Should I cancel Milkman and buy from supermarket to save money?

dunstonh

So looks like I'm the exception to the rule as I'm very happy having a milkman.

No you are not... rather no you are not the exception to the rule. Remember this site so often highlights negatives. People rarely post to highlight positives.

Like you our milk arrives about 3-4am and the convenience is worth the cost. I dont know why some think the milk doesnt last as long as that is not our experience. Although to be honest, we go through 3 pints a day so its not as if it gets much chance.

full-time-mum

I haven't read the whole thread so I apologise if I'm repeating what has already been said.

We used to have a really reliable milky. We had one pint a day which was already on the step when we woke. He'd leave more if we left a note. He would collect the money on a regular basis and the bill was never wrong. It was more expensive but worth it. Extra milk was purchased with our weekly shop at the supermarket.

He then became a landscape gardener and his round was taken over by a succession of newbies who either didn't stay the course or we totally unreliable. For a while we put up with the late arrival of milk but in the end, we had so many arguments of the bill that we just gave up although I didn't want to.

I liked to use the milky because
1: It was reassuring to know there would always be a pint for breakfast.
2: I thought of it as a public service - there are lots of little old ladies and gents who rely on the milkman to deliver and by ordering a pint a day I was helping to keep the round going.

Only last week, I heard of a milkman in a local village alerting the police and saving an old ladies life because the milk hadn't been taken in.

If I could get a reliable delivery, then I would probably start again.

You could save quite a few pennies by getting all you milk at Iceland so you have to consider whether the extra cost is worth it for the pint always being there on the doorstep for breakfast. It also depends how strapped for cash you are.

crazyangel_2

I stopped using a milkman years ago I felt guilty for doing so ,but whether he was jolly or a nice man my family finances had to come first.All my milk is from the supermarket and I always have a couple of cartons of longlife for emergencies which tastes no differnce anyhow.Plus think of all those extra tesco points for getting the milk there.;)

sarahpeck

Oh good i'm glad I'm not the only one whose happy using a milkman. They're a dying breed. Save our milkmen!! Mine was invaluable when I was holed up sick with three kids at home, atleast they could have their brekkie!

margaretclare

I've always used the milkman delivery service. Our local milkman retired and the company he worked for got taken over by Dairy Crest. It's not quite as good as before, but...

We get a milk delivery Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which is quite enough for us. It's on the doorstep by 4.30 am. Paying for it is no problem - he used to collect every Friday morning in cash, now we pay by monthly direct debit, which is much more convenient.

Milk is one of those things you can't really do without. So, saying you can get it cheaper at the supermarket means you have to go to the supermarket and you have to bring it back with you - it's just one more thing you have to carry. We are using the supermarket a lot less these days, since I managed to convert DH about free-range eggs and chickens - we can get a lot of things from local shops, butchers, greengrocers etc. And I firmly agree with those who say - use it or lose it. It's just very very convenient and I would hate to be forced to get everything at the supermarket, which of course is what Tesco et al want us to do, and that's what will happen if these traditional deliveries are forced out of business.

Margaret

nomoneytoday

Please support your local milkman. They are good for the local area, act as neighbourhood watch, chat to the people who can't get out and all for an extra 5p a pint

If everyone bought everything from a supermarket they would supply on price only, not quality of service or customer smiles

melancholly

john.xs wrote: »

1. they make great neighbourhood watch though!
people always look at the bottom line and forget to look at the added value
thats why this country has gone to the dogs

i think this is really harsh - some people simply can't afford the extra money..... a milkman is a great idea with lots of benefits and the numbers of people using them are actually on the increase, but with a very tight budget, some things have to go. if it's a purely financial decision then trying to guilt trip people is just uncessary. lots of things have extra added value, but not everyone can afford them - on a moneysaving website i think there should be a little more understanding that there are a lot of people for whom every single penny counts.

Zazen999

I know supermarkets are cheap NOW - but once they have driven all the local shops out of the market; then their prices will rocket - much like fuel.

Moneysaving in the short term - but long term??? Not so sure.

margaretclare

melancholly wrote: »

i think this is really harsh - some people simply can't afford the extra money..... a milkman is a great idea with lots of benefits and the numbers of people using them are actually on the increase, but with a very tight budget, some things have to go. if it's a purely financial decision then trying to guilt trip people is just unnecessary. lots of things have extra added value, but not everyone can afford them - on a moneysaving website i think there should be a little more understanding that there are a lot of people for whom every single penny counts.

I've read through this thread and I can't see that there is any 'guilt-tripping' around. It's not 'guilt-tripping' to point out that there are other valuable considerations beyond 'low price at all costs'.

Who are the people on the tightest budgets of all? Pensioners on basic state pension with pension credit, which is about £107 a week (I think). Single parents at home with kids and not working. Any others? Disabled people? All of these groups would - I would think - appreciate the convenience of having their milk arrive on the doorstep early in the morning without having to carry litres of it back from the supermarket.

I watched a Channel 4 'Dispatches' programme on Monday this week about pensioners having to make the choice between 'heat or eat'. One of the men on that said he was having to make that choice, he said he was using up his savings, and yet he could afford to smoke.

I would guess that there are very few people around who don't have to make some sort of choice. I've been poor in the past, and yet I never resorted to buying milk in the supermarkets. I've always had doorstep deliveries.

Margaret

john.xs

i'll have do disagree with you on this one melancholy.things are hard for some people but it is amazing how they can manage money for fags/drink/plastic tat/bingo/taxi to supermarket etc but paying a few extra pence to milkman suddenly tips them over the edge! once the supermarkets have destroyed the milkmen and have the monopoly they will then up the price of milk.people ask for opinions of others. ive given one opinion.surely it is up to the person requesting advice to collate the info and make up their own minds!