Is having aving a Tesco Express in Crouch end worth the pain

[Tony Ioannou]

I think Not !!!!. Let me explain 

I live in a beautiful aprtment block in The heart of Crouch End ( Village Apartments )  . We have secure parking and all the amenities of crouch end are at our doorstep. Everything about it is brilliant except for teh constant disruption caused by tesco express delivery vans.

Let me explain , we are fortunate enough to have secured allocated parking  by the budgens car park . The downside to this is we have to share the secure parking with Tesco express . In the last year the Tesco express articulated lorries have crashed into the gates over 10  times and for the last 6 weeks the secured gates have been jammed open ( after tesco express drivers again crashed into gates )

I guess what bothers me is that a successful company like Tesco do not fix what they break . Since the gates have been jammed open I have had my car vandalised  and despite countless calls and emails to tesco no one seems to want to help. 

fed up with tesco's . As a stark contrast the Budgen delivery vans , that deliver next are always courteous   and respectful of the residents 

[Adrian Essex]

As a supporter of local independent shops (did you vote in our campaign which as now closed) I'm not in favour of Tesco being here, as a matter of principle (I know and get on well with the owners of several of our local convenience store, which rarely let me down even for obscure ingredients - the presence of a Tesco brings me no benefit).

It sounds as though the residents of Village Apartments have a perfectly valid case for believing Not In Our Communal Backyard. 

I wonder do Tesco deliberately recruit clumsy drivers, or pay poor wages so they get the less able? Is there a problem with the positioning of the gate? Are Tesco lorries bigger/less manoeuvrable/more difficult to drive than Budgens lorries?

Are you doing the right thing chasing Tesco? Would the freeholder's management company be a better target as they have a long term benefit to be gained from getting this sorted out?

Sorry to ask so many questions but I do like to seek a solution.

[OpinioN8 Administrator]

Reply from Twitter

jazzfool Paul McAdam @OpinionN8 I try not to use it. The staff on checkout are indifferent and inattentive. Catch lorry at it (photo) and complain to Tesco H.O.

[CrouchEnd Cupcake]

I'd happily see it go!

[Tony Ioannou]

Hi Adrian ,
Unfortunately our managing agents seem to be quite indifferent to this. I bought my place in the summer and the other residents have told me that over the years it seems that the gates seem to be only operational half the year as this issue with tesco is ongoing ill try the managing agents again It's amazing that ths s allowed to go on . If yir ever in the car park
Behind budgets just Check out the damage , it's down to them backing In Huge Lorry,s with I experienced drivers ..
Thanks for listening , I'm going to go down and rant at the manager of tesco's .

Budgets have there own car park next to the one we share with tesco's , Nicolas, Gregg's and vision express. They have many trrucks in the area but all the drivers go out of there way to be courteous and respect tfull of the residents., and never block access etc . Even when the gates are working invariably there is a huge tesco truck blocking the exit so we can't get out , it's crazy...

Thanks for listening , I'm going to go down and rant at the manager of tesco's .
Tomorrow it's on to managing agents and tesco again

Tony

[graham B]

I'd personally love Bludgeon and Tesco's to go and be knocked into one large Sainsbury's but I know thats never going to happen

 

I advise anyone to check their receipts as they leave - I catch them out at least once a month - this has been going on for over a year - the usual trick is to have cheaper prices on the shelves than is logged into the till ("it's the computers...")

the staff seem so fed up -  apart from the girl who stands around chatting at the door for so long that you have forgotten what you went in for

 

It's a useless store

[CrouchEnd Cupcake]

How come you want Budgen's to go - it's a fab supermarket. It's pricey I'll admit but very community focused and stocks some produce that you can't buy in Sainsbury's. And the Food From The Sky initiative is great.

I love what it's trying to do for Crouch End.

[graham B]

enviromental concerns or community issues don't enter my head when I'm food shopping - I just want to get the stuff and go - I come out of Budgeons empty handed 9 times out of 10 - same with that silly Tesco's - plus the staff hand you your change without looking at you and they are constantly selling out of basic things as though they are in the outer hebrides and its dirty

Give me a clean bright Sainsbury's the size of a football pitch any day but that's just me!

[Adrian Essex]

I've come to like Budgen's, because:

1) they have doors on the chillers - why doesn't everyone?

2) they sell excellent Fatherson sponge cakes - and on the sell by date mark them down to affordable prices

3) the real butcher is generally quite helpful

4) Andrew and Azul are larger than life characters

If they sold sushi as good as Waitrose's I need never go anywhere else

[Carrie Horne]

Budgens do an incredible amount for the local community - Andrew Thornton gave thousands of pounds to local schools and charitties from the money saved when they stopped supplying plastic bags.Their Food From The Sky scheme is positively inspired. By giving shelf space to Dunns bakery they are helping rather than competing with small local shops. You can read their blog to find out more about what they do for Crouch End. They really are worth supporting.

 

http://www.thorntonsbudgens.com/crouch-end

[Tony Ioannou]

Well it seems to have worked ,
They fixed the gate yesterday ... now all they need to do is stop breaking them

[andrew thornton]

Only just picked up on this thread. Tks for the support for Budgens. Graham B I am very sorry to hear about your frustrations. I would love to discuss and see what we can do to improve things.

Tony the landlord for Tesco is the same as ours, their agent is Aptaker and Partners, contact Victor Aptaker on 020 7224 0076; suggest next time you have a problem with damage, you call him direct.

[Nick Whiteley]

I don't actually think that Tesco's, on the whole, is a bad supermarket. I do think that this is a badly run individual shop however. Not to mention your pain and suffering. Has anyone ever seen the correct label underneath the corresponding food item? All the time you'll see, "2-for-1 on these items" none of which are on the shelf.

I occasionally do Tesco online shopping because I can't quite frankly afford to do my weekly shop at Waitrose or Budgens. The Tesco near Finsbury Park is the one I usually go to because it's on my walk home.

It seems that what is happening here is the job of specific area managers. I would say, try and find out who this is. I may actually ask my friend who manages a store up North if there's somekind of database he can look on to see who is responsible for the store and the area.

In answer to your question, I would say, for the service this place offers, put against the pain you suffer, get rid of the bloody thing. Although, what do you think it's going to be replaced with? It would be another tiny chain supermarket, with inflated prices.