Utterly disgraceful.
I'm shocked.

But we could just call it "choice".

I really try not to respond to these “big, bad, UK retailer” threads! It really makes me laugh how the same old things are rolled out each time. OK, I’m not impartial – I work for Tesco – but let’s see a balanced view.

For example, let’s consider the Joanna Blythman book that gets rolled out every time there is a thread on here about retailers. Yep, I’ve read it. It’s a good read actually. I like investigative journalism. I also enjoyed MacIntyre Undercover, by Donal MacIntyre, especially his investigation about the Chelsea Headhunters. In fact, I gave the MacIntyre one to my youngest son to read only recently, who asked me “Dad, why is it that when we go to watch Man United, why do we not see all the fighting that the book says happens all the time?”. “Well”, I told him, “the reason is that MacIntyres’ book was written about his time undercover tracking football hooligans in 1999/2000”. It’s not relevant now. In much the same way, Blythmans’ book is pretty much 10 years old (published 2004, so investigated and written well before that) and relates to a completely different retail environment and a completely different Tesco.

If we go back to 2004, when the book was first published, Tesco had 83 Tesco Extras in the UK, also 20 superstores, 4 Metros, and 138 Expresses. That’s a grand total of only 245 stores. That compares with 3054 stores in the UK alone now. A bit different, I think. Should we be looking at a business and how it treated suppliers 10 years ago, and assuming it’s still the same now? No, we shouldn’t. Should we compare the distribution footprint then and now as being similar? No, we shouldn’t.

Of course Tesco would be voted the worst – it’s a numbers game. They are the most popular supermarket in the UK, and one of the most successful UK businesses of the last 20 years. Ask any Premier League football supporter other than a Manchester United supporter who they dislike most, and the highest percentage response would be Manchester United! Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City would be up there, just as ASDA, Morrisons and Sainsburys would be, but the smaller clubs could be compared to your Booths and Waitrose, etc! (Not a bad analogy, if I do say so myself!)



Anyway, must dash – that big, bad Tesco have sent me to Bangkok for a month to do some work: it’s now 16.45hrs, 36 degrees, and there’s a Chang beer with my name on it sat on a bar near Sukhumvit Soi 4!

I'll give you brownie points for the fastest self-contradiction going.

Sorry but are you seriously contending that as Tesco's market share and strangehold on the market has increased, they have become more responsible towards suppliers? If so, that must be the very first time that has ever happened in the history of commerce

Didn't say that, Cod'ead, no.

You stated that Blythman's book is well out of date. So either Tesco treats it suppliers better these days – or the book remains accurate, on that issue at least.

I said her book was 10 years old, which it is - you're saying the rest, not me, as you quote the book therefore you must believe it is still relevant. I stated that things change, and gave an example of other investigative journalism that was relevant some 10 years previous, but not quite as relevant in 2013. Perhaps the publication of the book forced a change in habit? Who knows - show us some current info, and we could perhaps make that decision.

Manchester United have a lot to answer for but have they tried to kill off every other football, rugby, hockey etc club in the country.

Nice to see arrogant wallies like you can go on jollies whilst your employees have to decide now when they will take their holidays between April 2013 and March 2014 meaning they probably will not get cheap deals on holidays such as the one your evil employer is paying for and woe betide them if they take a sickie as the Tesco interegation squad will soon be around making sure they have not exceeded their illness quota.

And I am biased because I am a Tesco employee and its a scum company run to idiots with an attitude like yours.

You said that her book was out of date – as a rather obvious attempt to discredit it in conversations about the here and now.

Now given that one of the major issues that Blythman raises is about the way in which all the major supermarkets treat producers and suppliers, it is entirely logical to ask whether, on the basis that you stated that the book is out of date, whether such an approach has changed.

This is what Coddy challenged you on. You stated that you hadn't said any such thing.

Now since you're the one who has attempted to discredit Blythman's book by suggesting that it is out of date, presumably you will be capable of explaining what has changed at Tesco.

On the grounds of your equivocating over what has been put to you, it seems fair to conclude that the treatment of suppliers and producers is not one of those things that has improved.

Of course, you could just be saying that the book is out of date, things change – and can get worse.

You example of other journalistic work is a total red herring.

If you want to convince people that this is the case with Blythman's book, and that things are not the same or worse at Tesco, then it's up to you to provide an illustration of that. After all, you're not even disputing Blythman.

And since you're the Tesco employee, defending the company, it is fair to assume that you are defending from knowledge. So you'll find it very easy to put some flesh on the bones of what you're attempting to claim by roundabout means.

I suspect Man in Madrid will run away and hide now.

I know someone who works at Tesco and has done for some years. He reckons they're a bunch of absolute shysters too, not least for opening more and more outlets without creating the support jobs to go with them. Thus he ends up having to travel right around the city he is based in to do what he does, an ever-increasing workload, but with no extra pay.

To be fair if you end up working at an Express store you might as well sign your soul to the devil as at least in a normal store you tend to stick to the same hours and always have the right to say no whereas in the local stores you have no set hours contract and as you say can do any hours and in areas with a number of stores be sent anywhere.

My understanding is that he deals with maintenance for a number if stores. bUt that as the number of stores has increased, including the express ones, his workload has gone up, with no additional renumeration, and he's expected to cover an ever-expanding area.

But given the state of the job market, people don't easily get to be able to duck the erratic-hours contracts, do they?