General Discussion
Coop
Haven't been into town since it's re-opened so can't say at the mo. The reason I've responded though is to ask a question which is- is what I've heard correct that it is now operating a home delivery service? If so, does anyone have any details?
If you spend over £25 free delivery at a time to suit you, otherwise over £10 I believe the charge is £3 it would be a good idea if a couple of people live close to each other to combine if they are not going to spend that amount alone. Details are in the store
Went into the town today. It was very busy (something just must, must, must be done about widening The Strand pavement. This morning's maneuvreings having involved encounters with mobility scooters being used by one age group, buggies by another and assorted dogs tied up outside various shops has only served to make me even more convinced that widening is desperately needed). But I digress.
I have to say that having had that pavement experience I expected similar in the coop. But no. It was busy, yes. But I didn't feel crowded like I did on the pavement and like I felt in the coop before it expanded. Queues at the check outs, yes. But only as would be expected in a supermarket on a Saturday morning.
Let's see how things work out and especially with the opening of a bigger rival just outside the town and one that will provide some 250 or so car-parking spaces, and, no doubt, lots of tempting loss leading offers when it opens in, what?, a month's?, two months' time.
Thank goodness that eyesore of the empty Woolworth's building is no more. Anyone know if anything is happening to the shop opposite that was once Thresher's?
Thresher was going to be taken by a discount store who have a shop in Teignmouth. However, the basement is very damp and the owners not only requested £1000 from the potential new tenants to fix the damp, they also wanted £5000 towards re-painting the whole building, add to that a rent of £18000 per annum, plus rates of £6800 pa and I think you will see that this shop will probably remain empty for a long, long time.
Who is likely to pay £2000 per month for a shop in Dawlish with double yellow lines outside the front door?? with the landlords also demanding these additional payments as a condition for a new lease.
Has to be a better way of spending £2000 a month to get a living!... based on a third profit you need to take in the till £6,000 a month.. then you can start earning!... you get tied into a lease of many years and you have to pay up even if you have no customers coming through the door..
As you say who would risk that!!!
It would be interesting to make public the details of the freeholders of all the commercial properties in the town.
Anyone?
This stance by the property owner is completely self-defeating! He would rather leave the place empty for the sake of £6K - i.e. just 3 months rent? Had he paid for the work himself 12 months ago, and found a tenant, he'd be £12K better off by now! It makes no sense to leave a place empty for the sake of a relatively small bit of investment.
So now the Coop has been open for a week back to the same old same old, empty shelves and ignorant staff who cant be bothered. Hurry up and open Sainsburys !!!!!!!
Yep, Brazilnut, quite right, I assume that stock levels might get better once demand is sorted out as it must be difficult stocking a new store but many items are not priced, that is very poor. Saw people today who took unpriced items to the checkout and left them there when they found out the price, they simply said thank goodness Sainsburys will be open in a few weeks.
Sorry Coop, too little too late.
Sounds as if it's going the way of the Teignmouth Co-op - very little fresh produce, empty shelves & staff who yak away to each other instead of concentrating on serving the customer. I blame lax management.
I must stand up for the Co-op staff I encounter at my normal shopping time which is after 5pm on my way from work. I've always found the staff to be friendly and helpful - especially the lads who work there.
I spoke to people from Teignmout today about the new Co-op and poor stock levels etc, they told me that Teignmouth has always been like that and they were not surprised that the new Dawlish store is no better. Stock control is a management issue and we can't blame the staff for that. However, if you work in a store with customers complaining all the time then I am sure that staff will get 'disheartened' and not give their best service. Again, everything comes down to management, there is no escaping that.
it gets worse!!!!!!! no freshly baked bread or cakes aavailable at 2pm wtf is going on in there!!!!!!!!!
Just had a thought, do you think they are running it down and then going to sell to Tescos after all the Coop have done that in the past selling going concerns to Sainsburys
Been in today , very impressed. Plenty on the shelves, lots of room in the isles, very busy which is good to see and the staff were very polite.
I try to avoid the business like the plague! everytime I go in something happens to irritate me and I attempt to spend as little time possible in there with That Radio Station blasting all around the store..............is it meant to be for the customer shopping experience or is to keep their staff awake?
They have hiked up their prices (although Cost Cutter has also on some items)
There always seems to be a constant que which is no different than it was before. This week I decided to avoid the main check-out and attempted to buy a newspaper and top up electric and gas key/card. I clearly demostrated that I wished to do this whilst waiting to be served holding them out in my hand. The young lad could see I had them in my hand whilst I placed the paper on the counter whilst he was serving the customer in front of me for several minutes, he scanned my paper then informed me I had to que up at the main till Pay Point for my energy top-up's, which once again was choc-a-bloc!!!! Their customer service skills are non-existent......however I had to return later due to the fact they were the only option for my energy top-up and a really polite young lady served me and agreed that it is annoying when I informed her of my experience earlier.
She will no doubt I hope be successful in getting a job with Sainsbury's if she so wishes in the future.
Co-Op has reverted to being the old Gateway's or worst still Scummerfields and I cannot wait for Sainsburys to start trading
All supermarkets have hiked thier prices lately,Tesco's have come out as worst offenders, followed by Asda,Lidl,Sainsburys,Aldi etc Morrisons comes out best followed by the Coop.
Dont laugh but the coop has just won local retailer 2011.
Am I the only person in Dawlish who actually LIKES shopping in the Co-op? I was in there yesterday evening and got very good, cheerful service. And I find the staff helpful and chatty. Perhaps the attitude of the shopper makes a difference - if you expect bad attitudes that's what you get!
I think you have hit the nail on the head Dawlish Blue, its seems it depends on time of day. I normally go in mornings but tried going in later this week and must say I agree with your comments. I do like Coop products and like the new store but sometimes its the bigger picture.
Im with you dawlish blue, i also enjoy shopping at the coop , i have nothing but praise for them and with your coop members card, you get a share of the profits and discounts through the year. Co op over Tesco every day of the week.,
I think we do well for grocery shops to be honest,cost cutter is nice and clean(ok,a little pricey),both onestop(yes its understaffed) and the co-op(yes theyve had supply issues) have refurbed and the staff in all 3 are pleasant and cheerful,even when under pressure.
Behaviour breeds behaviour,go into these places copping attitude,and youll back exactly what you dish out,and if you cant take it,dont give it. Ive mentioned in another thread about the way some so called adults behave when things arent going as they would like.
Ok there are exceptions and sometimes staff can let the side down,but compare the personal service in all our local shops with the robotic responses the big supermarkets provide.
Agreed goldenlad, I think almost everyone in Dawlish is waiting for Sainsburys to open. My only concern is they have taken on a lot of staff very late in the day, still some interviews to be done next week so I don't know what level of training the new staff will have had.
I really can't see it will be adequate given the timescale they have set, but about time we had a proper supermarket nearby.
got hold of an address for those who might like to officially complain
Operations Manager,
Regional Office
The Cooperative
51-59 Fore Street
Saltash
Cornwall
PL12 6AL
There's a rather scathing letter in the Gazette about the pricing at the Co-Op, claiming that they use price banding depending upon the location of the branch. Dawlish being in the most expensive band and Teignmouth in the cheapest band. Does anyone know if there's any basis or truth in this? I've done a Google search and can find no reference to this alleged price banding.
Not sure about the pricing thing, but I'm another evening shopper and have always found the staff friendly. The old Woolworths building looks great now.
