Shrinkflation!

[Big Insect]

Yes ... it's grumpy old g*t time again.
The wife's away so I went and did a big shop in our local Sainsbury's to stock up for her return - cannot have her belief that I mostly live on take-away curry whilst she's away confirmed (now can we)!

But about half way through the shop I was chuntering & muttering so badly that I was getting funny looks!
Do 'they' really think we are that daft that if they remove 3 crackers from a packet or reduce the size of a bag of rice by a quarter but still charge us the same (or more often more) for the same thing we are really not going to notice!!!
Strewth!

It's the same with packaging - we've started to notice that our usual plastic packets of coffee, rice and lentils are all just falling to bits. On drawing one manufacturers attention to this phenominon, on-line, the thread was inundated with other similar observations, until finally some 'bod' from their marketing dept. had to come on and try and explain it was all about reducing the cost to us - apparently!
Grrrrrr ... more like increasing the already bloated profits for the supermarkets more likely.

Also - what is it about comparison pricing! I don't care if Sainsbury's Vodka is the same price as ASDAs ... I just want it to be good value for me. Not that I drink vodka, but you get the point.

And as for "inappropriate sociability" ... don't get me started ... we had to sadly have a very unwell cat put down last week. Leaving aside the nearly £200 the vets wanted to have her cremated ... we then got a card in the post a few days later saying (generically) how sad the vets was for our loss, and that she was a lovely companion!!!
Leave it out! She'd been in the vets once a year for the last 15 years for her jabs and other than that they had no idea whether she was a much loved pet or a terrible sofa scratching, bullying, defecating monster! Who that it was a good idea to send us a commiseration card - probably some 'bod' in the marketing dept. that's who.
I'll get my coat.

Rant over ... I hope you all feel better for that ... I know I certainly do   

[Steve J]

Always good to have a rant now and then Mark! Having been in the design business for 30+ years, seeing the stuff that goes on in the background re: packaging etc is quite an eye opener.

[Ithoriel]

My bete noir is the"you bought a lawnmower, here are 5 other lawnmowers you might like!" type advertising. How many bloo.... min' lawnmowers do they think I need???

[Big Insect]

Always good to have a rant now and then Mark! Having been in the design business for 30+ years, seeing the stuff that goes on in the background re: packaging etc is quite an eye opener.

Yup - the supermarkets are starting to repackage just about everything (don't get me on about 'no-lids on hummus pots' - a very 1st world problem). But what they are doing with packaging mince & diced meat is just wrong, so very wrong!

[Orcs]

What gets me is the lack of paper or plastic bags to put your fruit and veg in. They want you to buy "reusable" cloth type bags to put them in. But the pickers still have rolls of plastic bags to put the fruit and veg in for those who "Click and Collect"

Its not taking them home I am bothered about, once they are weighed they go in my shopping bag - but how you carry sprouts for 4 people to the scales to weigh them? then the blooming scales do not have a bowl and are completely flat so thing s roll off - is it any wonder people just put them in their shopping bag and "forget" to scan them.

Then there are all the people pickers getting in the way 3 to an aisle so you cant get your trolly past or see what you are looking for - The picking should be done in the warehouse or storage area, not in the flippin shop.

I have learnt that in Tesco if the stuff on display in the fruit and veg area is not very good, just pull out the draw below where the better stuff is - learnt this by watching the pickers.

[DecemDave]

Ooh a rant about marketing departments yippee.       My least favourite is how you save pennies to go back to buy a piece of furniture to match what you bought last year to be told "we dont do that anymore but you can have it in sunkissed light oak or templar white".  WTF    I suppose we must fear that email from Leon one day that "we no longer do 1809 French Infantry , just so-old fashioned darling,  but you can have Paraguayan militia, quite the thing in Chelsea. 

[DHautpol]

What gets me is the lack of paper or plastic bags to put your fruit and veg in. They want you to buy "reusable" cloth type bags to put them in. But the pickers still have rolls of plastic bags to put the fruit and veg in for those who "Click and Collect"

Yes, my local Waitrose has special paper bags by the mushrooms.  I find they work just as well for tomatoes and sprouts.

What annoys me is the packaging saying "Serves 3"; "Serves 2" or "Serves 4" yes, but what use is an odd portion of veg? 

[Last Hussar]

Well known fact that the 95th rifles had AK47s in Spain - that's why Sean Sharpe was so good. Historical fact that.

[Last Hussar]

but what use is an odd portion of veg?

Pretty sure that counts as serves 1. Unless you are buying "serves 3 and four ninths".

[DHautpol]

Ooh a rant about marketing departments yippee.      My least favourite is how you save pennies to go back to buy a piece of furniture to match what you bought last year to be told "we dont do that anymore but you can have it in sunkissed light oak or templar white".  WTF

IKEA is a prime culprit here.  I needed another two of their Gnebby CD units in light oak, now available in white melamine only. Fortunately, I was able to improvise by buying a light oak Billy bookcase the same width as the CD units, together with some additional shelves. I placed some battens behind the CDs to push them forward to the same distance as the CD units would have displayed them. I must say it was quite effective.

[DHautpol]

Pretty sure that counts as serves 1.

I'm sure it does, but when you're cooking for 2?

[Ithoriel]

Serves three? One for you, one for your other half, one for the food bank!