"It sucks to buy anything in 2023" - Kotaku

KK wrote:God, all these bloody loyalty apps and their two-tier pricing (which is nothing more than a rebranding of promotional offers, but now you just need to be a member). I noticed Lidl's are now at it as well with Plus price banners everywhere.

I actually think the Nectar one is excellent. Enticing me back to the shop with a personal reduction on the stuff I actually buy is just fantastic business on both sides of the transaction.

Outrunner wrote:I sometimes find online shopping, especially for clothes, really inconvenient. If I go into a shop I (in theory) can try on an item. It doesn't fit? Cool, I'll pick something else. It does fit? Cool, I'll buy it and take it home. Online shopping? Well it says it fits. Order it, pray that it arrives, if it does arrive hope that I'm in, if I'm not in, hope that the delivery company leave the parcel where I told them to. If it fits, cool. If it doesn't, repack the item, take it to the nearest drop off point (which more than likely isn't anywhere close).

Same, I normally go and get my clothes in store (usually at an outlet centre so I can get the brands a bit cheaper, hence my Ralph Lauren beanie hat in latest purchases), as I do like to try stuff on first, especially as some of the sizing in certain stores can be really off (superdry being one of the worst offenders for selling items smaller than the sizing suggests).

I got a £10 Morrisons voucher after spending a certain amount in the shop over the last few weeks.

Just went to buy some stuff with it, but apparently the voucher is for online shopping only. Even though every penny I've ever spent there was in the actual shop.

Get strawberry floated.

Yeah, it's difficult to argue against that. Everything feels like a rip-off, and like you're being nickel and dimed at every opportunity. Service is as shitty as possible, and prices as high as possible, and you're constantly being asked to give more.

With games and consoles, people who buy at the outset pretty much get the worst deal - the highest price, for the most broken version of the product, but publishers are all too happy to keep releasing over-priced, unfinished games because they know people will lap it up regardless.

With the basics like water, energy, broadband, food...our regulators are utterly toothless, almost stunningly incompetent, and do nothing to help consumers. They're more interested in keeping businesses able to provide for shareholders than worry about customers, or the environment, or enforcing good standards. I genuinely don't know what the regulators do now, other than be another outfit that helps screw people over. Supermarkets are another guilty party of ripping people off at every turn.

Even going to a pub or restaurant, the prices are insane. £8-10 for a starter, £20-25 for a main course, £8-10 for a dessert, service charges automatically added to your bill, £10+ for a glass of wine, £5+ for a pint of beer, and they even have the gall to ask if you want to add a tip/service charge when you order at the bar.

Everything feels like a race to the bottom, with no desire for good standards or customer care, and everyone just screwing everyone over for every penny along the way.

Wonder how much bank the supermarkets make selling your shopping information to justify hiding price reductions behind a membership. Must be some tasty information, knowing what you buy and when, when you’re more likely to spend more, when your payday is likely to be, whether you’re buying things that point towards you being depressed or on a health kick or on your period or suffering migraines etc etc.

But hey, 20% off this butter that’s three times the price it was two years ago if I just scan my card! I saved six pounds on this week’s big shop!

Lotus wrote:Everything feels like a race to the bottom, with no desire for good standards or customer care, and everyone just screwing everyone over for every penny along the way.

It feels more like we’re on the verge of some kind of big change, and those in a position to do so are desperately grabbing what they can while they’re able to. Stealing the silverware while the Titanic sinks.

They aren't even price reductions for members, it's a premium for non members. Clubcard prices just make the prices normal.

Moggy wrote:I got a £10 Morrisons voucher after spending a certain amount in the shop over the last few weeks.

Just went to buy some stuff with it, but apparently the voucher is for online shopping only. Even though every penny I've ever spent there was in the actual shop.

Get strawberry floated.

I have morrisons more too, though it would have helped had they not updated the app as it no longer works on my phone!

Speaking of self service checkout, and very much going against what this thread's about... does anyone else find that long (5+ minute) grocery store checkout lines are completely a thing of the past now? I don't think I've had to wait more than a minute in the last year before I get to checkout. While certainly not without faults, self service tends to be (in my experience at least) so much quicker. One store here in Iceland is even doing a thing where you bag the item immediately after scanning with your phone, then you simply walk out (I think you just have to display a QR code or something on your phone to a reader at the gate).

Vermi Claus wrote:

Moggy wrote:I got a £10 Morrisons voucher after spending a certain amount in the shop over the last few weeks.

Just went to buy some stuff with it, but apparently the voucher is for online shopping only. Even though every penny I've ever spent there was in the actual shop.

Get strawberry floated.

I have morrisons more too, though it would have helped had they not updated the app as it no longer works on my phone!

I'd boycott Morrisons but Tesco/Asda/Aldi are all further away and I'm a lazy bastard.

OldSoulCyborg wrote:Speaking of self service checkout, and very much going against what this thread's about... does anyone else find that long (5+ minute) grocery store checkout lines are completely a thing of the past now? I don't think I've had to wait more than a minute in the last year before I get to checkout.

I think you might be in a minority with that one. The queues around here are often pretty dreadful, including at self service.

Vermi Claus wrote:I think you might be in a minority with that one. The queues around here are often pretty dreadful, including at self service.

Yeah, can agree that this isn't really my experience of shopping in saaf Lundn. It's so busy that there are nearly always queues... and, if anything goes wrong with the scanners, you usually have to wait for one of the (very few) store staff to come over from the shopping aisles.

KK wrote:God, all these bloody loyalty apps and their two-tier pricing (which is nothing more than a rebranding of promotional offers, but now you just need to be a member). I noticed Lidl's are now at it as well with Plus price banners everywhere.

It should be made illegal by trading rights. sure give points in loyalty apps, but phasing people out of prices with rediculous offers (£1 for the item with appp, £3 without, gooseberry fool like that) should be banned.

Curls wrote:

KK wrote:God, all these bloody loyalty apps and their two-tier pricing (which is nothing more than a rebranding of promotional offers, but now you just need to be a member). I noticed Lidl's are now at it as well with Plus price banners everywhere.

It should be made illegal by trading rights. sure give points in loyalty apps, but phasing people out of prices with rediculous offers (£1 for the item with appp, £3 without, gooseberry fool like that) should be banned.

jawa_ wrote:

Moggy wrote:I'm loving how Jawa is slowly turning into a revolutionary

... . I think I kinda am. I used to be that way, Moggy - many years ago! - but then the system pretty much wore me down and introduced a thinking pattern of "acceptance". Over the past few years my mindset has changed, though; generally because it's pretty obvious how most of the government and most companies are just trying to see how far they can push you into that "acceptance" mode. Yes, our service is sh!t... but pay more for it.

Zilent Night wrote:Dark times ahead when even Jawa fails to put a positive spin on something bad.

I do like to seek out the best in things, Zilnad, but it sure is becoming a challenge nowdays. There is such much crap to deal with - like, everything - that I do wonder if I, and others, will continue to have the ability to identify "good aspects". It is become tougher and tougher.

Green Gecko wrote:I went to buy a gingerbread cookie for my loved one at Waitrose...

Dang, Gecko, I'm sorry that you had such a rough experience. I can understand how the combination of self-service machines, a hectic environment and noise can cause those situations.

Green Gecko wrote:...I literally have the pin for for this card written on a bright pink post it note in my wallet, because I can never remember it...

Oh! I'm not familiar with how people with ADHD spectrum challenges have difficulty in recalling things such as a PIN number. That must be tricky. Would it be an option to store the code on your phone? The approach of using a post-it note (even a bright pink one ) in your wallet raises the risk of bad things happening in the event of a theft. Even if you don't have a smart phone (which I don't, either!) an option could be to store the code within a text message.

That's a good idea - although I often forget my phone as well. So I kind of need to sever the too.

I have a few cards most of which I don't carry that I remember the pins for, and I've had the same pin as long as I can remember for my current account.

It's just a failsafe really, I can tap the card to make 90% of transactions on that one and with the pin hidden in a sleeve it's not going to be seen by anyone.

However, with regards to losing my card, that nearly always means I've lost my wallet and other cards (hopefully not). If I get mugged, you phone the banks immediately to say the card is stolen and they'll freeze it and the rest will be refunded as unauthorised. I've 100% lost my card anyway at that point so acting is better than prevention - there's not a lot you can do to prevent it and if someone has your wallet you're strawberry floated anyway with ID, other cards and gooseberry fool in it.

Knoy, yeah - that's one way to prevent scanning the same thing multiple times by mistake. Something that could eaisly catch someone out and it also creates another issue for the store - stock keeping. Someone could check out the same item twice and that means two SKUs down on the count with only one removed.

And it creates another problem too. Someone may notice, come back with their receipt, and ask for a refund. And then how do you prove you were charged for the same item twice? Seems impossible to me.

Fringe cases, but it's not the 99 things you get right. It's the 1% that compounds and creates huge problems later. What you get right is basically meaningless if you are trying to optimise a system or experience. Anything less is just making excuses - and are your competition doing that?

I would bet a lot of people make decisions for why they shop based on their experience with shelf checkout machines now Just think about what kind of liability that represents. Maybe a tad less dystopic and prone to error would actually be good for sales... But no, let's design these things in a vacuum and only once they're costed and installed realise this doesn't really work in a bank of 20 machines all going off at the same time.

Imrahil
I definitely decided never to go there on a Saturday afternoon again. It's frustrating because it's usually one of the more manageable places for me to shop.

Aldi can be hilariously insane. They have these half basket, half trolley things you wheel behind you now. But being far below waste height, nobody really seems conscious they are behind them or in front of them. I like to imagine they are like little shopping basket dogs on wheels, barking at each other when they can't get past each other.

I really should put that on a T-shirt.

I've been trying to do the shared shopping more often lately, and it takes me 2-4x longer than my partner would take, on average, and probably compared to anyone neurotypical person. I can do this regularly, but doing it every single time, is something I should pay a PA to do, and I will, because it's just not worth the stress - even if I feel more independent doing it, it renders me less capable of doing other, more important things that only I can do (work for example).

jawa_ wrote:

Vermi Claus wrote:I think you might be in a minority with that one. The queues around here are often pretty dreadful, including at self service.

Yeah, can agree that this isn't really my experience of shopping in saaf Lundn. It's so busy that there are nearly always queues... and, if anything goes wrong with the scanners, you usually have to wait for one of the (very few) store staff to come over from the shopping aisles.

Yeah, London is always super busy wherever you go shopping, the only time i've ever seen it quiet was during the covid years.

Around here though, it's a little different as instead of the busyness being caused by it being a big city, it's a case of a lack of options which means everyone funnels into what little we have here.

The vast majority of my supermarket shopping is done at self checkouts and I honestly prefer it compared to queuing at a manned till if I only have a basket’s worth of stuff to buy - it’s just very rare that there’s ever a problem with them I find. Although it’s never good if there aren’t enough staff to actually help out, which is what inevitably happens when companies purely look to cut costs at the expense of both staff and customers.

Online shopping though is becoming a more and more of a nightmare from a double whammy of having to always research whether the seller is actually any good and the fact that most couriers have gone really downhill recently in being able to deliver when you actually need them to. TrustPilot is fine when looking up new shops you’ve never used before but I’ve generally stopped trusting third party sellers on Amazon when it comes to things like electronics and cables.

Caveat with TrustPilot is that they charge businesses for tools to "manage" their reviews. All they have to do is mark a review as fraudulent, libel or spam and TrustPilot will remove it until the reviewer changes the wording... The business flags it as breach of T&Cs and on and on it goes.

There are a few weights I use to consider online reviews: people only go on the Internet to complain, not when everything is fine, but also they are invited to leave reviews or incentivised to leave them. On top of that, some negative reviews can easily be conveniently hidden by the business abusing the libel/defamation/spam claims - and because there is a vested interest in the platform that the business is literally paying for, I don't think Trustpilot etc care.

TrustPilot's fees are £250 to £800 per month plus VAT. https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/pricing

Green Gecko wrote:Caveat with TrustPilot is that they charge businesses for tools to "manage" their reviews. All they have to do is mark a review as fraudulent, libel or spam and TrustPilot will remove it until the reviewer changes the wording... The business flags it as breach of T&Cs and on and on it goes.

There are a few weights I use to consider online reviews: people only go on the Internet to complain, not when everything is fine, but also they are invited to leave reviews or incentivised to leave them. On top of that, some negative reviews can easily be conveniently hidden by the business abusing the libel/defamation/spam claims - and because there is a vested interest in the platform that the business is literally paying for, I don't think Trustpilot etc care.

TrustPilot's fees are £250 to £800 per month plus VAT. https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/pricing

I've been informed it's considerably more for some larger businesses. I'm not a big fan of TrustPilot. Went to the highest rated restaurant in one town, TrustPilot cards came out after they knew we were happy with our meal, alongside some free shots. I don't blame the restaurant, but it's simple evidence of how businesses can manipulate it - prompt for feedback at the ideal moment.

I was last prompted to provide a TrustPilot survey today, at the very end of a First Aid course. It was literally a case of 'here is a QR code to scan to leave us a TrustPilot review if you're happy with the course today'. It's a marketing tool for businesses before being a genuine tool for consumers.

Tipping culture really needs to strawberry float off as well. Takeaway apps seem to ask you to tip both the restaurant and drivers now so I've just stopped tipping altogether. In fact, I'm trying to stop having takeaways at all as the prices have now risen to the point where I genuinely regret the spend as soon as I've finished eating.

My wife donated to a local charity on Just Giving tonight and even that asked for a tip for just using the website. strawberry floating ridiculous.

OldSoulCyborg wrote:Speaking of self service checkout, and very much going against what this thread's about... does anyone else find that long (5+ minute) grocery store checkout lines are completely a thing of the past now? I don't think I've had to wait more than a minute in the last year before I get to checkout. While certainly not without faults, self service tends to be (in my experience at least) so much quicker. One store here in Iceland is even doing a thing where you bag the item immediately after scanning with your phone, then you simply walk out (I think you just have to display a QR code or something on your phone to a reader at the gate).

I think I agree with this sentiment! I recall queuing half way around a store back in the day. I'm always pretty impatient waiting for that one assistant to make their way over to authorise my purchase, but the transaction times do seem shorter than they used to be.

I was in Boots today. Thought it was a poor show that they only had one manned till, but they did have about 20 self scan machines. They never had 20 manned checkouts, nowhere near it.
The queue went down in next to no time. Self service is my preference on most occasions, but of course stores need to provide choice for customers who need another option.