Message from discussion Supermarkets, empty shelves and Moscow Syndrome

Path: gmd.de!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!news!demon!department-computer-studies.napier.ac.uk!lss203
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: lss...@department-computer-studies.napier.ac.uk (Craig Cockburn)
Subject: Supermarkets, empty shelves and Moscow Syndrome
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1993 13:46:06 +0000
Message-ID: <23225.9308171346@hades.dcs.napier.ac.uk>
Sender: use...@demon.co.uk
Lines: 80

All,
	Ever been to a big supermarket and got fed up because they were out
	of stock of something (usually bread, fruit or vegetables) ?
	
	I've been getting progressively fed up with going out to do the
	messages (=shopping) and only coming back with half the things I
	need because the supermarket was out of stock. In particular, I buy a
	lot of fruit and veg and the problem is particularly acute with
	these items. It wouldn't be any problem at all if I was living on
	the traditional Scottish diet of sweets, biscuits and crisps as can
	be seen by attending any William Low's or Presto's who have 1/4 of their
	stores devoted to such non-essential items. Sweets and crisps hardly
	ever seem to be in short supply!
	
	This problem of running out, known as Moscow Syndrome because you
	get about as much choice as you would do if you were shopping in
	Moscow (ie none), is all the more suprising considering the advances
	which have been made recently in automated stock management (ie EDI).
	Stock management is not that difficult!!! If you keep running out
	of something in the middle of the afternoon then you make more of it!!!
	Does it really take a lot to see that? I wrote a program when I was
	16 which won me second prize in Young Programmer of the Year - this 
	program worked out reorder levels by analysing stock usage and varying
	the reorder levels from week to week - can't the big stores do the same?
	
	This running out of items seems to be a peculiarly British phenomenon.
	When a friend was visiting from the US, she couldn't believe the
	rows and rows of near empty shelves when the shop was claiming to be
	"open" and actually took several photos of them to send to the folks 
	back home.
	
	I had an interesting experience with Sainsbury's the other week along
	these lines. I went one Monday night and got the most fantastic choice
	I'd ever seen - every shelf was full of the highest quality produce.
	The next week at the same time, it was back to Moscow Syndrome again.
	
	I wrote to them and asked why they could pull it off one day and not
	every day. Since it was a new store, I suggested that they had made
	a special effort because perhaps The Queen was coming to open the
	store in the morning. The reply reads:

	"We fully accept all your criticisms and the Store Manager, .., was
	himself embarrassed by the standards on (sic) that department that
	evening."
		
	"Your observations were quite correct regarding the possible "Royal
	Visit" the week before. It was actually our Company Chairman who
	was visiting us the following morning, but let me assure you again
	that we have taken steps to ensure the Produce Manager maintains
	those standards for the people who really matter".
	
	This week when I went, there were no pitta breads for the third
	week running and there were also no bananas. ho-hum. Getting fed
	up at this, I went to Safeway's who had virtually shut down their
	entire fruit and vegetable section because there was virtually
	nothing to sell! The chap I confronted at Safeway's said that it
	was like this every week.
	
	The episode with Sainsbury's goes to show that when a supermarket 
	really wants to do so, it can have full shelves with excellent produce.
	However, most of the time it really can't be bothered and is more 
	interested in pandering to senior management rather than caring for 
	the consumers who give them their profits.
	
	I'm not trying to single out Sainsbury's here, in fact at least
	Sainsbury's have acknowledged the problem and tried to do something 
	about it. All the supermarkets are guilty of poor stock managment, 
	unlike of course in the US where the customer reigns supreme.
		
	Perhaps a debate on usenet about who is the best at keeping full
	shelves might go someway to improving customer choice.
	
	Please email replies as I don't have read access to this group yet.
	
	Craig
	
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Craig Cockburn, c/o Room 150, Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland EH14 1DJ
E-mail: lss...@dcs.napier.ac.uk                             Phone: 031 556 9578
Sgri\obh thugam 'sa Ga\idhlig ma 'se do thoil e.