, our staff are not here right now but not said straight out. Just be honest!:mad::mad:

EDIT: I'm being dishonest myself now as I have decided not to post the rest of what I was going to post. I've decided that it would be unwise to post the truth.

In fact - this was nothing to do with what I was going to post but is now another thing entirely - refers back to the email - the way RSH have said they're not continuing their loyalty points - may not actually work out the best for them. Because it's now causing you, and maybe other people now, to wonder whether they are in trouble and imply all sorts of things from what they've said that they probably never intended to say. I don't know if they are in trouble and it may well be that they are not. However, they may now be in or go into trouble if people start thinking they are in trouble and then act accordingly on what they think which then may lose RSH business. Or maybe, most probably, most people don't read these emails the way us really savvy few people do and therefore most people won't think anything more but, to us, we are now wondering whether they are in trouble or not.

Savvybuyer · 6 November 2018 at 1:33AM

I've discovered - why only now as I am always out of the loop?:mad: - that, if you are near Salisbury, the Zizzi restaurant is reopening to the general public what is now later today and that you can have a meal and pay whatever you want to for it. It would therefore seem you could get a meal for just 1p.

However, the 'catch'(:rotfl:) is that it seems they have put it as proceeds to two charities and therefore I expect people to donate at least as much as it will normally cost for their meal and preferably somewhat more:cool:.

Savvybuyer · 6 November 2018 at 1:39AM

I'm now rereading (obsessive I know!) this part of the email:
Don't worry though, you have up until 31st January 2019 to redeem your current Tesco Clubcard points on our vouchers, and 6 months window to use them.

And, set off by the question asking whether RSH are in trouble, I'm now thinking "might not have up to 31st January at all if they really are in trouble":rotfl:.

I am now wondering, why not ask them the question directly? And then leave it to them either to deny being in trouble (and us to take any denial as being read, as we can only then do) or to fail to address the question and then leave us wondering even more if they really are in trouble.

I'm wondering further - as further thoughts lead to further thoughts (at least they do with me, probably only me) and the whole thing develops a life of its own - about what Tesco might or might not know and wondering whether RSH could be discontinuing their loyalty points for the simple reason that they maybe want to find a way of saving costs/making more money and that could just be the reason.

Savvybuyer · 6 November 2018 at 1:53AM

TrulyMadly wrote: »

Morrisons £1 advent calendars

Yeah but there is a Tesco own brand advent calendar for 75p (if the SEL I saw a couple of days ago is correct) much as I don't want to advertise Tesco:rotfl:. (If my SEL isn't correct, then it could be even better if people can tell me, if I can then find it again and get DTD.)

Savvybuyer · 6 November 2018 at 2:15AM

I did end up getting some Andrex rolls packs at the weekend. I found no T own label but clearly there had been some as I had a 36p SEL but no stock:(. I went back to T having initially put this aside for a day, whilst I faffed about, hesitated and wondered in detail about pedantic things like number of sheets per roll so delayed me yet again before I then decided to go for them:(. As people may know I have almost no truck whatsoever with branded or unbranded and any item has to work out as even cheaper than the lowest value range item price for me to be interested. (Except that sometimes value range is more expensive than the standard range but I ignore that point.) I saw some page that suggested Andrex rolls were 200 sheets and at one point got £1.14 mixed up with £1.44 and must have thought they were even better value:mad:. I felt happy with them.

Nonetheless, I wasn't very happy any more (although the feeling has dissipated as it was more than 24 hours ago). My normal version would have been SP Toilet Rolls 6 pack at £1 which are 200 sheets - again, I am getting into sheets per roll boring detail. However, it now turns out that this detail is absolutely crucial as I thought it made the Andrex pack no better for me than the Savers range. I would then switch to 12 pack SP rolls as cheaper at £1.98 but, from there, I went to M Savers 18 pack at £2.90 (and 200 sheets each). I would need Andrex to be much much cheaper than this people! Otherwise it would turn out to be not worth my while, especially as I am travelling to T.

I now see that the Andrex rolls are 160 sheets:(. And this seemingly small matter of 40 sheets short per roll makes a huge difference. However, after initially posted this post just now, I think I got my sums wrong yesterday and the Andrex actually work out better. I need to know that they do though. And if they don't, then I don't want to know:rotfl:. So, if anyone can confirm the Andrex packs are better per sheet per roll than M Savers 18 pack sheets per roll at £2.90, that's all I want to know.

I would ask how many sheets per roll the T Christmas rolls have, as they might have been better (I could not find them so no use for me unfortunately at this stage) at 36p for 4.

I am sorry to moan:rotfl:. Before I edited this post. I found an old article on a popular newspaper online earlier that says Andrex is believed to make some own brand products for Sains.:( The point from that is some own label might therefore be Andrex quality, or at least made by Andrex. And I'm unhappy (or was a day ago when I now believe I got my sums wrong but am happy now it seems my sums were wrong) - I was unhappy earlier especially as it's not even a food item, so not something I would eat, meaning that, for me, 'quality' for loo rolls is even less important, and I don't like rolls that are for most people quality as they are 'soft' - instead I like nice nasty hard cheap toilet rolls so I'm not even pleased on that count! Just not really as happy as what I was immediately after I bought them - except that I never get really happy, ecstatic, unhappy or anything about much at all (I'm been told by my counselling service that autistic people don't know how to describe the emotions they feel as well as other people - there's only two emotions - completely fine and absolutely mad! - so maybe I don't know what I really feel which, tbh, is nothing right at this moment:rotfl: - I don't feel anything, I just feel neutral - and then I feel a little not very happy through thinking I feel nothing and then thinking I shouldn't feel nothing - so I don't totally feel nothing:rotfl:) - I just feel I paid money for something no better in value than buying my normal M Savers rolls. Although I suppose I worked out a way to buy them at T and was able to use my vouchers for that place.

I now think I am right to pause whenever I see toilet rolls (or kitchen rolls) and ask myself "How many sheets per roll?" as the answer to this does make a lot of difference. I was, I think, therefore right to hesitate at the start, whilst I thought about this, but then perhaps too hasty to rush out without calculating properly (but then would probably have missed the stock of Andrex at my store had I waited longer, so possibly right to jump for them) but it seems now right as it seems they work out better than M Savers (but I'm still in doubt about my calculations especially as it's late at night). The "sheets per roll" question is one I think that most people get bored of or bored of considering as it seems a tiny long-winded detail but it is absolutely the thing that needs to be considered at the outset as it is crucial at seeing whether the price we see really is a good price or whether it just looks better than what it really is because there are a few sheets per roll less which in total actually effectively puts up the price somewhat compared to a price on a higher sheets per roll pack that may look worse but is not. So, a learning curve for me - that I really ought to be as detailed as I am - and that, if any other toilet rolls come up in future, people here should remember that I have absolutely no regard at all to whether they are branded (in fact normally a lofty - I believe very healthy - almost disdain* of brands as they are normally expensive ways to shop), I am concerned entirely about cheapest cost and the sheets per roll question is absolutely crucial and can be expected as the very first thing I will say (or at least think of) and, if you're considering any toilet rolls for me, they must be cheaper than the lowest cost savers range and preferably by more than a few pence per 200 sheet roll to make it really worthwhile bothering with. I do not care if Andrex are cheaper than normal expensive Andrex - they need to be enough cheaper than SP/Savers/value/Wilko cheap rolls to me. Otherwise, if Savers are same price or cheaper, I am not interested. You can give me whatever price you want: if it's not better than that, I'm not interested that it's getting a brand at what people would call an excellent price for that brand: I want the brand at even cheaper than my normal 'cheap' rolls that aren't cheap but are made expensive by it.

*(except that I could never have an emotion of ruling something completely out)