I don't know if this post will stay on here, I hope so!
Anybody who is thinking of buying a DVD player or TV from Safeway supermarkets - BEWARE!
What Safeway aren't telling anybody, is that the electrical goods are RECONDITIONED!
The only thing they are telling you on the boxes is that they are GRADE-B which probably means nothing to the casual shopper!
I bought a 20inch normal square television on Saturday as a spare for the bedroom for £60 (yeah, seems cheap), got it home and unwrapped it only to find the screen was scratched, the on/off button didn't work and there was even a half-full packet of Walkers crisps in the bottom of the box!?!?!
Obviously, I took it straight back to get another (thinking it was a one off) and it was only when I asked at the customer service desk if they were new, I was told they were used/returned televisions to BEKO and they were selling them on for the company.
I asked for the manager who told me they were marked up with a large sign. I told him to show me and guess what? There was no sign to be seen anywhere! There were people looking at them too until they heard me going barmy! They didn't realise the TV's were used either!
Not all items they have are used, just the ones with a TINY Grade B sticker in the corner......
I got my money back and have recieved 3 emails from Safeway customer services at their head-office! They say they are going to contact the Sheffield branches and make them put up large reconditioned signs!
If they don't do that within 2 days, I'm contacting the government watchdog because it is actually illegal by not stating clearly what the goods are!

Space

if they had a grade-b sticker on they are clearly marked, so the gov. watchdog will dismiss your case AFAIK

if you buy grade-b stuff always check it firstly

If I went into a reputable supermarket, such as Safeway, with the intention of buying a Television and saw a sticker with 'Grade B' on the side of the box, I would expect for it to be end of line stock from an electrical dealer, or at worst a reconditioned TV. Either way, I would still expect the product to be fully functional. The scratched screen alone is reason enough to take the TV back to the shop, in my opinion, but for the On/Off button to be not working is just a joke.
As for the half packet of crisps in the bottom of the box, please tell me you made that bit up, because if that is true I would have requested to see the Store Manager, and shoved the crisps where the sun don't shine!

Safeway should not be allowed to get away with this.

i agree this needs to be sorted, as this case is unacceptable, but grade B generally means what you see is what you get, and if you dont check an item, its your perogative

I was in Safeway on Wednesday last week and spotted the pile of DVDs - near the eggs. I saw the sign stating that they were reconditioned and I thought that this was typical of the standards of Safeway - no wonder that the company is being sold. Why would anyone want to buy something reconditioned from a supermarket? Supermarkets don't sell reconditioned stuff. This just shows how Safeway has become the bottom end of the market when it comes to places to buy your groceries from.

I have had cause to complain to the website on a couple of occasions mainly for staff rudeness (I unpiled my trolley onto the conveyor belt once, while the cashier watched me. She then told me that she only dealt with 10 items or less and watched me have to repack my trolley again - spiteful!). In the time it took me to queue at the next till and go through the motions and leave, she didn't serve anyone! Other complaints have been rudeness in the spirits section, rudeness at another cash till and so on.

Perhaps once the company has changed hands we may see standards rise. I only shop at Safeway in emergencies now, because it is across the road from my pub. It's not cheap in there either.

There, I think I've moaned enough about Safeway. Someone elses turn now.... :?

They also have piped music in the Infirmary Road branch which puts me off shopping there. Sorry Classic Rock, I had to put that in. Also apologies if you didn't like the tone of an earler posting. You should hear me in real life.

Incidentally, I asked the Safeway opposite you why they didn't have piped music as all the others do. The response was that they had had a lot of complaints about it. It seems it's a middle class thing.

On the general subject of Safeway I agree that they are dumbing down. At the Infirmary Road one they once had a trailer backed up to the front doors selling re-conditioned stuff and other cheap tatt including 'capo di monte' porcelain. It looked more like a car boot sale than a supermarket.

Originally posted by "maxt"

It seems it's a middle class thing.

I don't think you'll find the middle classes shopping in Safeway. In fact, I don't think the middle classes go shopping at all - they have servants to do that.

Working class = people who work
Middle class = too rich to work, have servants
Upper class = lords and ladies and royalty.

Not seen many servants walking round Safeway, maybe its these people who buy Grade B DVD's for their living quarters and have been complaining about the piped music.

God you just cant get good servants these days! Whats the world coming too :D

ROFL !!!!

If I knew what Grade B meant in the first place, I certainly wouldn't have bought the thing at all. The Grade B sticker is about 25mm x 12mm long/wide and is out of view because of the flaps on the boxes.

It looks like their head office has been in touch with them because they now have LARGE RED swinging signs with "USED" all over them!

How many people have bought them thinking they were new though???

Theres a large article about Grade B goods in last weeks Computer Active magazine. Apparently, its a new law where companies like Safeway can sell used crap as long as it has a tiny sticker on the box!
Hope this doesn't catch on....

Grade B or not, Safeway should not have been selling them. People expect a supermarket to sell new and fresh goods, not act like some catalogue returns shop or junkshop.

however WHSmiths are offering a nice unit for 49 quid currently. Looks to be multi-region, svcd,vcd, cdrw, cdr,mp3 compatible. A breeze for the money with 2 years guarantee.

Best bargain at meadowhell.

M.

Originally posted by "Classic Rock"

ROFL !!!!
Hmm, whats that mean.

Originally posted by "The Cycleracer"

ROFL !!!!
Hmm, whats that mean.

Rolling On Floor Laughing.