Topic ID 7019
Last Saturday (2nd February) I was in Tesco and picked up a packet of 'Llamas Baked Bites' (very nice, you should try them) and noticed the 'best munched before' (really) date was '01 2013'. As this was out of date I told someone who appeared to be managing the tills as no-one else was around and showed him the packet. He said he would attend to it when he had finished with another cutomer. On Wednesday I was in there agin, same packets, same date. My wife told someone at the customer services desk and showed them the packet. Yesterday I was in Tesco (again) and yet again the same item was on the shelf, same date. So this time I asked to see the duty manager and told him our experience. To be fair to him, he said he would take the products straight off the shelf and went to do so. But the person on the customer services desk was the same one as on Wednesday night when my wife reported it, what had he done before? This product is on a special offer at the moment so no doubt it had attracted buyers and the shelf had been restocked during the week - and yet no one had noticed when they restocked? And no-one had done a check on the shelves during the week? It seems that Tescos has had time and time again to do something about this but had totally failed to do anything about it. How can the public have confidence that they (and other retailers) are taking this seriously? I doubt that there would have been any health issues if I had eaten these particular dry products, but if it is good to have a best before date then that's is it, that is the point when they are taken off the shelf, regardless. If the date is not right then change it. If I write to customer services, I will get meaningless platitudes, I am not looking for extreme action by Tesco and for them to sack staff, but how do we get it through to them that they should be more vigilant? Suggestions?