Metropol

I was in my town centre Sainsbury's the other day (which is inexplicably not a local or a central store, but a full blown Sainsbury's situated next to Wilko) and had my self service till (sporting the new logo etc) start to refuse my coins (it was a version with a coin slot, not a dump slot, I noted.) I assumed this meant I would have to pay off the balance by card, but of course the screen then stopped responding and the card machine read 'Please wait' as it of course wanted me to press 'pay by card' on the terminal... One of those staff intervention screens then came up with 'System message' or something on it, which turned out to be instructions on restarting the thing as the coin hopper had given up. During this it said that whilst I had a balance of 30p or something to pay, I hadn't paid any of it, so was nearly charged twice on a second terminal.

Oddly, it then flashed through the 'please enter your card' screen a few times and went back to normal.

WillPS wrote:I can't believe people still use cash tbh. What's the point?

I actually find self service tills a useful way to get rid of cash I've accumulated from elsewhere (change from bars, taxis, small purchases in newsagents etc). If you're only buying a sandwich and a drink it's a good place to dump change, and even if it doesn't make the full amount you can pay the balance by card without annoying a cashier.

Critique wrote:I was in my town centre Sainsbury's the other day (which is inexplicably not a local or a central store, but a full blown Sainsbury's situated next to Wilko)

I don't think Sainsbury's Central is a format anymore is it? It's either Sainsbury's Local or just Sainsbury's.

Whataday wrote:

Critique wrote:I was in my town centre Sainsbury's the other day (which is inexplicably not a local or a central store, but a full blown Sainsbury's situated next to Wilko)

I don't think Sainsbury's Central is a format anymore is it? It's either Sainsbury's Local or just Sainsbury's.

They still exist, although they are being converted gradually - mostly to the main store format.

WillPS wrote:

Whataday wrote:

Critique wrote:I was in my town centre Sainsbury's the other day (which is inexplicably not a local or a central store, but a full blown Sainsbury's situated next to Wilko)

I don't think Sainsbury's Central is a format anymore is it? It's either Sainsbury's Local or just Sainsbury's.

They still exist, although they are being converted gradually - mostly to the main store format.

Yes I'm aware they don't create stores with the Central format anymore, but some do still exist until they're converted over - I'm sure I read on a Sainsbury's advert somewhere the offer excluded 'Local and Central' stores. I was just making the distinction that the store in question was never a Central format store.

Not uncommon in any case. Sainsburys in Derby's Eagle/Westfield/Intu centre has always been just a Sainsburys. There's another in a town somewhere (I want to say Wolverhampton but I'm not certain) which is built in a former church which always has been.

Worth remembering the Central brand rollout was relatively shortlived - it started in 1998 and by 2009 Central stores were losing their 'Central' designation. Incidentally what I think was the first Tesco Metro, in Victoria Centre Nottingham has just lost its 'Metro' designation despite the store itself remaining exactly the same. I presume it's considered too large for the Metro estate by current standards.

I always find the Tesco Superstore with actual "Superstore" branding in Liverpool One baffling.

Don't Asda have oddly branded Asda Wal-Mart Superstores?

thegeek wrote:I think the new card machines at Tesco are less fussy about when you present a card - in fact, am I right in saying that you can tap a contactless card without having to press the card button?

Turns out I'm wrong - you do indeed need to press the button for contactless cards before presenting a contactless card.

Asda Walmart Supercentres. The one near me has an odd "Disney" area, taking over the area previously dedicated to a couple of aisles, unlike anything I've seen anywhere else... Seems an odd choice for a relatively premium brand. There's not even a dedicated POS.

tillyoshea wrote:Asda Walmart Supercentres. The one near me has an odd "Disney" area, taking over the area previously dedicated to a couple of aisles, unlike anything I've seen anywhere else... Seems an odd choice for a relatively premium brand. There's not even a dedicated POS.

Yes there are a handful of these Cardiff, Grimsby, Milton Keynes & Trafford Park I believe. Basically a Disney store dropped into the middle of an Asda.