Just because they are the nearest supermarket doesn't make them the best! (Tesco)

Member Name: myonlinestuff

Product:	Tesco
Date:	07/06/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None, clubcard is rubbish, staff are rubbish, Tesco value products have no value!

Disadvantages: Clubcard scheme should be called give us your info scheme.

After a loyal fifteen years of shopping at Tesco I have reached the end of my patience with them, I used to travel past two other supermarkets to get my nearest Tesco, now I go past two Tesco's to get to a different supermarket.

Before you write this review it says you should give the shop management a chance to put things right so I thought I'd email them before I wrote this review but you can't email Tesco, they have not yet joined the digital age fully and offer only telephone and postal contact details.

The straw that broke the camels back was being asked for ID for alcohol.... Not a big deal I hear you say so let me enlighten you to the conversation that took place! I was asked for ID not because I look under eighteen but because I had someone that was under eighteen with me! I asked the assistant to get a manager for me and when I questioned her I was told it was Tesco's policy to ask for ID in these circumstances to which I asked "If I go outside, put her in the car and come back in on my own there wouldn't be a single checkout operator in here that would refuse to serve me, would there?" The manager replied "No" so I then asked "If my age is not in question what difference does it make who I bring into the store with me then? Producing proof of age is not relevant to me being able to purchase alcohol as my age is not in question, only the company I keep!"

The best I could get out of this manager was a shrug of the shoulders and the repeated statement that "It is our policy." So what does it tell you about a place that will employ management that are not permitted to use their common sense? The look on the managers face made it clear that she did not understand why she had to enforce a policy with no logic but regardless she did.

For me it is a big part of the problem, Tesco employs robot staff that are not employed for their common sense but because they fit a psychometric profile determined by a questionnaire they all fill in. Tesco specifically want staff that will blindly follow instructions.... Q) If I told you to jump off a cliff would you? A) Tesco employee: Sure, where's the cliff!

The next thing is their clubcard!... I didn't get one until a couple of years ago and I only did so because I was sick to death of being asked if I had one but as soon as I found out the information Tesco harvest from your use of the card I stopped using it straight away. I'm not going to list it all here for the sake of keeping this review readable, I recommend that you do your own research about the information Tesco keeps and what it does with it.

As for products and pricing, I have gone to using a local butcher for all my meat, cheese and eggs, the rest of my shopping comes from Morrison's and I am saving a fortune. The quality of Morrison's own brand products is better than anything with a Tesco value label on it. The instore bakery is better than Tesco and rather than going down the Tesco route of buy one get one free Morrison's have half price offers instead so you don't have to buy two of something to get the deal.

All in all I can't believe I didn't change before, get yourself to the butchers as there is no supermarket that can offer the same as a local shop and if you were like me, just going back to the same place every week then do it, make the change to better food, better service and no more psychometrically analysed staff!

Summary: They won't improve until people go elsewhere, don't be a sheep!