I actually wonder if either Wollies or Coles know what the shopper wants.
I do all the shopping in our house, it's actually a job I enjoy, but I have become extremely disgruntled with the big two.
Locally I can shop at Wollies, Coles, Foodland and IGA.
The local Foodland and IGA don't compare for variety in the bakery or meat or deli departments, or fruit and veg but this doesn't concern me as I don't buy these products from supermarkets anyway.
In every other way, IGA and Foodland beat Wollies and Coles for variety of brands and they do it in a smaller , more organised shop. I find Coles absolutely terrible for the brands and lines that they have deleted.
The local Coles has removed half of the aisles in one section and put in things like underwear and women's and baby clothing, making it impossible to see what is in the aisles behind it and they are constantly moving products around. There is never enough people on the checkouts and the whole shopping experience is pretty horrible. The local Wollies is a lot better layed out and the store seems cleaner and more organised but is still not a patch on IGA or Foodland, and the staff at the local Wollies are very unhelpful, although it's not as hard to get through the register in the evenings as Coles.
On a whole, I think the two majors have lost the plot. Price is not the only reason I visit a shop. I still want choice and good service. I really don't care about savings a few cents on a rewards program. My wife is fanatical about using her Fly Buys in Coles, and even when we used to shop full time there she would get a $50 gift voucher once a year or so. I told her I would pay her $ 100 a year not to worry about it.
I now only use the majors when they have irresistible specials and I only buy the specials, normally in bulk. I use the local butcher, chicken shop, fish monger, fruit and veg shop and any other supermarket goods that I need I buy from IGA and Foodland. I find the staff at IGA and Foodland friendly and enthusiastic and now know my name and address me by it.
I used to work for Coles many years ago and was proud to say that I worked there, now I think it is a disgrace and Wollies is pretty much the same. I will not shop at Aldi, I think there stores are horrible and I don't understand why Wollies and Coles are trying to compete and reduce their prices so low at the expense of quality brands and quality service. I also dislike Bunnings with a passion, their stores, in my opinion, are full of second grade products at over inflated prices.
I hate the big two and the fact that they are trying to monopolise everything from petrol, to groceries, to hardware, to liquor. The local bottle shop has been taken over and is a BWS, the choice of scotch and good red wine has gone completely.
I hate the fact that the majority of shops are all been reduced to the lowest common denominator and it's all driven by price, price, price.
BRING BACK, SERVICE, QUALITY AND VALUE (value is different to just price) YOU DILLS!
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