keyboarder Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 FT today - Tesco expected to be the first UK company to announce £3 billion annual profit. That's a different point. IMO people have been brainwashed into thinking that supermarket shopping is wonderful I'm not sure people think it's wonderful, the majority just see shopping as a chore and want to get it done on a weekly basis, which is probably most suitable to the way their income works, and in as little time as possible. - but I am old enough to remember what proper service in a shop was like (in Booths when they had a 'grocery counter' and before they discovered trolleys and stacked shelves). I think Tesco is one of the dreariest places on the Island and their carpark a threat to humans and cars alike. People today eh, don't know they're born. And Pavlov's dogs didn't really do as they were told, they became instinctively habitual on hearing a certain sound. Maybe that's why I rush off to Shoprite every time those imminent nuclear attack sirens go off and spend a fortune on things I neither want or need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I am old enough to remember what proper service in a shop was like (in Booths when they had a 'grocery counter' and before they discovered trolleys and stacked shelves). People go on about the good old days - but there was not much choice of available ingredients. Today people want a choice of different olive oils rather than getting it from the chemist. TBH I don't think I even ate pizza until I was in my 20s and, as a child, I thought that parmesan came in a tub and smelled vaguely like sick. And you had it on mince. Yuk. We have better food these days. Tescos is good, relatively, on the IOM, because it sells a bunch of ingredients which were previously unavailable elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkydevil Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Maybe that's why I rush off to Shoprite every time those imminent nuclear attack sirens go off and spend a fortune on things I neither want or need. That'll be the Tchibo range - still at least you'll have coffee during any radioactive fallout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 We have better food these days. You weren't alive in 'those' days then? What is heartening 'these' days is that a number of people are starting to revive the 'old' ways of doing things in order to bring flavour back into food. But generally their products are not to be found in Tesco. I personally do not like supermarkets and I have to say that of them all to me Tesco is the least inspiring and the one I would miss least of all if it burnt down overnight (now there's an idea). ...and as for multiple choices of olive oil and balsamic vinegar glaze, I spent part of my youth in France back in the choiceless 'old' days...more varieties of cheese than Tesco could ever dream of, fresh fruit and veg directly from the farmers and bread from the bakers. Not a polystyrene tray in sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 ...and as for multiple choices of olive oil and balsamic vinegar glaze, I spent part of my youth in France back in the choiceless 'old' days...more varieties of cheese than Tesco could ever dream of, fresh fruit and veg directly from the farmers and bread from the bakers. Not a polystyrene tray in sight. But that was France, not Britain or the IOM or Ireland. So you are not comparing like with like. Choice here and in Britain was much more limited. And still is. On the IOM, Tesco and M&S have undeniably increased choice and availability of ingredients. Especially re cheeses, deli items eg. But I'm with you on people bringing back old ideas. It should definitely be encouraged. And I'm not keen on polystyrene either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee54 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Tesco have posted profits of £3-13 billion on sales of £59 billion, the biggest profit ever posted by a UK retailer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumble Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I agree entirely with Keyboarder. Gahhhhhh.....wibble, my mind must have disappeared while I was asleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Tesco have posted profits of £3-13 billion on sales of £59 billion, the biggest profit ever posted by a UK retailer on those figures then they made between around 4 - 21 percent?? not exactly the biggest margins in business??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambster Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Reviving the old ways of preparing food to give a greater taste. . .dripping on bread, fighting for the skin off the rice-pudding, scrapping for the cream off the top of the bottle of milk, staunchly declaring that "the fat is the best bit" And you talk about service, proper counter service. Sounds more like massive queues with not much choice as Arthur the Grocer asks "how the family's doing?" letting you know that he has "some of them carrots in that your husband likes so much" (Because only women did the grocery shopping back then), and "how's yer mam doing heard she took a spill the other day". Whilst the rest of the queue gets annoyed. I don't care how the person serving me is doing, bring on the robots. I want nameless voiceless automatons serving me that mind their own business so I get get the shopping done and get on to better things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germann Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Reviving the old ways of preparing food to give a greater taste. . .dripping on bread, fighting for the skin off the rice-pudding, scrapping for the cream off the top of the bottle of milk, staunchly declaring that "the fat is the best bit" And you talk about service, proper counter service. Sounds more like massive queues with not much choice as Arthur the Grocer asks "how the family's doing?" letting you know that he has "some of them carrots in that your husband likes so much" (Because only women did the grocery shopping back then), and "how's yer mam doing heard she took a spill the other day". Whilst the rest of the queue gets annoyed. I don't care how the person serving me is doing, bring on the robots. I want nameless voiceless automatons serving me that mind their own business so I get get the shopping done and get on to better things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambster Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 HeeHee Germann. Are you one of these people who doesn't have any form of personality and must just use borrowed GIFS and other props, I bet you wear a M. Mouse tie to make yourself seem funny too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Tesco have posted profits of £3-13 billion on sales of £59 billion, the biggest profit ever posted by a UK retailer on those figures then they made between around 4 - 21 percent?? not exactly the biggest margins in business??? More meaningfully, their return on capital employed was ~14% and return on total assets ~10% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTF Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Tesco have posted profits of £3-13 billion on sales of £59 billion, the biggest profit ever posted by a UK retailer on those figures then they made between around 4 - 21 percent?? not exactly the biggest margins in business??? More meaningfully, their return on capital employed was ~14% and return on total assets ~10% so is that excessive for any type of business?? considering 12 months ago banks would give half that for asitting on your arse?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Well I for one can't wait for Tesco to expand. Leonard Singer has just been on Manx Radio saying why the Tesco proposal needs to be thrown out to 'protect local businesses'. How about 'local businesses' actually stop being complacent then? I bought a TV and DVD/HDR set up from a 'large TV & computer showroom place' in Douglas. I could have bought the same equipment in the UK for £150 less (£750 here, £600 there). That's a pretty big mark up to allow for the Steam Racket additional tax! I normally allow a 10% to 15% mark up for local businesses. Even though this was above that, I decided it was worth it for the local back up if needed. I've been back with the TV & DVD SEVEN TIMES! They refused to acknowledge the intermittent fault because 'they haven't seen it themselves', despite the fact that I had recorded it on the hard drive and was able to show it to them! On the last visit, I actually suggested that I went in to the workshop to set it up and show them, sure enough, the DVD fault occurred, so they finally, reluctantly, replaced that. But because the TV fault wasn't then visible, they still refuse to change the TV. Because the fault only occurs intermittently on play back and the 'live TV' picture is always perfect, I've just put up with it, I haven't got the time to keep going back to be patronised. But obviously it will be a cold day in hell before I shop there again though! So when I needed to buy four 32" TV's for my work, I clearly was not going to put the organisations money in their direction. I phoned another TV company, based in Douglas itself, explained what I wanted and the price in Argos. I said I appreciated that they would be more expensive than Argos but with it being for four TV's and because I'd rather spend the money on the Island, how much could they do it for? I gave him my e-mail address and he said he'd get back to me... I'm still waiting. So I bought four TV's through Tesco direct. They charged £20 delivery (for all four) and they arrived two days later. A couple of grand that went off the Island because one local retailer treats its customers so shabbily and another can't be bothered to even try for the business. Bring on Tesco expansion, sooner the better. PS I've since bought a new washing machine from the place on the industrial estate opposite Douglas power station (don't know its name!). They were EXCELLENT, good price, excellent service, dropped it off and took the old one away and plumbed it in for free. I didn't realise until then that they sell TV's or I'd have used them and will certainly go there in the future. Now THEY deserve to be successful, and probably will be whether Tesco expand or not, because they offer a decent price and excellent customer service unlike the the company that charged me extra and gave crap service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Leonard Singer has just been on Manx Radio saying why the Tesco proposal needs to be thrown out to 'protect local businesses'. Obviously Mr Singer's views have nothing to do with him working in the chemists in Douglas Shoprite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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