Tesco rewards alcoholism
January 26th, 2010I know, I was as surprised as you but it’s true.
After my stressful day yesterday I just really felt like a beer so I nipped in at tesco’s on my way home from the hospital. I bought 2 bottles of beer and nothing else. While paying I took my keys out of my pocket, they are attached to a belt loop by a mini carabina so just dangled off my jeans. Attached to my keys is one of the tiny club cards, I presume the lady serving me saw it and asked “do you have a club card” i’d not even considered offering my card as I presumed points would not be available on alcohol. So I stated in a questioning way “you give points on alcohol” to which she replied “yes”. My next statement was also phrased in a questioning manner “isn’t that like rewarding alcoholism”? The cashiers response surprised me somewhat.
“yeah” she said “it’s not right is it”! But she didn’t stop there, “but you don’t get points from fags, lottery or baby milk”. Again a little perplexed I enquire further “baby milk”!!! “that’s right” she said “it’s not seen as a neccesity because mothers can breast feed”
So by this logic though Tesco view alcohol as a necessity! Now i dont know about you but out of the four items they don’t offer points on I would say the most likely to be considered a necessity would be baby milk, the others are all something that you can have an unhealthy addiction to, or so I thought anyway. Maybe I’m wrong.
Tesco’s advertising tag line is ‘every little helps’ it would appear that in addition to this, every tipple helps if the thing you want help with is club card points.
January 26th, 2010 at 19:29
The reason they don’t give reward points on baby milk is not because it’s not a necessity, it’s because it is illegal to promote the use of formula milk.
Same reason you will never get any “offers” on formula milk either.
January 26th, 2010 at 19:33
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1995/Uksi_19950077_en_1.htm
T’would be in violation of section 19.
On the subject of formula – did you know SMA stands for Synthetic Milk Adapted?
January 26th, 2010 at 20:11
I did not know either of those things. Hmmmm interesting.
January 29th, 2010 at 09:58
Nestle regularly violate multiple sections of the code in developing countries and advertise formula as being superior to breast milk. Unfortunately, the people they are advertising to are often not in a position to research their claims and buy into them. They then buy formula milk for their babies which they cannot afford (1 tin can cost more than a weeks salary) meaning that either the rest of the family starves as they cannot afford food (starvation often causing the mothers breast milk to dry up) or the milk powder is watered down to make it last longer making the baby ill. It often has to be mixed with dirty water too as the parents are unable to get to clean water and unable to sterilse the dirty water – making babies ill-er. And ill babies often die in countries where there is little education or health care – after all, it couldn’t be the milk that’s hurting them, the milk is better than breast milk right?
They even go into hospitals and provide free samples of formula which last just long enough for the mothers milk to dry up, forcing those families to have to continue to buy formula milk – which is then watered down and dirty – making babies ill.
Thousands of babies every year die because of Nestle’s marketing
That’s why there is a global boycott of Nestle products which has been going on for over 30 years. We support it. No Nestle products in this house.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestle_boycott
January 29th, 2010 at 10:03
Will get off my soap box now
February 4th, 2010 at 13:45
I think it’s great making that stance on a personal level. I’m aware of the Nestle thing and it is so totally crap beyond words (as you can tell by that dreadful sentance) but I think as a campaign it’s pretty much failed. It’s been running since the 70′s and still Nestle are doing alright for themselves. I personally only read about it in the last 4 or 5 years.