My butcher is rude.. (Corporate chains vs independent retailers)

Member Name: stickywicket

Product:	Corporate chains vs independent retailers
Date:	14/01/02 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get what you want

Disadvantages: May not be the cheapest, but you get what you pay for.

...my fishmonger is the best recipe advisor this side of the Dartford Tunnel, my greengrocer provides the freshest gossip in Croydon, the produce is good too!

Here speaks the queen of Tesco home delivery, Asd@thome and Sainsburys to You, from these stores I buy the dog food, the laundry supplies, the cleaning stuff, the toilet rolls.

A ten minute walk from me is a small village called Addiscombe, and it rocks! The butcher is hilarious (but that is a qualification isn't it?) there is one local lady, whenever she steps into the sawdusted floor she meets a chorus of 'Chicken Breasts love ? How many, how large, big breasts, small tender ones..?' Why? Because she hates the word 'Breast'. She still goes in though, she loves the silliness..my kids go in and and point at the offal shrieking 'Yeuch, uugh..' and the butcher will 'tell them off' which just increases their giggles.

Next door the grocers has piles of fresh fruit, 2lb bags of apples for a quid, every herb you see on Ready Steady Cook or AWT's garden, sackfuls of potatoes of every variety, all displayed in wicker baskets. The staff chat as they recognise the regulars, laughing, joking..there's no pushing shoving moaning or wingeing (sp?)

The fishmongers : crushed iced displays of lobsters, raw king prawns, tiger prawns, and anything else that swims and is edible.A blackboard with tempting recipe ideas for red snapper, and if you are not sure just ask him, he'll reel (doh!) you one off in a second.

Oh yes the bakers, I'll pay 89p for a sliced sandwich loaf, because it's fresh, it lasts three days and nothing is wasted, unlike that cotton wool pre-packed rubbish (sorry but it's not bread is it?) The only downside is that the children con me for a couple of doughnuts (better than the bucketfuls of gimmicks thrown into the trolley at Tescos...)

So why charge around the supermarket, with a trolley that is
half cut, getting the produce tucked at the back of the shelf in the chiller cabinet, taking tickets to queue for some tasteless ham at the deli, another quue at the checkout, (cashback? vouchers to redeem, how many baskets/carrier bags etc)
etc etc) Get you basics delivered - hopefully in the selected time slot - and shop locally.

Having said all that I am priveliged in my various array of local stores and I realise others may not have such a choice, but if you do..then get involved.

Summary: