Coles is pulling the Woolies over our eyes

TJ says:

08:47am | 22/05/12

RE: restocking shelves

I hear you. The worst is baby formula. Every time I go shopping I have to buy 5 tins of the stuff because my brand will be missing from the shelves for the next 3 weeks.

It’s not like grabbing a different brand of cheese when my favourite has run out. A young baby needs the right brand in the right age group. I usually have the same problem with nappies also.

Peter says:

09:41am | 22/05/12

What marketing genius decided a morbidly obese blob should front their campaign?
What is Coles trying to say about the health benefits of their products?
And another thing - it’s a Pommie obese blob. I’m pretty sure we have our own homegrown obese blobs. What about Magda Z. She’s funny and fat and happy (well when the red light is on). John Symonds from Aussie Home loans - he’s enormous. Kim Beazley is really fat. What about that actress who looks like the little fat guy from Little Britain - Rebel something or other?
This seems ot be following the trend of allthose talent shows on the box - the idiots in charge think we’ll watch if it’s fronted by some hasbeen imported from Pommie Land. Seriously - how many of them are on the telly? Betcha the BBC is a yobbo-free zone now that Clive James has cancer.
I am FlyBuys free. nd yes - I am fattist.

Meh says:

11:04am | 22/05/12

Dude, say what you want about Coles or fat people, but not Dawn French. She’s gorgeous and bl**dy funny.

I hate going to any supermarket besides my usuals where I know exactly where the products I want are. If I go to other supermarkets and can’t find what I want quickly I have been know to simply abandon my trolley and walk out.

Jester says:

11:41am | 22/05/12

@Meh

Should have gone to specsavers.

Alicia says:

01:28pm | 22/05/12

You’re obviously not going to a very good store if things are “moving around overnight”. When I worked for Woolies (and I fully admit that things MIGHT be different now), it was quite rare for the shelving plans to change all the time. I’ve been going to Woolies for a long time now and have never had constant issues with things moving to another location.

I do agree that the lack of restocking is a pain and it usually comes down to management not controlling their stock levels properly.

Murray says:

02:58pm | 22/05/12

@ Peter, your comments re: the English are spot on - but regretfully our whole country has a huge inferiority complex when it comes to the English, consider:
* Our flag still has the Union Jack - there are 54 countries in the Commonwealth yet only Australia, New Zealand, the Colonel Banana-rama dictatorship of Fiji, Tuvalu and the UK show the Union Jack - we are obviously too immature to have our own flag. And as our flag wasn’t given Royal Assent until 1954 our forefathers certainly did not fight under it in WW1 or WW2. Interestingly, the Commonwealth flag doesn’t show the Union Jack - it is a gold globe surrounded by 61 spears on a blue background.
* TV shows, why oh why do we need to import the hosts of English shows to front the Australian version (Phil Down Under, Selling Houses Australia etc). Are our TV hosts really that bad?
* Cricket commentators - why Mark Nicholas? - I’m unconvinced he is any better than local talent.
* Soccer commentators - Simon Hill - a suburban hack in England is treated like he may know something about the game - jury’s out on that !! And last 3 games Australia v England 2 draws and a win to Oz - so what can those pommy gits tell us about playing football ?
* Business leaders - Coles is run by English checkout blokes who apparently know so much more than Ausises about our own market, ANZ employed Mike Smith, while Choice imported Nick Stace - aren’t Aussies good enough to run our larger corporations?

So you shouldn’t be surprised when they import the lady who did the same ads in England - coz after all we always do whatever the English want.

It’s nice to be proud of our British heritage, but it is pathetic to be subservient to it,

Grant says:

04:59pm | 22/05/12

I live in Adelaide where we’re lucky enough to have the Foodland chain.  Most stores are smaller than Coles and Woolworths but they rarely play ‘find the product’ with their customers.

KH says:

07:58am | 22/05/12

yeah, I forgot to mention this annoyance as well…..........as if their home brand product replaces every other brand of it - if it was exactly the same item, there wouldn’t have been brands in the first place…..........

Bernadette says:

08:56am | 22/05/12

Greensa’s Tuna! Used to be cheaper than John West but bettr quality than home brands now suddenly I can’t get big cans of Greensea’s tuna and the space they were in is full of Woolies select brand, this is only the latest one, but it is this pattern of removing brands what has driven me to the much smaller IGA I used to shop at Woolies or Coles every week now I go to IGA on more of a weekly basis and Woolies every 6 or so weeks.

morrgo says:

09:03am | 22/05/12

@Gherkin: In my experience, most items in Aldi are both cheaper and equal or better quality than Coleworths’.  It can be initially confusing, though, that apart from Vegemite you do not find the familiar brands.  In some cases this is a distinct advantage: instead of the Cadbury and Nestle rubbish Aldi stock superb German chocolates.

sol says:

10:17am | 22/05/12

One day Lidl will arrive in Australia ... then you’ll really see

RyaN says:

11:46am | 22/05/12

Aldi is FAR superior in quality than Coles and Woolworths, you clearly have never shopped there.
Not only that 98% of Aldi product is Australian made, a claim nether Coles or Woolworths can match.
http://aldi.com.au/au/html/product_range/3409.htm

Try some real facts about Aldi rather than some tripe spewed forth by some dumbshit at a barbecue.
http://aldi.com.au/au/html/service/aldi_facts.htm?WT.z_src=main

There is a reason they won Australian supermarket of the year, because they don’t screw their customers!
http://www.roymorganonlinestore.com/BrowseCSA-Home.aspx?month=13&year=2011

Get me out of here says:

01:34pm | 22/05/12

I couldn’t give a rats about what Aldi won or didn’t win - the simple fact of the matter is that their product range is a hell of a lot smaller, therefore limiting my choices to what they want me to buy rather than what I want to buy. It’s quite easy to buy Aussie products at Woolies - you just need to take the time to check your products. Or even better, support local growers and shop at farmers markets or the farm gate - hell of a lot better for your wallet

kgrant says:

05:05pm | 22/05/12

Are you kidding?  Or stupid?  Or employed by Woolworths or Wesfarmers?

Roy says:

07:58pm | 22/05/12

I work for a food company that has supplied Aldi since they first opened in Aust. They are supplied with the same quality as Coles and Woolworths, in fact they are more up front and less sneaky than the other two, who will drop your products off there shelves and buy from someone else for a while, to force you to accept a lower price. Back years ago we did make a special “cheaper” product for BILO (Coles)

Paleoflatus says:

08:30am | 22/05/12

...and the only counter-weapon we have is critical thinking. I agree with your analysis, but it’s not a problem, unless we go wherever they lead. Perhaps that correlates with a lobbyist-led government’s BER spending money on school halls and wildly expensive computers, rather than on teaching grammar, maths and science, which encourage critical analysis.

Mack says:

08:40am | 22/05/12

If you don’t want to be ‘watched, scrutinised, itemised, packaged and then re-sold to the highest bidder based on your spending habits’, use cash. Most people choose not to, tho…..

Scotchfinger says:

09:18am | 22/05/12

‘how about some real programs with real benefits for the customer. Like free home delivery, complimentary packing and people to carry stuff to your car and childcare services.’

I don’t need or want the despotic supermarket consortiums to invade my life any more than they already do. A shop is somewhere I go to track down an item, buy it and get the hell out of there so I can get on with my life. It is not an extension of my personal space or some other trendy gimmick. Keep shopping simple and reasonably priced, and don’t spend too much time on it. If you find yourself buying a subscription of ‘Shop til you Drop’ magazine, you know your existence is out of phase, you are spinning out of control and a marketing man is reviewing your stats with a hard-on.

subotic says:

11:06am | 22/05/12

@Mack, I withdraw $500 every 2 weeks and use cash only. I have never had a rewards card, and certainly have never used a credit or debit card to purchase anything.

Live simple. Live quiet. Wear a hoodie. Carry a big stick…

Rickster says:

11:39am | 22/05/12

@subtoic and just how do you get cash?.....you use a debit card. Game set match!

subotic says:

01:25pm | 22/05/12

@Rickster, when I withdraw from the bank ATM, I make sure I don’t whisper into the machine what I’m going to do with the money…

Shhhhhh!

Semi Concerned Citizen says:

04:15pm | 22/05/12

Sub,
I get my cash from selling illegal drugs. Unless the house is bugged or some pricks coming in wired my cash is clean.
I then employ local school kids (payed by cash) to do my shopping.
My friend works on an oil rig so i use his house as a base. I slink off at nights and every 3 months for a week back to the real pad i have.
I wear a bowla hat and carry a cane as a disguise.

rach says:

10:13am | 22/05/12

“I’m not worried about the supermarkets knowing what products I buy and how much I spend.”

I completely agree. My shopping habits are hardly an invasion of privacy. To me, it’s a win-win situation; chains learn more about their customers and provide better services and products, which in turn makes me a happy consumer.

Sara Somewhere says:

10:19am | 22/05/12

This. I don’t have a credit card, but I’m finding that the average weekly shop for my partner and I generates alomst enough points for a return flight to Melbourne each year. And I like Melbourne.

I agree with you on targeted advertising as well. If you’re going to send me promotions, at least send me something I might vaguely be interested in. When ads are targeted to my demographic, I get stuff about baby and weight-loss products. Boooooring. But analyse my shopping trolley, and it becomes clear I’d prefer to hear about specials on fresh vegetables and pet food.

Part of my job involves generating statistics for targeted mailing lists. The instructions go something like this: “We’re having a special on cereal this week. Send this email to everyone who bought a box of cereal last month but hasn’t bought any this month”. It’s no more sinister than that.

Elphaba says:

10:46am | 22/05/12

@rach and Sara, yep, that’s right.  I love how people think data mining is soooo evil.  I’d rather advertising that appeals to me, than wasted airtime with stuff I ignore.  In the meantime, if someone is really interested in the endless tins of tomatoes and bags of carrots that end up in my trolley every week, go for it.

If I can’t get a part-payment happening on the US flight, I can always fly to Qld and visit my brother.  I’ll use the points for a flight some time in the future, and they haven’t cost me anything, and I haven’t had to change my spending habits.  Sounds like win-win to me, as you both said.

Tony of Poorakistan says:

10:09am | 22/05/12

I want that Woolworths android app to have prices on it and tell me whether the item I want is in stock. That way, I can budget and I am not wasting my time (and there’s since I always make a point of getting someone to check the storeroom) if the item is not on the shelf.

Cath says:

11:45am | 22/05/12

I would always check every thing off any invoice attached to any order, same as checking your credit card and bank statements.  they do email you and tell you when they don’t have the products.  and they refund any wrong deliveries or substandard goods.  I’ve found them pretty good once you accept the limitations.  I spend about $300 a fortnight on a big order so pay no delivery.  The main plus is that you don’t have to visit the supermarket, load up the trolley, unload it at the checkout, load it up again, unload it into the car and unload it into the house then pack into the pantry. So much less labour intensive for me -  Heaven.

rach says:

10:18am | 22/05/12

Haha, I love the paranoia. Tell me what items have increased? Milk, which would be on most people’s “my5” is still the same price. As is bread. Cereal still looks the same price to me. Same with washing powder.

If you are going to make grand statements, at least back them up with evidence.

Rose says:

10:36am | 22/05/12

Huh, you get to pick any 5 items out of everything they stock in store, I picked My5 last night. I went for the highest price items on what I buy most regularly.
To benefit from being in Flybys or any other rewards programs you just have to be smart enough n ot to change your shopping habits and to collect points on what you would otherwise get nothing for.
I still buy my meat from a private butcher, most of my fruit and veg from the green grocer and just my staples from the supermarket. When you start buying stuff you don’t need you need to pull your head in, but blame yourself, not the retailer.
Over the years we have had many Flybuys rewards, the thing about it I like is that I would have spent the same amount of money there whether they gave me freebies or not

Elphaba says:

10:50am | 22/05/12

The cards do that, you just have to opt in.  You can set your card up so that for every 50 or 100 or whatever points you accrue, you get a voucher to spend next time.  I haven’t chosen that option because I want my points for flights only.

Peter says:

02:38pm | 22/05/12

Shits my wife too.
I thought maybe one side of her head was fatter than the other (if that were actually possible given she’s a small whale).
Maybe it’s so you don’t notice the gunt?

Yawnnn says:

12:36pm | 22/05/12

I hear you Lloyd, loud and clear!  WTF it’s only about $2 a fortnight or week you are saving, why bother with these companies when 7/11 (Mobil) is ALWAYS at least 4-6 cents cheaper with out the pathetic voucher.
People get a life and use it to force these giants to do better.  Don’t refuel there for a couple of months go to another operator.  Stop them from owning you.  You have the power to do it!!

Catrumba says:

12:16pm | 22/05/12

OMG what is wrong with me ...I sat here and read every single wallowing winge and witisism. It felt so good to read everyones supermrket purge. Nothing better than a woolies rant and I feel great…invogorated…ready to um ...go shopping.

I have a friend whose personality changes after she’s been in a supermarket. She starts out impatient and becomes a bit snappy middle store aisle and by the checkout she has cracked the sh*ts and gone…I finally worked it out. She’s a bit thin and VERY COLD. An hour in the store and she’s hypothermic..

Alicia says:

01:43pm | 22/05/12

It really pisses me off when people whinge about items that are on special but not available in their store. Perhaps someone can in three minutes before you and cleared the shelf? Or maybe there is a shortage? Or maybe that particular store never stocked it in the first place? The catalogues do often say that items are not available in every store. Yeah, it’s frustrating but even more frustrating is the customer who complains about something the staff generally have no control over (at least I didn’t when I copped the abuse).

Coles and Woolies have to cut money somewhere when they reduce prices to try and keep customers happy ,and one of the first places is wages! It really frustates me to. I hope you don’t take it out on the staff as it’s not their fault and the decision to cut wages usually comes from some high-up manager with no fricken idea.

ShamWow says:

05:20pm | 22/05/12

@Alicia: I agree re: people giving shit to the minimum wage checkout chicks. However, you are actually obligated to have the product in stock if you are advertising it.