Supermarket snobbery

[Black Noir]

I normally go to Sainsburys each week, but decided to do Asda for a change today without appearing overly snobby it felt like doing my shop with the audience of the Jeremy Kyle show. Perhaps it was just the store location?

Are there any supermarkets you wouldnt be seen dead in?
I for one would rather starve than go into Lidl's for anything.

[saxy_jag]

There isn't an Aldi or a Lidl convenient, so that's not an issue. Mind you, the one and only time I was in an Aldi the woman in front of me at the checkout had several children with her, none of whom, judging by the way she spoke to them, had fathers.

I usually shop at Tesco, because there's one a mile up the road. There's also a Sainsbury's a mile in the opposite direction, but the only reason I don't like shopping there is because the aisles are quite small and the place always seems crowded (and the staff a bit surly as well). My sister won't shop there because it's 'full of Asians' (although she uses a rather more obscene word than that).

Her supermarket of choice is Asda, so I tend not shop there on principle. However, I don't find their own-brand stuff or their fresh meats very good value at all. I could tell you a tale about Asda meat, but that's for another thread.

[bigmamma]

I have to think about proximity as I do not have a car and can't carry much by hand . Asda is just down the road and the staff friendly and helpful but if my son is home we will go to Asda , Sainsburys , Tescos , and M&S depending which we are near and what we want to buy as he has a car.I don't like Lidls and have not been to Aldi or Netto as they are far away.:-)

[tiny e.a]

Are any of you consciouss of the fact, and if so do you give a sh!t, that there may be people reading this who have to shop at these 'terrible' places due to budget or ease of access, who may read these threads and be made to feel embarrassed and apolagetic for their circumstances? I know it's good natured banter but it could hurt people.

(I for one don't mind, was just thinking that maybe some people would.)

[Shadow Man]

I feel it is part of my duty as a capitalist, a Tory and a Great British citizen to emphasize the point that if ANYBODY shops at Farm Stores, they really should go to evening school, better themselves and then get a better job.

There is no harm in that, surely?

[Black Noir]

It certainly wasnt meant at a personal dig at anyone, just a personal opinion.

There have been times when i have been without my car and just shopped locally, and god forbid, baked things from scratch (cakes & stuff) just to cut down on the amount i had to carry home.

I just felt out of place amoungst the 20 somethings with their thongs showing out the back of their jeans, the shouting/swearing couples down a few aisles and the clincher - the shifty looking bloke staring through my car window when i got back to the car park !

[Black Noir]

Ahhhh a fellow Tory !

Surely then Shadow you may share my opinions on so called "pick ur own" farms - am i really expected to pay for the privaledge of going in, walking miles with a manky tub, to pick my own mouldy fruit which I then have to pay nearly 1/3 more than if I had gone to the local fruit & veg shop?

[Shadow Man]

But Black Noir, whilst I do not advocate theft in any guise, surely the pleasure of PYO farms, particuarly strawberries, is you can eat a tonne of them before the weigh in!!!!

Guess that makes me a theif afterall!!!

[whiffey]

My local Asda is right next door to and immediately downwind of the largest sewage works in Europe. I have been to Lidl 3 times today, twice to stagger out carrying cheap boxes of bud, and once to get some frozen king prawns and madras cook-in sauce. I expect I am beyond help. My favourite though is Londis and that has everything to do with the lovely girl who serves there and keeps giving me the eye.

[Black Noir]

Whats the fun of nicking strawberrys unless you smuggle in a picnic rug, good book,spoon and tub of clotted cream!

[johnlambert]

I only ever darken the doorstep of M+S, (or at a push, Tesco)

[Octavius]

Supermarkets are indeed class-stratified. Research has found that Waitrose has the highest proportion of shoppers from the professional social classes A and B (47%), followed by Sainsbury's (34%), Marks & Spencer (22%), Tesco (21%) and Safeway (17%). At the bottom of the market, 72% of Netto's shoppers are blue-collar Ds or Es, with Kwik Save (66%), Lidl (54%) and Somerfield (50%) close behind.

But also, different social classes shop at different branches of the same chain depending whether their nearest Sainsbury�s is in a dodgy area or not. Chains which are not so uppety-markety will convince their shoppers that there is an air of la-de-da by introducing its �Taste the difference� or �Finest� ranges.

Of course, quality of experience also matters along with relevant clientele. If you pop down to your local Kwik-save, you kind of know the sort of people you might meet. Ditto if you pop along to Waitrose or M&S. So if you want to hob-nob with the Waynella�s as this is where you se fit you go to Kwik-save, or if you want to appear hi-brow and market-sure you go to M&S.

I go to Harrods.

[saxy_jag]

I think, Black, that if you get the wrong day, you could find yourself in that situation in almost any supermarket. I nipped to Tesco this morning - screaming kids chasing around all over the place, mouthy mothers screaming at said screaming kids and (most amusing) two mouthy dads arguing over a discounted Lamb Rogan Josh that was in the short-date fridge.

On the other hand, go early on a school day, before the mothers and the old biddies get in there and it can be a most serene experience.

It's not about who actually shops where, but more about how they behave when they're doing so. I remember once, after sighing very audibly at a child who'd slammed himself himself into my trolley for the fourth time that morning, his mother giving me a filthy look and saying, "whassup, ain't yer ever 'ad no kids?"

[whiffey]

M&S are great they don't do

- 6 x 500ml Bud for �6 (the Milton Keynes brew, not the imported so-called genuine rubbish)
- Pataks vindaloo sauce
- frozen tiger prawns
- tins of Polish carp
- scotch bonnets
- green potatoes

[joko]

i went to lidl for the first time ever about a month ago - i was pleasantly surprised.

i was expecting it to be a real hovel with manky cheap stuff, but a lot of it was good stuff, just with brand names we don;t recognise in this country so therefore asssume its crap - i have been back to get mini brie's with garlic, or basil or peppercorns or yoghurt in - never seen them before - some antipasti which was lovely, some peach and aloe vera juice, and some cd rom printer stickers and an oscilating fan.

it is not 'dirt cheap' either, the stuff costs generally average prices.

i would suggest to the snobs - don't knock it until you try it!

i also issue a challenge to the doubters to go into lidl, spend �10 on stuff you have never had before and i defy you to come back and say it was all utter crap....

anyone...?

[johnlambert]

I accept your challenge joko
I'll let you know in due course

[Octavius]

Me? In Lidl? With MY reputation?

Only if you provide the tenner.

[joko]

nice one john - and i don't mean pick out the baddest looking veg ... go for the unknown brand stuff that sounds nice
(if you like brie, try them)

they also had mini crispy bagels, chees and chive i think -delish with dips and cheese etc.

[johnlambert]

I love brie, I'll try some at the W/E

[whiffey]

Lidl is fine. The weird brand names are actually well known in the rest of Europe (Lidl was originally a Hungarian corner grocer, Georges Lidl).

Try their premium vegetable juice, it's brilliant.

[theonlyone]

Try Lidl's Bratwurst and Frickadellen on the BBQ , really nice . Sausages and burgers made with pork !! Yummy !!!