Shopping at the chain stores has become so uneventful and tedious; its all the same, same ice cream, chocolate, sauces, chips, meat choices, etc etc.
Independents have different variety however that comes with an increase in price.
Just curious as to what others think?
What Would You Like to See More of in Supermarkets?
To be fair, they can't really control the volume of coconut water.
Cool name OP. But aren't all orgasms neurological?
Nope. Some are faked.
I'll have you know that faking an orgasm is quite neurological feat binkers.
Topless female trolley pushers
Then everyone would be leaving trolleys outside their house ;)
Topless males with moobs trolley pushers, could solve the problem of trolley abandonment entirely
Self service helpers that help instead of staring into vacant space pretending they didn’t see you
they're there as loss prevention, and if you get stuck. The 'helper' marking on their vest is just marketing.
if you start stuffing produce down your pants, rest assured they'll "see" you
Try starting to scan your products from your trolley and put them back in without fully emptying your trolley first. They’ll be all over you
can't be helped sometimes, the checkout area i'm supposed to put stuff already scanned isn't big enough, so I put the scanned items back in my trolley before scanning the rest.
I see people literally not scanning stuff and putting it in bags all the time if they get stuck. No one ever catches them.
I do that all the time. It's not like I have bags to put them in
Can agree, I'll be there quick, though the concept of the pressure plate on the other side of the register can be too hard for customers to grasp
Free samples
I remember those from the good ol days.
Too much liability these days where everyone's happy to sue
I actually see these a lot at the Colesworths I go to. In fact at Christmas time they had a full free samples spread at one of them, with heaps of products and a poor salesperson in an elf costume. I think you just have to shop at the right time, which for me is usually weekend mornings?
Manned checkouts and staff to help customers find things or get it from the back. Also more parking.
Manned checkouts and staff …
Got something against women el big-boy? Where's your sense of gender equality? They used to be called 'checkout chicks bro… not 'checkout Micks'… aaah, the good old days…
Highly doubt they'd pay someone $20p/h for something you can find on your Shopping app for free. Now on the apps you can search up items and they tell you what isle they're in. Definitely agree with more checkouts though
Went to Woolworths on the weekend, they had 2 manned and self serves open. Then the self serves checkouts stopped working. They had to use manned and it was ridiculous. They opened 10 lines, and the ques were 6-8 trolleys deep. Self serve is way faster and efficient. I would prefer more self serves.
People of Walmart
Yep. Instead of huffers all I get is people in pyjamas.
More public naming and shaming of shoplifters. Offer a reward if a shopper catches someone in the act.
Offer a reward if a shopper catches someone in the act.
Oh yeah, now there's a practical suggestion (not!) …
Should the supermarkets maybe have a rack of hand-cuffs conveniently located at the checkout area L-mike, to facilitate 'citizens arrests? Or maybe just a few pairs of boxing gloves to really hype up the entertainment when accusations start flying?
Unreal, banana peel …
I made no mention at all in being physical so not sure where you're getting handcuffs and boxing gloves from…what a strange thought! I meant being vocal and visual about calling out a shoplifter.
So you think shoplifters should just be allowed to go along their merry way if you see one in the act? Being violent never came into my thought process, only into yours, but I certainly do call them out if I see them.
@[Deactivated]: Rather than just making a verbal attack why don't you say why you disagree that shoplifters shouldn't be named and shamed?
Lamb chump chops. I’ve never seen these at my local coles or woolies, only IGA.
Helpful staff
ummm, bargains?
.
Cafes, more cheese from overseas and toilet amenities
Why do people want a café in their supermarket? Out of the supermarkets I've seen employ this tactic they are dead and then often neglected. The only place in Australia where I've seen them do a good job of this is La Manna Supermarket in Essendon Fields.
They are very popular in UK.
supermarkets in some areas are a lot big and have wider aisles too
@BrendaEagles: There is a supermarket in Pasedena SA that has a cafe that is hugely popular with a huge assortment of sweet and savoury treats available.
Made totally in Australian brands instead of no name brands made in {insert foreign low hygiene standards country}.
Made with local ingredients
And/or put a stop to the NZ loophole, and make it more transparent of where food is coming from.
I had no idea about this loop hole. 2013 also. I would hope something has actually been done about it? Thanks for bringing to my/others attention.
I used to like "happy Hour" when the intercom announced spot specials, clearance lines, Deli reductions etc.
Happy hour where all goods are half price. With staff enough to handle the crowds at the checkouts
Frozen chicken products that don't taste like cheap chicken nuggets.
A kitchenette where I can cook all the fresh food I've bought.
Clean shopping baskets. Some supermarkets keep theirs spotless, while others’ are grubby and sometimes filthy. How a store manager can think that a dirty shopping basket is acceptable beats me. A supermarket that keeps its baskets clean says a lot to me about the entire store.
I'd like to see a few things:
Local produce, such as from within 50km of the store, labelled appropriately.
Stores hold specific 'events' to cater for the wider population, such as a designated 'quiet' hour or two on a specific day per week, when people can do their shopping without annoying music, ads, etc.
Designated checkouts to cater for people that need more time, such as those that may be older or have a disability. Allow those people to be a respected customer.
Stores that are more like the UK supermarkets, with groceries, clothing, homewares, electrical, optician, alcohol, etc., all under the same roof with the same checkout.
Local produce, such as from within 50 km of the store, labelled appropriately.
Erm… why, exactly? Is any one particular part of Australia more important/worthy of support than another? If so, why? Surely you realise that each individual Coles/Woolies/etc. outlet cannot engage in the business of propping up local producers within a 50-km radius or their particular outlet? That would simply be completely impractical. Also, has it occurred to you that if they did then the 'specialty outlets'/online avenues that offer such products would suffer/go out of business?
… specific 'events' to cater for the wider population, such as a designated 'quiet' hour or two on a specific day per week, when people can do their shopping without annoying music, ads, etc.
Erm… what? So you essentially want them to 'lock out' 95% of their customers for a few hours a week, for no sensible reason? I don't know what your local supermarket is like horse, but it sounds like some recalcitrant manager has turned it into a nightclub. I can assure you that is not the norm, and you should complain to higher authorities about this odd hi-jacking of your local supermarket.
… Designated checkouts to cater for people that need more time, such as those that may be older or have a disability. Allow those people to be a respected customer.
All supermarkets I have seen in Australia in the last 20 years have facilities and staff that accommodate 'older' and/or disabled customers. In fact, the I'm routinely impressed by the extent to which the staff go to help these customers out.
Stores that are more like the UK supermarkets …
Oh OK, now I get it. I will not even bother supplying a detailed response to this one. Needless to say, it would entail an obvious solution that involved you availing yourself of some mode of international transport.
Quiet hour has already been introduced by Coles.
Quiet hour expands nationwide to help shoppers
During Quiet Hour, customers will notice the following changes in participating Coles supermarkets:
Lighting will be reduced throughout the store
Coles Radio will be switched off
Register and scanner volumes will be reduced to the lowest level
No trolley collections and roll cages will be removed from the shop floor
No PA announcements *excluding in case of emergencies
Free fruit will be offered at customer service
Additional team members will be available to support customers during the hour
Interactive iPads near popular items like milk and bread which carry the nutritional info of each product. I’d like to rank them by the amount of least sugar, highest fibre, lowest saturated fat etc… rather than turn each product over and compare 10+ labels and stand there for ages!
In fact, if they just offered this online, I could make my selection beforehand!
Brilliant idea. I agree
Would be even better if they integrated this into a phone app
QR code style perhaps
In fact, if they just offered this online, I could make my selection beforehand!
Hey there Banners, all of the information you allude to is available online, and has been for many years.
Your welcome.
I mean a comparison table. I don’t want to tap and look up each individual item.
Truffle stuff.
Hot babes as checkout chicks who have a strong bubbly and caring personality for us guys!
I guess hot guys at checkout, who also have an equivalently bubbly, respectful and caring nature for the grills?
Less grumpy old people, ideally zero…
yeah get rid of the guys - they don't have the coordination required.
and especially the disabled guys - that isn't funny. (It's great to give them a job, but if it must me a checkout operator, at least have a big warning sign that you need to have plenty of time.)
okay, downvote me. I know that isn't an acceptable point of view
or just have them on the '12 items or less' lane to keep the queue short
colesworth are normally pretty good tho, if they see a long line they open new lanes.
"get rid of the guys - they don't have the coordination required."
"guys" use their coordination to build 99% of everything you touch
Orgasms
come again?
I always do.
Clearer display to show locally made products
Or just a big sign 'this is a local shop for local people'
And a F off we're full sign on Saturday mornings and Thu evenings
Hahaha
/s
Mutton, like the do in NZ
Country of origin flags next to every item, so I can more easily exclusively buy Australian and support local jobs and profits.
The trend seems to be
"This product is made from local and imported ingredients"
a big corporate FU to consumers.
The new labeling laws are great. Shows local content as a percentage. No more hiding behind the corporate weasel words 'local and imported' when the product is 95% imported.
I'm not up with the current laws; how is the percentage assessed?
For example, is it based on the $value contributed on-shore/off-shore?
Or is it based on the percentage of the end product (fully packaged, distributed, shelved, etc)?
There was an example a few years ago where the product (I think it was tinned tomatoes imported from Italy) was labelled as Australian (or a high % Australian) as they were imported in bulk and the packaging etc., was undertaken here.
Hopefully that has been addressed.
@GG57: It's based on actual amount of stuff in the product. https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/groceries/country-of-origi…
@sbot: Thanks.
Still seems to me to be not easy to identify, as you could pick up four different items each with a different statement:
Grown in is a claim about where the ingredients come from and is commonly used for fresh food. It can also be used for multi-ingredient products to show where the food was grown and processed.
Produced in is a claim about where the ingredients come from and where processing has occurred. This claim is often used for processed, as well as fresh foods.
Made in is a claim about the manufacturing process involved in making the food.
When a food has not been grown, produced or made in a single country, it will need to display a label identifying the country it was packed in
Even So, in some countries they go one step further and include the country code for all the ingredients in descending order.
Support Straya indeed. +1
Country of origin flags next to every item
Gotta love the feasibility of some of the suggestions being bandied about in this thread!
NEWS-FLASH Dirts: A supermarket is not a soccer match.
You have some rather old fashioned concepts of feasibility on display in this thread.
They already print price tags for every item. It would be trivial to put a country code or flag on there, the computer system already has the information.
In fact at my local they already have extra colour tags on things made in NSW…
Aah yeppers, that's what the world needs. More tags.
I would love to go to a supermarket we're one side is discounted and simple to navigate like Aldi and the other side just stuff you don't find at Aldi.
… one side is discounted and simple to navigate like Aldi and the other side just stuff you don't find at Aldi.
Here's an idea Kit-kat… go to Colesworths; THEN go to Aldi! Ingenious huh!
A trolley that had a tablet on it and was voice activated and could direct you we're to stuff.
… had a tablet on it and was voice activated and could direct you we're to stuff
OK grammatical quirks aside, I think I understand what you are trying to say here KK. And it's Star-trek folly. Have you not seen how many trolleys end up in creeks/in hoarder's back-yards/used as rabbit hutches in my back yard etc? Imagine if every one of them had an 'I-Pad' attached to it… the losses would be 'off the charts'…
Just replace the old coin in the trolley system with $500 cash and I'm sure it'll work great
Taiwan. Their supermarket has built in restaurant bar. Eat in and take away hot food. Also sushi, snacks like breadtop as well.
They tried this in Coles Broadway a few years back. Don't know why, but it didn't stay long.
'They' (Colesworth) tried this at various locations throughout Victoria over the last few years. Of course it was a dismal failure every time, for reasons most Aussies could have predicted. We simply do not want to 'sit down and chill out with a coffee' (etc.) inside a supermarket. We go there to buy stuff we want to take home. It's pretty simple. The 'Ikea model' is a little different. They put a genuine 'restaurant'-type area/floor-space in the joint, so it is like a whole separate 'wing' of the building; and it is appropriately set up, resourced, and well-lit (bear with me on that last point).
Generally speaking, at least in Australia, it seems fanciful to think that you could plonk a few tables in the middle of a supermarket and realistically expect peeps to 'relax and drink coffee (etc.) in that area while other peeps push trolleys around the periphery and do their shopping. In fact, in somewhere like Melbourne the concept is ludicrous. At places such as the Queen Victoria Market or Preston Market the vibe is totally different and oddly, this is an entirely feasible concept/'works'. The difference is the lack of trolleys, and the SUNLIGHT. Inside an artificially-lit supermarket, the concept is rendered completely and utterly unattractive; even in the middle of the day/if the sun happens to be shining OUTSIDE (where you can't see it).
Listen up Colesworth: In Melbourne, no 'cafe' you ever try to set up 'in-store' will ever work, unless the patrons can actually see natural sunlight from where they are sitting during the daytime.
You're welcome.
Back in the 70s and early 80s it was quite common to go to Coles in the city or Myer in the suburbs for a cafe lunch. I can't remember either having natural sunlight. The delights of truck stop foam and green jelly wiggling on a plate seem to be long gone.
Anyone remember Holly’s back in the 80s? ? It was a restaurant inside Kmart?
@Baniya: Is that where they had diner seats and the ICEE machine, where a lot of the staff were were similar to people working school canteens? Maybe that was my Kmart in Bankstown.
@[Deactivated]: It certainly was the retro diner inside the store! Burgers, crinkle cut chips, frog in a pond…
I somehow recall the icee machines at the front of the store after the checkouts at my local super Kmart.
Chinese tea. The same type as you get at a yum cha restaurant. If anyone knows what that is called please let me know.
You know restaurants can serve a variety of tea yeah? And there's quite a lot of different types of tea? And each restaurant can use a different one from another? Why don't you ask the restaurant?!
Jasmine tea?
You can get different types in a restaurant but if you're talking about the jasmine green tea, I've found this to be close: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dilmah-Exceptional-Frangrant-Jasmi…
The "real leaf" variant tastes different from the jasmine green of the same brand you can find at Coles/Woolies. I've seen some IGA stock the "real leaf" one.
There's also loose leaf if you don't need the bags: https://www.amazon.com.au/Dilmah-Exceptional-Fragrant-Jasmin…
Or just head into your local Asian grocery. They don't usually do bags though.
Yum Cha restaurants serve some type of Oolong tea or pu erh. I personally prefer the former. There's diff types so you'll need to go to your Asian grocery and go by trial and error
More pricing errors to get stuff for free (Scanning code of practice)
Best find : $20 tefal pan
cheaper price.
White Chocolate Flakes
Cashiers.
hope you emailed the company…???