Opinions on "Fresh and Easy"

[propita]

I finally went into one, despite the two guys picketing.

While some of the prices weren't competitive, like any other store, careful shopping meant I just picked up things at a good price. And I liked the smaller quantity/size of some of the things at Costco-equivalent value.

Has anyone tried their beef, chicken, or fish? Is it of good quality (especially the fish)?

 

[RoJoHen]

I have never heard of such a place. It sounds like a brothel for clean, hygienic whores.

 

[Captain Ice]

The beef and the chicken are both excellent quality, as are the prepared foods. Their prices are a little high on dairy and produce, but oftentimes better than the chains on other items. Their bread is top notch.

 

[thestrangequark]

I have never heard of such a place. It sounds like a brothel for clean, hygienic whores.

Maybe I'm influenced by the douche thread, but it sounded like feminine wipes to me!

 

[RoJoHen]

In that case, I think they're great!

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Huh. I'd never heard of them, but evidently they are owned by Tesco, so a lot of people really hate them. At least enough to set up websites about how much they suck.

 

[Holdfast]

Why are people picketing Tesco's? It's not as if they're particularly different to most other large supermarket retailers.

 

[scotpens]

I have never heard of such a place. It sounds like a brothel for clean, hygienic whores.

Maybe I'm influenced by the douche thread, but it sounded like feminine wipes to me!

That was my first thought -- "Fresh and Easy" sounds like a feminine hygiene product.

So why were they being picketed?

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

While they're good, and quite big here in CA, i still prefer Trader Joe's.

 

[wamdue]

Is there no way you can go, to get away from Tesco? Do you think I could get Clubcard points there?

 

[sojourner]

What's with the picketing?

 

[propita]

The store is not unionized. The flyer from the store says that's up to the employees, not the store, to decide to unionize.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

I have never heard of such a place. It sounds like a brothel for clean, hygienic whores.

I never heard of this place either. Must be a Ca. thing?

 

[CaptainStoner]

The store is not unionized. The flyer from the store says that's up to the employees, not the store, to decide to unionize.

Isn't that how it always breaks down? It takes a lot of inertia to unionize and management will meanwhile try to bribe/intimidate the staff into voting against it.

 

[doubleohfive]

I think half of it is a fair description of ShamelessMcBundy

 

[Trekker4747]

Sounds like the name of a douche product to me.

 

[M'Sharak]

I have never heard of such a place. It sounds like a brothel for clean, hygienic whores.

I never heard of this place either. Must be a Ca. thing?

Tesco is a British company, but their Fresh & Easy markets have been opening in CA, AZ and NV over the last two or three years.

http://www.freshandeasy.com/WhereWeAre.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_&_Easy

There's one here in town but I haven't checked it out yet.

 

[Holdfast]

The store is not unionized.

Yawn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresh_&_Easy

Interesting quote in that article from the chap now heading this operation in the US:

"Probably the most surprising thing to me was the number of different stores that an American family uses to shop. They shop in up to 20 different stores – many more than the equivalent would in the UK. They will use different types of shop for their food, for their cleaning products and for their personal care products. What I discovered is that you just can't get everything that you want in one place... The main retail brands in Britain have much higher levels of loyalty and genuinely do fulfil the notion of a one-stop shop. That's less of the case here. People will wait for flyers and coupons and indeed, people who have time but not money, will actually take their shopping list and walk to two or three big players and then decide what to buy."—Tim Mason, 2007[19]

Do Americans really do their weekly shop or whatever like that? It would drive me nuts having to go to several supermarkets. I really like that I can go to Tesco and get everything I want in one go. I mean, yes, I do top up with goodies from Waitrose on an occasional basis because some of their food really is better, but otherwise I just get everything I need from Tesco's.

 

[propita]

I think what you have to remember is that, for Americans not living in a big city, there are not grocers on every block. I saw that in San Francisco and NYC. Very nice, but I'm not sure I'd trust the tiny markets that are somewhat near me, especially for quality of meats and produce. They just can't compete to get the better quality.

The nearest supermarket to me (a Savemart)--and a relatively small one at that--is five blocks away. Not far for a few things, but buying potatoes, eggs, milk, etc, at the same time? The supermarket I usually go to (Vons) is about 3 1/2 miles away. I usually try to route my errands so that I'm making a loop, with my last stop there.

There's a Whole Foods about 3 1/2 miles in a slightly different direction (turn right for Vons, keep straight for WF). Their prices are usually higher, but Hubby and I are thinking of changing our eating habits a bit, decreasing quantity and increasing quality, so this may be more worth it.

F&E would be on my route depending on that day's errands, just as Trader Joe's would be on my route if my errands took me in that direction instead.

 

[Holdfast]

The nearest supermarket to me (a Savemart)--and a relatively small one at that--is five blocks away. Not far for a few things, but buying potatoes, eggs, milk, etc, at the same time? The supermarket I usually go to (Vons) is about 3 1/2 miles away. I usually try to route my errands so that I'm making a loop, with my last stop there.

I don't understand. Why does the distance matter? Why not just go your favourite one (the Vons, presumably) and get whatever you need there. Load up the car with everything at once, and that's it for shopping at least several days, if not a week. No need to go to multiple places unless it's for specific treats.

I'm sure I'm missing something because it's clearly a genuine US/UK difference based not just on our replies, but the quote I quoted from the CEO. Intriguing!