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 blogI 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"Fish that has not been previously frozen and has been kept on ice for no longer than 21 days". 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

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.