Morrisons offering 10% discount to students, but not to OAPs when many will starve to death this winter

[user1474095534]

I think this is a really bad idea for Morrisons to offer 10% off to students, but fuck all to pensioners. This comes just as the winter arrives and respectable charities like Age UK are warning that 1/4 of pensioners are living in poverty and many will have to starve or freeze to death this winter.

Of course it won't give them bad PR Most shops offer student discounts, it's just now supermarkets are now as well. It's not their moral obligation to make sure OAPs have adequate access to well priced food and groceries. That's a government problem that should not be foisted on to private companies.

This is a business decision - lure students into Morrisons and you're hoping you've got a loyal customer for life.

It's nothing to do with being "poor" or living in poverty - there are plenty of well-off students who will be taking advantage of their 10% discount, and plenty of well-off OAPs who don't need a 10% discount either.

They collect lots of information about customers who use the NUS card. It's not charity. Students (mostly young adults) can become life long customers and using a NUS card means they collect valuable data for future tailored marketing, and probably sell the info on...Worth ££.

Great thread.
Goady poster is goady.
MNers respond with calm, valid reasoning about why they're wrong and manage to sympathise with both demographic groups.

Actually, are we sure this post is in AIBU?

Put it this way. My dd is going to Uni in February. She will have an income of £9k to last her the entire year. Out of that she has to pay for her lodgings, food and car running (she will be on placement at various hospitals). She has to do this for three years and will leave uni with £50k plus of debt so she can be a trained paramedic.

10% off her food bill is brilliant but I have no doubt I will still have to send her food parcels throughout the year.

As a business, it is not their problem. YABU.

Good on morrisons, I will tell my niece about the discounts.

If Morrisons offered a discount to pensioners, you can guarantee people would complain as there are some pensioners who are well off, with decent final salary pensions, mortgage paid off, on their 3rd long holiday abroad plus their state benefits like heating allowance, bus pass etc.

B&Q offer 10% off on Wednesdays to pensioners. Probably because they are a group where some of them are quite well off and are likely to spend money and be drawn in by a discount.

Not all students are poor.
Not all pensioners are in poverty.

But some are. It should not be up to supermarkets to address these issues.

Id say students are worse off now than ever before. One of house mates at uni didnt eat for three days despite doing three jobs and never going out as she simply didnt have enough money. We shared our food with her when we realised and knew but the situation must be alot worse now. Alot of businesses do offer students similar discount. My job means i work mostly with pensioners and they do seem to have more desposable income than 10 years ago if they have been lucky enough to have bought a house. I think its a good business sense from morrisons as it gets the students used to shopping there so could continue after leaving uni.

It's a gimmick and a good one.

A quarter of pensioners freezing and starving to death a quarter the reason pensioners might suffer is they are ill or vulnerable a discount from Morrisons won't help that.

OAPs get pensions, students don't.

Lots of pensioners may be malnourished but giving them a 10% discount in Morrisons wouldn't make a scrap of difference.

Any actual evidence for the stats, OP?

Why focus on Morrisons?
Do Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Waitrose give an OAP discount?

My DPs are late 60's, very youthful and active, and have plenty of money and warmth in their owned outright house. They do make use of their bus passes though! I'd be shocked if they received an unneeded discount Morrisons or anywhere else.

And, as others have said, supermarkets are businesses, not charities.

YABVU. They are a business, not a registered charity

Co-op also offer student discount, I couldn't afford to shop there or at Morrisons as a student. There were people in my class at uni who had jobs and never went out and barely ate some days because they had £5 to live off a week, and to top it off were in a huge amount of debt. I'd say giving students £2 off their £20 monthly shop is hardly going to cause pensioners to starve or freeze.

Age UK is a special interest group whose primary aim is to get a bigger slice of the welfare pie for pensioners - pensions incidentally being the largest expense in the welfare budget.

I would take their figures and claims with a pinch of salt - they're just trying to get media attention.

Co-op food stores have been giving 10% off food to students for years .....not sure why this is an issue. Not all pensioners are on the breadline and not all students are funded by The bank of Mum and Dad.

Thanks for highlighting this OP.

I think it's a great idea and am off to text student DD to let her know.

Most students only study for three or four years, whereas you could be retired for thirty years - it's a lot to expect a shop to subsidise you for thirty years.

'Yes it is a business decision, I agree 100% with that. But what I'm saying is this could give them very bad PR and be very bad for business!'

I don't give a fuck that Morisons is giving disocunts to students and not OAPs. OAPs are in a lot better position that most students with their £50-k of debt!

Lots of people need help but this hasn't been done because Morrisons perceive students as delicate snowflakes needing help - it been done to make money
Volunteer for age concern op they will be grateful of the support

MANY pensioners will starve or freeze to death this winter, in the UK?

With that kind of bullshit from the outset, no-one is going to listen to a word you have to say.

Agree that these days the term 'pensioner' does not necessarily mean poor. Many people of pensionable age are wealthy or comfortably off, and for those who are on a low income, it's not food that's the major outgoing, it's more likely to be rent, fuel, bills.

It's just a business decision, it's nothing personal against OAP's. Also students can be very hard up too, it depends of the student.

1/4 of pensioners are living in poverty, really? Can you please link to wherever you found that information please? Yes some are in poverty as with all age groups but 1/4 ?

Also Morrisons are not to blame for any pensions starting or freezing are they really? Just because they offer the discount