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?

Our family has a Co-op Outrage story at least once a month😂 My 12y.o DD has the member app and recently said she wanted to speak to a manager when at first they tried to fob her off with whatever load of old pony about the in-app deal not working. She got the price! Never been so proud. I’ve got an aversion to meal deals for the same reasons as everyone else, from now on she can do it, she’s fit for the battle lol.

A world where meal deal items are never presented clearly, but thanks so much for your totally pointless contribution.

No it’s not false advertising because they weren’t advertising that thing. I mean, according to your logic you could stick a £20 item in front of a 99p sign and have it for 99p - don’t be daft.

You do have to read the small print as normally the bottle of prosecco is not included in the drink part of the meal deal.

I don't drink coffee, and my Coop doesn't have hot drinks anyway. The point would be the same, I'd just have it at home. I sometimes don't have anything in to eat for lunch, but I never don't have water or tea!

I don't mean that, I mean if items have been falsely labelled, or a whole section of drinks have been put in the wrong place. Obviously I don't mean if one item has been put in the wrong place!

Worked at the co op nearly 10 years and purdeys were always in the meal deal.

Co op are notorious for not reducing items properly, could it be that a reduced item went through full price?

I don't drink fizzy drinks. I don't like that the price of the things I want is inflated to subsidise an item I don't need.

I know the other packaging has plastic, but these are items I NEED. I'm being persuaded (though not, because I always say no) to buy a thing I don't need, to reduce the price of the things I do need. It's total nonsense and should be illegal.

Usually there is a list on the price label on the shelf. You can check exactly what's included. Take a pic on your phone so you can magnify the small print.

Oh I hate this as well. In our local M & S at the BP garage they seem to have some of the sandwiches as part of the Meal Deal and some not but all have the red label on the shelf edge so you have to carefully check each one to see if it's included because obviously all the sandwiches are mixed up.

Most meal deals are not a meal… or a deal.

Well, my 27 year old daughter has an intellectual disability and needs things communicated clearly to her. She buys meal deals - she is often confused. She ends up buying a bottle of coke as it is always in the deal. But it's not what she really wants.

I do like Purdeys though, but never seen it in our Coop. It's all coke, water, lucozade etc.

No idea what a Brookie bar is either.

I just want my chicken and mayo on wholegrain bread with Macoys salt and vinegar. And I want them for the price they would be in the meal deal without having to add a pointless extra item.

The same often happens at our local Coop. I queried it with a member of staff once and they admitted it’s because they put the labels on the shelves but then don’t always get around to reprogramming the tills with the offer.

I had the opposite and was surprised to find a Ginsters pasty counts as a snack in the meal deal!
Gave the pasty to ever-hungry DS.
So a sandwich, pasty and smoothie for £3.50 which I thought wasn’t bad.

@ShirkingFromHome95 yes, in the Coop, the Cornish and the Peppered Beef Ginsters are both snacks in the meal deal. I have the BBQ chicken pasta, a pasty and an Innocent Smoothie and give the pasty to DH. Only £3.60 with a Coop card too.

I am fed up with badly merchandised stock. Put it on the right shelf! Also don't mix up a bunch of 3for and 2 for products all with labels that look incredibly similar.

And stop with your loyalty card prices. I was fine with 1% but I'm not fine with the recent shift that essentially forces you to register your shopping.

Coop is the worst for this. I once bought a wrap that wasn't part of the meal deal, but was right next to sandwiches that were. Was in a rush and had bought other items so let it go.

And another time bought 3 meal deal items and a packet of gum and it didn't apply the discounts - that time I knew I was right, so made them cancel the transaction, put through the meal deal which I paid for, then the gum separately.

Silly question, did you scan your coop card? I forgot the other day and only realised when it was too late!

Weird OP as I was having this exact conversation today! Twice in 2 weeks meal deals have not been meal deals despite being labelled so. Very annoying!

I get a water and keep it in the car - used it before when I got stuck in traffic and remembered I had water and a snack! Then I refilled it and use it to top up my screenwash

Well, I've lived 57 years without ever needing this. I take a (refillable) bottle of tap water in the car. There's always a small snack of some sort in my bag too.
And I have a gallon of screen wash in the boot 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ah I get the undiluted stuff so it needs water! (Free from work hence why I use it)

Sadly they do not.

Exactly the same problems with Co-op over here. Their member prices are a scam - 'all these pizzas are included' except the one mixed in with the rest that weighs 20 grams more 🙄 Usually the beer in their pizza and beer offer runs out, so it's not even available.

The member voucher offers you need to choose in the app went from 75-50p off, to 20-40p off, then briefly back up and now down again. For months it refused to apply the fruit discount to bananas (customer service said it was a known issue). I always contact them when anything goes wrong, but they insist on a receipt and you only get 2.5 seconds to press the receipt button. Surely they can see my purchase history, why else are they collecting my data!

These days I only go to Co-op to use the money off on items with orange discount stickers. The other week it charged me -10p for something 😎

Btw customer service did once tell me that wraps are not included in the meal deal...