Should they even be allowed to call themselves a supermarket? (Somerfields)

Member Name: pizzaprincess

Product:	Somerfields
Date:	09/03/09 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Never busy

Disadvantages: Rude staff, rubbish 'fresh' food, very small range, high prices

Description

Somerfield is one of the smaller UK supermarkets, which took over Kwiksave a few years ago. Though they are smaller and less well known than the likes of Tesco and Asda, they keep winning various industry awards.


Pros

- They never seem to get busy, so it's easy to get round the store and do your shop, and you don't have long queues at the checkouts.
- They seem to reduce items by a fair bit more than other supermarkets do, and also more regularly and earlier in the life of the product, so you can get some major bargains on things like their bakery bread, that there's really nothing wrong with at all.
- Their bakery do some nice things such as cookies and fresh breads at very good prices, and they are always of a very high quality.
- There are always enough baskets and trolleys available.


Cons

- Their staff are, on the whole, extremely rude and unhelpful. They are I think the worst I have come across for this in any shop. They make a big deal out of everything and always make sure you know that the fact that you're shopping in the store is a big inconvenience for them as it means that they actually have to do some work.
- They don't sell a wide range of products and brands. I sometimes go in there to get a few items as it's close to where I live, but end up leaving empty handed as they just don't stock the items I need. They seem to sell only very basic options of everything and give you a choice of only 1 or 2 brands.
- Their fresh produce department is disgraceful. The items on here are anything but fresh, and mostly aren't fit to be fed to a dog, let alone a human being. There is also only a very small range in this department compared to other supermarkets.
- The deli department is also disgraceful. I've bought meat from here in the past that when I've got it home and unwrapped it doesn't look fit to eat. Other times I've bought scotch eggs and found them to be full of eggshell, which is awful.
- Because the stores are generally smaller than other supermarkets, the aisles are very narrow, and if you do get people coming the other way down an aisle you can have trouble getting past.
- Their own brand ranges, whilst not terrible, do not even come close to the other supermarket own brands, and they do not seem to have as extensive a range either.
- Special offers never seem to register at the till for some reason, so I always end up having to go back and tell the checkout operator they've charged me wrong and explain, which inevitably ends in a huge argument in which they basically act like the fact that you were overcharged is your own fault and make out like you're insulting their intelligence. Apparently in this shop the customer is always WRONG.
- Their prices are very high on most items in comparison to other supermarkets.
- Their small non-food range is mostly just cheap tat that would be better placed in a pound shop.


Summary

This really is a last resort supermarket for me. Their bakery is fantastic and I must admit I do like the fact that the store is never busy, but everything else about the place is just appalling.

Summary: The worst supermarket in every way