How are you finding the bottle return machines now that they've had time to bed in?

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

I've mostly found that it's an opportunity for Murphy's Law to have a good go at me. Anytime that I forget my bottles the machine is working fine, no queue, usually not even being used and if there are more than one machine then both of them are working. Anytime that I remember my bottles there will be one machine working and one out of order/full. The working machine will have a queue of at least three in front of me. Of the people in front of me at least one person will either a) have a small child going at snail's pace helping or b) have a unbelievably huge number of bottles (yesterday the person in front of me returned over €11 worth of bottles) or c) not have rinsed the bottles, or put the lids on so that there's sticky soda/juice residue everywhere when I get to it.

On the positive side I have refined my technique and sped up to the point that I am positively a blur as I post the bottles into the machine. I have even issued enough threats at home that my DC remember to both put the lid back on and check whether the bottle is returnable and put it into the appropriate place. I now almost always remember to use the money back thingy at the till.

I was in the habit of returning them anyway, in Cavan at the glass bottle banks there are bins for plastic too. So that saved a lot of space in the recycle bin.

I wonder is it making people more conscious of how they recycle when out and about now too. For years I have always brought home cans/ bottles from days out because I felt bad putting them in the general bin, even the so called recycle ones at parks/ beaches are always full of general rubbish. Now that there is an incentive it probably makes more people do it. I'm talking about when it's convenient I didn't hold onto an empty can walking around the city the whole day.

I mostly get shopping delivered because we only have a very expensive supervalu in town. But I returned them a few times to Lidl, and forgot to use the receipt so that's in the car, also gave one receipt away leaving the shop to a very confused fella! The closest garage now has a machine too, so if I'm going in for bread/ milk I grab a couple of bottles and return them now

2 out of 4 times I have lugged the bottles down to a Tesco, the machine was broken.

We are in Dublin and in walking distance of a few machines. My youngest dd and her pals take them down all the time to get a bit of money for themselves. They've been know to look in the bins for them too 🙄🙈

Industrious goodness 😁

The local Supervalu wont redeem the receipt without a loyalty tag - so they can deduct points off you. The fuckers.

So I'm getting a loyalty tag only for redeeming the receipts and gonna run the points into minus figures. Then I'll take the cash and spend it in Lidl. I might even buy it all in Lidl and return it to Supervalu, just for added pettiness. .

That seems like fairly sharp practice especially as they're potentially benefitting from money that may have been spent at other retailers. Would you consider contacting the company running return, I think they're allowed to audit the retailers in the scheme or contact the CCPC?

How do they deduct points from you?

Anyway I heard others saying this before I contacted return using their chat system. They said they can't do that.

I'd use the chat to ask. Screen shot it, and show the shop. You can also have it emailed to you

Wouldn't it make more sense for Supervalue to exclude the deposit from the total when calculating points at the time that you pay for your shopping? I don't shop in Supervalue because there isn't one handy for me, so I don't know how the points work. I'm not sure how Dunnes do it, perhaps it's a small enough amount that they don't worry about people getting extra points.

It doesn't count towards your minimum spend because last Sat I was trying €5 off €35, got a bar of chocolate to go over €35 and self scan wouldn't accept it, it was hours later when it dawned on me there was one 25c deposit in the shopping, I could've got a second bar if I'd thought of it.

It also doesn't count in Dunnes towards minimum spend but I do click and collect so it's obvious when you're doing your order.

Our super value doesn't do that thank god, I used one the other day and I don't have a loyalty card. I wonder is that a Musgrave policy or just that franchise?

Dunnes are very flaithuilach with their loyalty points, I don't think they take them back when you do returns on clothes etc.