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Tesco apology to bread ban shopper
Wednesday 2nd December 2009, 10:40AM GMT.
Crumbs! It seems that when times are tough there really is a shortage of dough to go round, as one Shropshire woman found to her amazement while shopping at the supermarket.
When Christina Birch attempted to buy enough bread to feed 100 guests at a barbecue she was hosting she made a beeline for Tesco in Whitchurch.
But when she tried to snap up 18 fresh baguettes, staff slapped a restriction on the number she was allowed to buy, telling her she could only buy six baguettes at a time.
A Tesco spokesman today apologised for the mishap, adding that the company is “a retailer not a wholesaler”.
Mrs Birch, from Brown Moss, near Whitchurch, said she had wanted to buy the bread for the barbecue on the morning of the event to ensure its freshness.
“When I went into Tesco at Whitchurch and attempted to purchase 18 baguettes, I was told rather rudely by the young lady in the bread section that I could not purchase more than six at a time – any more than that had to be pre-ordered at least one week in advance,” she said.
“I was absolutely amazed that a store the size of Tesco should have such a ridiculous, outdated and utterly stupid rule.
“A customer is a customer whether they purchase one or 50 – so would I be restricted if I wanted to purchase 20 baking potatoes and 10 cauliflowers? It’s incredible.”
Mrs Birch said she left Tesco empty-handed and walked to the town’s T O Williams bakery and deli.
“They only had a few baguettes but allowed me to purchase all they had and offered alternatives,” she said.
“The end result was that I was able to buy an additional number of soft white rolls and even went back later in the day to purchase more.
“Of course we made sure that all our guests were made aware of Tesco and their ridiculous sales policy.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “We are sorry for any inconvenience.
“We are a retailer not a wholesaler so if a customer wishes to purchase a large quantity of any one product, the store will use their discretion to ensure that there will be enough for other customers.
“Customers can always make a special order if they know in advance that they need a large amount of any product.”
By Tom Johannsen
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“staff slapped a restriction” – good Shropshire Sun/Mirror/Star strapline again !!!
Big bad Tesco ehh ??? erm maybe not .. I would guess they only bake so much bread at a time to make it as fresh as posible (assuming this store has an in-store bakery and bread isn’t delivered in) so the staff were trying to make sure there was sufficient for all their customers.
If this lady knew she was going to need an ‘out of the ordinary order’ would it not have been an idea to ring the shop first and discuss/order – what would she have done if another BBQ preparing customer had got there first ????
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You going to let us all know when the actual news item is then? All I understand from this is “Tesco sells stuff”. Did she get the bread? Did they back down? Was the barbeque a success?
I see the next news story is going to be “No Drama as Paint Dries”.
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As ever, the story goes as follows:
A member of staff of the: “We don’t do that round ‘ere” brigaide decides to make up some bogus rule that: “we don’t let people buy stuff, ‘ere! What do you fink this is? A shop?”
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Oh what a suprise Tesco Whitchurch, never sells enough stock or verity, we’ve known this for years and Tesco knows this but nothing is done about it! We need another supermarket such as ASDA, its no wonder we don’t shop in Tesco only for basics and they are on rations! Maybe Tesco should listen to the people of Whitchurch and surrounding areas and give them what we want!!
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Ah well…
Every “little” bit helps !
And as for the Tesco representative who:
“apologised for the mishap, adding that the company is “a retailer not a wholesaler”.
So ….
if a company the size of Tesco is deemed to be “a retailer” – who by the logic of that argument … only sells stuff in small quantities lest the Might Tesco runs short of supply, then…..
God knows what size you must be to be a Wholesaler!!
Honestly – Bookers cash and carry on stafford Park, and Makro aren’t any bigger!!
Come on Tesco – this is really pathetic !!
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Have some people honestly not got anything better than to moan that a store didn’t have enough bread for them? I would understand if it were a loaf or two but come on, get over and move on, theres far worst going on in the world, im sure this isn’t headline news??
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I applaud Tesco for giving consideration to it’s other customers who might have wanted to buy baguettes that morning by putting a brake on this inconsiderate customer. Presumably Christina Birch didn’t arrange her barbecue on the spur of the moment and could have given Tesco notice of her bulk order. Her indignant tone shows only greed and total disregard for other shoppers. Well done Tesco.
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I quite agree with Amanda, Tesco in whitchurch is a complete waste of time, people in the town def want another supermarket but not tesco, we need a store that has stock on the shelves all the time not like tesco, we even want Aldi but the council are being stupid over this, let the people of whitchurch have there say and not just get what the councillors want.
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perhaps tesco cater for the avergae whitchurch dude, pot noodles all round then.
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would that be ‘variety’!
It’s clearly stated at the entrance to the stores that customers may be limited to only 6 of any item at the managers discretion. This usually applies to on offer products but can apply to anything….simply she should have ordered the stock a couple of days ahead! As a customer she does not have a ‘right’ to buy anything…the shop keeper can choose whether or not to sell goods which belong to them!
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my favourite line is ‘the end result is that I was able to purchase some soft white rolls anfd then go back for some more’. Sorry love but there are people dying in our streets and your whining about your bread rolls. Get a grip or plan your life better.
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Another customer finds out Tesco has a hidden bulk-buy policy. As Anne pointed out, Tesco can (and often will) restrict any single item purchase down to 6 items. Try it next time with anything, loo rolls, bread, tins etc
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@ 4 and 8, be careful what you wish for. The nice people of Shrewsbury seem to hold Tesco responsible for everything from the poor performance of town centre shops to offensive sheep sculptures and i’m sure that if the town centre residents association rattle their clip boards for long enough they’ll find a way blaming Tesco for the recent flooding..
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Of course if the town had a decent local baker who made Real Bread, that isn’t loaded with chemicals, she could have popped in, had a convivial chat with the baker and sorted it. Normal people think ahead and order, and normal shops sell stuff. No drama.
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I think Tesco originally did the right thing, after all taking all the sticks without prior notice is a bit selfish on other shoppers.
Presumably she could have called them the day before?
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Trust me – it’s not just bread which is rationed at Tesco. We once walked into the store on the Wrekin Retail Park in Telford and tried to buy 12 Christmas bottle bags, to be told at the till we could only have six at a time. Ridiculous. I bought six, and then my wife went in five minutes later and bought the other half dozen. Wasted everyone’s time. If you don’t want to sell these things, don’t put them on the shelves….
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Bravo to the Tesco staff. This lady was being selfish whereas the Tesco staff were thinking of other customers. Why didn’t she arrange for additional quantities the day prior to her BBQ? Or why didn’t she use a local bakery and place an order a week prior to her BBQ?
If all customers acted like this on a daily basis what chance woud the store have to appease all!?
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Seriously is 18 baguettes really that many? How many Baguettes/rolls would anyone consider normal for a regular family barbeque? Those saying she should have rang first, would you, honestly?
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This lady is clearly crazy, who the hell BBQs in DECEMBER???
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Why is it the supermarket is all too often seen as the ‘”big baddy”" ? Those who commented that the customer should have preordered are absolutely correct. All too often people in this world think me, me, and me only. Perhaps the lady concerned should think how she would feel if an extra 18 people turned up at her BBQ unannounced.
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Its fine saying that signs are at the front door, but there are so many signs hanging around any retail outlet that people do become sign blind.
Had she returned 3 times buying 6 each time, would they have stopped her, or would they say we cannot recall every customers face as they cannot recall each customers face.
This kind of policy could easily be placed on every customers receipt in rotation with other useful info.
The customer clearly had a one off need and used the outlet they thought could / would cope with there demand, especially as the party sesaon is on us, wouldn’t you think they could be more flexible.
“Rules are for the guidance of the wise and strict adherance of fools”
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Is the Co-op expensive? It all depends how view the “cost” of food. Personally I’d rather buy less, real price food from a business that treats its suppliers with an ounce of respect and honesty, than get ‘bargains’ from ASDA, Tesco or Sainsbury, none of which are renowned for really caring for anything other than their shareholder dividends. Personally I don’t give a hoot where ASDA relocate to – I’ve only been in the current store once in the eight years I’ve lived in Telford, it wasn’t a pleasant experience to say the least!
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