The Great British Supermarket
By Lord Banks, 1st Aug 2011 | Follow this author
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Supermarkets are as British as football and cricket. I give my personal views of the giants that are supermarkets!
The Great British Supermarket.
Annoying Supermarkets.
Most of us in the western world grew up with supermarkets. As a child we hate them because they are boring and the endless shelves that are too high for tiny tots to reach; and all the noise hurt sensitive ears. As we grow older we accept supermarkets as a necessary evil. Many teenagers see the Supermarkets as a gathering point? I think this idea came from America originally. In America huge ‘Malls’ sprawl the landscape and are also full of eating places such as ‘McDonalds’ and ‘Burger King’
Certainly the Supermarkets I use always has a gathering of spotty teenagers on skateboards. Many of these youth’s sit on the benches outside and laugh at the adults struggling with their shopping! Supermarkets are a big part of everyone’s life now.
There are certain idiosyncrasies that are true of all Supermarkets. Arguments? When was the last time you went around the Supermarket and didn’t hear a couple arguing? I always see a couple row and the argument is over such stupid things. The row could be over a loaf of bread! The husband may like white bread where as the wife may be trying wholemeal bread as it better for your health? The row can be sparked by smallest of things?
I feel a build up of tension when I shop with my partner. Why is this? I know money is tight in fact very tight. Not always but often we are the same as every other couple as in we row in the Supermarket! I have studied this phenomenon at length hence this article. As I drive into Tesco car park I feel a build up of tension in my neck. Then there is the ’Trolley syndrome’ will the trolley have a mind of its own? The trolley normally has four wheels one on each corner. The problem is the wheels jam up. When the wheels jam up the trolley brakes itself on one side and the trolley is virtually un-push able!
The wayward trolley doesn’t always manifest itself until halfway around the Supermarket, by this time there are too may groceries in the trolley to exchange it! The trolley will make a bee line for you’re partners ankles and clip them painfully! This will of course be your fault! Supermarkets employ physiologists to plan their goods for sale in a certain order. Colourful vegetables will normally be near the entrance as it is good Kama! Alcohol sales are normally near the exit and are seen as a treat for the shoppers?
I’m pretty sure that you as shoppers tend to use the same supermarket every week and buy roughly the same items per week yes? The managers and physiologists know this. They watch you settle into a comfortable routine of knowing where everything is in their store. Your shopping time gets less and less as you know where your items to be bought are. If your shopping time is reduced the chances of you spending more are limited? So the supermarkets every month or so do a major shake up of where they keep the items for sale.
Surely you have noticed this? One fine Friday or Saturday you reach to the shelf where the pasta is kept and its not there! Its corned beef! And you’re a bloody vegetarian! You get annoyed and what do you do? Yes you take it out on your partner well mine does! Its incredibly annoying for the shopper these massive change around in the goods for sale. The logic behind this change around is (I have asked actually as sad as that is) the shopper will stumble upon different articles for sale than they normally do. Perhaps the customer would really like some corned beef but hadn’t thought of corned beef in a while?
So there you are struggling with a shopping trolley that keeps biting your partners ankles and all your weeks shopping is in different isles! The row is in full swing now and you end up shopping alone together? There is silence between you and dirty looks are exchanged over the frozen veg! Then the alcohol section comes into view and the man makes a bee line for his beer or wine. Little does he know that his partner has seen the break and is ready when the man comes back with the alcohol she says,
“We cant afford your precious beer put it back!”
In conclusion supermarkets are here to stay they even offer us mobile phones now and car insurance. The vision of big brother is not culminating through governments it’s the supermarkets! The supermarket knows your bank account details it knows your home address for your bonus vouchers. The supermarket analyses your purchases and sends you a few pennies off what you buy regularly in their store to keep you coming back. You have no secrets from Tesco, Morrison’s, or Sainsbury’s.
Supermarkets are as much the part of English society as football or cricket! It is a scary thought but non the less a true thought. Please just think a little when you go shopping that all in the supermarket is engineered to get you to spend more money! Always look closely at special offers they are often more expensive than the goods that are not on offer!
Lord Banks
Comments
1st Aug 2011 (#)
I actually love to go grocery shopping but, I have to admit, it is not the hubby's favorite thing to do but, he puts up with it. We have been going to the same one for around 10 years now. We have watched kids grow from high school students, to college and beyond for some. Lately, most of what we eat are the buy 1 get one free items. The good thing about our grocey is, they do not jack up the prices when they do this and they usually have around 40 different items on sale b1g1 free every week. What a fun read. Thank you for sharing.:)
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1st Aug 2011 (#)
Oh how I agree with this! We are so easily manipulated by the Supermarkets, and half the time just are not aware of it...Great page, and one that I could relate to very easily..
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13th Aug 2011 (#)
An eye-opener...good share, thank you.
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