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Original poster

Shame on you Sainsbury's

197 replies

JumpLeadsForTwo · 01/12/2021 07:15

Went into our local middle sized Sainsbury's yesterday and just had to complain. One end of the fruit and veg aisle which had previously had a variety of veg had gone. Replaced by Christmas offers for huge boxes of crisps and biscuits
I know they are just trying to push their Christmas sales, and that people will buy them, but come on, there is the whole store to use. Hmm

OP posts:
ColinTheKoala · 01/12/2021 08:53

Yes I know a few of you have now picked up on that but that wasn't in the original post at the top. Anyway now she says she didn't rant.

100thNameChange · 01/12/2021 08:56

@JumpLeadsForTwo

Where has anyone got that I was rude or shouted?! I am the most laid back person usually, and my "rant" is probably a bit of poetic license for the internet. I have never once been rude or shouted to anyone in retail, let alone a teenager. I simply pointed out that I wasn't happy with the missing veg being replaced by such large boxes of crisps when they could have put them anywhere else. No I'm not daft enough to think that people won't be picking up these types of food around Christmas, but the nudge theory is proven - make these foods more obvious and easy to pick up, and people will take more. We are in the midst of a pandemic with increasing restrictions. The numbers who have died are appalling, and increased deaths and serious illness are clearly linked with obesity and lifestyle related health problems. Why is it ok to accept that big food companies can shift our consumption to more processed foods? Yes I do agree that tweeting the CEO may be more productive!
Shame you didn't think of tweeting the CEO before you 'ranted' at the teenager then. Sadly, supermarkets are full of customers just like you - whinging at staff who have absolutely zero control over policy.
KrispyKale · 01/12/2021 08:56

I think nowadays an email to head office is probably a better idea. Or their social media page seems the only route companies notice.

Op is right though: commercial interests of business is currently contributing to poor national health. It's a group issue as we all pay in the end.

Spudlet · 01/12/2021 08:56

As others have said, I’d imagine they’re as much trying to fill the gaps left by shortages as anything else. There have been lots of things missing from the fruit and veg aisles in our local supermarkets recently.

withlotsoflove · 01/12/2021 08:56

@ColinTheKoala

Yes I know a few of you have now picked up on that but that wasn't in the original post at the top. Anyway now she says she didn't rant.
Oh ok then. We will just believe her then! Hmm
mustlovegin · 01/12/2021 08:57

I get your point OP. But it's probably not only Sainsbury's doing this plus there must have been fruit and veg somewhere in the store

DismantledKing · 01/12/2021 08:58

@ColinTheKoala

Yes I know a few of you have now picked up on that but that wasn't in the original post at the top. Anyway now she says she didn't rant.
1) Try RTFT before commenting. 2) Yeah, now she’s been called out for being a bully she’s decided she didn’t ‘rant’ after all.
SexyNeckbeard · 01/12/2021 08:58

@ColinTheKoala

Yes I know a few of you have now picked up on that but that wasn't in the original post at the top. Anyway now she says she didn't rant.
Read the thread next time then it's not a long one
ChateauxNeufDePoop · 01/12/2021 08:59

Given the dramatic title I was expecting them to have been found to be paying less than NMW or have secretly been funding a terrorist organisation.

Took me longer than usual to read the thread as my eyes were rolling so much.

EdgeOfTheSky · 01/12/2021 08:59

In almost any supermarket now you enter through an alley of stacked up quality street etc, boxes of beer, crisps and cheese footballs in festive tubs. Like a bizarre version of playing oranges and lemons.

None of it yet has made me go into a cheese football frenzy and forget to buy broccoli.

It is irritating if they have actually de-stocked carrots in favour of Pringles though.

Drumshambo · 01/12/2021 09:00

@ColinTheKoala

You ranted at a teenager on minimum wage doing his job

Well firstly you don't know that it was a teenager.

And secondly Sainsburys do not pay minimum wage. They actually don't pay badly at all.

And thirdly you don't know that the OP ranted.

She said it was a teenager and she said she had a rant! Stop trying to justify shifty entitled behaviour!
twilightermummy · 01/12/2021 09:01

I really wish that you’d put the voting on this 😂

Original poster
JumpLeadsForTwo · 01/12/2021 09:01

@LagneyandCasey

Is there a Bonkers Thread of the Year award? 🏆
I will take this graciously and bow out now. Thank you for all your constructive criticisms, and enjoy your Christmas biscuits Wink
OP posts:
ColinTheKoala · 01/12/2021 09:02

Oh ok then. We will just believe her then

It's so nice when people who don't know someone else accuse them of lying...

Read the thread next time then it's not a long one Biscuit

I don't know why I am getting a hard time here. Although I think banning the promotion and advertising of junk food is the easy way out for the government (investing billons in cycle lanes would do much more to combat obesity), people do eat too much crap and the OP is right to pick up on it.

ColinTheKoala · 01/12/2021 09:03

She said it was a teenager and she said she had a rant! Stop trying to justify shifty entitled behaviour

it almost certainly wasn't a teenager and she later said the rant was poetic licence.

A complaint is not a rant.

DogInATent · 01/12/2021 09:03

It's not just fruit and veg. The loss of shelf space to seasonal stock is worse on the Free From shelves. At this time of year the Free From section of the freezer shrinks to a quarter of it's normal (not very large) size to make way for christmas frozen food, the chilled shelf halves... and that's on-top of the squeeze from Plant Based that's been going on all year.

But someone's already but their finger on it.. shelf/floor space is being filled with what the supermarkets have in stock to disguise the holes left by what they don't have. They're hoping those tins of sweets/biscuits will be slow moving stock for a while to keep the store looking full. When you look closely, there are some very odd shortages occurring.

Tilltheend99 · 01/12/2021 09:05

Well this is the most bizarre thread of the day.

ColinTheKoala · 01/12/2021 09:05

Sadly, supermarkets are full of customers just like you - whinging at staff who have absolutely zero control over policy

No but they do have voices and they can feed upwards.

The issue of course, as I said further up, is that the staff in head office need to start listening. The same goes for places like Superdrug and their annoying upselling which both staff and customers hate but unless people complain and those complaints are fed back nothing will change.

WildFlowerBees · 01/12/2021 09:05

If everyone kept quiet nothing would change so I'm all for constructive criticism if it eventually brings change. Sainsburys might be a business but without customers they wouldn't have one so it's give and take isn't it.

Not all of us want Christmas crisps biscuits etc rammed down our throats some still want their regular items. I'd be chuffed off if my veg has been replaced with pig in blankets crisps.

loveliesbleeding1 · 01/12/2021 09:07

You ranted at a teenager? That’s nasty. What exactly can they do? At least complain to someone who can do something about it!

SexyNeckbeard · 01/12/2021 09:07

I used to work in a supermarket and I despise people like you. Actual burning rage at the idiotic things people think are important that really aren't. If that's all you've got to worry about then you should think yourself incredibly lucky.

That person on the shop floor or behind customer services doesn't care about what you said. They'd have been thinking to themselves "oh just fuck off". They're overworked, underpaid and unappreciated. The reason for lack of stock in the one I worked in is that there wasn't enough staff to get the stuff out on the shelves, it wasn't food shortages. The last thing they need is some customer with too much time on their hands ranting at them about what's on the promo ends.

WeAreTheWeirdosMister · 01/12/2021 09:09

@HolidayTime2021

There is a national veg shortage.
Was going to say this, Morrisons is half empty in the fruit and veg maybe Sainsburys thought to gap fill with promotions?
Drumshambo · 01/12/2021 09:09

Loving the back track op!! You're very paid back, and there was no ranting involved. Nice bit of virtue signalling as well. Obesity crisis tick, pandemic tick😂

MsAgnesDiPesto · 01/12/2021 09:10

@JumpLeadsForTwo

Where has anyone got that I was rude or shouted?! I am the most laid back person usually, and my "rant" is probably a bit of poetic license for the internet. I have never once been rude or shouted to anyone in retail, let alone a teenager. I simply pointed out that I wasn't happy with the missing veg being replaced by such large boxes of crisps when they could have put them anywhere else. No I'm not daft enough to think that people won't be picking up these types of food around Christmas, but the nudge theory is proven - make these foods more obvious and easy to pick up, and people will take more. We are in the midst of a pandemic with increasing restrictions. The numbers who have died are appalling, and increased deaths and serious illness are clearly linked with obesity and lifestyle related health problems. Why is it ok to accept that big food companies can shift our consumption to more processed foods? Yes I do agree that tweeting the CEO may be more productive!
There is a shortage of fresh fruit and veg. Rather than have the aisles empty and cause panic, they are filling that space with non perishables.

Haven’t you noticed the selection and quality of FandV has decreased markedly recently?

MrsMadderRose · 01/12/2021 09:10

I buy a lot of fruit and veg and it’s never occurred to me that it’s a problem to have to walk around some biscuits to get to it. I’d be pissed off if all the fruit and veg was gone to make way for xmas crap, but that’s about it.

I agree promoting unhealthy crap is not good, but that’s a wider issue. Also people want it so making it easy to find makes sense. To be fair, that promotion zone near the door can have anything in it. Sometimes it’s pumpkins. In January it will be haggis and raspberries here in scotland. In July, sun cream or whatever. It reminds to to get that thing you might want - business sense but also can be helpful for customers too.