Bad Shops

More Bad Smells...

2010-02-25T22:53:00.004+00:00

Two shops. Two different companies. Two completely different sets of staff. Unconnected, but only 2 miles apart, there is a connection. Both stores smell strongly of cannabis skunk inside.

The manager of Londis shown has been seen smoking spliffs outside the front of the shop (by me). Other retailers in the area say he is an aggressive and arrogant man...
The 'angry man's' car is the silver VW pictured above, where, I am told, he takes people to sit in the car for just a couple of minutes...

hmm..... Is the business not performing enough methinks...

The staff in the Co-operative store all denied that cannabis was used by any of them (wouldn't you?) My nose isn't infallible, but I have smelt the stuff before. Perhaps it was the fresh veg department inside the store?

Even so, I shall not identify the particular store locations any more than the photographs uploaded here as my nose could be wrong...

Bad Smells (1)

2010-02-22T22:42:00.004+00:00

One Stop is a retail convenience business with over 500 shops and a key focus on being the best store for customers in the neighbourhood. Open 7 days a week One Stop aims to meet the needs of all its local customers. (According to its website)

What One Stop don't tell you is:

One Stop is a subsidiary of supermarket mega-chain Tesco.
One Stop delivers to its stores with its own lorries
One Stop lorries carry store refuse in the same lorries that it delivers its food supplies (as shown in the two photos above)

This dual purpose for it's delivery/refuse lorries is so that the stores pay a reduced business rate to local authorities as they provide their own refuse disposal...

Surely there is some contravention of food hygiene taking place here?

Walter M Brown (Dovehouse Parade)

2010-02-17T21:10:00.005+00:00

What can I say about a pharmacy where the staff question you about your symptoms, then in front of other customers and YOU, talk about you to each other in a non-discrete way? I had gone in to buy ACTIFED tablets for my cold. I have used them since I can remember. I recall one pharmacist telling me that Actifed tablets were used by NASA astronauts prior to take off and reentry as they completely unblocked the sinuses and this prevented any nasty phlegm related problems during that important time...

The staff at Walter M Brown Chemist, Dovehouse Parade, Olton were intrusive and indiscreet. Furthermore they were downright rude. I asked if I could be interviewed privately and had to settle with a 'quiet' end of the counter. The member of staff interviewing me was over 60, or even over 70, and deaf, so I had to keep repeating my answers in a loader voice. After I had been served and was leaving I over heard them saying (in a loud whisper) that I was the middle aged man buying a pregnancy test kit the week before (even though I wasn't) in front of six other customers!!!

Aldi ban 85 year old 'hoodie'

2010-02-05T22:56:00.002+00:00

German owned Aldi in Sparkbrook was opened in early 1990s.

This is a personal story concerning my late uncle, who lived in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham.

He passed away in 2008, aged nearly 90, but was active right up until his death, and would daily walk down to the paper shop to buy his Daily paper, and having returned home he would scan the racing pages and then return to the bookies with his daily 22p eachway Yankee (4 horses/dogs = 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 roll up =11 bets @ 1p each or each way = 22 bets).

My uncle was quite a good tipster. Well good enough to keep him in Sparkbrook!

Once a week, on pension days he would, with my cousin and his wife, walk to the Aldi supermarket, in Stratford Road, Sparkbrook.

Following several incidences of shop lifting robberies, the store started to put up a hand printed sign, on their front door.

"Would all customers remove hoods"

Well one Monday morning, back in January 2006 and shortly after the sign went up, when it was a dreadfully cold and rainy day, he went into the shop, this frail little man with a walking stick, and wearing his hood, to help keep him dry and warm.

Halfway down the first aisle, he was approach by a security guard, and in pigeon English was asked to remove his hood 'like it says on the door, oldie.'

Bearing in mind that 99% of the women in there were wearing burkhas or niqabs or hijabs, and that about 10% of the men were wearing turbans and 60% were wearing an Islamic toppi and most of the rest of the men were wearing a baseball cap, my uncle said, "No."

Speaking up for him, my cousin's wife said "he's old and cold and his head is bald" (another family poet!), and pointing out that everyone else were still wearing their head gear said "why is my father in law being picked upon by Aldi?"

She further rebuked the man for calling my uncle oldie.

The security guard then said, without any further debate, that all three of them were banned for not "removing a hood and for making racist remarks about the customers there."

The allegation was flatly denied and they left without causing any scenes of disquiet.

Since that day we have as a family, all tried to avoid shopping at any Aldi store.

A new challenge...

2010-01-30T10:13:00.001+00:00

I've just agreed to 'ghost write' the David Wilson blog for my old school mate, Dave 'Snooks' Wilson. The URL is http://thedavidwilson.blogspot.com/ and although I have a free hand in what I report, I have been given strict boundaries including a must inclusion of Aston Villa at least once a week. As we, along with Phil Finney and Richard (1099) Phillips were the only Villa fans in our year at school, then that shouldn't be too hard.

in reference to: Bob De Bilde (view on Google Sidewiki)

Filthy pub conditions earn firm a £15,000 bill

2010-01-28T14:21:00.002+00:00

A firm has been handed a bill for almost £15,000 over filthy conditions in a Leeds pub it operated.

Mitchells and Butlers Retail Ltd, which runs The Wellington public house on Wetherby Road, Leeds, pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates Court to three hygiene offences.

They relate to filthy conditions discovered during a routine food hygiene inspection on 18 September 2008 by Leeds City Council Environmental Health Officers.

The firm was fined £3,500 for failing to keep clean equipment and surfaces with which food comes into contact with, £2,000 for failing to keep clean the structure of the kitchen, servery and adjoining areas, and £2,000 for failing to provide soap and paper towels at the wash hand basin in the kitchen. The council was awarded full costs of £7,199 – making a total of £14,699.

The firm has apologised and acknowledged that conditions in the Wellington were poor, while magistrates acknowledged that more robust procedures had now been put in place by the company.

During their inspection, officers found deposits of grease, dirt and debris including food debris stuck to the walls, floor, wash hand basin and service pipes in the kitchen. There were deposits of dried blood spillage on the floor of the walk in chiller and the remains of a crushed beetle on the floor.

The floor, work surfaces and cupboards in the carvery area had deposits of dirt, dust and debris adhered to them. The surfaces and base supports of the carvery unit had accumulations of grease and dirt on them. Some of the metal lids to the serving dishes had deposits of old food stuck to the parts of their surfaces that are placed above food.

Other equipment was found to be dirty including the ice machine, which accumulated material consistent with mould growth on its inner surfaces. A chopping board used for cutting potatoes, lettuce and tomatoes had a scored and dirty surface.

At the time of the inspection there was no soap or paper towels at the wash hand basin in the kitchen. The outside store was very dirty and items of food, including a Yorkshire pudding, onions and potatoes, were found on the floor.

Councillor James Monaghan, Leeds City Council's executive board member for environmental health, said: "When people visit a pub or restaurant in Leeds they expect the highest standards of cleanliness from those preparing their food.

"In this case, it's clear there was a significant problem at this pub and the size of the fine handed down to the owners reflects that.

"The majority of restaurant and pub owners keep things clean but we will always take action where we find unacceptable conditions."

Was it my multi-blogged moan?

2010-01-28T10:54:00.001+00:00

Was it my multi-blogged moan that un-locked my new blog http://sequels-and-trilogies.blogspot.com/ ?
I know that blogger took the full 20 days to un-lock a blog of a friend of mine. Now his block WAS highly political but there should be no difference.
Perhaps it was my genuine threat to move to wordpress?

Who knows?

Thank You blogger for acting quickly

Bob de Bilde

in reference to: Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies (view on Google Sidewiki)

Bob de Bilde gets his 15 minutes of fame...

2010-01-26T21:25:00.001+00:00

on IS A C*NT...

http://isacunt.blogspot.com/2010/01/bob-de-bilde.html

Thanks to GOT & the crew

in reference to: Bob De Bilde (view on Google Sidewiki)

My Disgust at Blogger

2010-01-26T13:25:00.002+00:00

Blogger has marked one of my blogs (Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies) as spam...

It will be deleted within 20 days if I do not lodge a review

WTF Blogger... I am seriously considering moving all my blogs to the more versatile Wordpress !

I am reposting this on ALL my other open blogs using the sidewikibar thingy!!!

in reference to: My Sony Ericsson Sucks: My Disgust at Blogger (view on Google Sidewiki)

FURY AT DANISH STORE NETTO 'SUPER K' 70P CIDER

2010-01-23T11:01:00.003+00:00

ANTI-binge drinking campaigners have slammed a cut-price strong cider deal that could see people getting drunk for just £2.

#bodycopy a { font-size: 12px; } Budget supermarket chain Netto sparked fury by pricing the 8.4% alcohol cider at less than 70p a can.

The bargain basement offer is £2.79 for four 440ml cans of K cider, which it describes as: “The ultimate in quality.”

The Government wants the price of booze in shops raised to 50p per unit and Lib Dem health spokeswoman Sandra Gidley backs the plan.

She said: “This kind of deal is damaging the work we are trying to do. We need to get real about the problem of binge-drinking.

“This makes a mockery of what we are trying to achieve. When it is cheaper than water or fruit juice it is easy to see how people get into such difficulties with drink.”

Don Shenker, of Alcohol Concern, said: “Supermarkets which sell alcohol at pocket money prices are contributing to the problems which alcohol can cause.”

A Netto spokesman said the chain “remains committed to driving a culture of sensible drinking”.

Big Stores conceal greed within the VAT increase

2010-01-09T10:45:00.004+00:00

The VAT-freeze illusion: Stealth rises cancel out stores' big tax promise

High Street stores have imposed thousands of price rises ahead of the VAT increase that comes into effect tomorrow.

Some of them claim to be protecting shoppers against the increase – but in recent weeks they have put up the prices of many products that carry VAT.

Leaked figures show that stores such as Tesco, Boots and Morrisons have increased prices on a raft of products, including pet food, confectionery, and beauty products.

The Government is pushing VAT back up from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent on New Year's Day.

Chancellor Alistair Darling cut the sales tax last December on the basis that it would reduce prices, so encouraging people to spend and help the nation out of recession.

But there are mounting suspicions that retailers have used the one year reduction to boost profits at the expense of shoppers.

Many stores did not pass on the cut in lower prices, while others made only temporary reductions.

All the major supermarkets – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons – have enjoyed bumper profits in the past year at a time when some customers have struggled to put food on the table.

Restoring VAT to 17.5 per cent will bring in more than £11billion to Government coffers this year.

Tesco is advertising a £12million VAT freeze, so apparently offering a helping hand to hard-pressed shoppers. It also promoted 5,000 price cuts in the run-up to Christmas

But the Daily Mail has learned that the chain increased the price of 1,577 popular items – some 6.3 per cent of its range – in December.

The Tesco increases included 500 items that are subject to VAT including bedding, cooking equipment and crockery.

Tesco has been tempting customers by doubling the points offered with its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which offers money-off vouchers and other benefits.

But an industry insider said: 'The figures show Tesco putting up the cost of Christmas to compensate for VAT and possibly, to compensate for the money it has given away by doubling Clubcard points earlier in the year.'

Sales tax: The Chancellor cut prices last December to encourage spending

Boots says it is not introducing a blanket VAT price rise on New Year's Day.

But the industry data shows it has increased the price of more than 1,500 product lines by an average of 2 per cent in the last 12 weeks.

Morrisons, which is not claiming a VAT freeze, increased the prices of 400 products earlier this month by an average of 2 per cent.

Tesco insisted its price changes had 'no link whatsoever' to the VAT increase.

It said: 'We work hard to keep prices down for customers which is why we have frozen VAT on thousands of products at the lower rate of 15 per cent. This is on top of 5,000 price cuts over the last two weeks with average reductions of over 10 per cent.

'A small proportion of products will have increased in price but this is either because of special offers coming to an end or an increase in the cost price.

'Many more prices have fallen than have increased and overall consumers continue to get a great deal.'

Boots said: 'We believe our customers want great value at this time of the year and we are offering a fantastic January sale with discounts of up to 50 per cent off a wide selection of products.

'We are also continuing to benchmark our prices against other retailers and regularly reduce prices to ensure our offering is competitive. For example, we are lowering the prices of over 200 items in January.'

Morrisons said: 'Throughout the year prices vary, reflecting costs and promotional changes across the weekly shop. However, at Morrisons we aim to offer great value for money.

'For example, between October and December we have reduced the prices of over 700 health and beauty products.'

Sainsburys: The bigger they are....

2009-12-27T16:17:00.009+00:00

Well after 4 months of running this blog I have a gripe that I can be arsed to post.

I purchased a pair of trousers under the Sainsburys own brand "TU" the day before Christmas eve. They were brown velvet and the collar on the hanger said 38" R. At £20 they seemed good value for money.

Perfect thought I, and like the sad git I am, I wrapped them up to bolster the dwindling presents quota that one gets with age.

Friday morning. Christmas day. I opened my handful of gifts.

The pack of socks and boxers and another pair of slippers off the wife, the dvd from my one son and an Aston Villa tee-shirt from my daughter. My final present was a pair of trousers with a "TU" label and a 38" R tag on the hanger..... and a 44" S label on the plastic tag...

SHIT!!!

Today I searched high and low or the receipt which was nowhere to be found. In fact it was probably in a black bin liner soaked in sprout juice and M&S turkey gravy...

So I stood patiently at the customer service desk. Three tills but only one staff member on surely their biggest 'returns' days o the year, and after a wait of nearly 30 minutes, I got my turn.

"I purchased these trousers on Wednesday and they don't seem to have been marked correctly."

"Do you have your receipt?"

"No"

"Well in that case we cannot offer you a refund only an exchange of a gift card"

Unaware of the sale of goods act (i.e. If goods are not fit for purpose, due to damage, fault or incorrect marking, then a full refund is required by law) I accepted that offer.

Worse was to follow, as the trousers scanned at £10 (in the sale which started today), and she started to do the refund.

"They cost me £20 not £10"

"Well since you don't have your receipt, we can only give you the scan price"

"If I took a £20 bottle of scotch and only gave the tiller £10, you'd have me carted off as a thief"

"Company policy, you don't have your receipt"

I then went to the clothing section to try to find a similar pair with the correct size, for an exchange. I asked an assistant who told me that there were no trousers in my size. Furthermore, she said there were no men's trousers added to the sale from their stock, but the computer prices were changed centrally.

Armed with this information, I returned to customer services only to find the brick wall was still intact and the staff no more cooperative. If anything, they were even more in-cooperative.

I decided to give the trousers away rather than lose a tenner, but how dare they try to STEAL £10 off me, after all the money I spend there weekly!

This is not the end of this, Sainsburys!

2009-12-24T23:59:00.000+00:00

BOB SAYS...

"A very merry Christmas and a happy new year to everybody and may next year bring joy and happiness to you"

Bob de Bilde (aka Bill de Dashe)

Don't tolerate poor retail staff - replace them while you can!

2009-12-22T22:28:00.003+00:00

This is a message for all the retailers out there in the high street that persist in allowing shocking levels of customer service and staff attitude towards customers.

Memo

To: Retailers in the High Street
From: Disillusioned Customer

The recession has firmly taken hold of retail high streets everywhere. Many retailers have unfortunately gone out of business, releasing many good staff into the marketplace.
When was the last time you (as a retailer) actually looked at the quality of your staff?
When did you last reprimand one of your till operators for being rude to customers, disrespectful to their needs or even worse adopting a real "don't give a sh*t" attitude?
Let me guess....probably never!

Many retail staff really can't be bothered and are just going through the motions at work to receive their wages at the end of the week. They don't care about the service they give and (seemingly) even less about the customers they serve. This is costing retailers like you, business, and driving people further online - me included!!

Why don't actually take an interest in improving the quality and calibre of your staff? You have the opportunity to recruit some good people in the market at the moment - good skilled retail staff, that actually want to work and serve your customers to the best of their ability.

It isn't even hard to recruit these people - a simple poster in the window is probably all you need as a retailer at the moment - word will quickly get around.

I know, getting rid of existing staff isn't pleasant and takes time, but just think of the upside. You will actually have staff that want to work in your shop, and engage with your customers in the right way, to encourage them to return and spend money in your store next time.

So my message is a simple one.

If you have staff that can't be bothered, and are consistently underperforming, then make sure you can't be bothered with them. Go out and recruit better, more enthusiastic new staff that actually want to work............because you can. Make the most of the availability of the talent out there at the moment, and improve your service to your customers at the same time!!

2009-09-06T23:34:00.000+01:00

THE takeaway at the centre of the latest E.coli outbreak was awarded no stars in its last hygiene inspection, reports Wales Online.

The Llay Fish Bar in Wrexham was allowed to continue trading even though environmental health inspectors found poor hygiene conditions at the business.

The inspection report, dated August 13, 2008, also noted that there was “some major non-compliance with food legislation”.

No stars is the lowest hygiene score that a food business can be awarded.

Details of Llay Fish Bar’s hygiene record come as Karen Morrisroe-Clutton and a three-year-old girl remain seriously ill in hospital after contracting E.coli O157.

The National Public Health Service for Wales is investigating four cases of E.coli O157 and the Llay Fish Bar has been shut down by Wrexham Council officials.