You don't choose to go to co-op

[yourdelilah]

My hubby tells me he loves it but I just think it's expensive and never has what I want, except wine 😂 Am I missing something!?

I love the little Co op in our village and I miss having it near. We moved only about a 20 minute walk away but I really miss the convenience of dashing over the road. I recall one BH weekend where I or my DH went over about 10 times. They had everything we needed.

In a place near me they have little robots they send to deliver your shopping! Best thing ever, it brightens my day whenever I see one trundling along the pavement.

Apparently they ask passers by to press the button on the street crossing! 🥰

Ooh they are delicious but it’s not nice when you eat a whole bag then spend the next day feeling like your mouth’s been stripped with turps!

I need to know more about a night out that involves a Charlie caterpillar cake 😃

My little local one is absolutely shite and is staffed by a line up of Little Britain characters (who I kind of adore). They never have enough of anything except for the exact same things that get yellow stickered every day in vast quantities and thrown in an unrelated fridge shelf for rummaging. The whole shop is like an oversized mystery bag from Ready Steady Cook: you go in for ingredients for parmigiana, and you come out with a selection of feck knows what. My cooking has become a lot more creative though, I think I’d have smashed rationing.

Own brand crisps and foil tray macaroni cheese are top tier though, weirdly.

I’ll actively choose it over little Tescos for my work lunch visit. Love the bean wrap

I have vague memories of a small, smelly Co Op near Fulham Palace road many moons ago. I remember opening coleslaw that was mouldy….

Our co-op funds lots of local projects and they have been exceptionally generous when donating raffle prizes that other shops declined.

I would rather have a CO-OP than ASDA or Tesco.

Overpriced and poorly stocked in my neck of the woods

It's the only grocery shop in our little town. It can be expensive, but we cannot always justify driving to the next town (with two other cheaper supermarkets) for a few bits/top up shop. Quality in general is actually pretty good - fruit/veg is better than most places, some freezer deals can be ok, detergents etc often pricey unless own brand (which they don't always have). I do like their community ethic.

Ours has great quality fruit and veg, meat is fine too.

The fresh bread is really good, staff are decent where I am (London). They seem to have older staff which i like. I also quite like that it's a smaller supermarket in the. community.

Its the place I go for things i’ve forgotten, wouldn’t do a weekly shop there.

To people saying member prices are not ethical, the Co-operative Society WAS SET UP on the basis that it was for members. Back in the day you gave your Co-op membership number at the till for whatever benefits. I can still remember my mother’s.

You’re missing something. Our local Co-op is fabulous. They revamped it some years ago and it has an amazing range of food and drink now, including Turkish, Polish, Korean, etc etc - and we live in the back end of beyond! I don’t find it that expensive (many things are cheaper than Tesco) and the food is better quality. Their own brand stuff is excellent too.

I like a Coop meal deal.

It is the best macaroni cheese ever. Our local Co-op stocks the Cook food range and pies from the local farm shop. Their wine buyer knows how to buy good wine as well.

I tend to like the idea of the Co-operative movement more than the manifestation of it in the small grocery store and its stupidly long queues.

I can't see why anyone would choose co-op over waitrose, apart from on price. Certainly not on quality or range of products. May have to give that macci cheese a try though.

Nope, the one just up the road from me is really expensive. There are lots of bungalows near the store and consequently lots of older people shop there. ( I'm old BTW) I just think it's a total rip off. Tesco /LIDL, noticeably cheaper but further away. I'll stick to them and save money.

We had one near our old house and used to walk up in the morning specifically to get their warm croissants, they were amazing!

I asked where to find coriander in my local one recently. I was shown where it was and given a pack. The employee (who was helpful) rushed away to do something else and when I looked at the coriander pack it was completely brown and the bag full of water. I couldn't believe it 🤣

Forgot to add, I do like their wines and bakery selection

O and this is really sad, but I also like the compostable shopping bags.

The fish cakes are good!

The app gives good discounts and the weekly money off vouchers are linked to what you’ve bought in the past.

Our co op is lovely but I’ve never thought about it before - I do only go there when I have no choice ie before 10 or after 4 on a Sunday, when I have a choice during the week I’ll go somewhere cheaper and bigger.