[Closed] Supermarket Employees - Tell me your secrets

Did you buy any biscuits?

No he bought dried fruit, and some butter, flour and sugar and made fruit shortbreads. Bastard supermarkets.

It's because they don't like you.

I thought every aisle in Asda was a biscuit aisle?

It's generally down to marketing. Who's paid however much for certain locations. Much like advert placement in magazines and newspapers. For example one of the big brands in the case of baking, Dr Oetker, they might say we'll give you £500k to shift your baking ingredients nearer to the fresh bread section (smell association). Pr it could be the store manager fancies a change, unlikely though as placement is usually paid for.

This never happens in Waitrose or Booths FYI 😉

I used to build supermarkets for my job.

The shelving layout would remain at large until about a week before opening and some retailers like to cause mayhem just as you're finishing a project by moving shizzle. It would be a particularly large nightmare if it involved moving fridges and drainage.

I thought this was going to be a totally different thread. Is disappoint.

Come and get yer black bin bags, they're on offer till December,
Come and get yer black bin bags, they're long and tall and slender,
Heavy duty black bin bags, no matter what you're gender,

I won't finish for fear of a ban!

i guess it's so you look at more items.

That's exactly it. The thinking is that as you wander about cursing you will think Oh! Toilet Duck! and fling some in your trolley.

Apart from when it's expensive crap, that's why xbox games and the like are never near the door.

Change for changes sake. So you don't think they're bit stale. My wife's work (a huge law firm) seem to be constantly changing the layout of their offices for no apparent reason whatsoever.

Maybe I'm just an old stickinthemud who doesn't like change.

Like rats in a maze, that's ASDA price.

if I spend more than five monutes trying to find the moved stuff I'll just put my basket down on the ground and walk out, find a shop who leaves stuff in the same place.

That would be waitrose then.

For example one of the big brands in the case of baking, Dr Oetker, they might say we'll give you £500k to shift your baking ingredients nearer to the fresh bread section (smell association).

So much of that goes on. Golden Wonder used to be the biggest selling crisps brand in the UK, leaving Walkers with their wrong-coloured cheese and onion with about 5% of the market. Walkers was bought by Pepsi and in just a year or so when from 5% to 95% of the market share. People point to all the successful marketing they did with their witty Gary Linekar ads... but, it was simpler than that. Pepsi simply paid the supermarkets to take Golden Wonder off the shelves.

Because most shoppers aren't you.

Stuff gets moved a out so that the "experience" becomes "fresh" again. Otherwise it all looks a bit jaded. End of isle gondolas especially as these are prime locations for increasing sales, sometimes I the 1000's of percent growth.

We get our shopping delivered, and I think the re-arrangement of products and aisles also confuses the staff as we often have the wrong stuff... which we keep and get refunded for so it's not all bad

You put your basket down and just walk out 😯 what if a small child were to fall over it and hurt themselves or an elderly person or someone who is handicapped, the callous inhumanity of it.

I've checked with the housekeeper and she assures me that Occado are still placing the frozen goods in green logo bags, fridge items in orange and pantry in purple.

Hope that helps.

[edit]

[i]End of isle gondolas especially as these are prime locations[/i]

Ah, yes, the much sought after 'Lands End' location.

Space planning department innit, as said before it maybe a funded move or more likely a refresh of layout, most store staff hate it as its a big job to move whole aisles.
This time of year they will be condensing sections so they can fit all the associated christmas sections in like Biscuits, snacks etc plus the baking range will extend with all the xmas baking range

Sorry to keep banging on about this, but did the OP buy any biscuits?

Golden Wonder used to be the biggest selling crisps brand in the UK, leaving Walkers with their wrong-coloured cheese and onion with about 5% of the market. Walkers was bought by Pepsi and in just a year or so when from 5% to 95% of the market share.

So they went from a 5% to a 95% share of the market in a year.

I think I detect made up statistics 😀

[i]but did the OP buy any biscuits? [/i]

[img] [/img]

95% of statistics are made up anyway.

i thought it was 87.5%?

Unfortunately, I've worked in ASDA for five yrs now, and I still can't find stuff. The store is having a re-fit so now I'll be back to square one. Luckily for customers they have hired some new kids during the re-fit called "go getters", who wander about holding a sign saying "ask me if you can't find stuff". But they are new, and also don't know where anything is! 😀

Why not have a station on every aisle with a computer type thing. Type in what your looking for and get directions eg aisle and shelf number

I've got some biscuits, right here

[img] [/img]

Don't worry Jamie, they're not NICE biscuits - those are shit

Luckily for customers they have hired some new kids during the re-fit called "go getters", who wander about holding a sign saying "ask me if you can't find stuff". But they are new, and also don't know where anything is!

😆

or why not just make the signs visible, rather than only being able to see them if you're on the aisle.
I hate the word aisle, it should be spelled ile.
And WHY!>>!>??!? are 99% of toothpastes on the shelves made by Colgate???
shopping. pah.

Are NICE biscuits available on the NHS?

Anyway supermarket placing and pricing is incredibly complex and you are subject to scientific analysis as you shop. It's rather interesting actually.

i guess it's so you look at more items.

yep

There's a great book by Vance Packard, The Hidden Persuaders, that explains it all. Most of the theory came out of research in the 50s in the US and has shaped consumer packaging and super market layouts ever since.....

[i]Why not have a station on every aisle with a computer type thing. Type in what your looking for and get directions eg aisle and shelf number [/i]

or just have pickers like Argos.

You sit in the cafe with an expensive coffee selecting items on a tablet pc and some poor sod is sprinting around the store picking the items as you select them.

When you've finished your coffee you stroll over to the checkout present your card and walk out with your stuff all bagged up.

Have you ever watched Trollied ? 😀
[img] [/img]

95% of statistics are made up anyway.

100% True!

I now shop at LIDL its always the same and every LIDL is the same no matter where you are in the country 😀

and they sell cheap biscuits that taste nice

And at least the likes of ALDI and Lidl don't have an irritating 'Jeremy Kyle' soundtrack. I would have stayed in my local ASDA and perhaps bought more, but due to the uncouth din of ASDA FM I turned around and walked out.

If you go to ALDI in fact any one in the UK I've been too, they are laid out the same no matter where you are. Makes for a very quick, efficient (and cheap shop).

And WHY!>>!>??!? are 99% of toothpastes on the shelves made by [s]Colgate[/s] [b]colgate-palmolive[/b]???

You think that's odd, think how much of you're weekly shop is made by unilever (or if it's not, how much could be).

Usually people come to your till, first thing thry say is "oh, I only came in for eggs n milk, didn't mean to buy all this stuff" *points at massive load on checkout belt*. just goes to show how easily people are manipulated. It's psychological warefare out there on the aisles, just people don't realise it!

well yes it's made by Colgate-Palmolive, but it's ALL branded Colgate. there are hundreds of varieties (colours) of the same thing. I don't buy it on principle.

Jamie, I didn't buy any biscuits. I know this is going to be a fairly contraversal statement but I'm not really that keen on biscuits.

I quite like dried fruit though.

Jamie, I didn't buy any biscuits. I know this is going to be a fairly contraversal statement but I'm not really that keen on biscuits.

You're dead to me.

Jamie, I didn't buy any biscuits. I know this is going to be a fairly contraversal statement but I'm not really that keen on biscuits.

How about shortbread? Jaffa cakes? Surely there must be some human left in you???

Jaffa cakes?

Oh dear. The lowly jaffa cake, confused about it's identity - not a cake, not a biscuit and rubbish at being either! Yuk! 😡 They really should put it out of it's misery and finish it off...

Shortbread, on the other hand..... 😀

I thought this was going to be a totally different thread. Is disappoint.

I was poised to contribute with my juiciest tales of low-end 1990s employment. Oh well, another time.

Yes. More tales of night time aisle cricket required.

Take all the reduced stuff off the shelves and move it to different parts of the shop, always gets the faties annoyed as they have to wallk further to get 50 p off some damaged crisps

I used to work in M&S about ten years ago, used to be a total pain moving all the stock round in the food bit. Orders from above just arrived via email for the mangers to dish out how they wanted it all laid out.

I managed to get transferred to a newly opening store into operations working in the back. Meant you could hide in the tea room, freezers or storage areas instead of doing any work. Unload the trucks double quick when they turned up and then go home early. Was a mix of younger lads and older blokes who had retired and just wanted a few hours work a week.

Wasn't a bad job, could take home all the food out of date for nothing if you wanted. I noticed last time I was in that they have started to mark short date stuff down to try and sell it before its out.

1978 working in Fine fare. Happy days. lobbing bags of sugar over the shelves into neighbouring aisles to try and hit co-workers, to hit a poor evening shopper instead.. oops.

price guns. was never good with those..

[i]price guns[/i]

a whole industry killed by the advent of bar coded products and till scanners.

well yes it's made by Colgate-Palmolive, but it's ALL branded Colgate. there are hundreds of varieties (colours) of the same thing. I don't buy it on principle.

And instead by some of that artisanal Aquafresh... Oh wait... thats just [s]made[/s] owned by GSK who also own Sensodyne

Oral B? Nope, just P&G, the same people who make pampers and pringles.

Crest? P&G again

Signal? Unliver's attempt

In fact Colgate is about as close you get to a toothpase that isn't just a brand owned my a multinational consumer products company. It still is as Colgate-Palmolive own all sorts of brands from detergent to pet food but a little bit less than the rest since the Colgate bit of the company was actually founded on toothpaste!

if biscuit manufacturers want to attract me to the biscuit aisle (as opposed to supermarkets tricking me into one), they're going to have to fit a lot more chocolate on them. And dried fruit.

Can biscuits have cheese in them? That too.

Or ASDA had this really weird way of organising some things by region but other things by food type.

So fig rolls weren't in the biscuits or cakes but in the "irish" section (they don't seem particularly Irish, but they were manufactured there). Some fruit juices, bread, biscuits etc were in the Polish section (again, not particularly Polish - just with polish labels). Marshmallow and Haribou were in the Halaal isle (no gelatin). A particular source or seasoning could be found under any one of - Chinese/Indian/West Indian or in the pasta isle (which, strangely, wasn't labelled "Italian")

But there ware also aisles labelled Biscuits/confectionary/fruit juices etc. with similar but slightly different products.

I could only conclude the shop manager was on drugs.

Who actually steps inside a supermarket these days anyhow, surely you do it all online ??

Can biscuits have cheese in them?

Those are crackers.

Haribou

Lol.. sweets made by Inuit?

[i]Lol.. sweets made by Inuit? [/i]

No, they were on the Eskimo aisle.

Its just all about making shoppers break their routine and have more of a chance of buying additional stuff isn't it (if you generally buy the same bits in your weekly shop you likely don't go down quite a few aisles).
I do have some sympathy for parents at the checkout though with all the sweets and their kids screaming for them, that's a little too cynical on the supermarket's part for me.

And another thing.

ASDA used to sell the nicest thing in the entire world. It was these nachos with some cheese and chilli seeds. You put everything on top of the nacho's, put 'em in the oven and then out came the most delicious food you've ever tasted.

Then they stopped selling them, I dunno health scare or something.

BRING THEM BACK!

Asda Morley is the greatest supermarket ever. All genuinely chirpy/helpful staff, day in, day out.

Don't know how.

In fact Colgate is about as close you get to a toothpase that isn't just a brand owned my a multinational consumer products company. It still is as Colgate-Palmolive own all sorts of brands from detergent to pet food but a little bit less than the rest since the Colgate bit of the company was actually founded on toothpaste!

I think you're missing my point. I don't care who own the brands, I just want a different brand and NOT Colgate branded toothpaste. I wouldn't care if Colgate-Palmolive also made this brand, even it was called 'Armpit Toothpaste' - at least it would be a perceived choice.

One of the reasons Woolworths went under was the 24(?) stock cycle changes that had to be done every year.

Imagine you've got a product that flies off the shelf.....then is replaced by another product as its times up. Took alot of work/effort at head office/distribution level..

I used to work in sainsburys. I can't believe how rude some people can be to checkout staff. I don't want a best mate but not even saying hello, throwing things in your face and trying to get you fired are all standard things in the supermarket.

My mate dave also worked there he was so broke that one time he bought a load of unlabelled tins form the 'staff shop' [section of manky shelves upstairs with broken packages and super low prices].

his plan was open a tin each day - see what was in it and what he could have to go with it. Beans= beans on toast. Bolognese = pasta. this was sort of working for a few days, although i think he did have toast and tinned carrots one day. Anyway i get a phone call one evening.

"what you having for dinner?"
"dunno pasta?"
"can i come round?"
"yeah of course, you run out of tins?"
"no. not exactly.[long pause]"
"yeah?"
"I got dog food"

I used to work in sainsburys. I can't believe how rude some people can be to checkout staff. I don't want a best mate but not even saying hello, throwing things in your face and trying to get you fired are all standard things in the supermarket.

Where do you stand on [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23158579 ]this[/url]?

Sainsbury's has apologised to a customer who was refused service by a checkout worker until she had ended her mobile phone call.

The customer, Jo Clarke, was told her shopping would not be processed until she had finished talking on her phone.

Ms Clarke was shopping at the chain's branch in Crayford, south east London.

I used to work for a major electrical retailer. They started a new store layout thing and I can't remember the stats but when they transformed a store to the new layout every one of them saw a decent increase in sales afterwards.

There's a whole "science" to store layout and it works.

[i]Luckily for customers they have hired some new kids during the re-fit called "go getters", who wander about holding a sign saying "ask me if you can't find stuff". But they are new, and also don't know where anything is! [/i]

On a similar vein one of the big Tescos in Cardiff used to emply youths on roller skates who could quickly nip off and grab something from the shelves if you reached the checkout and had forgotton something.

They don't do it anymore though, probably something to do with H&S I imagine.

Who actually steps inside a supermarket these days anyhow, surely you [s]do it all online[/s] get your wife to do it??

FTFY

just cut all this crap out about supermarkets and where they put stuff, i couldnt give a chuff as long as they supply me with biscuits, cakes, sweets, muffins, croissants, and ice cream SOMEWHERE in the store....and toasted tea cakes too.

This thread reminds me of The IKEA Maze Of Doom. The horror... 😯