TESCO

Page 1 | 2 | 3
 

A busy road could be widened to cope with extra traffic under Tesco's latest plans to build a new store in Derby. The retailer wants to create a 24-hour supermarket and petrol station on the site of Allenton Market. As part of the deal it would build a new market on land next door, where the Mitre pub currently stands. Councillors previously deferred the plans so extra research could be carried out on the impact they would have on traffic. Tesco has now come up with new ideas for minimising congestion and has submitted a fresh planning application which has been recommended for approval.

It includes the introduction of a third lane on Osmaston Road, along the approach to Mitre Island, which would see the ramp and stairs on the southern approach of Spider Bridge adjusted to make room. Other measures include a new crossroad junction on Osmaston Road, opposite Peveril Street, controlled by traffic lights. Peveril Street itself would then become one-way towards Varley Street. Elsewhere, the Thirsk Place lane, behind the site, would be dug up and relocated 50 metres away to make space for a service yard at the back of the store.

This would involve the demolition of 75 and 73 Whitehurst Street. The scheme, which would create 400 jobs, has attracted 56 letters of support and six objections. The store would be open 24 hours, Monday to Friday, while on Saturday it would close at 10pm. The opening hours on Sundays and bank holidays would be 10am to 4pm. Among those to object is Alvaston councillor Alan Graves, who said the surrounding road network would be unable to cope with the increased amount of traffic the store would bring.

He said, "After the spate of supermarkets that were built, legislation was introduced to prevent further saturation of these large stores. "This development is certainly a large supermarket and I would respectfully remind the committee that this could set a precedent that they could come to regret." Deborah Hayeems, corporate affairs manager at Tesco, said, "We are pleased that the scheme has again been recommended for approval by officers. We hope members will vote to support the popular proposals to bring a new market, jobs and choice to Allenton, so kick-starting the area's regeneration." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jul/11)

A Tesco shopper was asked to provide ID proving she was over 21 to buy a slice of quiche at a store in Cannons Park, Coventry, West Midlands . Christine Cuddihy was told by the till girl that the proof of age scheme now applies to "quiche bought over the counter." She was forced to produce her driving licence to buy the snack. Christine said, ”The irony is that I’ve bought alcohol from there dozens of times without being asked for ID. I’ve racked my brains to come up with an explanation but I can’t find one."

Tesco later apologised and said there was no reason why she was asked to prove her age when buying quiche either over the deli counter, or the pre-boxed variety. A spokesperson said, ”We’re at a loss to say what happened here. We couldn’t find the staff member who asked for the ID. Age related prompts at the tills are set centrally and there obviously isn’t one on quiche.” (Source: Daily Express, Feb/10)

Tesco is scrapping its refund policy after being forced to give £300 Xboxes to shoppers. The rule promises customers who are overcharged at the till a full refund, plus they can keep the item they bought. But some customers deliberately tracked down mis-priced gear, costing the company at least £100,000. The scheme peaked when a pricing mistake left store chiefs no option but to give away Xbox 360 games consoles after they were marked on shelves as £297.81, but came up on tills at £299.97.

Tesco tried banning the worst culprits but now bosses have decided that does not go far enough. The new policy will see shoppers receive double the amount they were overcharged. Martin Lewis, who runs moneysavingexpert.com, which runs details of Tesco price gaffes, said, "If thousands of pounds worth of Xboxes walked out the door then it should teach Tesco to be a bit more careful about prices so that customers are not misled." (Source: Sunday People, Feb/07)

The sudden closure of the Mitre pub in Allenton has renewed fears that the development on the site of Allenton Market could be back on the cards. Last year, 1,000 people signed a petition against proposals to demolish the pub and the adjoining market and houses in Whitehurst Street to make way for a Tesco supermarket.

Owner Mountview Securities Investments Ltd has confirmed that it is in talks with Derby City Council over the site, on the corner of Osmaston Road and Harvey Road. And Mountview, which bought the pub site for £1m in June 2004, has so far refused to confirm that a supermarket is planned for the site. The company's chief executive, Nick Chappell, admitted that he would like to develop the area but Steve Meynell, the city council's chief estates officer, said that keeping or relocating the market would be a condition of any deal. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Feb/06)

Tesco said 100% cashmere jumpers will be selling at stores for as little as £25 but laboratory tests carried out on one the garments found it contained only 88.3% cashmere. More than 6.5% was made up of unidentified fibres, 3.2% was wool, 1% was camel hair and 0.7% was rabbit fur. Top quality cashmere sweaters, made from hair combed from the soft undercoat of cashmere goats, usually cost up to £300. Tesco insisted the V-neck sweater was 100% cashmere and made in north China from Mongolia goats.

Tesco said, "Our cashmere jumpers are knitted in the same factories as those on sale in other major retailers and they have been tested by the UK's two major accredited cashmere testing houses, who have both confirmed they are 100% cashmere. We are at a loss as to why the same tests carried out by the same people have produced different results from a press sample sent to them to those from a number of randomly selected jumpers they tested from our range. We will not be satisfied with any garment which is less than a 100% top quality." (Source: Daily Mirror)

A deer hunter who took his photographs to Tesco in Barnstaple for processing, was reported to police who questioned him for several hours. Although the sport is legal, Tesco contacted the police without telling him, despite their privacy policy which states: "We will never pass your personal data to anyone else". When he took his film to the store staff deemed photographs of him with his gun and a deer he had shot "inappropriate", although he had broken no animal cruelty or firearms laws.

Sir Terry Leahy, the chief executive of Tesco, replied that staff had acted appropriately, "On being asked to view the prints, our store's management team decided that there was cause for concern and as such contacted the police." A letter sent on behalf of Sir Terry said, "Tesco does not discriminate against any lawful section of the community… We are confident that the actions of our staff were… within the law."

A spokesman for Tesco said, "We are sorry for any upset or distress caused to the gentleman. However, if our staff are concerned about the content of photographic material it is right that they should seek advice from the appropriate authorities, in this instance, the police." (Source: Sunday Telegraph, Apr/06)

Tesco has been forced to delay the launch of its £30million online catalogue after a series of catastrophic technical problems. The Tesco Direct site was created to help the supermarket take on catalogue giants Argos and Ikea, and retailers such as Marks and Spencer. But glitches in the system left the site inaccessible for 36 hours.

It was running so slowly shoppers hoping to view the 8,000 products on offer were giving up. The site then crashed and Tesco later pulled the plug on it. A spokesman for the company said, "We have experienced IT problems which are affecting the level of service on our websites. We are proud of Tesco Direct and want to offer customers the best possible service, therefore we made the decision to delay the launch." (Source: Daily Mirror, Sep/06)

<<< Prev