Meal deal frustration!

[ShirkingFromHome95]

So, this is totally a first world problem, but it really gets my goat how often I buy a meal deal to then find out at the till that it's not actually a meal deal.

Usually, it's because non-meal-deal items have encroached upon the space intended for meal deals. However, I was in Co-Op today and it was clearly labelled 'main', 'snack', and 'drink'.

I chose a halloumi wrap (defo a main), a brookie bar (defo a snack), and when I went to get the drink I saw there was a new flavour of Purdeys which actually looked quite nice. I remember thinking it wasn't usually in the meal deal but it was clearly well within the row labelled 'drink'.

Meal deal should've been £4 and I also grabbed some reduced bananas for my protein shake (45p) and some reduced wraps to chuck in freezer (60p).

So, I get to till, bag everything up, and cashier then goes on intercom and asks for another member of staff to come and man the next till which sort of disrupted the flow. Then turns back and says "eight pounds please". I knew it wasn't right but on the spot I wondered if I'd made a mistake and so just paid, thinking it must've been around £6 anyway so not gonna hold up the large queue to traipse right back across the shop and get another drink for the sake of a couple of quid (last time I queried it I was actually wrong as had forgotten about a can of deodorant I'd bought).

However, this time it was defo wrong and should've been just over £5. Not a biggie but I've basically paid an extra £3 just to have a Purdeys when I'd happily have chosen something else. Can't help but wonder how much extra they make from this kind of thing.

I've been in other shops where it's been less busy and upon changing the drink or sandwich have had to stand there holding up items and repeatedly saying "how about this one?" I know retail workers work hard for little money so not bashing them, but this one thing irks me. I mean, how frickin hard can it be to have a 'main', 'snack, and' drink' row that actually comprises of what it says?

I don’t think that’s correct. They only have to honour the price at the till if the specific item has a different price at the shelf vs what the till says. Otherwise, people would spend all day moving stuff round the shop to get it cheaper.

Get this..in Sainsbury's a yoghurt is now a MAIN not a snack and Tesco let you have a plain Costa latte from the machine in the meal de but the moment you deviate it charges you full price for it plus the rest of the food

Our local Spar is dreadful for this - I've given up bothering to get MDs from there now. I felt like Stephen Mulhern dashing back and forth to the till with various combinations and frustratedly asking Deal or no deal?!

I even wonder if some of the confusion is caused deliberately by certain shops, in the hope that some customers will pick up what they assume is a MD, along with a basket of other shopping, and won't realise when they're been charged for three separate items.

I'm convinced they do.

There's two CO-OP's in my area.
I was confused with the membership card when I first moved here but they are actually two different CO-OPs as in one is the blue logo and the other a green logo that's called Your COOP...

Never had a problem with the £3.50 (blue logo) CO-OP meal deals, they've become so popular, so many more items have been added and now takes up half of the large aisle/shelving.

Well sorry, you should have questioned the price at the time. It's not on the staff. Tills are pre programmed, so the onus is on you to challenge/query the specifics of the deal
Ps
Tesco is usually pretty accurate on meal deal offers

Co-op is really shit at this and it’s the only place I ever have an issue buying a meal deal. I also noticed recently that their “co-op prices” often don’t go through the till when I scan my card but it’s always either too busy or there’s no-one around to query it.

In retail they don’t need to honour any price at the till, and can just withdraw an item from sale, as mistakes are made.

If they do decide to honour a deal or price or combination, it’s for another reason, such as expediency or customer relations etc.

I hate meal deals. I often pop to my local Coop to get a sandwich and crisps. When I get to the till I get told "buy a drink and it will be less than it is without one". It's disgusting. Buy a pointless plastic bottle, waste the earth's natural resources for no reason, and we'll reward you for it.

I'm going home, I can drink water from the tap.

I wish there was an option of another food item instead of a drink.

I’ve never had a meal deal and this thread has made me even less tempted than ever before! What a bloody palaver 😂
And what is a purdeys?!

This is what I came to say. I bought the banana as an extra, but was diddled! 😂

personally, I bloody love a coop meal deal. Costa coffee costs £3.50 alone, but with my coop card, I get a free sandwich and snack.

re: the cards though, I couldn’t use mine in my son’s school town as they’re regional or something. Bit annoying but not the end of the world.

Get a meal deal and find out!

Get yourself a coffee instead

They have blue and green coops near me to, I had no idea until I was out in a group that included two friends children who had part time jobs there and were discussing the differences

Is that everywhere?

I work in Asda and it happens a lot ! Usually human error as they didn’t read the ticket properly and put a wrong flavour or size in . Then it happened in Sainsbury’s a few weeks back…..so they all get it wrong, so annoying if that’s all you’ve gone to the till for, but yes Asda will normally give you it free as it messes up their system

😂😂
I always thought they’d be a waste for me because I only drink water not any other soft drinks and I’ve always got a bottle with me, plus I always found a shop bought sandwich disappointing so just never really got into them. I’m going to have to google a purdeys now!

There are actually quite a few different Co-ops around the country. The Co-operative Group is the main one though. They have some great offers. And you don't have to "select" them like most other places - I quite often get a nice surprise reduction at the checkout.

I was going to say the reduced wrap?

If that was c, £3 alone then thats the difference easily.

My local co-op is notorious for this. If the labels on the shelf match the items you have picked, they must give you this as a meal deal. Just ask for them to refund you the difference.
The error is usually caused by

1. local shop failing to replace meal deal tabs on items that are no longer included or

2.incorrectly placed items on shelf by staff or customer

It really annoys me too.
Meal deal or otherwise incorrect pricing. I choose my items carefully based on the product content and the price. Massively annoying when the price /deal is incorrectly presented by the store. You waste time making your selection or waste time for everyone while you get the cashier to proceed the refund.
At my coop, (I generally avoid it tbh) I always ask for a refund as they do it so often.

But the sandwich packaging and crisp packaging have plastic too. The bottle is much more easily recycled. Grab a can instead? Aluminium is infinitely recyclable.

i'm just interested in the rules about things being put in the wrong place. If shops aren't obliged to honour the advertised price (if things have been put in the wrong place) even after someone points it out, isnt this false advertising? If there is no repercussion on the shop, what is to stop them continuing to do this?

Pps are right, it’s known as “an invitation to treat”, and if they honour the price, it’s a gesture of good will. It’s entirely at their discretion.

Co-ops's labelling is utterly awful. Meal deal items next to 2 for £3, or 2 for £3.50. All mixed in together and all the same colour label.

I hate that my local supermarket is Co-op.

The thing that annoys me about meal deals is that they inflate the price of individual items ( particularly drinks) to make it look like you’re getting a better deal that you are.

it means if you just want to come in and buy a drink, it’s never going to be at the best price and is often more expensive than other places where they aren’t doing deals.

Co-op are shite near me. They get raided daily by shoplifters so everything is overpriced or missing or in the wrong place. The 'mistakes' the till makes never ever seem to work out in your favour, which if they were honest surely it would be more even? All the veg is rotten and extortionate. The meat selection is tragic.
Staff in my local one are nice but really don't care a hoot about any of it. They are probably grossly underpaid.