Shop snobbery

[Lencoboy]

After reading comments in the main Covid discussion thread about masks and social distancing measures being suddenly jettisoned in B&M (by both staff and customers) and talk of said store being for 'rough'/'common' people (and likewise Home Bargains), I have noticed a fair amount of shop 'snobbery' emerge over the past 20 years or so.

During the latter half of the 2000s and very early 2010s I recall people being much-derided and prejudiced for shopping at Asda (which was often nicknamed 'Chavsda' back then) and being on the receiving end of sarky remarks such as 'You didn't get beaten up, mugged or knifed whilst you were in there, did you?'.

Prior to its demise in the summer of 2007, Kwik Save was often regarded as the original 'common-as-muck' supermarket, though I still used to buy stuff from the store that used to be on the edge of our town centre (now a Morrisons) without even giving it as much as a second thought at the time.

Apart from being a typical hotbed for sensory overload, I've never had any qualms about setting foot in our local Asda superstore either, in spite of said chain's often undesirable social reputation in the fairly recent past, and I have never known my local Asda as a 'no-go' zone.

Does anybody think that shop snobbery is often a form of 'social engineering' and often blown out of proportion by the media?

[NoraB]

Kwik Save was often regarded as the original 'common-as-muck' supermarket

I used to shop at Kwikies all the time, and I'm dead posh.

Apart from being a typical hotbed for sensory overload, I've never had any qualms about setting foot in our local Asda superstore either, in spite of said chain's often undesirable social reputation in the fairly recent past, and I have never known my local Asda as a 'no-go' zone.

Tesco is my local store. I used to use Aldi but couldn't cope with my goods being hurled at me by a checkout operator who was trying to break some kind of speed record?

I didn't know whether to pack my goods or shove on some batting gloves and assume wicket-keeping position?

Does anybody think that shop snobbery is often a form of 'social engineering' and often blown out of proportion by the media?

My mother was quite the snob. She was the Hyacinth Bucket (sorry, Bouquet) of Stoke on Trent. But she was also a bit thrifty? She used to keep her M&S shopping bag with her at all times and put her Kwik Save/Aldi/Lidl goods into it. That was until my dad took her to Harrods in London and then she used that carrier bag!

[Catkins]

I'm regularly in B&M and I love the bit in Aldi that sells items that you never knew you needed.

We shop at M&S food hall for a treat sometimes. We get the meal deals.

There is a definite hierarchy of shops though. I generally food shop at Morrisons, which I think is in the middle?

[Lencoboy]

Personally I can't really understand what a lot of this fuss has been over during these past 20-odd years or so. I've seen good and bad in pretty much every 'class' of store.

Even in the traditionally 'high class' stores like Sainsbury's, M&S, Waitrose, etc, I've seen persons shopping in them of whom many 'snobs' would consider the 'dregs of society', e.g, loud mouth gobsh1tes who more often than not tend to be covered neck to toe in tattoos and/or body piercings, reeking of BO, and those who have a habit of getting lippy with shop staff and other customers.

Most ironically, especially up until into the 90s, persons who visited charity shops on a regular basis were often looked down on and scorned, unlike today where such shops are considered increasingly 'cool' and cherished by many.

[pulisa]

I'm able to walk to my local supermarket which is Waitrose. It's not overpriced and has an "essential" range of foods which I buy frequently. I just like the way I'm treated by the staff and I'm very grateful for their thorough disinfecting routine and social distancing which has been continuous since March 2020. I don't think that Waitrose is a "snobby" shop although I know it's got that reputation. I wouldn't go anywhere else now despite there being 2 large Tesco Superstores nearby..It's convenient and pleasant to shop there.

[Lencoboy]

I'm able to walk to my local supermarket which is Waitrose. It's not overpriced and has an "essential" range of foods which I buy frequently. I just like the way I'm treated by the staff and I'm very grateful for their thorough disinfecting routine and social distancing which has been continuous since March 2020. I don't think that Waitrose is a "snobby" shop although I know it's got that reputation. I wouldn't go anywhere else now despite there being 2 large Tesco Superstores nearby..It's convenient and pleasant to shop there.

Kudos to your local Waitrose, Pulisa.

I don't think that 'classes' of stores and shop snobbery were ever actually intended per se. I think it's mostly been a form of 'social engineering' over the years, where we've been 'conditioned' into assuming that Sainsbury's, Waitrose, etc, are for snobs, and Asda, Aldi, LIDL, etc, are for plebs.

Typical 'stereotyping' and 'them and us'!

[Lencoboy]

Going back to charity shops, I've noticed that most have gone more upmarket in terms of general image since around the late 90s-early 2000s.

Prior to then, many had a more amateurish, 'spit-and-sawdust' kind of vibe, in particular those representing localised charities, while the major national brands such as Oxfam, BHF, Cancer Research UK, etc, were almost always properly fitted out, though even they mostly appeared more 'downmarket' before the 2000s.

When I was younger I recall some chazzers selling sleeveless vinyl records that were badly scratched, their labels defaced with names of previous owners, and even the records themselves with splits/cracks in them on a couple of occasions, which would seem very wrong nowadays.

Some even had the nerve to be selling horrible stinking old clothes with traces of mould on them and/or holes/rips in them, again unthinkable in these times of H&S and 'sueing' culture!

[Lencoboy]

Going back to charity shops, I've noticed that most have gone more upmarket in terms of general image since around the late 90s-early 2000s.

Prior to then, many had a more amateurish, 'spit-and-sawdust' kind of vibe, in particular those representing localised charities, while the major national brands such as Oxfam, BHF, Cancer Research UK, etc, were almost always properly fitted out, though even they mostly appeared more 'downmarket' before the 2000s.

When I was younger I recall some chazzers selling sleeveless vinyl records that were badly scratched, their labels defaced with names of previous owners, and even the records themselves with splits/cracks in them on a couple of occasions, which would seem very wrong nowadays.

Some even had the nerve to be selling horrible stinking old clothes with traces of mould on them and/or holes/rips in them, again unthinkable in these times of H&S and 'sueing' culture!

ADVANCE TRIGGER/DISGUST WARNING!!









Just remembered, back in the early 2000s I purchased a coat from a chazzer in a neighbouring town to where I live which looked OK in the shop, but once I got the thing home, to my horror, the inside lining had bogies, and what looked like dried snot plus traces of dried food spillages stuck to it, plus I found a dirty hankie in one pocket and (wait for it..) a cigarette packet with a half-finished fag and ashes in it. Ewwwwwwwwwwww!!

I never even took the thing back to demand a full refund, the thing just went straight in the black bin in our garden. After that horrible experience I vowed to avoid that particular shop like the plague from then onwards and to never set foot in it again. Plus after that particular ordeal I learned to always thoroughly check the innards of everything if possible before buying.

Needless to say, said shop had closed down by the mid-2000s, very likely deemed a health hazard and inadvertently condemned by the local council. The place often stank to high heaven of unwashed sweaty bedding and bad feet, which often made me feel like gagging whenever I was in said shop.

And worst of all, this was a national brand of charity shop, whose staff should have ultimately known better to check all stock thoroughly prior to putting it out for sale on the main shop floor, and discarding it if not deemed fit for sale.

Sorry for all the gross gory details, but felt I had to spew it all out (no pun intended)!

[NoraB]

Just remembered, back in the early 2000s I purchased a coat from a chazzer in a neighbouring town to where I live which looked OK in the shop, but once I got the thing home, to my horror, the inside lining had bogies, and what looked like dried snot plus traces of dried food spillages stuck to it, plus I found a dirty hankie in one pocket and (wait for it..) a cigarette packet with a half-finished fag and ashes in it. Ewwwwwwwwwwww!!

Well, I didn't want my breakfast anyway..

[Lencoboy]

Well, I didn't want my breakfast anyway..

Well, despite me prefacing my last post with an advance warning, I really hope I haven't triggered people like Phil with the mention of bins where I discarded the offending coat or even put certain people on here off charity shops for life even though this was some 20 years ago.

Even though I did post with utmost caution, I can still remove said post if anyone finds it so objectionable, please just say so and rest assured it will be gone.

Also, I wasn't having a bash at all charity shops per se as most are pretty good, and do comply with the usual protocol, it's just the odd ones with clueless staff/volunteers that occasionally let below par items slip through the net from the stock room to the main shop floor for sale.

But I guess any shop of any kind will always have the odd staff member of whom is not really fit for the job, which as we all know can happen in pretty much every kind of profession.