Tesco Want Me OUT!

I have worked for Tesco for over 6yrs, and seen myself as a valued member of staff. I like my job and tended to think it was a good enough company to work for until recently. My personal feeling at the moment is I am just a number ...as long as you fulfill your contracted hours every day then things are wonderful, the minute you are off sick it's another story.

My child recently developed a life time illness, which requires a lot of hospitalisation and medication. This is all new to us and we were finding life as a family quite difficult, I have used my holidays to attend hospital appointments with my child to save my ass being kicked. I have planned a few days absence as well but after the initial few days of being off, Tesco preaching they will do all they can to support me has worn off ...now they want me at work regardless of my situation.

I feel under a certain pressure to not be off work and made to feel guilty for being sick. The interrogation you receive when you go back is humiliating and just bang out of order, where else in the world of employment even with a doctors note are you made to sit in front of 2 managers (1 taking notes) while you explain why you have been off?

Then to top it all your then made to sit outside while these 2 managers discuss you and you then have the added privilege of being shouted back in to hear your fate. Surely it is not acceptable to make your employees feel like this? This feeling is widspread across Tesco. I don't even think they are allowed to treat school kids like this any more, a lot of my managers agree with how I feel but say its company policy.

I feel very let down by Tesco and i'm verging on handing my notice in which is a shame because through no fault of mine or my childs; I feel im being left no choice.

Tesco-Complaint: It sounds to us that Tesco have decided to bully you at work to make you quit. Be brave and don't give them the satisfaction of quitting and consult CAB or preferably an employment lawyer to determine your rights (initial advice should be free). www.bullyonline.org might be useful to you as well.

Iconoclast David Nicolas smells Tesco's smoke!

Dear Mr Leahy, I visited your store at the Holmbush Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, today, with the intention of doing my weekly shopping. As an ex-smoker who nearly died of the addiction (lung surgery 13 years ago finally helped me kick the awful dependency), I am very sensitive to tobacco smoke and have medical advice not to go near it.

Although I cannot prove it, I am 100% certain that people have been smoking inside your store and its foyer, the smell of stale cigarette smoke was overwhelming, so much so that I left without doing my shopping (nor did I stop for petrol). I mentioned it to two members of staff who were suitably indifferent.

Whilst I can appreciate you selling cigarettes to the lower social classes, as it is extremely profitable (there has never been a better way of taxing the poor and the stupid than by cigarettes, booze and gambling... as all competent politicians know). I would ask that you stop smoking inside the store if you expect my custom and the 80% of us that prefer not to smoke.

Yours sincerely
David Nicolas - GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO

www.davidnicolas.tv
www.davidnicolas.co.uk
www.myspace.com/davidnic0las
http://davidnicolas.blogspot.com

Tesco Direct Goes Indirect!

I am writing to complain about the diabolical service that you provide, called "Tesco Direct". It's the first time I've tried it and I can assure you it will be the last.

Having placed my order online with you on Sunday 28th/01/2007, I received a confirmation email that it would be delivered to the Coventry branch on Tuesday 30/01/2007 and ready for pick up after 4pm. Great I thought, how's that for a fast service until I actually tried to pick it up on the promised date.

I was eventually served by a young lady (Only after someone asked if I was waiting and put a call out for her). From the look on her face, as she approached the desk to serve me, I just knew that this was going to be a bad experience, which eventually proved to be right.

She checked my order number on the computer, looked up at me and said " It was lost", which she seemed to find highly amusing. I could tell this because she was laughing!!!!! Having travelled 20 miles there, to pick up a confirmed order and then being told "it was lost" and with the assistant laughing about it. I did not find this at all amusing

I informed her that it was "no laughing matter and I was disgusted that a company like Tescos could not manage such a simple transaction. Her reply surprised me by saying "It happens quite a lot".!!!!

"Shocking service and simply not good enough" I replied and could she ring up the Tescos branch in Rugby to see if they had one in stock, which I could pick up (Having already paid for it). She informed me that she couldn't do this and would have to refund the money to my card, then instantly adopted a "stroppy" attitude. I could tell this because she actually stopped "laughing" and put on the same facial expression as when she first turned up!!!.

She then proceeded to sort out my refund on the computer, eventually looking up to mumble something before wandering off, out of sight. Ten minutes later, she came back to ask for my card that I had paid with and eventually sorted out my refund.

I then asked if she could ring the Rugby branch, to see if they had one in stock. She then did so with a very,very stroppy look on her face (eyes up in her head, looking at the floor and sucking on her bottom lip).

After 5 minutes of continuous ringing, I told her "I just give up" and said to her " they are not answering are they?". This again seemed to amuse her as she started laughing once again!!!. I just shook my head in disbelief, asked to see her name badge and just walked out.

I thought it would be quicker just to go to the Tescos branch in rugby to see if they had one. Luckily they did, which I had to pay for once again. Having shopped with Tescos for many years, I have never experienced such an occasion as this.

Wasted time, Wasted miles, False assurances and the indignity of being served by a very "immature" customer services assistant who found great amusement at a regular customers disappointment.

Tesco overcharging or expensive?

As a frequent customer of Tesco at Bromley By Bow, both myself and my wife have been doing our monthly shopping here as well as weekly items and fuel, for fifteen years and have never had a problem with overcharging.

On Saturday 27th Jan 07 I purchased some items including a pack of 12 Draught Guiness and was told that the price of this was £14.42 which I found to be totally outrageous. Any other time I purchase this item it has always been £10.48 and the 18 pack was £14.42. I felt totally embarrassed when I had to argue with the checkout assistant and floor supervisor.

They tell me that head office prices these items hence I am writing to you. I believe a mistake has been made here. When this item is on special they always price it at £8.99. I would be grateful if you could amend this problem so there is no further embarasment on anybody's part.

Tony

Tesco's Tough Meat & Food Poisoning

I have been shopping at Tesco for years, and I thoroughly enjoy your offers and great bargains, so it is not easy for me to complain.

Unfortunately last weekend I purchased a joint of pork for Sunday lunch, after cooking it for a long time I found when I finally came to serve lunch that the meat was so tough it was inedible. I was so disappointed, I would not normally complain but a few week-ends before I Bought some salmon, and my husband and I both suffered food poisoning. I became so ill I was unable to go to work and was off for a week.

Kind regards, Nina

Tesco's Disgraceful Disability Discrimination

I'm the mother of a learning disabled employee of Tesco. She worked at a very large branch for 18 months on the checkouts, without supervision, taking cheques, money, etc., with no complaints whatsoever. She worked only 9 1/2 hours contract hours but during the year she was asked to do so much overtime, which she never refused because she wanted to show how good an employee she was, and wanted to increase her contract hours, which they refused to do. She did absurd shifts at their request, such as 8.00 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 7.00 to 1.00 a.m., always taking a minicab home at £14.00 a time, so that she was left with little to show for her work. I phoned and wrote to the Personnel Department asking them to increase her contract hours and to make them sociable, but received no response.

At the end of the year she was left owing £895 in underpaid tax because she had received Incapacity Benefit to which she was entitled for the 9 1/2 hours, but would not have been entitled to Disability Working Tax Credit because she was not doing 16 hours contract hours. She came off of the Incapacity Benefit on the advice of her DEA at the Job Centre and went on to Working Tax Credit because of the average during the previous year, but was not asked to do any overtime this whole year and now has to repay 6 months at £69 per month to the Working Tax Credit people, i.e. £1,800 for this year. Would anyone else work for 2 years and end up owing so much money?

The overtime stopped for my daughter when a new manager took over. Because she was now on Working Tax Credit, my daughter knew she had to work 16 hours a week, so constantly asked for overtime but was told "it's all gone", "it went yesterday" etc. She phoned in on various days but the reply was always the same. I was in a quandery. The Incapacity Benefit to which my daughter was entitled is over £100 per week, but if she went back on it and was asked to do overtime, then she would have to repay money and you cannot go on and off the benefit and in and out of Working Tax Credit. I made everything known both to the Personnel Manager and the Union repeatedly by phone and letter.

Additionally, my daughter has a problem with dexterity due to the brain damage she suffered as a baby which left her with Special Needs/Learning Disabled. She was folding the paper money notes to put them in the pod, but was told that they were not rolled tightly enough. She tried very hard to roll them tighter but couldn't. Consequently, I informed the Personnel Manager that she was unable to do the job properly, was upset, and could someone do this for her. She was very nice and told the staff that someone should do this for my daughter. Some of the colleagues were pleasant, but often my daughter came home saying that some colleagues were telling her that she was lazy, she must be able to do such a simple task and she felt really upset.

One day my daughter hurt her back on the checkouts lifting a large box of bottled water to scan. The rules for voiding had been changed so that each time she voided an item, always because of a customer changing their mind, she had to call over someone to handle the void. She was told that she was voiding more than others and on the occasion when she lifted the large box, she had done so to avoid scanning both underneath and at the side, so as to not having to void the transaction and call over a manager. She went in the following day in pain, reporting her injury to a Manager who told her to see how the day went. Later that day she was called into the office and told that she had snatched a credit card from a customer and had not smiled at him. My daughter explained that she was in pain, was trying to keep her back straight and had not intentionally snatched the card. She had no support at the meeting as a learning disabled employee is entitled to and was very distressed at the first time being disciplined.

She had 2 weeks off of work because of the pain to her back, visiting the doctor who gave her a medical note. My daughter was traumatised by the incident, which, unless you understand the insecurities and fear of a Special Needs person, you will not understand. She was not paid. She said she didn't want to go back on to checkouts and I accompanied my daughter to the first meeting I attended at Tesco's (there were many to follow). She was told that she could work as a shelf stacker, which my daughter agreed to and was introduced to a very nice older lady who showed her the job. She was told that this was a temporary job. On the fourth week, she went to work as usual, was handed a piece of paper with her name at the top, entitled "Cleaner's Job", with instructions on how to take a bucket of water and cloth around.

My daughter was heartbroken and phoned me in tears. Firstly, she hates the feel of water, secondly she is unable to squeeze the cloth same as she could not fold the paper notes as she has no grip or strength in her hands due to the brain damage and most importantly, she was humiliated at being demoted. Please remember that my daughter had done nothing intentionally wrong and she could not understand why she was being treated this way.

I asked for a meeting and accompanied my daughter to the next meeting where the manager, a Union Rep and another lady were present, the woman taking notes. What followed was the most appalling discrimination and humiliating treatment of my daughter by the store manager. He was not only abusive to her, but frightened her by jabbing his finger at her. He told her that his only concern was his customers and asked her why she had lifted the box. My daughter explained why but he was having nothing of it. He repeatedly asked how come for 18 months she had not hurt herself but on this occasion had!!! He tole me that she had been on a Health and Safety Course and when she told him she had not he produced a piece of paper on it with her signature. I asked to see the paper and it simply asked "Do you know how to lift objects". I asked him if this constituted Tesco's training and he put the paper away.

The Manager told my daughter that the cleaning job was the only one available at the store (a very large London store). I told him that she didn't want it, couldn't do it and he told me that if she couldn't do the job because of difficulties then she must produce a doctor's certificate to that effect. At that point, I became so angry at his treatment of my daughter who was sitting frightened and starting to cry, that I told him what he could do with his cleaner's job and that my daughter wouldn't be returning until he reconsidered the options open to her.

She sat at home for weeks, getting more and more depressed. She told me she wished she had never been born, and cried constantly. I requested she be transferred to another store, and I was told she had to go around looking for vacancies elsewhere and I accompanied my daughter to a number of stores, but she was told everywhere that there were no vacancies and some told her it was up to her store to put in a transfer request, which they did not do.

I sent an email to the CEO which got passed down to a senior personnel manager of another store and a grievance meeting was arranged where the Union Area Manager represented my daughter, a young lady took notes and I accompanied my daughter. At that meeting, the Personnel Manager told us that no such cleaning job existed. Cleaning is always done as part of a job, but not as a job in itself. He accepted that my daughter had done nothing wrong, he would arrange to find a new store for my daughter who said she would very much like to go onto .com. It was agreed that my daughter be put on "gardening leave".

Subsequently another meeting took place where Remploy was present, agreed to become involved again but only on the condition that my daughter work more than 16 hours a week. It took several months until they found another store for her. Other meetings took place which both my daughter, the Union and I attended, where the Union put forward my daughter's case for the money she has to repay the Inland Revenue, now totalling over £2,500 be reimbursed to her, that the 2 weeks money she lost when she had hurt her back and stayed at home be reimbursed to her, but nothing has happened.

Eventually she was found another large London store, much closer to home where she has been working very happily in the .com department. I have met and spoken with the manager and her line manager who have both confirmed that my daughter is picking up the job very quickly, they have no problems with her and that they like her and she is settling in as part of the team.

However, for some reason, she is still being paid from the previous store. Last month, despite doing over 23 hours a week, she was paid for the 9 1/2 contract hours she had previously done. Another meeting, and she was assured that the money would be made up. However, this month, having done 22 1/2 hours a week, she was again paid the 9 1/2 hours by the previous store. My daughter is heartbroken again and feels, and I must agree with her, that she is being victimized as surely Tesco can do better than this. To cap it all off, the previous store has offered to "loan" her money until next month but only on the condition that she goes to the old store, takes in a post dated cheque to repay the "loan" before they hand her the money. I told them that she will not go begging for her own money, will not go back to the previous store and will not hand them a post dated cheque but that she will give them a written receipt that she has received "money on account". They have refused to do this.

I sent an email to the address given to me by Head Office, outlining the grievances my daughter has had, the discrimination she has suffered, the hurt, loss of money etc. and giving them 7 days to respond fully, failing which my daughter would take Tesco's to an Employment Tribunal The answer I received was that the email address was wrong and that I should send it to her Store Manager. I replied stating that that address was given to me by Head Office, they should send it wherever they wanted and that their reply was my receipt that Tesco's had received this very serious communication.

Seeing the email address of Terry Leahy on this website, I sent him a long email, outlining this whole story, telling him that I had already sent an email to the Company regarding my daughter's intention to take his company to an Employment Tribunal and that my daughter is still waiting to hear where she stands with regards the permanence of the job now, etc. I will keep this site updated if I receive a reply to my original email or from Mr Leahy.

Concerned Mother

My Tesco Tampon Hell!

I bought Tesco Regular Tampons at Tesco Metro in Manchester city centre (Ref. 2426116:43). Bar code: 5 000 436 024576.

When I wanted to change the tampon and pulled the thread - I had the thread in my hand, but the tampon still in my body!

Susanne

Tesco-Complaint: This is a genuine complaint received by email.

Buy 1 Overpackaged Overpriced Tesco Pizza Get Poor Customer Service FREE!

Guy Adams writing in The Independent takes you through his tale of woeful Tesco excess and poor customer service in "The campaign against waste: Tesco's packaging cover-up." The finest Tesco pizza in question is wrapped in clingfilm, placed on a tray and put in a box. Why?

At Tesco, every little helps. That's why Dwayne, the man stacking shelves on the ready-meal aisle of its Ponders End superstore in north London, wears a red fleece emblazoned with the logo: "Happy to help."

Today, I've decided to take Dwayne at his word. He is, after all, unloading a trolley full of prosciutto crudo and rocket pizza, a product so absurdly over-packaged it might as well be sponsored by the plastics industry. The pizza costs £4.49, and comes from Tesco's allegedly upmarket "Finest" range. It is presented on a polystyrene tray, wrapped in clingfilm, inside a cumbersome cardboard box. If that wasn't enough, the box contains two further plastic bags. One is full of cheap prosciutto ham; the other, a handful of tired leaves. The idea, it seems, is to sprinkle both on top during cooking, like they do in Italy. The combined waste produced by this simple item would fill an average kitchen bin. It's absurd; it's unnecessary; and it provides a neat, 12-inch symbol of a rampaging epidemic.

So I approach Dwayne and make a complaint. Could he, or one of his superiors, kindly explain what exactly, is the point of the packaging surrounding my pizza? Dwayne will certainly have a go. He reckons clingfilm stops toppings falling off the pizza in transit. He can't explain the box and the other stuff but suggests I take the matter up at the checkout.

Here, I meet a kindred spirit. A till worker agrees the packaging "isn't necessary" and points me in the direction of customer services, where I queue to speak to a sweet woman called Chris. She offers to file a complaint to head office, which will investigate and call me. That sounds like progress: I am to speak to someone who may then speak to someone who might be in a position to do something. Every little helps.

Then two bad things happen. Firstly, I am asked to leave the Ponders End store by a security guard who takes exception to The Independent's photographer. Secondly, I am given a copy of the "complaint logging" report that Chris at customer services just filed and it's a masterpiece in pointless corporate-speak which ends: "as Tesco is meant to be a green company, customer is surprised at this situation. He would like a call from head office about this situation."

Predictably, no call arrives. Then I make a discovery: Tesco's head office is in Cheshunt, a mere 20-minute drive from the dreary Enfield car park where we are eating our lunch. And so The Independent turns up on the trading estate that is home to the nerve centre of Britain's biggest retailer. I march into reception (it's decorated like a branch of Tesco) brandishing a pizza box, and clear my throat in a Churchillian manner. "I am one of your 30 million customers, and I have come to Cheshunt in the hope of speaking to somebody about the packaging on your pizza."

The receptionist looks alarmed. She picks up a telephone. In the doorway, another security guard appears. He escorts me to the car, with a piece of paper containing the freephone number of their customer service centre in Dundee. There, a man (who declines to give his name) listens to my complaint. He advises me to speak to the store, which will take up the issue with the supplier. "But," I say, "I've just been there, and filled in a form, and they told me they couldn't do anything, and I should contact you guys. Now you're telling me something different. Am I being lied to?"

The line goes dead.

So, finally, for the nuclear option. Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco's chief executive, lives a short drive from Cheshunt, in a home that might have come from the set of Footballers' Wives. Sir Terry earned £2.9m last year and a glance at his magnificent home suggests he can afford to eat Tesco's "finest" whenever he likes. But his home is empty. All lights are off, and no one answers the intercom when I buzz. After a few minutes shouting, and waving the pizza box in the general direction of the building, five workmen emerge in hi-vis jackets. They are building a large extension to Sir Terry's Hertfordshire pile. The "boss" won't be back until the weekend, they say.

Tesco says it listens to customers, and it's very good at pretending to do just that. But no one was prepared to take responsibility for a simple complaint about its packaging.

I don't believe it.....

I am amazed since I stumbled on this site a couple of days ago, amazed at how interesting but how sad some of Tesco employees are. I suspect many of you are new to the company and just don't understand retail or you just like being in a job you dont hate, if that's possible. I also wonder how many are share holders of the company, whether bought independently or were given to you for just being there! I presume at some point you were happy because you did get picked to work there, so where did it all go wrong and why stay? I don't believe there are no other jobs that pay similar money with perhaps more sociable hours too. I suggest you sell your shares, hand in you discount card, relinquish your right to all your benefits and go to Sainsburys.

Tesco nearly killed me!

I write with regard to an incident at the Tesco Extra Store in Telford this morning (18 Jan 2007).

Having visited the petrol station I was driving off the forecourt and was about to leave the retail park, when a significant proportion of the sign advertising the petrol station blew down. The sign missed the bonnet of my car. Had I set out a few seconds earlier I fear that the plastic may have broken the windscreen of my car. Given the size and weight of the sign, and the velocity it achieved having falling from a great height, I feel lucky not to have been killed or seriously injured.

I am shocked that the sign was in such a state of disrepair that it was blown down. Given that the gale force winds had been forecast by the Met office on Tuesday I believe that an incident of this type could have been anticipated.

It is my belief that this incident violated the Health and Safety at Work act, given the serious potential for injury to members of the public or Tesco employees. Given the potential to anticipate such an incident I believe that Tesco have violated the the duty of care that they owe the public.

Inbred Jed has questions!

Have you nothing better to do in your life than complain about a supermarket? You must be unemployed! You sad c**t!

Tesco-Complaint edit: Welcome to the site and thanks for caring.

Nottingham Metro store, Victoria Centre

At whatever time of day you visit the queues are horrendous trailing down each aisle making looking at produce extremely difficult. Many of the tills are not being operated and those that are, are manned by rude staff (probably extremely stressed) or those who are chatting to their colleagues across customers. Shelves are empty especially fruit & veg.

Tesco need to spend time on customer service & staff training and concentrate on being a good supermarket as opposed to elbowing their way into other sectors.

Tesco's Rubbish

I am writing to complain about the horrible mess on the canal path at the rear of Tesco's branch at Tring Road in Aylesbury, Bucks. This canal runs alongside the rear of the Tesco's Store in Tring Road, Aylesbury, right next to their carpark and recycling enclosure.

On Boxing Day 2006 a family walk turned into horror at this sight. The following day we notified the Tesco's store in person - the initial response was 'it is nothing to do with us - it is a council matter', eventually we spoke to the manager who would 'look into it.'

We walked along the canal on Sunday (7th Jan) and the situation remains unchanged - if anything it is worse! No effort has been made to clear the original rubbish and more is escaping from their recycling facility. [T-C: So much for being green!]

I have now made the local Newspaper and Radio Stations aware of the problem and was interviewed by the Buck Herald yesterday and Three Counties Radio this morning. Surely, we all have a responsibility to keep the environment clear of rubbish - as we are told 'every little helps' when are Tesco's going to do their little?

RH, Aylesbury.

More pictures can also be downloaded here
Link to slideshow

I Work at Tesco and its a joke!

Tesco where I work is getting worse. We are always being told to do the work of two or three people; we are overstaffed when you can regularly see 6 or 7 managers in the staff canteen at the same time doing nothing.

You could not find 5 people in my store who would tell you they are happy working there. It is getting worse as more staff leave they do not replace them and expect the remaining staff to do even more work, its ok though as I’m sure the store manager will get his usual bonus.

I could go on for hours and hours telling you how poorly run Tesco are but whats the point as they will never change. I can only say don’t go to work for Tesco if your thinking about it and if I was you don’t shop there either because it’s a joke.

Tesco's One Hour Photo takes weeks...

I visit my local Tesco store in Crawley once a week and as they have a photo processing department I decided I would try it and have a disposable camera developed there. The pictures weren't important so it wouldn't matter to me too much if they messed it up or if the quality was poor and if it was good then it would be more convenient to use, and cheaper, than the place I used to use (which has now closed down). All around the photo processing desk they advertise the one hour processing and say that they'll develop the film while I do my shopping. This was ideal for me as I only go there once a week and didn't really want to have to wait that long. I later found out that they don't charge any extra for this service either. So it was all looking good.

However, I have been trying to get my camera developed for the past month using their heavily advertised one hour service and not once have I been able to do so. Every time I try I am told that they can't do the one hour processing at that time and have offered me a later service, which was usually the next day (a Sunday). As I said already I only visit the place once a week and therefore this was of no use to me. Each time I have asked why they can't offer a service they are advertising and each time I have been given a different excuse, once it was even that the man doing the processing was going on his break in a minute and wouldn't be back for an hour! Hardly great customer service when the staff's breaks are more important than the needs of the customers!

Last time I asked to speak to the manager to try and found out why they were advertising a service they were consistently unable to provide. The man (it's the same person every week) looked a bit annoyed that I wanted to complain to his manager but did call him to the desk. When he arrived I asked him why they weren't providing a service they were advertising. I wouldn't mind if they were really busy but each time the man was just standing around not doing much. The manager had a word with him and basically told me the same thing I had just been told for that weeks excuse. I told him that I had been in three different times now and each time I had been refused the one hour service. He apologised and told me that I could have the film developed on the 24 hour service. No good I told him and I was told that there was nothing more he could do. Another example of poor customer service!

I'm going to try again on Saturday and if I still can't get the one hour service then I'm going to write a letter of complaint to the head office. The only good thing was that the man at the photo desk has always been polite and apologetic, but that doesn't change the fact that it's bad service!

Tesco's customer service off their trolley!

I have just returned from Tesco and am far from happy. I spend a lot of money in Tesco's. Today I spent £40 on petrol and £140 on groceries. When I turn up there I fully expect to find a shopping trolley which will allow me to do my family shop. For some reason Tesco have decided to reduce the number of toddler twin shopping trolley's which is fine if you don't happen to have 2 twins that need to go in one. When I went to seek some customer service from the inappropriately named "Customer Services" I was looked at like as if I had asked for the earth. Eventually when it became clear that I was not about to be fobbed off, a trolley man was called. He found me one, but before I had time to point out that the harness was broken, he had taken off. Not wishing to return to the sour faced individual behind the desk I made do and hoped that the twins were securely wedged enough not to be able to climb out. I am going to write a letter of complaint and demand some Clubcard points as compensation!

Wot No Eggs?

I went to the large Tesco in Station Road, Addlestone, Surrey, on 22nd December to buy, amongst other things, eggs.

I was informed by a couple of staff members that they had run out of eggs on 20th December. The first person I spoke to was very offhand, almost rude. The second was polite and apologetic, but neither had any satisfactory explanation.

I find it extraordinary that three days before Christmas a store the size of Tesco allows itself to run out of such a basic foodstuff. They had all sorts of other things in stock that I did not want but NO eggs - unbelievable.

I haven't been back to Tesco since, Jenny Lack.

A quickie from a disgrunted staff member...

I'd just like to say that I'm pretty certain that Tesco staff are the most mistreated out of all the supermarkets. The bigwigs will do anything to be sure they remain #1 and that includes bombarding the staff with insurmountable workloads and impossible deadlines, not to mention shortchanging stores with inadequate levels of staff. So the next time you come across a rude member of staff, please remember that they probably hate their job. I know I do mine!

Tesco's sour grapes complaint fails

A council leader accused by Tesco of influencing a planning decision has been cleared of wrongdoing, as reported by the BBC.

Last year Tesco applied to replace Darlington Town Hall at Feethams with a superstore, but the application was thrown out by the council. Before the decision was made council leader John Williams said he was opposed to the development.

The Standards Board received a complaint against him, but said he did not break codes of conduct. A statement from Darlington Council said: "A complaint was submitted to the Standards Board accusing Councillor Williams of predetermining the decision taken by the council about the proposal for a Tesco store in the town centre.

"Before the decision was made Mr Williams had made it clear that he backed the majority of public opinion which was against the development.

'Not surprised'

"The Standards Board accepted that evidence of predetermination could lead to a breach of the Code of Conduct. "But it said that had not happened in relation to the Tesco proposal and therefore the complaint did not justify investigation."

Mr Williams said he was happy to have been cleared. He said: "I'm pleased, but not surprised. "I always knew that it was right for me to give leadership both to the council and more importantly to the majority views of the wider Darlington community on this vitally important Tesco issue.

"The Standards Board judgement clearly demonstrates that I was right to do so."

Every Little Helps Them Not Us!!

The reason for writing here is I cannot believe the service and treatment we just got at Tesco.

My partner had bought me a CD at Christmas and I didn't want it never been played or even opened went to change it and she was going to change it for a CD at a higher price, she was told no. She was of course confused went to customer services or shall we call it ha ha we have your money so tough luck services and told she could be copying the CDs so no, how when it hadn't even been opened?

My partner was made to feel like a criminal and of course very upset with the whole experience, I called the customer complaints they just do not care either and nobody will help us, so we are stuck with a CD we don't want. I told them we have shopped at their store for years and get everything from Petrol onwards and do they really want to lose a customer who spends so much over a CD well the answer is yes as Tesco do not care at all and are happy for us to walk away so we have, now lets all spread the word I am fed up with Tesco:

1. Killing local shops with unfair trade
2. Getting so big the individual customer no longer counts.
3. Forcing the prices so low with the farmers they are going out of business.
4. Destroying your local areas with faceless stores
5. Telling us how happy they are making billions of all of us.

If we all stop going to Tesco maybe one day they will turn round and think maybe we should have looked after our customers! Every little helps and we have just helped ourselves to shop elsewhere!

Jason from Scotland

I really hate someone called Gemma

In your Whitfield branch why does no one notice the anorexic girl, about 24/25 who changes price labels & then gets through by finding a very young cashier & talking to them to distract them from pricing whilst at the check out. She carries a back pack & it must be obvious to buyers what is happening. This girl is Gemma EDITED & she is in daily changing labels & making us all look like fools. Whitfield managers BeWARE!!!!

Tesco-Complaint Editor: We've edited out the surname of the person as it may be defamatory and especially since you have not given your own name. Do you really think this is the place to air your hatred for Gemma - would you not be better in this instance talking to your store manager than posting here on Tesco-Complaint?

Terry Leahy: Hot or Not?

It appears Monsieur Terence Leahy has a none too secret yet rather ardent admirer! Surely this is a tabloid joke:

BAN FOR SHOPPER

A WOMAN was given a two-year restraining order yesterday for bombarding Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy with love letters.

Judith Atkinson, 56, was convinced she had met the multi-millionaire at her local store.

His security team were so alarmed by her letters, police were called in.

Atkinson, of Langworth, Lincs, admitted harassment. She was told by Lincoln magistrates not to contact Sir Terry and ordered to pay £43 costs.

No, looks like it's true!:

Shopper stalks Tesco chief

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy had to call the police after an obsessed shopper hounded him with love letters.

Judith Atkinson began writing to the retail boss after convincing herself that they had met at her local store.

The 56 year-old, who lives at Langworth in Lincolnshire, drove more than 100 miles to Leahy’s Hertfordshire office on three separate occasions in an attempt to see him.

The woman has been issued a two-year restraining order by Lincoln magistrates.

Since Mr Leahy is not exactly good-looking then in the words of Kanye West our only comment has to be: "we ain't saying she's a golddigger but she aint stalking no broke ah broke ah broke [nigg]ah"

Red light for Tesco PLC's obesity

"Tesco leads UK food label campaign against obesity" or so Tesco PLC and Rachel Sanderson at Reuters Group PLC would like you to believe. Apparently Tesco PLC are launching this £4m new food labelling campaign to help people learn what is in the food they buy and thus reverse the national trend towards morbid obesity.

"This isn't just about a label, it's about a lifestyle. We have made it simple to compare what's inside thousands of every-day foods so you can choose what best suits your diet," GDA campaign director Jane Holdsworth said in a statement.

Sounds good doesnt it? Tesco and some others corporates have formed an alliance to help the simple consumer understand in a simple way the nutritional value of the food they sell to us. Perhaps this finally is the solution to the obesity epedmic which is set to result in a crisis in 2010 when one million children in the UK will be obese? Could Tesco PLC be so altruous? No.

The true story is very different to the above and what Tesco PLC leads is not a campaign against obesity but a malicious attempt by a pack of profit-driven conspirators to sabotage our understanding of what is healthy in order to obfuscate what is unhealthy. This corporate alliance doesn't care if consumers are able to understand the nutrients which they consume and half of adults and most children will not be able to comprehend Tesco's new so-called "simple" GDA labels. Thats right, most of the population will not understand Tesco's preferred food labels. Sustain, the campaign for better food, published research showing that almost half of adults and most children lacked the mathematical skills needed to interpret the new GDA labels. Not only that but 62% of people misunderstood 'percent of GDA' labels. In comparison, only 21% misunderstood the 'traffic light' labels recommended by the Food Standards Agency. Thus, Jane Holdsworth can hold up a 12 pack of Walkers Crisps and tell us how simple GDA is but she cannot deny that half of adults and most children lack the numeracy to ever understand it; and we can see her poor attempts to feed us lies. The GDA system being pushed by Tesco clearly does not work for consumers and our children.

However almost all of us would understand the Food Standards Agencies traffic light system so why is it that Tesco are spearheading a campaign which only serves to confuse us? Again, when it comes to Tesco we must look at the money to see what they are thinking. This is what Tesco is really scared of: spending several hundreds of millions developing and switching to healthier food once we all find out just how unhealthy the standard prepackaged Tesco food is right now.

For your information, those in alliance with Tesco for the GDA system which half the adult population cannot understand are Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Danone, Masterfoods, PepsiCo, Unilever, Somerfield and Morrisons. Boycott campaign anyone?

And those who support and will adopt the more ethical and simple Food Standards Agency's traffic light scheme are Sainsbury's, Waitrose, the Co-op, Marks & Spencer and Asda.

Sustain's children's food campaign spokesman, Richard Watts, said: "We are very disappointed that the food industry is spending millions of pounds promoting an unclear and unhelpful food labelling system. Powerful companies such as Kellogg's have been vigorously lobbying MPs to support this unclear and unhelpful system, which will do nothing to help stop the rise of childhood obesity, but will help to protect their profits."

tesco dint r&r me rebull innit

hi just like to say good luck after the problems ive just had tesco lewes clearly had a large sign saying rebull 7.99 instead of 9.99 bought the item left the store checked my receipt went back to the store complained they then removed the sign and refused it was ever there this was in the alcohol isle so i asked the manager to check the cctv he recons it does no go on that isle even though i could see cameras so they not only refused the r&r they basically called me a liar not happy so good luck to everyone who get a refund on large items tesco deserve it they are the biggest crook thanks

Tesco-Complaint: Thanks for your post. Please spend a few seconds spell-checking and punctuating before posting. Cheers!

Tesco pudding leaves very bad taste

Barrow-in-Furness Tesco is just like many other Tesco stores in treating customers as though they are all untrustworthy charlatans. Heres what the North West Evening Mail reported today:

LIKE a plump Christmas pudding, retail giant Tesco has landed itself in hot water over a festive dessert. Two sisters, Margaret Tucker, 65, and Lorraine Hill, 57, are steaming after cashing in on what they had thought was a 20 per cent discount on Tesco’s finest pud. They spotted the bargain while shopping on December 5, but later that afternoon they noticed that they had been charged the full price.

When Margaret returned to the store three hours later she took one of the managers round to show her where she had picked up the bargain. But to her amazement the display and the 20 per cent ticket had vanished. The manager at the store — who came on duty after the sisters had done their shopping — insisted there had been no such offer that day. Then the customer services desk said no such offer had ever existed. When the pair wrote a letter of complaint the store wrote back saying an offer had existed but ended a few days earlier. The letter claimed that all discounts signs had been removed before the pair’s shopping trip.

The sisters visited the store a second time to meet another manager and to view CCTV footage in the hope of finding evidence to back their case. Lorraine said: “Despite the fact there are cameras all over the store — and one very close to where we had picked up the pudding — we were told the cameras do not work all the time.”

The sisters, who are demanding an apology and an explanation, insisted they had not imagined the discount. They claim the discount signs should have been removed if the offer was no longer valid. Mrs Hill, from Mount Pleasant, Barrow, said: “I am becoming increasingly concerned that Tesco locally and nationally is prepared to stand by the humiliation of my sister in the Barrow store and implying, in writing, that she and I had some kind of joint hallucination on December 5.”

At no point did the store offer to give them a free Christmas pudding — only a full refund. To add to the confusion the sisters received another letter from Tesco customer services in Dundee shortly after contacting us, in which they now blame tills for not registering “the multi-saver purchase”. They claim the tills have now been fixed and apologised for the inconvenience. They said the complaint would be passed to Barrow store manager Rob Alexander. Mrs Hill has now written to Mr Alexander to see if he can help.

We have since contacted Tesco and they promised to look into this fully. They apologised for the sisters’ troubles. A spokesman refused to be drawn on whether they had implied the sisters were lying. He said: “It does seem to be a misunderstanding. The store is going to be in touch. “We are sorry for the distress. They could be sent something.”

We also suggested they should give the sisters £200 worth of vouchers as an apology. They can afford it, having made £2.2bn profit last year. Later that day Mrs Hill was offered flowers and chocolates by Tesco — but refused them."