Savacentre

There really are no kind words to say about this place. As you enter, you realise that although the car-​park is the size of a few football pitches, there are no spaces within walking distance from the supermarket. (Remember that Simpson’s episode where Homer parks so far from work that he ends up just the other side of his garden fence? That’s what I feel like when I go there.)
Then, you fight your way inside. I am old fashioned, I love men to open doors for me, or failing that, just hang back a few seconds so I can go through first, or failing that, barge through first but not actually rugby tackle me out of the way… I guess I’m just a dreamer here though!
The place is like an aircraft hangar, or perhaps three. It is packed with ‘stuff’ (usually strewn all over the floor). But despite the range, the quality is so poor that it’s not worth the fairly medium to high prices they charge. I had to return a saucepan after one use because the bottom fell off. It actually just fell off! I mean, that’s not even trying.
The main problem is that the place is always packed. I went to a Madonna concert recently and there weren’t half as many people there as you find on an ordinary weekday morning in Savacentre.
There are not enough staff and the processes seem to be broken. The self service checkouts need more attention than the manned ones — with one poor girl running around entering ‘store codes’ into about ten different machines, all bleeping that there is an «unexpected item in bagging area». Oh, and these machines usually don’t accept credit cards. There are charming hand written signs everywhere saying «Cash Only».
So, my advice is to stay away, but if you do enter, wear comfortable walking shoes and full body armour. Expect to wait at least eight hours to pay for your items and then a further three weeks at the customer service (HA!) queue to return them.