Sainsburys, Dog Kennel Hill

[jazzer]

A quick update following a trip to DKH today.

The fridges by the bakery have all been relocated and the stock sits in the same aisle as dairy products.

Lots of new freezer units filled with produce has been temporarily installed along the frozen food section.

The banana stand remains in the same aisle but has been replaced and moved much closer to the end of that aisle 

Still very much a hunt and search shop today which of course takes longer to find what you're after. There are staff re-stocking shelves and if you ask they try to help.  Unfortunately some mumble rather than speak clearly even after several attempts!!!!!!!! arghhhhhhhhhhh

 

[colb2015]

On 19/11/2023 at 15:39, Pugwash said:

They are closed for 4 days from 1st December for refurbishment (or is it 3 days) I must admit I have converted to the SMART shop and scan items as I go along. This allows me to pack as I go along which saves time. You do not need a SMART phone - just scan your nectar card. in Lidl and Aldi - I go to the assistant aisles as not overkeen on self scan unless you only have a few items.

Is there a notice up anywhere re the closure dates?

[jazzer]

Didn't see any obvious signs yesterday. 

[Borderlands]

Why on earth are they doing this move around? Was loads of stuff being missed by complaining customers, or were shelves full of food'n'stuff that no-one bought? Beware, it's a major mess up. I know their stocks seem to be poorly managed nowadays since supply chains have become more difficult, meaning from week to week you can never be sure an item you usually buy will be there. But added to that, during their current game of pass the parcel with products, is that it might be impossible to find because of some weird shelving choices management have made.  What's more they haven't bothered to put up any signage for temporary positioning of goods at the end of each bay. Other aspects of recent developments in store show total contempt for customers on foot who pay by cash or want to use serviced tills. Presumably management in this branch want it to become a product warehouse with minimum footfall, leaving aisles free for their delivery service staff to whizz around unobstructed by actual shoppers who know their way round. I pity the staff who are trying their best. May be the local manager would like to explain the whys and wherefores to posters here.

[Lynne]

I think the great reshuffle was caused by the loss of Lloyds pharmacy, thus creating space. But I agree with Borderlands, total contempt for the customers. 

[jazzer]

Sainsburys did the same thing to the branch in Forest Hill a couple of months ago

[Pugwash]

For the past month there has been a notice posted on the entrance doors re closure dates. Quite clear to see and read.

[colb2015]

19 hours ago, Pugwash said:

For the past month there has been a notice posted on the entrance doors re closure dates. Quite clear to see and read.

Saw it today. Stating they were closing for 3-4 days was misleading, they are closing at 10pm rather than 11pm for a few days. Rather insignificant for many.

[jazzer]

So from that can I take it that they will not be closed for 3-4 days but RATHER are closing at 10pm rather than 11pm for 3-4 days from 1st December?

They've been closing at that time for probably the past six weeks, since all this refurbishment work began and will do so until 1st December. 

If they were going to be closed for 4 days surely there would be big notices in the shop?

Mis-information just causes confusion and isn't helpful. 

[LurkyMcLurker]

On 24/11/2023 at 14:26, Borderlands said:

Why on earth are they doing this move around? Was loads of stuff being missed by complaining customers, or were shelves full of food'n'stuff that no-one bought? Beware, it's a major mess up. I know their stocks seem to be poorly managed nowadays since supply chains have become more difficult, meaning from week to week you can never be sure an item you usually buy will be there. But added to that, during their current game of pass the parcel with products, is that it might be impossible to find because of some weird shelving choices management have made.  What's more they haven't bothered to put up any signage for temporary positioning of goods at the end of each bay. Other aspects of recent developments in store show total contempt for customers on foot who pay by cash or want to use serviced tills. Presumably management in this branch want it to become a product warehouse with minimum footfall, leaving aisles free for their delivery service staff to whizz around unobstructed by actual shoppers who know their way round. I pity the staff who are trying their best. May be the local manager would like to explain the whys and wherefores to posters here.

The changes aren't being made by anyone whose set foot in the DKH Sainsbury's more than once a year, if ever at all.

Biggest overhead for the company will be paying staff. So it's easier to put the responsibility on the customer to scan and pay without input from an employee. Lots of people will gladly take on that responsibility (myself included). It's faster for me to scan my own items, pay, and leave without input from a member of staff. I also don't need to queue which saves me time.  Is it a good thing? For me, yes. For others, maybe not. Some people would need assistance and probably enjoy the social interaction. Anyone who isn't tech savvy probably finds it frustrating as well. I'm not sure if those members of staff would have lost their jobs or been offered an alternative within the shop. Anecdotally, whenever I'm in Sainsburys it seems to be split pretty evenly between shoppers and staff picking up items for home delivery.

Changing the layout of the shop would also be a decision from corporate. In the past, I'd be in and out of Sainos in 25 minutes because I knew what I wanted and where it'd be. When they changed the layout, it was probably 35 minutes for 2-3 shops. Now I'm back down to 25 because I know the new layout. The point is, during that time when I'd be in the shop an additional 10 minutes, it was likely I'd end up in an aisle with products I don't normally browse, and it's likely I saw something new I hadn't seen before and I'd considered purchasing it, if not purchasing it. I bet Sainsbury's have statistics showing that they see an increase in sales in the month after a shop layout change.

As long as people keep shopping there, and as long as internal analytics deem these processes worthwhile, things will not change. Best way to make any sort impact would be to vote with your wallet, I'd assume.

[ctovey]

I asked a member of staff today if the shop was closing for 4 days.  He said definitely not, only that they would be closing at 10pm for those days.

Edited November 25, 2023 by ctovey

[jazzer]

thanks for the clarification.

[ctovey]

If you want frozen food at Sainsburys DKH today, don't bother.  They have an 'issue' with their freezers and frozen food is not available / extremely limited.  I didn't get any frozen food I ordered on my delivery  today.

[sally buying]

Also I noticed when I went yesterday the actual space for people is now very limited. two trolleys at the same time and it is impossible to move let allowing allowing for staff to restock the fridges which look a lot smaller.

Not a very nice shopping experience. Who makes these decisions? 5 year olds?

[satsuma]

Lol, people really like a whinge don't they. First off, the Chinese whispers of the shop closing for 4 days and now the near-hysteria about people not being able to find the butter aisle. Pretty hilarious.

[jazzer]

I was in late lunchtime today, I had my list, got the items I wanted, got to self service trolley check out and there was a queue, BUT it moved quickly, scanned my items, used my nectar card, paid and in and out in less than 15-20 minutes, so I had a very good experience. 

PLUS, thumbs up to the bakery section, the lady running it does a superb job and she's a STAR. The team deserve recognition for how they've turned it around over the past 18months.  

[Baroness Millhaven]

On 30/11/2023 at 09:36, ctovey said:

If you want frozen food at Sainsburys DKH today, don't bother.  They have an 'issue' with their freezers and frozen food is not available / extremely limited.  I didn't get any frozen food I ordered on my delivery  today.

Sorry to hear that. I literally had one frozen item on the list and we can wait a week to replace it. I did get a text from them last night saying fridges were affected as well, but happily this turned out not to be the case.

[kiera]

Was in Sainsbury's yesterday evening and it's all settled down now. Most of the items I wanted were close to where they were originally, with some exceptions, e.g. chilled cakes & desserts now in aisle 25. Shelves were well stocked. There are only 4 cashier aisles & only 2 of them were manned, but they did not have queues. I use the cashier aisles when they're available (they generally close them at 9pm.) The customer in front of me didn't have a Nectar card, so I offered mine - that way I got the points for his shopping & he benefitted by getting Nectar discounts, so all good.

[dresswaves]

On 30/11/2023 at 09:47, sally buying said:

Also I noticed when I went yesterday the actual space for people is now very limited. two trolleys at the same time and it is impossible to move let allowing allowing for staff to restock the fridges which look a lot smaller.

Not a very nice shopping experience. Who makes these decisions? 5 year olds?

If this was down the freezer aisles they were very narrow for a time as they moved the existing freezers forward & put the new freezers behind, presumably until they could get the new freezers up & running. There has obviously been some problems with this if there was no frozen food over the las few days.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

On 23/11/2023 at 18:10, jazzer said:

The banana stand remains in the same aisle but has been replaced and moved much closer to the end of that aisle 

Not surprised they would move it to a more prominent spot. There's always money in the banana stand.

[vic.ham]

On 22/10/2023 at 21:05, Sue said:

Damn only just seen this.

Tu have some gems sometimes 👍

25%off again for Tu, ends close of business Saturday 9th December 

[GooseGreenGoods]

On 02/12/2023 at 12:51, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

There's always money in the banana stand.

Arrested Development fan spotted on local forum.

[Lynne]

Yet another strawberry in the trifle of delight that is Sainsbury's DKH. Only after doing all my shopping in my own wheely bag was I told that there was a technical fault and I had to completely unpack my bag and put all the items through the machine again. Couldn't someone have put a notice up? Does anyone there care in the slightest about their customers?

Don't bother answering that last. I think we all know the answer.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

That doesn't sound like the end of the world.

[Sue]

13 minutes ago, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

That doesn't sound like the end of the world.

I imagine you would have been similarly annoyed if it had been you in that situation. I would. 

Don't bother complaining to Sainsbury's, Lynne. I complained to them by email after an incident in there on Christmas Eve, which I posted about on here at the time.

I received an email back  saying I would get a response  within some time scale - I think it was three days.

When the weeks went by without an answer (or even an apology) I phoned them up.

The person said "Oh, you won't get an answer."

Me: "????". 

Person: "The complaint will have been sent to the store to be dealt with there."

Me: "So will I get an answer from the store?"

Person: "No, they won't answer."

Me: "So why was I told I would get a response within three days?"

Person: Shrugs shoulders, I imagine.

Me: "I'm not at all happy about this. How can I complain about not getting a response to my complaint?" (!!!!)

Person: "You will have to write to Sainsbury's Head Office."

Me: "OK. Please can I have a contact name and their email address?"

Person: "Oh, you can't email them. You will have to write a letter and post it."

So. I have an address. Needless to say, this has been languishing in my pile of things to do for weeks.

Anybody would think Sainsbury's didn't want feedback, or indeed to be actually put to the trouble of having to deal with annoying customers who had had bad experiences in their stores 

I  stopped using them for deliveries years ago after a similar lack of any smidgeon of  customer care 😡

If I ever go in there now it's either as a last resort (as at Christmas) or to pick something up from Argos.