GTA 4 HITS TESCO STORES!

Good Morning Sir Terry,

Some background information on me - I am a disabled person with both physical and mental health issues. I do not like crowds, suffer paranoia and struggle to stand/walk for long after fracturing my back some years ago.

I have just returned from your Fforestfach, Swansea store, where I was assaulted, because of your poor handling of the release of Grand Theft Auto for the Playstation 3 and X-Box 360. I decided too late that I would like GTA and was unable to pre-order a copy from the usual games retailers. Knowing that Tesco sells games and is often competitive on price, my Wife phoned the store yesterday evening to check they were going to have stock. We were told that they had plenty, there was no need to queue early but they could not confirm the price.

11.35 arrived and we set off for the store. We arrived approximately
12 minutes later and entered the store, heading immediately for the games aisle. I didn't see the point of getting the electric buggy as usual as I wouldn't be doing a lot of walking. There was a queue already formed but, it didn't seem too large so we joined it. At this point I commented to my Wife that we may not get a copy but as it was approaching midnight, we may as well wait. On or just after midnight, the queue rapidly moved forward. It soon became apparent that instead of placing the games on the shelves, they were going to be sold from the customer services desk. I walked as quickly as possible and soon became embroiled in a scrum of people to get a game. This was an extremely difficult thing for me to do because of the amount of people and their close proximity to me. There were several people that were pushing in and forcing their way through to the front. I stood my ground despite being jostled and pushed back and forth putting pressure on my back. Suddenly out of nowhere, I was punched or elbowed in the ribs. I stood there for a moment afraid of what to do and then, enraged, I left the queue to complain to the security guard.

I explained to the security guard what had just happened and I now apologise for my use of language towards him. You have to remember that I had just been hit and was quite upset to say the least. I asked him who was responsible for the situation. He advised it was the problem of the Duty Manager and duly went to make a call for him. The Duty Manager some moments later meandered up to me. I explained what had happened yet again, still quite shaken by the whole thing. He informed me that it wasn't his fault but that of the Store Manager for choosing the method of sale. Now, I am not stupid, I realise that having dozens of gamers wandering around with their copy of GTA could pose a security risk but, the organisation was a big problem. I reiterated this point to the Duty Manager who spoke to a colleague on the security desk and wandered off to check the CCTV footage. Some time passed whereupon he meandered back to me with his hands in his pockets head bowed. He duly asked what I expected turning up when I did quoting the time on the CCTV. He said there were people in front of me who deserved to get their copy first.He implied that I had not queued and was trying to get a copy by dubious methods. I again reiterated that it was not about actually getting a copy anymore but about being assaulted. I had given up on getting a copy as they had run out of PS3 copies whilst he was reviewing things. There were people in the original queue behind me, that actually managed to avoid being assaulted, and stay in the scrum, who received a copy of the PS3 version. At this point, we left.

The whole management of the release was poor. Had a book of raffles tickets been booked out, they could have been handed out to waiting customers. Had the customers been informed by the staff they were queuing in the wrong place, the scrum could have been avoided. Had the security guards who were chatting the whole while with some friends bothered to do their jobs, they could have monitored the situation and prevent it being the bun fight it was. Especially as their desk is a matter of feet from the customer services desk.

Had your Duty Manager given a damn about what I was saying, I may not be writing this now. His attitude was slovenly, disbelieving and rude.

I know GTA is a violent game but I didn't realise actually buying it would affect my health.

I look forward to your comments Sir Terry.

Steve Birkett

Dare You Feed Baby Tesco Yoghurts?

I was looking for the address of Tesco's head office on the Internet and thought that this may also be something which you could post on your blog.

I visited the Oystermouth Swansea store on the 5th December to buy some Petits Filous yoghurts for my 9 month old daughter. When I picked up the yoghurt pack it was dated 22nd November. All other yoghurts items on the shelf were also 2 weeks out of date. Presumably people had been buying these out of date yoghurts. These are popular first yoghurts for babies and new mothers buy them because they presume they are healthy for their children but it could have made a baby really sick. I went to the customer service desk to inform the attendant who wrote ‘Petits Filous’ on a scrap of paper . I have no idea if these yoghurts were ever removed from the shelf.

Unfortunately, when I mentioned this to other mothers they also commented that it wasn’t the first time and that they had regularly seen items several weeks past the use by dates still on the shelves. This has now put me off continuing to shop at Tesco and I feel so strongly about the harm this could do to young babies that I will go to any length to make others aware of the poor quality and stock control mechanisms operating at Tesco.

Tesco's Cheapside Manager Alan is an Ape!

I bought some Bahlsen biscuits marked on special earlier this week and noticed that the till price was £ 1.03 compared to the £ 0.79 on the shelf. I noticed while doing a self-service check out that the price was wrong and a member of staff corrected the price back to what it should be. Today I thought I would see if they had bothered to fix the error and bought the biscuits again but sure enough the price still came up at £ 1.03 in the check-out despite the shelf price still being £ 0.79.
I insisted on seeing the manager (Alan in the Cheapside Branch in London) who acted in a surly manner and just shoved the £ 0.24 owing and my receipt at me. He was upset because he thought I should have just called another checkout supervisor and had them correct the price while I was checking out. When I explained that it wasn’t my job to correct their prices when I have already told them that they are wrong and said I should have been given an apology for this attempt to rip me off, he got surly and told me “there is a Marks and Spencers nearby – go there in future”. When I said I would report him he then started telling me not to come back to the store and was yelling at me as I left the store.
Clearly staff training is a low priority at Tesco as is correcting “mistaken” prices – especially given that the new price-correction only policy now makes it a very lucrative business.

Tesco internet service pay as you (dont) go!

I had a Tesco Anytime Internet package which i tried to switch to pay as you go as i obtained a broadband package with another ISP. The Tesco screens went through and switched my package to pay as you go but then did not load the browser for me to use pay as you go. I didn't worry about it as didn't really need to use pay as you go.

I then emailed Tesco.net to resolve this and emails went back and forth giving mixed information. In the end i was told i would have to phone in.

Imagine my shock when my credit card was billed the following month. I tried to cancel it again online and it went through the motions and then did an error message about pay as you go. Then i was billed again for another months usage!

I phoned the number they suggested at Tesco.net and they cancelled my package and said if a refund was due it would be applied to my credit card.

To date this has not happened despite several calls to Tesco.net and two conversations with a Manager. He agreed i should not have to pay for the service if i had not used it. i asked him to check their records to see if i had used the net via Tesco since i switched to broadband.

No refund or contact has been received since. i have stopped shopping at Tesco's as i have decided to vote with my pocket.

Thank you for a great site.

Dem Tesco man be racist... (but me not)

My self and a friend (work-colleague), both of us of British -African/Caribbean origin. Were in the Tesco Metro store on Kingsland road North London, weds 8th aug, approx 5.50 pm. We are regulars to the store, especially as my friend has his own business situated around the corner, to the Tesco. To our annoyance, we found that the security guard (Indian) took it upon himself to follow us around the store. As if to say, 'I'll follow these two black guys, they look like thieves'. He was a bit too blatant, as he tried to make out that he was moving around shopping baskets. Me and my friend noticed what the security guard was doing and decided to complain to a manager. The manager of the store was eventually found. I took him round to face the security guard. Then we made known our grievance. The manager seemed to find the whole episode quite amusing-(he was grinning from ear to ear.) I let him know that I didn't find this incident amusing, but rather offensive. The manager explained that the security guard was 'just doing his job'. (Tesco's must have a racist policy then, of instructing their security to tail only, people of colour!) The security guard at this point told me to, 'Shut up!' Then the manager stepped between us, as if to keep the peace. As I mentioned my work colleague owns his own business around the corner. I myself am a freelance -writer. (We are NOT thieves and are fed up of being treated as such @ your store.) We have enough funds between us to go to court if needs be! We therefore want a written apology from BOTH the security guard and the store manager. We will be notifying the CRE and I may well document my 'TESCO experience' in some way using online media...(If the Indian security guard knew his history, he would know that Africans inhabited 'India' which means 'black', a long time before the people living there now, they come from African blood.)

Charlie Bins
mob: 07949 99 88 23

Update: I've not had a reply to my email to Tesco. (The whole thing has started a furious debate online within the African community.) I and my work colleague have stopped our custom at all Tesco stores. If you aobserve Tues London Lite 14 aug page 4. You will see that the Met Police have stats to show that foreigners commit 20% of all London crime. TOP of the list are the POLISH!!!

Tesco make another customer feel bad... this time she's 74 years old. Nice one Terry.

On the 29th Match 2007 I had an unfortunate incident where, through no ones fault, I had a spillage on a pair of trousers in the Tesco Branch at Nailsea. The matter was dealt with efficiently and courteously by Customer Care who made a record of the incident on their computer - I was told that I didn't need a record as it would be stored on their computer - told to take the trousers to be dry-cleaned, return with the receipt and I would be reimbursed.

On the 2nd April 2007 at approximately 3.15 pm I returned to the Nailsea Branch with my receipt making a round trip of 10 miles, unfortunately, no record of the incident could be found. The Duty Manager who dealt with the query decided that I should be reimbursed for the dry-cleaning but when I asked for mileage was rather dismayed.
She did suggest £2 but I was not happy with this and 32p per mile was agreed upon.

The reason I am writing to you is that I was far from happy with the way I was dealt with by the duty Manager. She ignored me until negotiations for mileage came up and I felt I was being a nuisance. I am a loyal Tesco Customer, 74 years old, who can ill-afford to pay for unnecessary petrol money. If the young lady in question hopes to progress up the management ladder at Tesco's she needs to improve her customer relation technique.

What if an accident like this happens when you are miles from home? I am sure, if the matter was recorded correctly on the computer arrangements could be made with your local stores. I look forward to hearing from you on this matter

Mrs M T Bateman

Tesco Direct goes Indirect with Poor Delivery

I want to keep this brief as I have already wasted weeks trying to get an oven delivered, fitted and old one scraped. Not a difficult process - you would hope.

Urgh I feel sick even just thinking about the whole thing. Here goes. It was all arranged for Tuesday the 20th March so I took the day off. At 8.30 the cooker was delivered, but to my surprise the delivery men just left, the cooker dumped in the middle of my sitting room. Chasing them down the road (in my best pink slippers) I told them that I had also paid for installation and scrap. They told me someone would turn up later as it’s a separate job. By 7pm I was sadly still waiting.

After waiting 20 mins to get though to Tesco I was told that engineers only come out on Saturdays in my area (I live in south London not the Shetlands) anyway Saturday no show (no phone call to say they had cancelled it) so I took the following Friday off work as it was arranged for then (by a private engineer to take on the work they can't handle …he is a very busy man!) anyway AGAIN no show, so they promised Saturday by now 11 days late.

To my delight he showed upand installed the new cooker, to my horror I still have the old cooker outside sadly waiting to be scraped, the scrap people again did not bother to show up or call to say they had cancelled. I have now been promised Wednesday which will make it 3 weeks late!

I have been given my delivery cost back and offered £100 in compensation, but when I weigh that up with the fact that 2 weeks after it was meant to all be completed its just crap - I was even told to get my council to collect it!!!

I feel old and tired and will never ever order from Tesco extra again, if you value your mental health don't go near them!

Emmeline Keith-Krelik

Tesco Still Not Recycling Properly!!!

I am very disappointed and extremely annoyed, I visited the Warrington Tesco Superstore like I do every week, to do my recycling and at the same time my weekly shop. I was very annoyed and disgusted when i visited the store last week (wed) mid morning, to go to the recycling bins, and find that they were all over spilling with rubbish, and there were 10 - 15 bags full of recycling rubbish that had just been dumped in and around the recycling bays, the bins looked like they hadnt been emptied for at least 2 weeks.

I think it is so wrong that the government are extremely hot on members of the public recycling even to the point of us being charged if we dont recycle items properly and stores like the Warrington branch cant even be bothered to control their contractors to empty the bins regularly and keep the bays clear of rubbish.

Needless to say i was so annoyed that i did end up going to Morrisons in Warrington where i did my recycling and my shop at the same time.

A response as to why it was allowed to get in that state would be good, i know my mother is starting to recycle and i told her whatever she does dont bother going to tescos as they dont even bother to empty the bins, that i have also introduced her to morrisons where she does her shopping aswell as recycling. Im afraid if Tescos dont improve they are going to be loosing alot of business.

Regards
M Bowden

Tesco's Bad Customer Service Lottery!

I am writing to complain about a member of staff in your Tesco extra store in Galashiels. Whilst in the store today my 17 year old daughter was refused a lottery ticket because the woman who was serving did not believe that she was 17, even though both myself and her dad was present. This I understand is store policy and I would have been okay with this but the way that she spoke to me when I asked to buy one was disgraceful especially in front of other customers. She spoke down to me as if I was a child made out that I was a liar and she then refused to serve me a lottery ticket in case I gave it to my daughter.

I'm actually 45 years old and have been a customer of yours for many many years and I have never before been spoken to like that before. I spoke to one of the managers who actually apologised on her behalf which I think was also wrong, I should have received an apology from her. For someone who deals with the public on a daily basis her attitude needs to change or I am sure you will lose many more customers.

Yours sincerely
Mrs G Campbell

Tesco - rotten on the inside!?

We are forever buying fruit that looks just beautiful from the outside but is often actually inedible or of very poor quality. Having lived for half my life in a sub-tropical country (South Africa) you can rest assured I know tropical / sub tropical fruit VERY WELL.

The current example is of Nectarines purchased on the 20/03/2007 at 15:54 As I said it is all very well having fruit arriving here from all over the world LOOKING perfect on the outside but when you try and eat it, as is often the case, it is not correctly ripened and or has a powerdry texture and when allowed to ripen a bit, as in this case a few days, goes off or at least ends up inedible.

The picture shown reflects the fruit as it was on Friday 23rd March 3 days after purchase. It is a shamefull indictment of the lack of interest TESCO actually has in supplying “good quality” products.

My complaint is not aimed at getting something back from Tesco (although I often feel that I should because to be sold fruit like this is not on, in simple terms IT'S a rip off !) but more towards offering valuable feedback on the problem of picking, preparing and transporting fruit over long distances and getting TESCO to DO SOMETHING about the problem.

Before I move on, I do however wish to point out that these nectarines were and still are on a special offer, HALF PRICE, and I could just not help thinking that TESCO is simply dumping stock that is not quiet up to standard or stock that they know will not last and reach the customer in the quality it should, at special prices, to get the public to buy the sub-standard product and minimise TESCO's wastage / loss.

Back on the more general matter, as you may be aware fruit can be successfully picked early, held in cold storage and ripened on demand by raising the storage temperature and spiking the natural ripening process by the introduction of Ethylene into the air.

Unfortunately this process needs very tight control and degradation of the quality of the fruit, as has happened in this case can occur, amongst other things, because...

Fruit is overheated between time of picking and cold storage for transport.
Fruit is over cooled during the cold storage transport stage.

I think Tesco should have a hard look at the procedures involved and make it the responsibility of the suppliers / transporters to keep accurate recorded temperatures from beginning to end of the process, recording the temperature every 30 minutes during of the process using an inexpensive digital device that accompanies the fruit throughout it's journey. This way TESCO can refuse to accept fruit that will not reflect the high standards we, your customers demand. There are however also other actions / factors that govern the fruit final quality that should be considered.

This way Tesco can live up to it's name of bringing high quality to it's customers in every aspect of your service.

Grey Smith

Tesco-Complaint: This is far from the the first rotten produce complaint we've received - Tesco must receive hundreds if not thousands of rotten complaints. Will they ever do anything about it?

Tesco Still Hatin' Disabled People

I wish to complain about the new signage above the goods in the aisles at Tesco in Newport, South Wales (the branch on the Harlect Retail Estate).

Some of the signs have recently been replaced with white lettering on pale blue/green backgrounds. I have 53-year-old eyes and I find these impossible to read, especially from a distance as the colour contrast is appalling. Someone with even a minimal visual impairment would find it even more difficult to read these signs.

In order for you to comply with the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005, you need to make a "reasonable adjustment" and replace these dreadful signs as quickly as possible. In order to comply with the Acts, you need to have the writing in black on either a white or pale yellow background. If you insist on white lettering, the background will need to be black, dark blue or dark green at the very least.

There will be no acceptable excuse for not making these signs visible given Tesco's huge profits. I cannot believe that with the size of the Tesco organisation, you do not have access to someone who could have advised you on the signs; I hope this position is not replicated across the UK.

Please make your stores accessible to people with all forms of disability. Your record in other areas is very good. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ann Morgan
Project Director

Tesco's Arswydus Cwsmer Oedfa!

Swansea Marina store lock their unmanned changing rooms and you have to ring the bell for a member of staff to unlock them. Trouble is no one ever responds to the bell. Yesterday I stood in queue for 15 minutes but no one came so I dumped the clothes and left as did the others in the queue.Come on Tesco get your act together and while you are at it tell your staff on tills and CS to stop chatting to one another and help the customers. Don't sit there with your arms folded while I finish packing and don't yawn constantly in my face.

Tesco helps fuel alcoholic binge drinking

Tesco are selling glasses labelled "Small Wine Glasses" with no information on capacity. According to health professionals, a small wine glass would contain 75 ml, approximately one unit's worth of alcohol. Tesco's small wine glasses can accommodate 300 ml.

I have written, commented and telephoned Tesco's and other relevant authorities about this and I have been ignored.

I enjoy a few drinks, am no kill-joy, but am appalled at the misrepresentation of the facts Tesco are upholding, and increasingly annoyed at the arrogant manner in which they are treating my complaint.

Lindsay Tether, Evesham, Worcestershire.

Tesco Trollied My Car!

On 28 February 07 my car was damaged by one of your trolleys.It was seen by a customer who saw trolleys being placed in the trolley park by a member of staff. Several trolleys were not stacked properly behind the rail.On that date it was very windy and raining. One of the trolleys that was not correctly stacked came adrift and struck my car causing damage to back wing and wheel arch also rear back door.

Since the incident I have been calling Tesco on a daily basis to try and get someone to take me seriously. I have been fobbed off, ignored, and generally treated as if I were a nuisance. I have waited in for return phone calls that never happen, and yesterday I was told to attend the store at 6pm, only to find that the manager was not there. On one occasion I was told that my complaint was of no priority because of the fuel problem - even though my incident occurred before the fuel problem - and surely all your customers are important? I have now been asked to send in a witness statement to your claims office - my reference is 7653970.

I have absolutely no confidence that anything is going to happen as a result of my sending in this statement - your track record so far has left me very disillusioned. I feel the customer comes a very poor second with Tesco - you do not seem to have any facilities in place for the customer to speak to anyone - you seem to prefer to keep them at arms length - happy to sell goods to me, but not willing to take any responsibility when things go wrong.

I shop regularly in Tesco - please restore some of my faith by dealing with this issue for me by return.

Regards

Ian Comerford

'Concerned' Parent: My 17 year old son is daft enough to risk dying for our country in false wars so kindly let him smoke Tesco' s filthy cigarettes!

While in Tesco Wrexham yesterday with my 17 year old son we both went to the cigarette kiosk to purchase cigarettes. My son is does look young for his age although he is seventeen and expected to be asked to produce I.D.

As he is a serving member of the British Army he carries an official Army I.D card with him at all times which includes a photograph. At the kiosk he produced this I.D but was told it was not acceptable as a form of I.D and was not served.

He was asked if he could produce a drivers license or passport as these were acceptable. These are left with the army back at his barracks in Aldershot. I am disgusted that this I.D was not accepted as if it is good enough for the military and every other place he has been asked to prove his age why do Tesco decide it is not valid I.D to them.

The I.D is only granted to members of the British Army and is therefore not a usual means of I.D but it is recognised by any other place including the Police. I am disgusted that at 17 he is old enough to defend his country but because he only looks young your store takes it upon themselves to reject military I.D.

I hope you look into this and inform your staff that a military I.D card should be accepted for identification, I know it is not a usual form of I.D but they are only issued to soldiers!!!!!!

From a Very Disgusted Parent.

Tesco Dirty Filthy Disgusting Fuel: Update

As predicted by one of the posters on this site, TESCO finally issued an 'apology' for their dirty fuel on Tuesday 6th March. You can read their 'apology' here however there are some interesting points within that statement that need careful scrutinisation.

For example; "Tesco petrol is now back to normal." An admission that the petrol they had been selling was abnormal. This is the same petrol that they continued to sell in the face of overwhelming evidence of a problem wherein a complete withdrawal of the fuel would have been a more appropriate step to have taken.

And then there is; "if petrol bought at Tesco has damaged your car, we'd like to say how sorry we are." Yes, we're sure you'd like to say sorry. How about actually saying sorry?

In a similar vein; "More to the point, we'd like to promise to pay for the repairs." So, you'd like to promise to pay for the repairs, but you actually haven't promised to pay for the repairs have you? Why don't you just say "we promise to pay for the repairs"? Oh no, that could be construed as a legally binding statement, you have to leave an escape route somewhere.....

"M'lud, the respondent never actually promised that he would pay for the repairs as insinuated by the applicant, merely that he would have liked to be able to offer a promise. There is a distinct variance in those statements..."

All you have said is that you feel for our situation and are offering your sympathy, when a promise of hard cash reimbursement would be much more appreciated.

But I'm sure TESCO really won't want to wheedle their way out of paying for the repairs. In the past they have never tried to avoid compensating people for their admitted liabilities. have they?

Hang on a minute! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/6423923.stm

"Although the retailer later admitted liability, Tesco said it was only prepared to pay 25% of the cost of the repairs. "

So, TESCO admitted the fuel they supplied caused damage to a vehicle, but then state they are only prepared to pay a quarter of the repair bill? But this example is almost exactly the same as the situation that thousands of motorists now find themselves in; their vehicle has been damaged by contaminated fuel bought at TESCO. Could we see this situation repeated many times in the small claims Courts of the land? The upside of this story is that clearly the weight of the law has fallen on the side of the consumer and TESCO find themselves on the receiving end of the bailiffs. £60,000 worth of alcohol has been ringfenced and barred from sale until TESCO settles it's County Court Judgement, the enforcement order and the bailiffs fees. The depressing fact of this case is that the victim has had to wait more than three years before getting to this point....

At last, the bully has tried to push around the biggest kid in the playground and has received a bloody nose for his belligerence.

TESCO. Every seizure counts.

Iconoclast David Nicolas Banned From Tesco!

A truly dark event has happened, following the iconoclast David Nicolas' wonderful film reports for Tesco-Complaint which showed Tesco's pitiful lack of customer service, our roving reporter has been banned from every Tesco store in the land (and beyond!). Gloria in excelsis deo!

David Nicolas writes: "Today, I took the computer back that I bought when filming 'Tesco's the Movie', as it was not to the described specification. Double click here for movie:-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNJ5JPBVWd0

For the crime of openly filming with a camera (such as can be bought in Tesco's or as is on any mobile phone), I was presented with this pre-prepared 'banning order' by the 'duty manager':

What a result.... the first iconoclast in the U.K. to be banned from every Tesco shop and store :)..... unless you know differently?

David says 'A wonderful result, I was only too pleased to do my shopping in the lovely local town of Shoreham-by-sea' where I got British food from the Co-op, Organic potatoes and fluoride free toothpaste from 'The Healing Light', a coffee at 'Angels Bar '... (and a chat with a beautiful manageress), and a hair cut at the barbers next door... Wonderful! I also bought a nice video in the Dogs Trust Charity shop (for 50p)... and best of all 'The Guardian' newspaper which has actually published some truth, which the metropolitan police and the Attorney General spent last night trying to ban :)

What a wonderful morning.... all thanks to being banned from Tesco's.

Thank you so much.

David was also reminded of the old Kenneth Williams line 'Infamy! Infamy!.... they've all got it infamy!' :) as Tesco's Security Staff spread around the car park of the Holmbush Centre to observe David re-parking and shopping in Marks and Spencers."

Fear not David for the law on trespass is on your side and if you were to enter a Tesco store and film or shop Tesco would need to do the following in order to sue you:

1. Establish you are/were indeed David Nicolas
2. Establish your home address or place of business
   
3. Establish what damages they have suffered by your trespass (likely NIL)

There is no criminal offence of trespass and to state one can be prosecuted for trespass is an untruth at law. Don't worry David, this banning order's threats are as empty as Tesco's apologies and promises over it's filthy fuel.

The great news is David is not banned from the Cheshunt Head Office so we look forward to some lovely film footage of the Terence!

Triumph The Insult Dog, Tesco's New Head of CS?

My partner and I have received appalling treatment from some staff members of the Carrickfergus Castle store, County Antrim, NI. Tesco Customer Services department in Dundee has been ineffective in dealing with this. We have demanded a sincere, personal apology from all 3 culprits in this store. I have preserved the anonymity of the staff and I expect the same in return from Tesco if and when Sir Terry replies to me.

We have given Tesco every chance to sort this problem but their response has been completely abysmal. It is our opinion that Tesco has got so big they don’t really care. So now we have decided to spread the word about our experience. I apologise if this posting is rather long but you can see we have been led a merry dance! I have summarized the main points below:

1. 30 Dec (yes, that long ago) – a rude and surly CS assistant barked a question at me like I was a dog then stomped off like a stroppy teenager.
2. Same day – Acting Duty manager was patronizing and arrogant towards us. She leveled an unsubstantiated, very insulting accusation at us and upset my partner a great deal. We challenged her about this but didn’t receive an apology
3. 17 Jan – we received a totally inept reply from Customer Services HQ for NI, to whom we had complained. They referred the matter to the Store Manager (who was absent on 30 Dec)
4. 14-Feb – a telephone message from Carrickfergus Castle Store Manager, asking me to contact him.
5. Same day and next 3 days – I kept phoning the store, the manager had gone home early, he was off or else when I rang the phone wasn’t even answered. Next thing I heard – he was off for a week’s leave.
6. 20 Feb – I wrote to Sir Terry, asking for the matter to be resolved either by him or (in his absence) one of his immediate subordinates
7. 23 Feb – received an e-mail from a Customer Service Executive informing us he would deal with the matters
8. 26 Feb – Carrickfergus Castle Store Manager eventually phones us. It was not worth the wait. He quickly became quite aggressive, choosing to rant about one point in my complaint about which he took exception. Even after I conceded that particular point to him he carried on ranting. He even ranted at my partner when she tried to verify to him how upset she had been by the Acting Duty Manager’s comments. He glossed over our complaints and stated that the 2 culprits had denied everything. He was very rude and at no stage did he even attempt to deal with our complaint. I am convinced that the only reason he phoned was to rant at us.
9. Same day – I sent an e-mail to the same CS Executive as before, complaining about the telephone manner and behaviour of the Store Manager. I asked him to handle matters personally as I did not want any further contact with anyone from the relevant store, unless they were prepared to apologise in person.
10. 28 Feb – a bland reply received from CS Executive. He had spoken to Store Manager and stated we were not getting an apology. By now I suspected that this person was not a senior manager, he didn’t even have his own personal e-mail address!
11. Same day – I replied to CS Executive stating that he had not dealt with my complaint about the Store manager. I assured him that we would be taking matters further.

Tesco have tried to justify the long delay overall (now 59 days) by stating that the Store manager was absent for some time. It took from 17 Jan to 14 Feb before the Store Manager contacted me. That is totally unacceptable. If he was absent that length of time, Tesco should have organized someone more senior to investigate our complaint i.e. area manager

I will shortly be sending a further e-mail to Sir Terry Leahy and asking for a personal response, preferably by telephone. I won’t hold my breath. I will also be spreading the word about our experiences both nationally on another popular consumer forum (which I am told has over a million hits a day) and locally by e-mail and word of mouth. I have lived in Carrickfergus for 43 years and I know a lot of people. Bad news travels fast, especially with my foot on the accelerator!!

People reading this site may wonder why I am pursuing this but ask yourself if the person you loved was insulted and upset very much, what would you do? Also if we all let Tesco get away with appalling Customer Service, they will never change

NiteRider
Carrickfergus, County Antrim

Tesco's Deceptive Fruit and Veg Pledge...

Mark Mcgivern of The Daily Record reports that for Tesco, EVERY LITTLE CHEAT HELPS: SUPERMARKET giants Tesco have been accused of a half price fiddle. Trading Standards officers found they put big hikes on the price of fruit - then slashed them by 50 per cent days later.

Tesco, who take in £1 in every £8 spent in British shops, use TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh to advertise their "Fruit & Veg Pledge". They promised to halve the price of five types of fruit and veg every week of this year.

But research showed that four of the products featured in the first week of the promotion in January suddenly rose in price at the end of December. For example, Gala apples cost £1.19 a kilo on December 11.

They went up to £1.99 on December 18, but were reduced to 99p on January 1 for the promotion. A 500g punnet of peaches cost £1.99 on December 11, before reaching £2.99 on December 28. On New Year's Day, the price was reduced by half to £1.48. Nectarines and plums followed a similar pattern.

Mart in Fisher, of the Trading Standards Institute, said the supermarket were "grossly exploiting" loopholes that allow them to cut prices on goods which quickly go rotten.

The Department Of Trade and Industry states that shops can only advertise a discount on a product if it has been priced at a higher rate for the past 28 days.

But with fruit and veg, the discount has to relate only to the last advertised price.

Researchers also found other evidence of unusual pricing.

A pack of three courgettes were halved to 99p - at the same time the price of loose courgettes rose by 35p a kilo. Celery hearts halved in price, but celery sticks simultaneously rose by 51 per cent.

A Tesco spokesman blamed seasonal fluctuations. He added: "Any suggestion we ramp up prices in order to cut them again is the purest nonsense."

Labour MP Jim Dowd, of the all-party small shops group, said: "It amounts to the deception of customers."

Tesco.com Vans Attacked in SE London

A series of attacks on Tesco delivery vans has prompted the supermarket firm to ban its vehicles from the SE1 2 postcode sector after 6pm as reported on London-SE1.

A Tesco.com delivery van

"Unfortunately we have had to suspend delivery to this area in the evening following several incidents involving our dot com vans. The last slot available for delivery is 4-6pm," says a Tesco spokesman.

"We have not taken this decision lightly and hate to disappoint our customers. However we are sure that they will appreciate that the safety of our drivers must come first."

The SE1 2 postcode sector includes most of Tooley Street, the western end of Jamaica Road, the Dickens Estate as well as Butler's Wharf and Shad Thames.

The ban applies to all addresses with postcodes beginning SE1 2.