General Chat

To a different supermarket because the one we have used for years have dropped the quality of their goods in the last week or two, mainly I think because the prices have gone up as well.
Has anyone else noticed this?

I've not noticed ZZzzz but we may not shop at the same.

We needed to rummage for enough good potato's, only damaged tomatoes, same with mushrooms.
Clothes just random sizes and styles on racks or the floor.....

Potatoes - yes, I agree!

I got some poor quality ones from a few supermarkets so decided that I'd buy only Saimsbury's Taste the Difference Vivaldi potatoes as they were OK.

However, I am placing an order for delivery on Wednesday and I can't seem to find them. I'll try until the last minute because they have always been fine.

I don't know why potatoes have been such poor quality and I've bought several different types from a few supermarkets but none as good as Vivaldis in the past few months. Perhaps our buyers are getting a raw deal from Europe since Brexit?

OH grew some last year and they were very nice but he's decided against growing them this year. We mighrt be wishing he hadn't made that decision.

I don't know about the Brexit but it seems as if it is because other supermarkets have or will be opening up near by, and our normal one has not got the monopoly now, neighbours have found the same problem.

JoyL .......

there is still time for you to persuade your OH to plant potatoes.

Get new ones in June/July, or leave in the ground and get bigger and bigger ones as the year moves on.

Does the soil good as well ;-)

I stopped buying potatoes from one of the original supermarkets years ago. There was always at least one really rotten one lurking in the bag.

I always used to grow potatoes but my current garden is really too small and I am never successful with veg in pots.

I wonder which supermarket ZZzzz has been shopping in.

It's Sainsbury but not for much longer if we can help it.

yeah they've had a re vamp in my local.....

cant find anything.....

Our local has the monopoly and is 3 miles away, however we shall try Waitrose which is 7 miles away so distance isn't to bad but hopefully quality will be better.

Ah! Hardly go there now as lockdowns have meant I am not over in that direction weekly anymore.

ZZzzz, will you let us know the outcome, please?

I have whittled down my regular deliveries to those from Waitrose, Sainsbs and Iceland - always free from Waitrose and Iceland and £1 delivery charge from Sainsbs. I have had two from Ocado - one free and the second almost the equivalent of Sainsburys delivery cost - otherwise I would not have bought from Ocado.

I have tried an Asda delivery but not stuck with them. I have never tried Tesco or Morrisons - delivery charge put me off. As far as I am aware, the Coop, Aldi and Lidl have no delivery set-up otherwise I'd have given them a try as I had no affinity until lockdown and I used to shop wherever I was at the time.

It may seem mean but I object to paying delivery charges even though OH pointed out that I'd pay petrol if I wanted a big shop. I think they should all absorb the delivery costs - although they'd probably hike the price of goods then.

Do let us know about the potatoes though, please, ZZzzz.

We shall be going to the Waitrose shop this week I will let you know how it goes.
With regard to what your OH said about paying for petrol to go to the shop you only pay for that trip, the shop charges everyone that has a delivery and there is always more than one delivery on the van.
Watch this space lol.

Our Coop does online shopping and deliveries, and I have always shopped there, but I don't use them for online stuff because they only do pre-packed veg/fruit and not loose.

I now use Tesco and so far am satisfied, despite the delivery charge. You can choose whether you want substitutes or not and write a brief note by every item with instructions, if you want. I think the delivery charge is worth it to have someone carry all my shopping upstairs for me!

Regarding potatoes, the Coop's have always been OK and so far I have no complaint about Tesco's.

We have shopped online from Ocado for quite a few years but since they changed from Waitrose to M&S the range of goods available seems to have decreased.

Re: quality, nowhere seems to have decent bananas at the moment. Maybe it's a seasonal thing.

And maybe it isn't such a good thing to have a full choice of foodstuffs, which we grow seasonably here, all year round as the carbon footprint of shipping from Chile, South Africa, Israel and so on needs reducing if climate change targets are to be met.

I thought I'd resurrect this thread, ZZzzz, to let you know that I took delivery of some lovely potatoes earlier this week.

Ocado White Potatoes. 2.5 kg (there are other weights)

UK origin - which makes it even better as far as I am concerned.

Free delivery again too.

Thank you JoyLouise, that is good to know, that they are good and UK origin.

Potatoes tend to be pretty shoddy at the begining of the year, because they've been clamped (stored) over winter.

That probably explains how potatoes were always good from my Dads garden.

Definitely!

When I was an ag lab, we dreaded the opening of the clamps, especially in March/April.
We used to remove the squidgy, smelly rotten ones as they went past on a riddler (shaky conveyor belt), we insisted on being provided with thick rubber gloves!

The 'good' ones went to supermarkets.