To ask for things that you believe have declined in quality

[JMSA]

I'll kick it off with Fairy Liquid!
Has anyone else noticed this? I have a dishwasher but often wash certain things, eg my big frying pan, by hand. You'd certainly need a mighty big squeeze these days, for a proper foamy lather.
Anything else? If nobody mentions Cadbury's chocolate, I will eat the Oodie I'm currently wearing

Not helped by speed limits in some areas!! I was in Wales recently and on a country road and there was a sign for 40 mph and 20 feet later a sign to say "national speed limit" which would have been 60 mph. This was a few feet in front of a humped back stone bridge just wide enough for our car (literally about 3 inches either side of the wing mirrors) and there was no clear view of the road on the other side. Not only would you likely damage your car going over that at full speed, you'd likely go flying off the far side into the hedge just beyond where the road turned 90 degrees.

I could tell when I was driving there that the regulars were likely so familiar with their roads that they could happily and possibly safely take them at a great speed. But being a tourist and not knowing what was around the next twist or turn I had to drive slowly. So easy to suddenly come up on a tractor taking up too much room or having to take a wide turn into a lane.

I got some mens’ trainer socks recently, they’re crazy thick, stretchy, just brilliant. Think it was Lidl.

Soft drinks - incredibly hard to find any without artificial sweeteners these days and, apart from the awful taste, they actually make me (and many others) very ill.

The same applies to things like yogurts, crisps and some condiments.

I don't think I'll ever buy a 'women's' umbrella again either. Got so fed up with these things made out of willow twigs and moth wings that 'look nice' that I went into M&S having thrown mine in a litter bin and bought a men's folding one. It's a revelation, it's like, weather-resistant. Amazing.

Life. I can't remember the last time I felt good about where things are heading.

TV shows. I'm thinking the fabulous family and comedy shows we used to have - everything from The Generation Game to Only Fools & Horses, Blackadder, Men Behaving Badly, Ab Fab etc. I also loved Dallas! Pure escapism. I find it hard to watch current comedy TV - just not my thing - showing my age I suppose! And don't get me started on the soaps today. Corrie used to be a fab half hour of escapism but I find all the soaps now are desperately trying to show so many diverse and current issues that are often violent and depressing. I'm sure many will argue that they are relatable and showing current issues is important and I don't disagree but I do miss the old shows when life seemed so much more simple!

Airlines and flights.

Expensive but much poorer service than 10-15 years ago. Covid didn’t help as a lot of them did away with food/drinks and never properly introduced them. No reduction in fees though.

Flying is now a stressful experience. Might try business class next time - although business class with one airline I looked at apparently only offer drinks at mealtime !

You can still find great places to eat out, friendly retail staff and shops, quality clothes. Just avoid generic chains where staff are not invested, and why would they be, and buy and consume less and spend where it makes a difference to them and you. Goats have maintained their standard of excellence, so if you can, get two.

Mince beef in Vacuum packs.

Supermarket clothes. I occasionally used to find some really nice clothes in Tesco, Sainsbury’s etc but Tesco clothes look really cheap now and ironically they aren’t cheap at all. Sainsbury’s does have some decent stuff but they closed atoll their changing rooms so they can fuck off.

In fact, clothes in general. Even expensive brands are cheap looking - I was shocked by Toast who sold a jumper with fabric so thin you could see through it.

But I find customer service is full of morose and sulky young people raised on TikTok to believe they deserve better, who think they don’t owe it to their job to put in a bit of hard work in. They’ve been brainwashed into thinking that is acceptable to see older women who don’t simper and stay quiet as a “Karen” And now we all have to be in the default position that someone has a MH issue or is having a bad day so asking where flaxseed is, or telling them you’re unhappy because your food did have the ingredient in you asked to be excluded, or asking for a bit of extra help is being a bothersome “Karen”. IMO it’s led to a generation of poor customer service and I find it very irritating.

Yes it's so hard when your staff get uppity about not having a decent contract or a chance of getting a foot on the property ladder.

Times have changed, don't you think? And not for the better!

Yes, that's the taste I was trying to identify. I have asked for nobody to buy them for me at Christmas. We used to share box on Christmas day but they are like some chemical experiment now.

Honestly, just apply this rule to everything! Men's razors, pjs, t-shirts - I buy a lot of these instead of women's as they tend to be better quality unless they're specifically aimed at trendy, "metrosexual" young men.

I expect there's a good commercial reason for the difference (presumably simply what will and will not sell) but that's my observation and I buy accordingly!

I've switched to Bio-D now, it's a bit more expensive, but you need much less - when you first put it in the water, it doesn't seem to work, but give it a few swirls and it foams up very well.

I started using it when there was a bottle in a NT cottage we stayed in.

I mean those are legitimate complaints but not a reason to be shit at your job.

Gen Z parents raised an entitled generation told them they’re special and a cut above the average. This is the result I guess.

For those disappointed with basic clothing items, I’d recommend both Uniqlo and Community Clothing - both wear and wash well and the simple stuff doesn’t have the weird design flourishes you see on lots of high street stuff like M&S or Next.

Buymeonce is also a good resource for well made household items.

Bananas!!! Why do they have black all running through them? They're always mushy and black. I have tried multiple supermarkets and all the same. Please someone tell me where to buy some nice fresh bananas?!

There are several different types of sensodene toothpaste- I find the Rapid Relief one is OK, but, yes, the one we've got at present is slimy and keeps falling off the brush.

Air fresones pumas that pump out the fragrance now and again in the room.
Useless, made them smaller and even on tje highest setting, the smell isn't that powerful.

Their summer clothing was awful - quite thick polyester fabric for summer dresses - but I thought their winter season stuff looks OK? No different to normal anyway.

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea I've returned every item of clothing bought from George in the last 18months this year has been shocking and the winter clothes are definitely "less" quality than previous years, the coat section smells like bin bags!

Yes!

Especially pants. Such thin material and lasts for 5 seconds before it falls apart.

@Wishfives I'll admit that the only thing I've bought from there recently was a long sleeved T shirt (95% cotton, 5% elastine) but that seems pretty good, nice and thick. But I'll take your word for it with the other stuff. I find it off putting that they've closed their fitting rooms.

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea I used to love the George clothes, usually well made, and easy to look after washed well and stayed fairly good I used to have most my work clothes from there. I don't think it's just George clothes that are worse if say most brands now. I popped to m&s to buy a friends child some joggers + top and the quality was so bad I didn't buy.

Yep, I've just returned a couple of items to Sainsbury that I couldn't try on in store. Will stick to bread and veg from now on.
Trying to buy jumpers last winter was hopeless. Everything cheap, tacky and itchy. In the end I bought two cotton(ish) zip- necked tops from the Next men's section and they've been great. Might even get another this year.