She couldn't be more wrong, now I'm not a fan of the major supermarkets but I've been in enough of them in the last three years to know they do care about the shopping experience.
There are lots of points the can be pulled up on mind.

They are misters for the herb and specialist salad island, utilising ice that is produced for the fresh fish slab. It's a good idea and does seem to keep cut herbs and salads in good condition. The downside is: once you prgress through the checkout, you can see the herbs visibly wilting but I suppose that's no longer Morrison's problem

So more smoke (or mist) and mirrors then rather than any real improvement.

Yeah. They want you in and out of their grotesque metal boxes as quickly as possible with the biggest spend possible.

Another one of Tesco's wheezes is, allegedly, that when the in store baked bread doesn't sell they slice it and put it on display next day. I always wondered why that sort of sliced bread of theirs goes stale so quickly or is sometimes stale when you open it.

Indeed but they also want you to return.

For all their faults, service on the shop floor at the big supermarkets has dramatically improved in the last 10 years.

They're a supermarket.

You'll be expecting them to sell things like fresh fish and matured beef next

But I wasn't the one saying they had come out of the 80's mate.

For what it's worth I find the counters in Morrisons some of the better ones around, at least the can fillet and skin which is more than ASDA and Tesco can.

Not true at all.
The longer you are in the more you spend.

They do want you to have a nice time so you come back so your comment about 'not remotely interested' is incorrect.
Be polite, Be helpful, Make sure you say goodbye in a cheery manner etc.

Supermarkets maybe a lot of things but not what you are saying they are in this case.

More like respond to a customer, smile, take them to the product they are asking about, ask if they need anything else, smile, say goodbye. But the gist is right. The Co-Op have been trying for two years to match ASDA customer service wise and they still can't touch them.

Pick up a freshly baked loaf and ask them to slice it. Sorted.

FWIW, I use Tesco for the 'basics' and get them to deliver. Saves me a fortune when otherwise I'd be wandering round the store buying stuff I don't really need.

I find Morrisons pretty good, probably my favourite big supermarket. Their meat and fish counters are decent, their wine selections are very good and the bread is fantastic. Fruit & veg is far better than Asda & Tesco - you can actually taste the difference against Asda and Tesco's limp watery offerings and it doesn't go off the next day. They might not be as slick or spacious as the others but it's not like I give a toss.

That said, Bury Market outranks them all for quality and value, if and when I can get there with Saturdays being reserved for RL.

You'd end up with something resembling a chapati. The ingredients and process in most supermarket breads mean they don't machine-slice too well without collapsing

On the subject of supermarket fish, this is what my alter ego wrote on his blog:

I consider myself fortunate that most of the fish I eat has been caught by my own (not so) fair hands. The fish is caught, dispatched and immediately placed on ice in a coolbox. Once I've got the fish home, it will then be filleted, vacuum-sealed and frozen. Quite often, I will then cook off the heads and frames and remove what meat remains to either make fishcakes or feed the cats. But what about those who don't or can't catch their own fish?

Although we have seen a decline in the number of dedicated wet-fish shops on the high street, these have been replaced with fish counters in supermarkets and independent delis. There are also a number of "fish vans" selling at markets or door-to-door. But when you see the sign "Fresh Fish", just how fresh is that fish? The legal definition is: [u"Fish that has not been previously frozen and has been kept on ice for no longer than 21 days"[/u. Yes, fish can still be described as "fresh" even if it was caught up to three weeks prior to the point of sale. This may come as a shock to some but those of us above a certain age can see the reasoning behind such a long shelf-life. Prior to the advent of freezer-trawlers and factory ships, the UK deep-water fleet would often be at sea for up to three weeks: one week steaming to the fishing grounds, one week fishing and one week steaming home. Once back at the home port, the fish had to be landed, sold at market and then either sent for further processing (usually within spitting distance of the market), or loaded onto lorries and trains for delivery inland. So a fish caught on the first day's fishing would be 14 days old before it saw the market.

Much of the fish we currently eat has been caught, processed and frozen at sea and although freezing can cause some slight reduction in quality, modern freezing techniques keep this to an absolute minimum. This may not be the case with fish bought over the counter. Next time you are at a fish counter, take a close look at the labelling of the fish, quite often you will find, in tiny print: "previously frozen - do not re-freeze". More often you will find these fish placed directly adjacent to fish that really is "fresh" and has a whopping great sign declaring that fact. Certainly not unlawful but could easily be construed as misleading. So when you see discounted fish on the supermarket counter, please look closely at the label before taking advantage of the offer and filling your freezer for the future.

Another slight-of-hand practise is labelling a sealed tray of wet-fish as "freshly prepared". This description is no indicator of the age or "freshness" of the actual fish, all it tells you is that it has recently been prepared. In many instances this "preparation" consists of little more than cutting off the head, possibly filleting and throwing on a lump of parsley. Mackerel is often seen labelled in this manner and the reason for cutting off the head is simply to avoid you seeing the dull, sunken eyes and grey-tinged gills. Other fish that regularly get the "freshly prepared" treatment include: plaice, dab, herring and whiting. As for mackerel, unless it has been smoked, I personally wouldn't eat any mackerel that was older than 24 hours after capture. The best mackerel I have tasted is taken straight fron the sea, dispatched, filleted and then eaten sashimi-style, with soy and wasabi. The flesh is sweet with a taste that can only be described as "of the sea". I freeze mackerel and garfish to use as flattie (turbot & brill), bait in the Spring because I can't guarantee a supply of fresh bait. Even the fish I use as bait will be subject to the same icing and vacuum packing treatment as I'd use for table fish.

You do the supermarkets a great disservice - they are very aware about customer experience and the need to provide an attractive environment for their customers to purchase product. They are in very competitive situation do you seriously think their attitude towards customers is a basic as you are suggesting?

No one forces suppliers to supply them at the prices they dictate - they have an option to sell their produce elsewhere. The problem is they are in a classic global supply and demand market. The problem is that some producer will sell product to the supermarkets at the price they demand. The problem is the producers not the supermarket. I might want to pay £20 for a pair of 501s that is only possible is someone is prepared to sell to me at that price.

Brands are in a much stronger position - supermarkets have to stock them so they hold a stronger hand. Brands cost more for the very reasons discussed here - marketing whether that is BOGOF or TV - it has to be paid for somehow.

Sliced bread, or indeed any bread, but especially sliced bread SHOULD go stale very quickly, its a product that should be bought and consumed same day (ideally) or within 24 hours, have you ever baked your own using just the basic ingredients and then tried to eat it two days later ?

Of course you could pump it full of chemicals to preserve it for longer ...

Very few brands could stand being delisted by one or more major supermarkets, just check out what happened to Premier Foods or Daniels Group when they had products delisted by Tesco.

But they are allegedly "baking" from pre-frozen ingridients to produce the initial loaf. If they have stuff left then it is sliced and put out next day. I would guess the act of slicing makes it feel pliable and therefore fresh to the unsuspecting customer?

Have baked our own lots of times and it lasts just as long as that stuff, especially if wrapped in foil. PS when you bake your own it takes more that the 9 minutes or so it takes in-store!

The supermarkets cannot afford to de-list the bigger brands - there-in lies the status quo they need each other. No supermarket could afford to de-list Coca-Cola, Cornflakes, Heinz beans etc and these products will form a significant chunk of their turnover.

You are talking about a small list of very select brands and sometimes just key brands within a portfolio, the rest get what they are given.

I don't really understand your point, is it that they are baking instore from product that has been proven off site and frozen at that point - I don't really see anything "wrong" in that, its bringing consistency to a product that would otherwise be different in every store - you might argue that that is the bad thing and that an independent baker will produce a slightly different product almost every day as long as they use raw products to produce their bread and not one of the pre-prepared sacks of dough mix that some of them do - is that wrong too ?

And yes you can extend the life of your home baked bread by a day or two, the wife stores ours in a large Tupperware style sealed box, personally I don't like that as it actually softens the crust then, its better to admit, like the French do so well, that bread is actually a product that has to be baked and then consumed same day and I don't have a problem with supermarket bread not lasting for a long time, indeed I'm very suspicious about the branded packed sliced breads that are often the cheapest on the shelf, taste of nothing at all, last for seven days and are only actually good for toasting or feeding to ducks.

I think toasting is a step too far...

We've just started to bake soda bread, it tends to last a couple of days if I hide it from the wife, I've just started off a sour dough leveant, I understand that keeps well too.

Some of the bread is frozen and "baked off" in store, just the same as it is in, say, Lidl. Other bread is made in the traditional way with flour, water, etc - the yeast is stored at the required temperature in the bakery.

If you're near Kensington, nip into one of the "upmarket" Tesco Stores - they now work in partnership with Euphorium Bakery, who supply real artisan stuff.

The majority of the cafes are now operated by Costa, whereas previously it was in house.

OK, one person you know.
Socially, I know a number of Tesco employees - parents of my kids friends. Not ones I work with, manage, or am managed by. They work in various roles - checkout operators / supervisors / electrical / back office. Each one is more than happy with the flexibility given to them regarding working hours. Remember that a lot of large format stores are now open from 06.00hrs Monday, to 22.00hrs Saturday, plus 6 hours on a Sunday. This leads to a requirement for some flexibility - the days of a "9-5" shop assistant in grocery retailing has now gone.

The smaller, Express format has a different requirement - usually quieter stores, with less staff, but flexibility is still required.

Each year, each and every employee completes a "viewpoint" appraisal of their manager, work conditions, pay, facilities, etc. These are really interesting to assess, and there has been a dramatic improvement in all areas over the last 18 months within the business.

Regarding managers texting at 11pm at night - before Tesco, when I ran large transport fleets, I'd be forever juggling drivers around and ringing / texting at all hours to get them in if possible. It's called manpower utilisation, and is prevalent in many industries that operate around the clock. Some people say "yes", some say "no" - thats the nature of the game.

2 or 3 hours overtime unpaid? Sorry, but don't believe that. If they are hourly paid, they would be paid for the hours worked. Not paid for breaks? As I said, hourly paid: not working on break, so not paid - that's the norm.

Ask your friend about the benefits that Tesco staff receive - some of them are not just industry leading, they are UK leading. There is still a defined benefits pension, which is recognised every year as one of the best pensions available in any business in the UK. 10% discount for staff - this mounts up over the year and is a good benefit. Shares In Success gives an annual bonus of between 3% and 7% to all staff. Higher level staff have a Long Term Incentive plan which can be as much as 25% of salary in share options each year. Health plan, dental plan, the list goes on. Plus, Tesco are recognised as a business that develops their people, from the shop floor up..

Nope, they haven't been in house for over four years and the catering company (Avenance Elior) have just bought into a Costa franchise rather than them being run by Whitbread who own Costa.