Those of you who read this blog regularly will know that my husband and I decided in March to give up shopping in Asda and Tesco’s and try shopping locally for a month. 79 days later and we have not been back through the doors of the two 24 hour supermarkets that now dominate Galashiels as they glare at each other over Gala Water . The interesting thing will be will this be a permanent change?
I am hoping so it’s resulted in a better quality of life for us. My husband no longer has a droop in his shoulder as he comes home on a Friday night after battling Tesco’s and going back and forward to the car with mountains of bags. Only to do the same thing the next week. We have wasted less food and we both feel so much better spending money in our local vicinity than to a corporate giant. Tesco’s is heralded in marketing circles as operating the best marketing especially with its Tesco’s club card in the UK. Here is the thing. Our card has not been used for 79 days. Have they noticed? Have they called to ask if we are ok or have moved? Not at all. Would our butcher notice or cheery Tony at St Boswells Post Office? Yes they would and do. Why? They are a small business and their customers matter to them as they are the life blood of their business. Of course I know at some stage some techy at Tesco’s will roll out data for lapsed customers and we will be contacted with an offer. But it’s not the same as personal contact is it?
So we are hoping that the Drane family is changed for good for the quality of life, less wastage and also that we are supporting local business. So as well as an update on our shop local campaign I thought I would have another boast about the shops in our little village of St Boswells.
Our butcher JC Douglas who was the 2009 Pork sausage of the year and the 2010 beef sausage of the year in Scotland is now the 2011 burger of the year. Congratulations to them and it’s testament to their hard work and the quality of their produce. Our bookshop Mainstreet Trading is the 2011 Scottish Independent Bookshop of the year and tonight competes for the UK bookshop at the Hilton in London. I am so hoping that they win as they deserve it for making their bookshop and cafe in the small village of St Boswells a destination that people want to come to and come back to.
I know I have said this many times in this blog before and I make no apologies for it I am so proud to live here and so proud that such a small village has two award-winning shops. The post office is not left out either our dog thinks its award-winning as he gets a biscuit each and every time he goes in and there is always a warm welcome for the whole family.
So good luck to Mainstreet for tonight. Congratulations to our butchers and a thanks from the dog to the Post Office. Shopping local is fun, people know and care about your business. It has changed the way that we shop and I will keep you posted on this blog how we get on. But for now we are enjoying shopping locally in award winning St Boswells.
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Tescos will eventually send you huge special offers to try to tempt you back. They do realise if you have not been claiming their points for a while. Watch your postbox!
I will keep you posted. I am sure they will and looking forward to assessing if we are tempted. Was reading in the marketing press today that Tesco’s are looking at a partnership with the electricity company Eon which would allow you to pay your electricity with Tesco’s points which I can see is another clever way Tesco’s make themself the supershop they are.