Sainsbury's - The Story Continues
A quick recap: although my local Sainsbury's supermarket has posters all over promoting Fair Trade products, I was miffed to see that their Fair Trade coffee was always positioned on the top shelf, well above eye level. So I wrote to complain.
They misunderstood my letter (hmm) and replied offering assistance to reach any products on the top shelf.
I replied to say that this was not what I had meant. I was not complaining about the height of the coffee, but about the fact that it was difficult to find. If Sainsbury's is so keen on promoting Fair Trade goods, I opined, they should jolly well put them at eye level where people will come across them: at the moment Nestle and other big brands are at eye level and you have to search using stepladders and Sherpas to find the Fair Trade coffees.
My second letter has cause them to Pass the Buck. In a letter dated April 1st (hah!) they wrote
"Thank you for your further letter dated 28th March.
I wish to advise you that I have passed a copy of your letter to our planogram department at our head office in London and asked for their comments. When they get back to us, we will contact you again.
Also, I have enclosed a leaflet which Sainsbury's has just produced, which I hope will be of interest to you."
Well, I've left it a while for the Planogram Department to get their act together and change their whole policy of shelf-positioning, but they haven't got back to me. The leaflet is called Change for the Better and is all about how Sainsbury's is promoting Fair Trade products. I think I will write again.
But there are two things this suggests to me:
Firstly, let us not forget that the positioning of every single product in the supermarket is decided by a Higher Authority. Nothing is positioned accidentally and everything is carefully placed to make us more likely to buy those products which will produce more money for the supermarket. Anything positioned haphazardly has been piled in a heap to make us feel we're getting a bargain. I know this really, and so do you, but it's easy to forget and I think we should remember it as much as we can.
Secondly, WHY can't they just put the Fair Trade coffee at eye level? I suspect it's because Nestle and its ilk won't let them.
BUT, in an interesting development, last time I visited Sainsbury's, the Fair Trade tea was bang on eye level. Hurrah! - - But, sadly, the coffee was still up there with the satellites and the spacemen.
They misunderstood my letter (hmm) and replied offering assistance to reach any products on the top shelf.
I replied to say that this was not what I had meant. I was not complaining about the height of the coffee, but about the fact that it was difficult to find. If Sainsbury's is so keen on promoting Fair Trade goods, I opined, they should jolly well put them at eye level where people will come across them: at the moment Nestle and other big brands are at eye level and you have to search using stepladders and Sherpas to find the Fair Trade coffees.
My second letter has cause them to Pass the Buck. In a letter dated April 1st (hah!) they wrote
"Thank you for your further letter dated 28th March.
I wish to advise you that I have passed a copy of your letter to our planogram department at our head office in London and asked for their comments. When they get back to us, we will contact you again.
Also, I have enclosed a leaflet which Sainsbury's has just produced, which I hope will be of interest to you."
Well, I've left it a while for the Planogram Department to get their act together and change their whole policy of shelf-positioning, but they haven't got back to me. The leaflet is called Change for the Better and is all about how Sainsbury's is promoting Fair Trade products. I think I will write again.
But there are two things this suggests to me:
Firstly, let us not forget that the positioning of every single product in the supermarket is decided by a Higher Authority. Nothing is positioned accidentally and everything is carefully placed to make us more likely to buy those products which will produce more money for the supermarket. Anything positioned haphazardly has been piled in a heap to make us feel we're getting a bargain. I know this really, and so do you, but it's easy to forget and I think we should remember it as much as we can.
Secondly, WHY can't they just put the Fair Trade coffee at eye level? I suspect it's because Nestle and its ilk won't let them.
BUT, in an interesting development, last time I visited Sainsbury's, the Fair Trade tea was bang on eye level. Hurrah! - - But, sadly, the coffee was still up there with the satellites and the spacemen.
posted by Daphne at 8:20 pm
1 Comments:
I blame you......totally.
You added several minutes to my shopping trip today as I was right at the final aisle.....the bread aisle.......and was about to head to the checkouts when I thought - what is this Fair Trade coffee Daphne is always going on about ??
So I went to where I thought the tea/coffee aisle was and ended up back at the meat section. I retraced my steps and found I'd been right by the tea/coffee aisle at the start. Grrrrrrr.
Anyway I found the FT coffee was not only at eye level but some was at knee level too. Glad to know that people of diminished stature are not disadvantaged now.
Coffee for all. Hurrahhhhhh. What a world we live in.
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