Just how much should convenience cost?

I have always supported clear and consistent unit pricing – which I take to include standardisation of the unit for the same product across all retailers. However, I watched the Dispatches programme and was not impressed. It seemed to be banging on about the price differential between a superstore and a mini version of the same retailer. The real comparison is between a major’s convenience format and a corner shop, and pricing isn’t the only factor – range of stock, choice of size, quality, freshness, availability of recognised brands, store condition [cleanliness, hygiene, etc] , standard of shopkeeping. Until Tesco opened some of its smaller units in Norwich [including right inthe city centee] you couldn’t get a loaf of bread or a bottle of milk or lots of other things after 5 pm without going to a big store in the outskirts. If you happened to go into one of the poky little shops that sit in old estates behind rollershutters and security grilles your reception was on a par with a parachute drop onto a diminishing ice floe occupied by a starving polar bear.

I never use my local CO=OP always expensive as is Cost-cutter however.We now have a Local Aldi in Urmston Manchester its been open since before Christmas but we are being Ripped OFF or they have run out of Veg eg. Potatoes;Swede in Particular Price Example 1kg of Carrots 75p at Urmston store at Gorton store same day 1kg of Carrots 49p.While a new store does take time to get supplies right i have noticed Urmston store constantly sold out of Potatoes&Swede by Saturday Afternoons that leaves the rest of Saturday;Sunday;Monday without supplies Aldi does not have a Feedback on its website shocking.

This is just unbridled capitalism, if you look you will have money invested in theses companies like us all. When we buy everything on price, you end up with nothing! as an example look at the shrinking size of chocolate biscuits. I Only shop at John Lewis & Waitrose because they are honest, the food has provenance, (check the dictionary) the animals used for meat and eggs are not abused, the stores are airconditioned, there are less queues, the staff know what they are selling, and are not under the cosh like the likes of ASDA American owned part of the so called “walmart” family, yeah I’m sure! Even the vegetables come from select farms, and should you have any problems with their products, they are always their unlike the rest of the free trade free raid monsters, and the quality of their produce far outstrips all of their competitors…horse meat to pad out heir products would not be done @ Waitrose. We british know the price of everything and the value of nothing, that’s why we will end up with nothing! And horse meat, but “we’re worth it”