International Law

Tesco plays the race card

By John Hirst

After a fairly heavy drinking session with Victor yesterday afternoon, I went out between 7-8pm to take Rocky for a walk and put some money on my gas card and electric key at the Paki shop, and with the idea of buying some Tesco own brand cheap sausages for tea. When I entered the Tesco Extra on Beverley Road I noticed that a large section of the shelving was empty and a notice proclaimed that this was because of a breakdown in the refrigerator. However, there was also large gaps on the shelves where the sausages normally are and this was not down to any breakdown. All the cheap brands were missing and the only ones on show were the expensive variety at over a £1 more.

It reminded me of the images I had seen in Russia where shop after shop displayed empty shelves. I complained to the Asian-looking shop assistant who was nearby, and he suggested I come back tomorrow! I couldn't believe the response. The shop manager turned up along with a security guard. In my view, the shop manager is responsible for stock taking and ensuring that the products are available for the customers. I said he was incompetent and failing to do his job. He said I could shop elsewhere. I said the store was convenient for me just being across the road, and I did not appreciate his suggestion that I visit the Tesco Extra on Spring Bank as this branch was 20-30 minutes walk away.

I said that Tesco had encouraged customers to come here, and even went to the extent of opening and closing an hour earlier and later than the Paki shop. The shop manager screamed that what I had said was racist and the security guard bundled me out of the store and the store manager said I was now banned.

Is the term Paki racist? Not according to this Talk:Paki from wiktionary. "Paki is just a shortened word for Pakistani, just as Brit is for British, Aussie for Australian etc".

In my view, Tesco should ensure that it's store managers are up to the job. Tesco should not encourage customers to come in and buy its own brand products, and then fail to ensure that it has re-stocked the products only leaving the more expensive brand names on show. Tesco should train its store managers not necessarily with the view that the customer is always right, but to listen to the complaint and respond appropriately. I don't think that libelling and assaulting customers is the correct approach. Nor do I believe that Tesco's customer complaints department should ignore my complaint after informing me that it will get back to me, only to ask me to fill out a questionnaire!

As it happened, I returned to the Paki shop and discovered a pack of sausages with the label £2.20 for 2, but there was only one pack available. I pointed this out to the shop assistant, and he said, "Right, you can have it for £1.10". We shook hands on the deal. Once before I saw and said the same thing at Tesco Extra, and their response was to shrug and say take it or leave it.

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on October 31, 2008 (boomark / email).