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Sainsburys - IanS (14th Sep 2013 - 16:50:06) Is it too much to expect Sainsburys to staff their meat counter with someone who has heard of brisket. They had the outfit and the sign suggested you ask for help but....... Oh I wish we had a butchers in the village!

Re: Sainsburys - Tracey (14th Sep 2013 - 19:35:01) I was also in sainsburys on Friday asking for brisket at the meat counter. The lad didn't have a clue what it was.

Re: Sainsburys - Hugh Man (14th Sep 2013 - 21:11:16) Kindly showing tolerant patience and perhaps some friendly advice seems to me much more human than patronising and moaning behind the back of a new lad trying to start a career in service. There’s little pride to be had in one’s superior vocabulary when one is unable to communicate with the less experienced. The solution is in good communication (yes, do ask for help or simply say what you want in plain, un-coded English) and some grace. Formal training is good for what it is, but real life experience has special value too, so long as done graciously in a friendly dignified manner. Have a go? If we keep complaining and firing our less experienced staff, this is exactly what we should expect to be left with. Give them a fair chance, no more, for everybody’s sake.

Re: Sainsburys - Mrs (14th Sep 2013 - 21:12:10) Try asking for a neck end of lamb, they did know what that is either.

Re: Sainsburys - IanS (15th Sep 2013 - 00:42:43) The point being made originally was not primarily of criticism of the staff member ( not a new lad as Hughman states) but a general observation that supermarkets despite all their advertising that they provide comparable services to the local shops they put out of business when they open up, just do not deliver. I do not think that it is too much to expect a business that promotes a service to actually provides the staff that are trained to provide a basic service knowledge of the product. When I tried to explain to the lady on the meat counter what brisket actually was ( she did not know it was beef!) she explained that unles it was labelled she had no idea what meat was what. And just before we get more PC nonsense about tolerance and patience etc this was a mature lady who has been an employee for a number of years and clearly had not been trained or prepared for working on her own on the fish and meat counter .

Re: Sainsburys - Keith (15th Sep 2013 - 10:26:03) Hugh I'm sorry but what a load of twaddle! I'm sure a company the size of Sainsbury's could easily afford to pay for full training for the staff of their specialist counters if they chose to, it's simply that they would prefer to keep their money in their shareholder's pockets. It should not be the responsibility of the customer to train the shop staff, that responsibility lands firmly on the store owner. I agree that the individual staff member concerned should not be vilified for their lack of knowledge but please don't lecture people with sanctimonious PC clap-trap. If highlighting staff deficiencies on a forum such as this has even the slightest influence on Sainsbury's management, both locally and nationally, then that has to be all for the good. I do not think it unreasonable that a member of the public should expect a member of staff on the butcher's counter to recognise different cuts of meat, just as it is reasonable to expect a staff member on a fish counter to identify fish species by sight without having to refer to the label. PC education and attitude should not result in a rush to the bottom, where the lowest common denominator becomes the norm!

Re: Sainsburys - H (15th Sep 2013 - 12:28:08) I think we are all getting a bit pompous here. Go to a good butcher such as Kaighin and Daughters or the one in Rowledge. Pay more than you do for the food in Sainsbury, or comparable supermarket. Sainsburys as an employer will probably be paying the assistant basic minimum wage? what is that 5.90 per hour? they are not going to be investing in much staff training are they? The supermarket does not have a butchery out back for goodness sake!

Re: Sainsburys - Hugh Man (15th Sep 2013 - 17:28:37) All I suggested was a measure of human kindness as a possible measure to improve the level of service we get in return. I added to give a fair chance, not more. For this I got accused of 'sanctimonious PC clap-trap'... Well, independent butchers are not perfect either. I can't see how cowardly going behind someone's back and get them fired, then treat the next novice employee in the same way is going to bring about excellence... Good luck though.

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