I have received a number of requests recently to remove links from my Spanish website (casabill.net), the reason being cited in each case was that it may have been interfering with their search engine rankings (the name of a, perhaps the most, famous search engine always being mentioned); sectors concerned have been currency-related and car rental related websites of the 'comparison' kind. I have complied with these requests for link removal, but made it very clear in my email correspondence with the firms concerned my view that whilst their attempts to manipulate search engine rankings may succeed for a while, they will almost certainly be found out by those running the search engines in question. Usually such requests for link removal have come from firms which had earlier requested that I include a link. Naturally for my own protection I am not naming the firms in question, although I have full documentary evidence to support what I write.
To be absolutely clear, my website is totally non-commercial in nature and payment for links is neither sought nor accepted if it is offered.
The point of this article is to highlight the fact that comparison websites, whilst offering nothing of their own, are obviously in the business of gleaning the small individual revenue that is generated whenever there is a 'click through' from them to one of the firms to whom they link. You will find that, if you compare different comparison websites (so to say), the firms to whom they link often overlap extensively, but the underlying financial transactions on offer (whether currency or car rental, etc - probably the same is true of insurance, but I have no personal experience of this particular comparison sector myself) may vary slightly in the prices quoted, possibly because of the different volumes of traffic generated by the different comparison websites to particular end-providers and the remuneration terms they have negotiated - and no doubt this is influenced to some extent, or is perceived to be, by a particular comparison website's ranking in search engine queries.
It so happens that I received a request for link removal this morning from a 'comparison' firm which had some months ago requested that I include a link; I complied within 5 minutes of the request being received by removing the link. Perhaps it is purely a coincidence, but I had added a link to another 'comparison' site in precisely the same sector only yesterday (after having received a request for link inclusion from them a few days earlier), so I wonder if the fact that I was now linking to a rival 'comparison' site as well was felt to be 'unhelpful' to them commercially.
I have no particular 'axe to grind', because I operate my websites and blogs purely for my own interest with no commercial gain in mind. Comparison websites, on the other hand, may portray themselves as sources of impartial advice and generally it is true they can be helpful in guiding a buyer of a service to a sensible and reasonably cost-effective provider of such services, but it is prudent never to forget that such comparison websites are commercial enterprises and different comparison websites compete against each other and others who provide similar links and that rankings in search engine queries are an important criterion for them and that whilst the search engines try to put in place measures to prevent undue manipulation of rankings, some businesses do try and 'tweak' the results in their favour, in one way or the other.
In other words, what has always been true, remains true in the age of the internet, when seeking guidance about how to spend one's money - all is not always as it seems. Remember - caveat emptor ('let the buyer beware').
NB/ This article is cross-posted from my 'Spanish' blog , 'casabill - the blog' because I think it is of general interest.
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Graham's to "continue development of value added products at its Nairn facility"
It is pleasing to be able to write of more positive developments at Graham's (Scotland’s leading independent milk processor) and in particular as these affect its Nairn facility (formerly Claymore Dairies). The Courier (published in Dundee) carried the story a couple of days ago, when it reported that turnover had increased 21% in the year to end-March 2013, with sales reaching £68 million.
I've written before about the firm's focus on turnover at the expense of margins (and ultimately profits), but the Courier article reports that pre-tax profits doubled to more than £1 million during the year. Managing Director Robert Graham is reported as saying that the firm would "would continue its development of added-value products at its base in Nairn", the investment in which is being part-funded by a 'marketing and cooperation' grant announced in June of £482,000 from the Scottish Government, estimated to be about 20% of the capital expenditure.
However, other salient reported comments by Mr Graham included:
- 'Graham’s was "really pleased" with a result which continued a long-standing pattern of 20% per annum revenue growth(*)'
- 'But he warned that margins would have to come under pressure if the company’s continued investment was to generate appropriate levels of profit.'
(*) As I have mentioned before when writing about Claymore/Graham's, the eliding of turnover with profit, and even more so the assumption that growth in turnover, accompanied by pressure on margins will necessarily lead to increased profits is a dangerous one.
Of course, Mr Graham is the man actually running the business and if pre-tax profits have more than doubled in the year as reported, then that is certainly a good result, although perhaps more important would be to know the level of net after-tax profits, upon which the linked article is silent. However, the latest investment in Nairn is likely to lead to more jobs in the town, very positive news. It is clear that the dairy and dairy processing sectors are highly-competitive, operating generally on very low margins for both producers (dairy farmers) and dairy processors such as Graham's, as a result of the pressure from the main buyers, supermarkets, to keep their costs as low as possible to maintain their own margins, not forgetting the consumer (such as me, but more importantly the average family trying to make ends meet) anxious to pay as little as possible whilst still expecting the products bought to be safe, wholesome and attractive to eat. All this is undoubtedly a delicate balancing act for firms such Graham's.
I've written before about the firm's focus on turnover at the expense of margins (and ultimately profits), but the Courier article reports that pre-tax profits doubled to more than £1 million during the year. Managing Director Robert Graham is reported as saying that the firm would "would continue its development of added-value products at its base in Nairn", the investment in which is being part-funded by a 'marketing and cooperation' grant announced in June of £482,000 from the Scottish Government, estimated to be about 20% of the capital expenditure.
However, other salient reported comments by Mr Graham included:
- 'Graham’s was "really pleased" with a result which continued a long-standing pattern of 20% per annum revenue growth(*)'
- 'But he warned that margins would have to come under pressure if the company’s continued investment was to generate appropriate levels of profit.'
(*) As I have mentioned before when writing about Claymore/Graham's, the eliding of turnover with profit, and even more so the assumption that growth in turnover, accompanied by pressure on margins will necessarily lead to increased profits is a dangerous one.
Of course, Mr Graham is the man actually running the business and if pre-tax profits have more than doubled in the year as reported, then that is certainly a good result, although perhaps more important would be to know the level of net after-tax profits, upon which the linked article is silent. However, the latest investment in Nairn is likely to lead to more jobs in the town, very positive news. It is clear that the dairy and dairy processing sectors are highly-competitive, operating generally on very low margins for both producers (dairy farmers) and dairy processors such as Graham's, as a result of the pressure from the main buyers, supermarkets, to keep their costs as low as possible to maintain their own margins, not forgetting the consumer (such as me, but more importantly the average family trying to make ends meet) anxious to pay as little as possible whilst still expecting the products bought to be safe, wholesome and attractive to eat. All this is undoubtedly a delicate balancing act for firms such Graham's.
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Nairn firm's revolutionary wheelchair design
A Nairn-based designer, Andrew Slorance, himself paralysed since the age of 14 after an accident, has designed an innovative wheelchair which is called the Carbon Black. The process of getting it to market has not been straightforward and the project is to be featured in a BBC2 Scotland programme to be broadcast this Thursday, 19th July at 9pm (it'll be available for a week after broadcast on the BBC iPlayer). Worth watching I think.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Graham's Dairies downgrades Nairn plant to distribution unit
(UPDATES - please see contrasting 'good news' story near end, plus a further later report about Graham's itself)
I wish I could write that the announcement that Graham's Dairies, based in Bridge of Allan in Perthshire, is to downgrade its Nairn dairy processing unit to a distribution centre only is any kind of surprise to me. Unfortunately it is not. In any case it is projected that 13 employees at Nairn will lose their jobs, reducing staffing levels there to 42.
As I wrote here in January of this year, its profits had been badly-dented in 2011 as a result of pressure on margins with the acquisition of new contracts to supply supermarkets - I described it then as perhaps a classic case of seeking growth in turnover by over-trading. Later in January I became aware that Glasgow-based Robert Wiseman Dairies had been acquired by Muller following its own poor economic results and simultaneously learned that Muller had cut the price it paid for milk from some suppliers.
The latest news about Graham's Dairies plans for its Nairn unit (until Setpember 2010 known as Claymore Dairies until its acquisition by Graham's Dairies) is not, I fear, the last we will hear of it. Supermarkets which are competing with each other to gain market share try to protect their own margins by squeezing their own suppliers, such as Muller and Graham's Dairies, and they in turn try to squeeze those further down the supply chain, in this case dairy farmers. As we now learn is already happening, from the first link above, the farmers supplying the Nairn unit are believed already to be receiving less in payment for their milk than those farmers who supply direct to the Bridge of Allan unit and it remains to be seen how the increased transport costs of trucking the raw milk to Bridge of Allan and back again to Nairn for distribution in the North as processed items will be factored into the costings - who will pay, in other words. I hope the optimistic projections from Graham's Dairies that innovation, marketing, new products and new contracts will not only increase sales, but allow it to maintain or improve its margins and thereby allow it to remain a viable concern.
1st UPDATE (Friday 11MAY2012 11.40 CET) I've just come across another item of business news in the Nairn area which is very happily a positive one - Asher's, the Nairn-based bakery business is to open a shop in Grantown-on-Spey, creating 5 jobs which will probably be part-time. According to company Director Ali Asher, its already-existing outlet in Aviemore (operating since 1998) means it already sends its distribution trucks to the area so supplying the new shop will be straightforward. It is expected the new shop will open toward the end of June, once the premises have been re-fitted and the new employees there will increase the company's workforce to 125.
2nd UPDATE (Saturday 2NOV2013 12.03 GMT) I posted a further article about Graham's on 31st October 2013, this time with much better news - please click here to go there now.
I wish I could write that the announcement that Graham's Dairies, based in Bridge of Allan in Perthshire, is to downgrade its Nairn dairy processing unit to a distribution centre only is any kind of surprise to me. Unfortunately it is not. In any case it is projected that 13 employees at Nairn will lose their jobs, reducing staffing levels there to 42.
As I wrote here in January of this year, its profits had been badly-dented in 2011 as a result of pressure on margins with the acquisition of new contracts to supply supermarkets - I described it then as perhaps a classic case of seeking growth in turnover by over-trading. Later in January I became aware that Glasgow-based Robert Wiseman Dairies had been acquired by Muller following its own poor economic results and simultaneously learned that Muller had cut the price it paid for milk from some suppliers.
The latest news about Graham's Dairies plans for its Nairn unit (until Setpember 2010 known as Claymore Dairies until its acquisition by Graham's Dairies) is not, I fear, the last we will hear of it. Supermarkets which are competing with each other to gain market share try to protect their own margins by squeezing their own suppliers, such as Muller and Graham's Dairies, and they in turn try to squeeze those further down the supply chain, in this case dairy farmers. As we now learn is already happening, from the first link above, the farmers supplying the Nairn unit are believed already to be receiving less in payment for their milk than those farmers who supply direct to the Bridge of Allan unit and it remains to be seen how the increased transport costs of trucking the raw milk to Bridge of Allan and back again to Nairn for distribution in the North as processed items will be factored into the costings - who will pay, in other words. I hope the optimistic projections from Graham's Dairies that innovation, marketing, new products and new contracts will not only increase sales, but allow it to maintain or improve its margins and thereby allow it to remain a viable concern.
1st UPDATE (Friday 11MAY2012 11.40 CET) I've just come across another item of business news in the Nairn area which is very happily a positive one - Asher's, the Nairn-based bakery business is to open a shop in Grantown-on-Spey, creating 5 jobs which will probably be part-time. According to company Director Ali Asher, its already-existing outlet in Aviemore (operating since 1998) means it already sends its distribution trucks to the area so supplying the new shop will be straightforward. It is expected the new shop will open toward the end of June, once the premises have been re-fitted and the new employees there will increase the company's workforce to 125.
2nd UPDATE (Saturday 2NOV2013 12.03 GMT) I posted a further article about Graham's on 31st October 2013, this time with much better news - please click here to go there now.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
The mystery of country-specific URL re-directs explained
I have noticed very recently that visitors to various blogs (including my own) are being re-directed to country-specific URLs when visited by readers from specific countries. So far I have seen variants of my blog (whose true URL is http://billcameron.blogspot.com/) ending in:
.IN (for India)
.com.au (for Australia)
.co.nz (for New Zealand).
A quick search on Google (where else!) reveals that this is no mere fluke. It is a practice being rolled out by Google/Blogger across various countries (starting with India, apparently) as a way of putting in place country-specific 'filtering' of content to 'comply with local laws' - or CENSORSHIP to you or me! You can read Google's rationale for this here.
I am surmising this is all the fall-out from the recent difficulties that Google had experienced in China, where it agreed initially to comply with censorship reqirements there by filtering out content viewable there that the government there did not like, until later it decided to pull out of China entirely, after an international outcry. This new mechanism presumably gives Google the ability more easily to censor content viewable from specific jurisdictions and thus 'comply with local laws' more readily (CENSORSHIP in other words!) whilst in theory not affecting content viewable elsewhere.
Whilst one cannot imagine plausibly that countries such as Australia or New Zealand, perhaps India too, are going to attempt to censor content viewable in their territories, what this change means is that the building blocks are being put in place, for commercial reasons, by Google to allow them to protect their own business interests with possibly immense negative consequences for freedom of information and speech.
Google may choose to call this 'complying with local laws', I call it what it is:
CENSORSHIP
.IN (for India)
.com.au (for Australia)
.co.nz (for New Zealand).
A quick search on Google (where else!) reveals that this is no mere fluke. It is a practice being rolled out by Google/Blogger across various countries (starting with India, apparently) as a way of putting in place country-specific 'filtering' of content to 'comply with local laws' - or CENSORSHIP to you or me! You can read Google's rationale for this here.
I am surmising this is all the fall-out from the recent difficulties that Google had experienced in China, where it agreed initially to comply with censorship reqirements there by filtering out content viewable there that the government there did not like, until later it decided to pull out of China entirely, after an international outcry. This new mechanism presumably gives Google the ability more easily to censor content viewable from specific jurisdictions and thus 'comply with local laws' more readily (CENSORSHIP in other words!) whilst in theory not affecting content viewable elsewhere.
Whilst one cannot imagine plausibly that countries such as Australia or New Zealand, perhaps India too, are going to attempt to censor content viewable in their territories, what this change means is that the building blocks are being put in place, for commercial reasons, by Google to allow them to protect their own business interests with possibly immense negative consequences for freedom of information and speech.
Google may choose to call this 'complying with local laws', I call it what it is:
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Graham's Dairies profits plummet
(Please see UPDATES at end)
I've just come across this report in the Herald about the recent dramatic fall in pre-tax profits at Graham's Dairies, down 42.5 per cent, whereas turnover rose a significant 20 per cent.
This is usually a sign of over-trading, gaining turnover at the expense of margins. Graham's supplies dairy products to supermarket chains Asda, Sainsbury, Waitrose and Tesco and recently won new business from Morrisons; all have been conducting a 'price war' to gain/retain market share in the current difficult economic climate (and of course it was announced only a couple of weeks ago that Tesco has had very poor trading conditions over Christmas, resulting in a significant fall in share value for the company with renewed profit warnings for the upcoming Easter trading period).
Graham's describes itself as the 'largest independent dairy' group in Scotland. I last wrote about the Bridge of Allan-based company in September 2010 when it was announced it was acquiring Claymore Dairies, at that time the largest employer in Nairn.
All this is unfortunately a graphic illustration of the general malaise that the country, the EU and the wider world is experiencing just now and quite probably for some time to come - as I have written here before "hold on to your hats, folks", expect things to get worse before there is even the glimmer of a prospect of them getting better (for those who remain standing).
UPDATE (Friday 27JAN2012 13.50 GMT) I had not realised that Graham's Dairies was not the only dairy company in the news. The Glasgow-based Robert Wiseman Dairies agreed a couple of weeks ago to be acquired by the German Muller in a cash deal valued at GBP 279.5 million; the company announced 16JAN2012 that more than half the shareholders have agreed; although they have not yet officially voted, it is regarded as a 'done deal'. The company produces about 30 per cent of the fresh milk consumed in the UK. For an insight into how a 'savvy' investor analysed prospects at Wiseman to his advantage click here. Like Graham's, Wiseman recently reported a major drop in profits and the further concentration in production is already worrying some farmers as Muller have apparently in recent weeks cut the price they pay for milk by 0.5p to 29.8p a litre, presumably a way of increasing their own margins (by use of their significant buying power) at the expense of producers who are faced with unavoidably increasing input costs.
2nd UPDATE (Friday 11MAY2012 10.30 CET) Graham's Dairies downgrades Nairn plant to distribution unit - I've written about this latest development here.
3rd UPDATE (Monday 26NOV2013 20.25 GMT) I posted an article entitled "Graham's to 'continue development of value added products at its Nairn facility' " on 31OCT2013 - to read this article click here.
I've just come across this report in the Herald about the recent dramatic fall in pre-tax profits at Graham's Dairies, down 42.5 per cent, whereas turnover rose a significant 20 per cent.
This is usually a sign of over-trading, gaining turnover at the expense of margins. Graham's supplies dairy products to supermarket chains Asda, Sainsbury, Waitrose and Tesco and recently won new business from Morrisons; all have been conducting a 'price war' to gain/retain market share in the current difficult economic climate (and of course it was announced only a couple of weeks ago that Tesco has had very poor trading conditions over Christmas, resulting in a significant fall in share value for the company with renewed profit warnings for the upcoming Easter trading period).
Graham's describes itself as the 'largest independent dairy' group in Scotland. I last wrote about the Bridge of Allan-based company in September 2010 when it was announced it was acquiring Claymore Dairies, at that time the largest employer in Nairn.
All this is unfortunately a graphic illustration of the general malaise that the country, the EU and the wider world is experiencing just now and quite probably for some time to come - as I have written here before "hold on to your hats, folks", expect things to get worse before there is even the glimmer of a prospect of them getting better (for those who remain standing).
UPDATE (Friday 27JAN2012 13.50 GMT) I had not realised that Graham's Dairies was not the only dairy company in the news. The Glasgow-based Robert Wiseman Dairies agreed a couple of weeks ago to be acquired by the German Muller in a cash deal valued at GBP 279.5 million; the company announced 16JAN2012 that more than half the shareholders have agreed; although they have not yet officially voted, it is regarded as a 'done deal'. The company produces about 30 per cent of the fresh milk consumed in the UK. For an insight into how a 'savvy' investor analysed prospects at Wiseman to his advantage click here. Like Graham's, Wiseman recently reported a major drop in profits and the further concentration in production is already worrying some farmers as Muller have apparently in recent weeks cut the price they pay for milk by 0.5p to 29.8p a litre, presumably a way of increasing their own margins (by use of their significant buying power) at the expense of producers who are faced with unavoidably increasing input costs.
2nd UPDATE (Friday 11MAY2012 10.30 CET) Graham's Dairies downgrades Nairn plant to distribution unit - I've written about this latest development here.
3rd UPDATE (Monday 26NOV2013 20.25 GMT) I posted an article entitled "Graham's to 'continue development of value added products at its Nairn facility' " on 31OCT2013 - to read this article click here.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Honesty in advertising, if not at all pretty
I daresay if you're in the market for a "pre-owned" stained, damaged and scummy "trailer-park" home this might be just the thing:
(thru Kenneth in the (212))
Oh, and a Happy New Year to everybody!
(thru Kenneth in the (212))
Oh, and a Happy New Year to everybody!
Monday, 20 June 2011
The egotist has landed ...
Yes, "The Donald" has jetted-in in an aeroplane bearing his name to oversee progress on his new golf course development near Aberdeen. According to the linked BBC report, he is is expected to spend a number of days at the Menie Estate.
I watched an interview with him on the BBC news at 1 o'clock and he was quite frank in stating that, without the projected golf development arousing controversy, few would know it was happening and although he did not state this explicitly he implied very strongly that he was very happy with this. Of course "The Donald" could never be accused of being a shrinking violet! And why should he be? He has built up what appears to be a successful business empire and 'brand' by being brash and tough, with his name being plastered across everything from office buildings, hotels and of course his aeroplane. My attitude is definitely one of "Good luck to him!" and of course I am not one of those who objects to him developing a golfing, hotel, residential and leisure complex north of Aberdeen, indeed I think it is great and I hope the whole place will be a huge success once completed.
PS/ My slightly ironic title for this article is not in any way critical of him, it is just my little joke based on the title of the movie The Eagle has Landed, by Trump's hawk-like facial features and his not inconsiderable ego.
I watched an interview with him on the BBC news at 1 o'clock and he was quite frank in stating that, without the projected golf development arousing controversy, few would know it was happening and although he did not state this explicitly he implied very strongly that he was very happy with this. Of course "The Donald" could never be accused of being a shrinking violet! And why should he be? He has built up what appears to be a successful business empire and 'brand' by being brash and tough, with his name being plastered across everything from office buildings, hotels and of course his aeroplane. My attitude is definitely one of "Good luck to him!" and of course I am not one of those who objects to him developing a golfing, hotel, residential and leisure complex north of Aberdeen, indeed I think it is great and I hope the whole place will be a huge success once completed.
PS/ My slightly ironic title for this article is not in any way critical of him, it is just my little joke based on the title of the movie The Eagle has Landed, by Trump's hawk-like facial features and his not inconsiderable ego.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Local 'good service' award - "Stitch in Time, Inverness"
I can sew on a button, I can do a few other basic haberdashery tasks where functionality is more necessary than elegance in the finished product, although I am a reasonably proficient embroiderer and enjoy the detailed work this involves - it relaxes me.
However, hemming trousers is way beyond me; it is probably unnecessary to add that I do NOT possess a sewing machine. I did occasionally (under supervison) use my mother's sewing machine when I was a boy, but only avoided sewing my finger to a piece of material as a result of her panicked intervention on one memorable occasion, so it is probably safer for me to stay away from these devil's devices! I jest, of course.
In any case, apart from the quite rare occasions nowadays when I wear a suit or even more occasionally a dinner suit, as a 'retired gent' I tend to wear jeans or chinos. I usually buy both from the UK part of an American mail-order/on-line company [Lands' End] because their styling suits me and because their sizing is reasonably 'generous', no doubt to cater for its mainly US clientele and of course British people such as me. One important feature that particularly attracted me to them is that they offer 'free' hemming (either turn-up or plain) for all their trousers and jeans and as I am shorter than the standard 29" shortest trouser length this is quite important so that I can get a good fit. I've been using the Lands' End service for over 15 years and have always been and remain completely happy with it. In addition to trousers and jeans, I tend to buy shirts, polo shirts, t-shirts and jackets from them and various other items from time to time.
Fairly recently I got a pair of dark brown chinos from them, perfect as usual, but after two or three cleanings the stitching on one of the leg hemmings unravelled, so for a couple of months they have hung forlornly in one of my wardrobes. Rather than send them back to Lands' End for repair I hoped to find a local solution, but in recent years places to get minor jobs of this kind done have grown scarce in most cities and towns. I was not aware of a local service (apart from a lady who used to do adjustments for my late mother) and whilst I had thought of contacting her I had never gotten around to doing so. Anyway, yesterday a leaflet appeared in my postal mail-box from a local firm in Inverness called "Stitch in Time" offering all manner of tailoring adjustments for male and female clothing, so I thought I'd give them a whirl for my minor problem. Today I had occasion to go to Inverness to do some food shopping and during the visit I popped in to "Sitch in Time", located in the Victorian Market (covered market) at 5 Queensgate Arcade - one of the assistants took the torusers from me, asked me if I could wait and I said 'Yes'. He moved across to one of the sewing mahines along one side of the shop and in less than 5 minutes had done the job perfectly. I got out my wallet to pay and he waved it away, saying that for such a small job they didn't want payment; I said I was happy to pay and he laughed and said no, it wasn't necessary. Now that is what I call service! And good business tactics, too! I shall certainly always think of them for jobs like this in future and recommend them to friends. Incidentally, two of the three staff I saw were Indian/Pakistani/Iranian (not sure which) and the other was British. I dealt with one of the former as it so happens. It is really pleasing to find such courteous, willing and helpful service nowadays - and offered with a smile. I have a lot of experience with Indian/Pakistani/Iranian/Chinese tailoring services from my time in the Middle and Far East, invariably they were expert at their jobs, friendly, courteous and willing. It is a pleasure (and a little bit of a surprise, I must admit) to find such similar superb service so close to home.
However, hemming trousers is way beyond me; it is probably unnecessary to add that I do NOT possess a sewing machine. I did occasionally (under supervison) use my mother's sewing machine when I was a boy, but only avoided sewing my finger to a piece of material as a result of her panicked intervention on one memorable occasion, so it is probably safer for me to stay away from these devil's devices! I jest, of course.
In any case, apart from the quite rare occasions nowadays when I wear a suit or even more occasionally a dinner suit, as a 'retired gent' I tend to wear jeans or chinos. I usually buy both from the UK part of an American mail-order/on-line company [Lands' End] because their styling suits me and because their sizing is reasonably 'generous', no doubt to cater for its mainly US clientele and of course British people such as me. One important feature that particularly attracted me to them is that they offer 'free' hemming (either turn-up or plain) for all their trousers and jeans and as I am shorter than the standard 29" shortest trouser length this is quite important so that I can get a good fit. I've been using the Lands' End service for over 15 years and have always been and remain completely happy with it. In addition to trousers and jeans, I tend to buy shirts, polo shirts, t-shirts and jackets from them and various other items from time to time.
Fairly recently I got a pair of dark brown chinos from them, perfect as usual, but after two or three cleanings the stitching on one of the leg hemmings unravelled, so for a couple of months they have hung forlornly in one of my wardrobes. Rather than send them back to Lands' End for repair I hoped to find a local solution, but in recent years places to get minor jobs of this kind done have grown scarce in most cities and towns. I was not aware of a local service (apart from a lady who used to do adjustments for my late mother) and whilst I had thought of contacting her I had never gotten around to doing so. Anyway, yesterday a leaflet appeared in my postal mail-box from a local firm in Inverness called "Stitch in Time" offering all manner of tailoring adjustments for male and female clothing, so I thought I'd give them a whirl for my minor problem. Today I had occasion to go to Inverness to do some food shopping and during the visit I popped in to "Sitch in Time", located in the Victorian Market (covered market) at 5 Queensgate Arcade - one of the assistants took the torusers from me, asked me if I could wait and I said 'Yes'. He moved across to one of the sewing mahines along one side of the shop and in less than 5 minutes had done the job perfectly. I got out my wallet to pay and he waved it away, saying that for such a small job they didn't want payment; I said I was happy to pay and he laughed and said no, it wasn't necessary. Now that is what I call service! And good business tactics, too! I shall certainly always think of them for jobs like this in future and recommend them to friends. Incidentally, two of the three staff I saw were Indian/Pakistani/Iranian (not sure which) and the other was British. I dealt with one of the former as it so happens. It is really pleasing to find such courteous, willing and helpful service nowadays - and offered with a smile. I have a lot of experience with Indian/Pakistani/Iranian/Chinese tailoring services from my time in the Middle and Far East, invariably they were expert at their jobs, friendly, courteous and willing. It is a pleasure (and a little bit of a surprise, I must admit) to find such similar superb service so close to home.
Friday, 8 October 2010
Tea-times in Scotland out of danger
A threatened strike at Tunnock's bakery in Uddingston could be avoided as a result of an agreement (details yet to be announced) with the union, you guessed it Unite.
I have fond memories of both these 'delicacies' from my childhood, but haven't tasted either in years - my efforts at weight loss take precedence now.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Overblown corporate hype of the day?
Maybe I need to start a new series of posts (or perhaps not - it wouild rapidly become tedious), but I just noticed one of those ubiquitous 'white vans' parked at the building where I live and the 'corporate slogan' under the name of the [appropriately enough] enterprise struck me as just a teensy-weensy bit grandiose:
Enterprise
maintaining the infrastructure of the UK
Mind you the company Enterprise is not a small outfit, but nor is it absolutely huge; perhaps it is only one of the 'enterprises' maintaining the infrastructure of the UK?
Enterprise
maintaining the infrastructure of the UK
Mind you the company Enterprise is not a small outfit, but nor is it absolutely huge; perhaps it is only one of the 'enterprises' maintaining the infrastructure of the UK?
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Claymore Dairies, Nairn, to be acquired by Graham's
(Please see UPDATE at end)
It seems the longer-term future of Nairn's largest employer, Claymore Dairies, has been secured with the acquisition agreement for the business to be taken over by Graham's Dairies of Bridge of Allan. Graham's is a major supplier of dairy products to many large supermarkets and perhaps not uncoincidentally has Sainsbury's as its largest customer (the supermarket chain planning to open its first Highlands outlet in Nairn next year). This sounds as if it is a very positive step for Nairn and Claymore Dairies.
UPDATE (Monday 29JAN2012 14.23 GMT) Please see my later article dated 26 January 2012 titled Graham's Dairies profits plummet.
2nd UPDATE (Friday 11MAY2012 10.30 CET) Graham's Dairies downgrades Nairn plant to distribution unit - I've written about this latest development here.
It seems the longer-term future of Nairn's largest employer, Claymore Dairies, has been secured with the acquisition agreement for the business to be taken over by Graham's Dairies of Bridge of Allan. Graham's is a major supplier of dairy products to many large supermarkets and perhaps not uncoincidentally has Sainsbury's as its largest customer (the supermarket chain planning to open its first Highlands outlet in Nairn next year). This sounds as if it is a very positive step for Nairn and Claymore Dairies.
UPDATE (Monday 29JAN2012 14.23 GMT) Please see my later article dated 26 January 2012 titled Graham's Dairies profits plummet.
2nd UPDATE (Friday 11MAY2012 10.30 CET) Graham's Dairies downgrades Nairn plant to distribution unit - I've written about this latest development here.
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Bill makes his bid for 'popularity' at Co-op/Somerfield Nairn!
I felt rather like the man from the Bateman cartoon whilst up at the Co-op/Somerfield supermarket in Nairn to get a few last-minute items before Christmas tomorrow - a newspaper (the 'Telegraph') and a few things like salads. But what I said at the check-out there today, and what I'm about to say, needed to be said. I think I've actually written here about it a few years back when it was still a Safeway store. What that was didn't, initially at least, garner me too much popularity, but I think a few people in the queue behind me, and possibly the check-out girl too (although she was far too dicreet to voice an opinion), realised what was 'bugging' me and that I wasn't just another madman.
So what is bothering Nairn's old blogger-'curmudgeon' today? Basically it's charity-collectors at the check-outs. I am a charitable soul (no really!) and I almost always put a Pound or two into the collecting 'buckets' they use. However, one thing I cannot abide is these charity-collectors packing my shopping for me, any more than I like check-out assistants doing it for me, as they occasionally offer to do, as it is usually just chucked into bags any old how and fragile goods (salads and the like) can find themselves crushed below much heavier items. Yesterday when I was also up at the Co-op/Somerfield here the charity-collector lady immediately stood back when I indicated I was going to pack my own purchases in the shopping bags I had brought for the purpose - I still left a couple of Pounds in her bucket and all was pleasantness and light. Today was a different story, however! Today there were TWO collectors at my check-out, both teenagers (I should say 16 or 17, by the looks of them). The fact that I was carrying my own shopping bags, however, didn't deter them from grabbing some of my purchases and shoving them any old how into some Somerfield shopping bags! I had to tell them quite forcefully that I wanted to pack my own shopping, using the VERY brightly coloured canvas shopping bags I was carrying, which they could not possibly NOT have seen. The two young ladies, to do them credit, stood back and let me get on with it, but the whole bagging area was completely full of all their stiff - TWO collecting buckets and several plastic bags which they had opened and spread around the whole surface, almost, to make their jobs easier and my job as the actual customer a whole lot more difficult, with all their paraphernalia getting in my way.
I suggested, very gently, to the check-out operator (a young lady) that she tell her manager that I was not happy with feeling intimidated by the presence of two charity collectors hogging all the space and basically making a nuisance of themselves. The the older charity-collector lady at the next counter piped up, saying I should't speak 'like that' to the two youngsters at my counter - I had not once raised my voice, but I had moved the opened plastic bags out of my way and the collecting bucket nearest me I had moved onto a small shelf at the front of the bagging area, also out of my way, so I could get on with packing up my purchases. I replied to the older collector lady at the next counter that I was a customer and she, the infernal impertincence of the woman(!!) then said she was 'a member of the public'. I repeated to her that I would say what I wanted and that she wasn't going to embarrass me into silence. I then asked the check-out operator again very politely and quietly to let her manager know how unhapppy a customer (a paying customer!) had been with feeling crushed and crowded-out by charity collectors in their shop. I then said to the two young collector ladies at my check-out that I was happy to give a odnation, I just did not appreciate beinbg crowded by them - I then put a Pound coin into one of their buckets and left.
To the Co-op/Somerfield managers: I genuinely have no objection to having charity collectors around, they are usually collecting in good causes. However, you must set them ground rules not to make your customers feel intimidated and crowded by their activities. If you will not do this then I will be shopping elswehere - even if it means increasing the number of my shopping trips to Forres, Inverness or Elgin, where there are many alternatives. Once Sainsbury's opens in Nairn (which they now have Scottish Executive/Government approval to do), expect one less customer at your store on a permanent basis if you do not keep control of charity collectors in your shop. Meantime, if some of the charities are not willing to curb their natural enthusiasm when beng permitted by you to 'harrass' your customers for money, then you must keep them outside your premises - or this customer at least will be staying away. I can't force you to do this, but my small spend in your shop I can and will divert elswehere. You decide ...
Finally, absolutely none of this 'rant' is in any way directed at the check-out assitant who was only doing her job and keeping a discreet silence throughout, unlike the impertinent and quite aggressive lady collector at the next counter, who seemed to think she was running the premises, not the Co-op/Somerfield management, it appeared to me. She needs to be rmeinded by Co-op/Somerfield that their presence is granted by invitation, not by right, and that if they abuse the privilege they will be barred in future.
As I mentioned near the beginning of this article this is a problem I have encountered at this store previously, long before it became a Co-op/Somerfield outlet. It may just be a feature of the 'friendliness' for which some Nairnites seem to be renowned (amongst themselves at least, if to no-one else). I do hope that a proper supermarket, Sainsbury's, when it opens faily soon (I hope!) will keep better control of what happens in their store, just as Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, do. Incidentally, of all the supermarkets in this area, I find Asda always to be a very pleasant shopping experience - not particularly because I want to buy things there or that they are any bettter than elsewhere (or even significantly cheaper - but we have Lidl and Aldi now for that anyway, if that's important). No, the check-out people at Asda are invariably pleasant, chatty without being familiar, even when they are very busy. It is either down to the character of the average Elginite or perhaps more likely to the superior way Asda organises and motivates its staff, who from what I know are not better paid than any other supermarket staff, except from what I understand there is a genuine feeling of 'family' in that organisation, a pretty amazing feat in an organisation the size of Asda, never mind its much larger parent WalMart. I hope Sainsbury's will bring its own little piece of magic to the Nairn food retail scene in the not too distant future, to give residents and businesses here some much-needed variety and competition.
Just before writing this 'lovely' but oh-so-necessary article, I have been enjoying a roasted partridge with a glass of Amontillado, preceded by a plate of steamed fresh asparagus with a lovely piquant cream-sauce over it and I'm now listening to 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' from King's College, Cambridge - a delightful way to spend Christmas-eve afternoon, whilst eating a few post-lunch dates and figs. My little shopping trip up to the town was otherwise very pleasant - a call at the health supplement store to order some mineral supplements they get for me, then to the supermarket, going via the front here and back through the park. It is bitterly cold here today, but I was well wrapped-up and it is nice to look out over the calm sea - not forgetting to watch where one is putting one's steps, because the ground is icy and treacherous at present, however well many of the payments and roads are salted and gritted.
So what is bothering Nairn's old blogger-'curmudgeon' today? Basically it's charity-collectors at the check-outs. I am a charitable soul (no really!) and I almost always put a Pound or two into the collecting 'buckets' they use. However, one thing I cannot abide is these charity-collectors packing my shopping for me, any more than I like check-out assistants doing it for me, as they occasionally offer to do, as it is usually just chucked into bags any old how and fragile goods (salads and the like) can find themselves crushed below much heavier items. Yesterday when I was also up at the Co-op/Somerfield here the charity-collector lady immediately stood back when I indicated I was going to pack my own purchases in the shopping bags I had brought for the purpose - I still left a couple of Pounds in her bucket and all was pleasantness and light. Today was a different story, however! Today there were TWO collectors at my check-out, both teenagers (I should say 16 or 17, by the looks of them). The fact that I was carrying my own shopping bags, however, didn't deter them from grabbing some of my purchases and shoving them any old how into some Somerfield shopping bags! I had to tell them quite forcefully that I wanted to pack my own shopping, using the VERY brightly coloured canvas shopping bags I was carrying, which they could not possibly NOT have seen. The two young ladies, to do them credit, stood back and let me get on with it, but the whole bagging area was completely full of all their stiff - TWO collecting buckets and several plastic bags which they had opened and spread around the whole surface, almost, to make their jobs easier and my job as the actual customer a whole lot more difficult, with all their paraphernalia getting in my way.
I suggested, very gently, to the check-out operator (a young lady) that she tell her manager that I was not happy with feeling intimidated by the presence of two charity collectors hogging all the space and basically making a nuisance of themselves. The the older charity-collector lady at the next counter piped up, saying I should't speak 'like that' to the two youngsters at my counter - I had not once raised my voice, but I had moved the opened plastic bags out of my way and the collecting bucket nearest me I had moved onto a small shelf at the front of the bagging area, also out of my way, so I could get on with packing up my purchases. I replied to the older collector lady at the next counter that I was a customer and she, the infernal impertincence of the woman(!!) then said she was 'a member of the public'. I repeated to her that I would say what I wanted and that she wasn't going to embarrass me into silence. I then asked the check-out operator again very politely and quietly to let her manager know how unhapppy a customer (a paying customer!) had been with feeling crushed and crowded-out by charity collectors in their shop. I then said to the two young collector ladies at my check-out that I was happy to give a odnation, I just did not appreciate beinbg crowded by them - I then put a Pound coin into one of their buckets and left.
To the Co-op/Somerfield managers: I genuinely have no objection to having charity collectors around, they are usually collecting in good causes. However, you must set them ground rules not to make your customers feel intimidated and crowded by their activities. If you will not do this then I will be shopping elswehere - even if it means increasing the number of my shopping trips to Forres, Inverness or Elgin, where there are many alternatives. Once Sainsbury's opens in Nairn (which they now have Scottish Executive/Government approval to do), expect one less customer at your store on a permanent basis if you do not keep control of charity collectors in your shop. Meantime, if some of the charities are not willing to curb their natural enthusiasm when beng permitted by you to 'harrass' your customers for money, then you must keep them outside your premises - or this customer at least will be staying away. I can't force you to do this, but my small spend in your shop I can and will divert elswehere. You decide ...
Finally, absolutely none of this 'rant' is in any way directed at the check-out assitant who was only doing her job and keeping a discreet silence throughout, unlike the impertinent and quite aggressive lady collector at the next counter, who seemed to think she was running the premises, not the Co-op/Somerfield management, it appeared to me. She needs to be rmeinded by Co-op/Somerfield that their presence is granted by invitation, not by right, and that if they abuse the privilege they will be barred in future.
As I mentioned near the beginning of this article this is a problem I have encountered at this store previously, long before it became a Co-op/Somerfield outlet. It may just be a feature of the 'friendliness' for which some Nairnites seem to be renowned (amongst themselves at least, if to no-one else). I do hope that a proper supermarket, Sainsbury's, when it opens faily soon (I hope!) will keep better control of what happens in their store, just as Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, do. Incidentally, of all the supermarkets in this area, I find Asda always to be a very pleasant shopping experience - not particularly because I want to buy things there or that they are any bettter than elsewhere (or even significantly cheaper - but we have Lidl and Aldi now for that anyway, if that's important). No, the check-out people at Asda are invariably pleasant, chatty without being familiar, even when they are very busy. It is either down to the character of the average Elginite or perhaps more likely to the superior way Asda organises and motivates its staff, who from what I know are not better paid than any other supermarket staff, except from what I understand there is a genuine feeling of 'family' in that organisation, a pretty amazing feat in an organisation the size of Asda, never mind its much larger parent WalMart. I hope Sainsbury's will bring its own little piece of magic to the Nairn food retail scene in the not too distant future, to give residents and businesses here some much-needed variety and competition.
Just before writing this 'lovely' but oh-so-necessary article, I have been enjoying a roasted partridge with a glass of Amontillado, preceded by a plate of steamed fresh asparagus with a lovely piquant cream-sauce over it and I'm now listening to 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' from King's College, Cambridge - a delightful way to spend Christmas-eve afternoon, whilst eating a few post-lunch dates and figs. My little shopping trip up to the town was otherwise very pleasant - a call at the health supplement store to order some mineral supplements they get for me, then to the supermarket, going via the front here and back through the park. It is bitterly cold here today, but I was well wrapped-up and it is nice to look out over the calm sea - not forgetting to watch where one is putting one's steps, because the ground is icy and treacherous at present, however well many of the payments and roads are salted and gritted.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
The Apprentice USA - well, just wow!
I like to watch the British version of this show, with Sir Alan Sugar in charge, but the original show from the US, with Donald Trump, is I think marginally better. There's a ruthlessness and a can-do spirit in American business which is starker than even Sir Alan and his potential candidates often manage to achieve.
What we're watching in the UK just now is actually the 4th series of the US version, which was aired in the US 4 years ago. I'm pretty sure it hasn't been aired here before on terrestrial television, although it may have been shown before on satellite here, for all I know, because of course we've been having the British version instead.
Donald Trump is a fascinating character. Crass, vulgar - and very successful; and of course he has his golf course project underway in Aberdeenshire, so his name seems never to be out of the news (in Scotland, at least). The American candidates, even when they have no idea what they are talking about, can 'talk the talk' with business school jargon flowing easily, but it all boils down to whether they can 'walk the walk' and perform either in creativity or in sheer revenue-generating ability. The two shows tonight (episodes 5 and 6) showed both these business elements - and there really was no doubt about the result of either show, although the result of episode 6 produced a 'shocker' in the boardroom!
Episode 5 ('Lost in Space') involved producing a parade float to publicise a soon-to-be-released movie. Trump had started this series off a few weeks ago by having one team of 9 women ('Capital Edge') and one of 9 men ('Team Excel') and for the last few episodes the women have been losing, seemingly because of friction within the team fouling up their ability to achieve success - and their numbers had therefore become somewhat depleted. So before this episode got underway he let the women choose one of the men to join them and they chose Randal, an African-American from Philadelphia and the eventual winner of the series. The women's team lost handily, because they hadn't fulfilled the brief and the Sony studio people much preferred what the men's team had done. Randal seemed to work well with the women's team, though, and offered a pretty good analysis of where they were going wrong.
On to Episode 6 ('Take Me Out to the Boardroom'); this involved producing an 'event' in a sporting goods store to see which team could increase sales in their chosen area by the biggest percentage. For this epsiode he got the team leader of the women's team to choose 3 women to go across to the men's team, the 3 women she most wanted to lose. Then he got the team-leader of the men's team to choose the 3 men he most wanted to lose to transfer to join the women's team. Basically the notional women's team (now of course with 4 men in it) won because they increased sales by a huge 74 per cent, with most of the women and the men in the team coming up to the plate and achieving good results. Similarly the notional men's team now of course had 3 women in their number, but in my view the real reason they fouled up was because the team leader allowed one of the men to take over and dominate their effort because he had a favourite sport and he and the rest of the team forgot the object wasn't to show off at the sport or to teach kids to play it, but to push product sales!
Now the shocks started - and illustrated why Trump has been so successful. Trump overrode the right of the losing team leader to choose whom to bring back into the boardroom. Instead he told 2 of the women and 1 of the men (the one who was exempt from the previous episode) to go straight back to the penthouse apartment, as all were thought to have performed well by the whole team. Trump wanted 4 back in the boardroom - the male team leader, 2 men and 1 woman. After an acrimonious boardroom scene, which descended into all 4 bickering and shouting across each other, Trump then fired all four! Undoubtedly the correct decision, although the male team leader and the woman stood out for being in their different ways completely hopeless - he ineffective at managing the team, she not living up to her own estimation that she was a killer salesperson. The other 2 men lost sight of the objective being to sell, sell, sell. Definitely one of the best episodes I've seen, from either the US or British series of the programme; it's just a pity that it has been shunted off to such a graveyard time-slot, particularly the 2nd episode each week.
Beyond this, I'm wondering if the reason the BBC is showing Trump again is because they are dropping/shelving Sir Alan Sugar until after the next general election because of his involvement with the Labour Party as a so-called 'business czar'. Whatever the reason, I'm certainly glad to have the opportunity to see more of 'The Donald', because whether you love or loathe the man he does make a good television personality and his business acumen and judgement aren't in doubt, as was certainly in evidence tonight.
What we're watching in the UK just now is actually the 4th series of the US version, which was aired in the US 4 years ago. I'm pretty sure it hasn't been aired here before on terrestrial television, although it may have been shown before on satellite here, for all I know, because of course we've been having the British version instead.
Donald Trump is a fascinating character. Crass, vulgar - and very successful; and of course he has his golf course project underway in Aberdeenshire, so his name seems never to be out of the news (in Scotland, at least). The American candidates, even when they have no idea what they are talking about, can 'talk the talk' with business school jargon flowing easily, but it all boils down to whether they can 'walk the walk' and perform either in creativity or in sheer revenue-generating ability. The two shows tonight (episodes 5 and 6) showed both these business elements - and there really was no doubt about the result of either show, although the result of episode 6 produced a 'shocker' in the boardroom!
Episode 5 ('Lost in Space') involved producing a parade float to publicise a soon-to-be-released movie. Trump had started this series off a few weeks ago by having one team of 9 women ('Capital Edge') and one of 9 men ('Team Excel') and for the last few episodes the women have been losing, seemingly because of friction within the team fouling up their ability to achieve success - and their numbers had therefore become somewhat depleted. So before this episode got underway he let the women choose one of the men to join them and they chose Randal, an African-American from Philadelphia and the eventual winner of the series. The women's team lost handily, because they hadn't fulfilled the brief and the Sony studio people much preferred what the men's team had done. Randal seemed to work well with the women's team, though, and offered a pretty good analysis of where they were going wrong.
On to Episode 6 ('Take Me Out to the Boardroom'); this involved producing an 'event' in a sporting goods store to see which team could increase sales in their chosen area by the biggest percentage. For this epsiode he got the team leader of the women's team to choose 3 women to go across to the men's team, the 3 women she most wanted to lose. Then he got the team-leader of the men's team to choose the 3 men he most wanted to lose to transfer to join the women's team. Basically the notional women's team (now of course with 4 men in it) won because they increased sales by a huge 74 per cent, with most of the women and the men in the team coming up to the plate and achieving good results. Similarly the notional men's team now of course had 3 women in their number, but in my view the real reason they fouled up was because the team leader allowed one of the men to take over and dominate their effort because he had a favourite sport and he and the rest of the team forgot the object wasn't to show off at the sport or to teach kids to play it, but to push product sales!
Now the shocks started - and illustrated why Trump has been so successful. Trump overrode the right of the losing team leader to choose whom to bring back into the boardroom. Instead he told 2 of the women and 1 of the men (the one who was exempt from the previous episode) to go straight back to the penthouse apartment, as all were thought to have performed well by the whole team. Trump wanted 4 back in the boardroom - the male team leader, 2 men and 1 woman. After an acrimonious boardroom scene, which descended into all 4 bickering and shouting across each other, Trump then fired all four! Undoubtedly the correct decision, although the male team leader and the woman stood out for being in their different ways completely hopeless - he ineffective at managing the team, she not living up to her own estimation that she was a killer salesperson. The other 2 men lost sight of the objective being to sell, sell, sell. Definitely one of the best episodes I've seen, from either the US or British series of the programme; it's just a pity that it has been shunted off to such a graveyard time-slot, particularly the 2nd episode each week.
Beyond this, I'm wondering if the reason the BBC is showing Trump again is because they are dropping/shelving Sir Alan Sugar until after the next general election because of his involvement with the Labour Party as a so-called 'business czar'. Whatever the reason, I'm certainly glad to have the opportunity to see more of 'The Donald', because whether you love or loathe the man he does make a good television personality and his business acumen and judgement aren't in doubt, as was certainly in evidence tonight.
Thursday, 6 August 2009
The party's over for coffee-shop laptop-users during the downturn ...
... at least it is in New York in some independent coffee-shops who provide free wi-fi access, not to mention power-points for customers to recharge their laptop batteries; some locations in San Fransisco are beginning to do likewise. The problem is customers who nurse one coffee sometimes for several hours whilst surfing the net, taking up seats that more profitable customers could occupy.
(thru Barcepundit)
(thru Barcepundit)
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Asda gets go-ahead for superstore in Inverness
The Scottish Executive (aka 'Scottish Government') has apparently granted Asda outline planning permission to open its superstore in Inverness at Slackbuie. At long last, 'Tesco Town' will have some serious competition to back-up the Morrisons outlet near the Eastgate Centre.
Tesco currently has three outlets in Inverness (with permission already granted for a fourth). Other supermarkets operating in Inverness include Lidl (with plans to open a second store), Aldi and the Co-op.
For Asda it will be its first store in Inverness and in the Highlands - the nearest store currently is in Elgin. As with the Asda application, the application by Sainsbury to open a supermarket in Nairn (also its first in the Highlands - nearest is in Aberdeen) was 'called in' by the Scottish Executive (aka 'Scottish Government') following its approval, against planning officials' recommendation, by Highland Council; a public inquiry was held recently in Nairn and it is hoped (by me and many others in Nairn) that Sainsbury will soon be granted approval to go ahead with this much-needed food retail outlet.
Tesco currently has three outlets in Inverness (with permission already granted for a fourth). Other supermarkets operating in Inverness include Lidl (with plans to open a second store), Aldi and the Co-op.
For Asda it will be its first store in Inverness and in the Highlands - the nearest store currently is in Elgin. As with the Asda application, the application by Sainsbury to open a supermarket in Nairn (also its first in the Highlands - nearest is in Aberdeen) was 'called in' by the Scottish Executive (aka 'Scottish Government') following its approval, against planning officials' recommendation, by Highland Council; a public inquiry was held recently in Nairn and it is hoped (by me and many others in Nairn) that Sainsbury will soon be granted approval to go ahead with this much-needed food retail outlet.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Crass stupidity at Somerfield, Nairn!
Somerfield is the larger of the two supermarkets we have in Nairn, but is of course now owned by the operator of the other smaller supermarket - the Co-op; it has a limited range of merchandise because of its limited floorspace - the prices aren't that great either. One might have thought that 'customer service' would be paramount, specially when rival Sainsbury may get final approval soon (I hope!) to open a largish edge-of-town supermarket here, or even to encourage people to do a little shopping here meantime, rather than popping off to Forres or Inverness for everything. But no, such considerations do not seem to apply in the surreal world of Somerfield.
So, what has set me off today? I was up in town a short while ago to do a little shopping; I did think when heading for the roundabout in my car that I might just carry straight on and visit Tesco in Forres, but decided to turn right instead and be 'loyal' and keep the small amount I planned to spend for a local outlet, although of course I bought things I don't really need in addition. In retrospect I should should have gone to Forres!
Bill potters around Somerfield, gets his Telegraph, his Nairnshire (the local 'rag', published weekly on a Tuesday [I was indisposed yesterday]), his Radio Times for next week's TV/radio listings) and continues around the store putting a few other items in his basket (some fruit, some mozzarella, some fish etc) and the fateful item - a bottle of sherry of the amontillado variety. At the check-out the young lady (I've already realised she is a rather sullen young person who gave neither the previous customer nor me the merest glimmer of recognition and whose name as shown on her name-badge I shall refrain from recording here, only 'cause basically I'm a nice guy[+]) picks up the bottle and rather than scan it, turns her head to attract the attention of one of the other check-out assistants (a middle-aged lady I've seen there before) and points out the bottle to her, the latter nods briefly and my check-out assistant proceeds to scan the bottle. I had, at that stage, no idea what was going on and asked her 'what was all that about?' in what I hope was a quizzical, but humourous, tone. She, without hardly glancing at me to respond then said "can only sell alochol to people over 18". No "I" or even "We" you notice - basically verbal 'texting' language in other words.
I then innocently asked her "Do you think I don't look 18?" - no response, other than a sullen shrug of the shoulders. I then said "Well, there must be a lot more[*] wrong with your eyes. I wish I was only 18, but sadly that's not the case." A sullen glare from the check-out assistant and more shrugging of the shoulders was all I got from her, accompanied fortunately by a chuckle of wry amusement from the next customer who happened to be a middle-aged sari-clad Indian lady who is, I have no doubt, a veteran of much more serious abuse than that to which I had been subjected in the name of 'just following orders' (where have I heard that before) and worse, without the exercise of any sort of judgement whatsoever.
For the record I am 57 years old, not 'old looking' for my age certainly, but I doubt that anyone on the planet could reasonably confuse me with a sub-18 year old! Perhaps in my mid-20s (33 or 34 years ago) that might have been a reasonable cause for doubt, but since I turned 30 even I, in my vainer moments, would be forced to accept that would have been fanciful. Like many westerners in recent generations I've never had to do physical labour in my life and as I have never smoked and drink alcohol fairly moderately I have probably 'aged well' - but unfortunately, and completely incontrovertibly to all but the completely sightless, not THAT well.
[+] But not that nice after all, I find. You can find her name easily enough if you know the alphabet as these are the letters of her name - 11 1 25 1 - according to their order in the alphabet.
[*] She wore spectacles, as do I.
So, what has set me off today? I was up in town a short while ago to do a little shopping; I did think when heading for the roundabout in my car that I might just carry straight on and visit Tesco in Forres, but decided to turn right instead and be 'loyal' and keep the small amount I planned to spend for a local outlet, although of course I bought things I don't really need in addition. In retrospect I should should have gone to Forres!
Bill potters around Somerfield, gets his Telegraph, his Nairnshire (the local 'rag', published weekly on a Tuesday [I was indisposed yesterday]), his Radio Times for next week's TV/radio listings) and continues around the store putting a few other items in his basket (some fruit, some mozzarella, some fish etc) and the fateful item - a bottle of sherry of the amontillado variety. At the check-out the young lady (I've already realised she is a rather sullen young person who gave neither the previous customer nor me the merest glimmer of recognition and whose name as shown on her name-badge I shall refrain from recording here, only 'cause basically I'm a nice guy[+]) picks up the bottle and rather than scan it, turns her head to attract the attention of one of the other check-out assistants (a middle-aged lady I've seen there before) and points out the bottle to her, the latter nods briefly and my check-out assistant proceeds to scan the bottle. I had, at that stage, no idea what was going on and asked her 'what was all that about?' in what I hope was a quizzical, but humourous, tone. She, without hardly glancing at me to respond then said "can only sell alochol to people over 18". No "I" or even "We" you notice - basically verbal 'texting' language in other words.
I then innocently asked her "Do you think I don't look 18?" - no response, other than a sullen shrug of the shoulders. I then said "Well, there must be a lot more[*] wrong with your eyes. I wish I was only 18, but sadly that's not the case." A sullen glare from the check-out assistant and more shrugging of the shoulders was all I got from her, accompanied fortunately by a chuckle of wry amusement from the next customer who happened to be a middle-aged sari-clad Indian lady who is, I have no doubt, a veteran of much more serious abuse than that to which I had been subjected in the name of 'just following orders' (where have I heard that before) and worse, without the exercise of any sort of judgement whatsoever.
For the record I am 57 years old, not 'old looking' for my age certainly, but I doubt that anyone on the planet could reasonably confuse me with a sub-18 year old! Perhaps in my mid-20s (33 or 34 years ago) that might have been a reasonable cause for doubt, but since I turned 30 even I, in my vainer moments, would be forced to accept that would have been fanciful. Like many westerners in recent generations I've never had to do physical labour in my life and as I have never smoked and drink alcohol fairly moderately I have probably 'aged well' - but unfortunately, and completely incontrovertibly to all but the completely sightless, not THAT well.
[+] But not that nice after all, I find. You can find her name easily enough if you know the alphabet as these are the letters of her name - 11 1 25 1 - according to their order in the alphabet.
[*] She wore spectacles, as do I.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Tesco gets planning approval for 4th Inverness store ...
... amid dissent within the Council, silenced by the planning committee chairman.
Now, does anyone think this planning committee decision affecting Inverness will be 'called in' by the Scottish Executive (aka 'Government') as was similar council approval for a Sainsburys in Nairn? Of course, 'over the border' in Forres (i.e. Moray, rather than Highland Region) supermarket chain Lidl seems to have been able to move with remarkable speed.
What is it about Nairn? Mind you, things are not advanced here (in my humble opinion) by the rather 'beggar thy neighbour' attitude of too many Nairn residents, groups of whom have 'successfully' (if that is the right word) blocked most commercial developments in the town for decades, never mind years!
Now, does anyone think this planning committee decision affecting Inverness will be 'called in' by the Scottish Executive (aka 'Government') as was similar council approval for a Sainsburys in Nairn? Of course, 'over the border' in Forres (i.e. Moray, rather than Highland Region) supermarket chain Lidl seems to have been able to move with remarkable speed.
What is it about Nairn? Mind you, things are not advanced here (in my humble opinion) by the rather 'beggar thy neighbour' attitude of too many Nairn residents, groups of whom have 'successfully' (if that is the right word) blocked most commercial developments in the town for decades, never mind years!
Friday, 9 January 2009
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Bill's off again ...
... back to Spain. I travel tomorrow and hope to reach my house late tomorrow night/early Thursday morning. I'll be back in Nairn at the end of September.
There is so much turmoil going on in the world economy and the British Labour Party (this is just the latest body-blow amongst many to hit PM Gordon Brown) at present that one hardly knows where to begin; I have therefore taken the easy option of blogging little on this or really on any other topic, simply because I have had so many other things to do over the past few weeks.
My emotions about what is going on in the world economy are mainly 'apprehension', but not 'panic' - I expect I am a lot better-placed than many, but what is occurring right now is unlikely to leave anyone untouched, but there's not a lot I can do in practical terms that I haven't already done. I tend to think, though, that there will be some excellent buying opportunities in due course, provided one picks with care - and that depends on accurate information, not a readily available commodity and unlikely to be had for free, if it is of any real value.
As for the Labour Party; well, my general attitude is a mixture of mirth, anger and once again apprehension. The mirth because it has finally become clear to everyone (except perhaps some completely-blinkered or delusional Labour 'drones') just how useless and damaging were the policies of our former Chancellor Gordon Brown from the day he entered 11 Downing Street in 1997 and the folly of those (even some right-of-centre people who should have known better - e.g. Janet Daly) who thought he would make a good PM and were fooled by his apparent success in that job for the first few months. Anger - obvious really, because he, Tony Blair and his present cronies collectively engineered the disastrous state of the British economy so that it is in a very poor condition to with-stand the world-wide economic downturn, without even getting good value for all the money squandered on the NHS and his mania for 'credits' for what seems like half the population; even their paid-for loyalty is wearing thin now, isn't it? Apprehension - well again obvious, because when this lot finally leave office, there will be a huge mess to clear up which will take years to achieve. Fare thee well, everbody - and keep your powder dry, the day of reckoning for the crowd who govern us is fast approaching.
Altogether not a very pleasing prospect - so I'm taking myself off to Spain and mostly forgetting about it for the next couple of weeks. If there is a complete melt-down of civilisation whilst I'm there, well there could be worse places to be stranded!
There is so much turmoil going on in the world economy and the British Labour Party (this is just the latest body-blow amongst many to hit PM Gordon Brown) at present that one hardly knows where to begin; I have therefore taken the easy option of blogging little on this or really on any other topic, simply because I have had so many other things to do over the past few weeks.
My emotions about what is going on in the world economy are mainly 'apprehension', but not 'panic' - I expect I am a lot better-placed than many, but what is occurring right now is unlikely to leave anyone untouched, but there's not a lot I can do in practical terms that I haven't already done. I tend to think, though, that there will be some excellent buying opportunities in due course, provided one picks with care - and that depends on accurate information, not a readily available commodity and unlikely to be had for free, if it is of any real value.
As for the Labour Party; well, my general attitude is a mixture of mirth, anger and once again apprehension. The mirth because it has finally become clear to everyone (except perhaps some completely-blinkered or delusional Labour 'drones') just how useless and damaging were the policies of our former Chancellor Gordon Brown from the day he entered 11 Downing Street in 1997 and the folly of those (even some right-of-centre people who should have known better - e.g. Janet Daly) who thought he would make a good PM and were fooled by his apparent success in that job for the first few months. Anger - obvious really, because he, Tony Blair and his present cronies collectively engineered the disastrous state of the British economy so that it is in a very poor condition to with-stand the world-wide economic downturn, without even getting good value for all the money squandered on the NHS and his mania for 'credits' for what seems like half the population; even their paid-for loyalty is wearing thin now, isn't it? Apprehension - well again obvious, because when this lot finally leave office, there will be a huge mess to clear up which will take years to achieve. Fare thee well, everbody - and keep your powder dry, the day of reckoning for the crowd who govern us is fast approaching.
Altogether not a very pleasing prospect - so I'm taking myself off to Spain and mostly forgetting about it for the next couple of weeks. If there is a complete melt-down of civilisation whilst I'm there, well there could be worse places to be stranded!
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