Supermarket shopped over fliers fiasco 188

by Michael MacLeod

ASDA staff have been told to take Tesco fliers out of newspapers and dump them in bins in a bid to win the credit crunch price wars.

But staff blew the whistle because they felt too ashamed to carry out the sneaky tactics, saying they weren’t even allowed to recycle the leaflets.

Red-faced Asda bosses admitted that thousands of leaflets were binned at an Edinburgh store this month.

One worker even considered quitting the job because it “went against their ethics.”

Environmentalists have slammed the supermarket’s ploy, saying it flew in the face of their corporate social responsibilities.

Tesco insiders were quick to blast their rivals’ antics, saying: “This smacks of desperation.”

One Adsa worker at the capital’s Chesser store said his bosses were “scared of a bit of competition.”

He said: “One of the people in the cigarette kiosk had to stand and take all the inserts out and was really hacked off about it.

“They were going to quit on the grounds that it was eco-unfriendly and went against their ethics.

“It proves Asda are scared of a bit of competition.”

The “final straw,” according to the anonymous worker, was when Tesco took out a full front page advert on a local paper, and staff were told to cover them up.

He added. “I used to like my job, but now I just hate everything about Asda.

“The managers take it so seriously to the point of ignoring moral and environmental responsibilities, it’s just stupid.”

Wal-Mart-owned Asda had previously set a target of 2010 to stop sending all waste from its 307 UK stores to landfill sites.

They pledged to recycle, reuse or compost all of their waste.

Scottish Green party founder Robin Harper MSP said it would be “easy” for Asda to recycle the fliers, but said they shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.

He said: “I imagine that the newspaper advertisers are not particularly happy with this practice by Asda staff.

“I am concerned that the fliers are ending up in landfill when Asda must be making moves to recycle all their waste.

“These fliers can be easily recycled by all of us.”

A Tesco source said they found Asda’s anti-green antics “quite amusing.”

They said: “The bosses had quite a laugh when they heard about this.

“It’s astonishing that they are chasing Tesco to the point that managers in individual stores will stoop to this level.

“On one hand it’s slightly amusing and smacks of desperation.

“But from a PR point of view it doesn’t look good when you’re dumping thousands of fliers into landfill at the same time as saying you’re going to do this and that for the environment.”

An official Tesco spokesperson said it wasn’t their place to comment on Asda’s actions.

He said: “We can’t comment on this one, as much as we’d love to.

“Asda have apologised and that speaks for itself.”

Speaking on behalf of Asda, a spokesperson insisted the order to bin leaflets didn’t come from senior bosses.

They said: “Unfortunately it seems that the situation last Wednesday did happen.

“I can categorically state that this is not a company policy and not something the senior management were aware of.

“As a priority the store manager will communicate with store staff to ensure this situation does not occur again.”

Mother who stole to feed children jailed 143

By Michael MacLeod

A MUM of eight has been jailed for five months for stealing 14 credit cards to feed her children.

Desperate housewife Shona Waugh, 37, nicked cards from her neighbours in Dalkeith near Edinburgh.

But rather than go on a spending spree for herself, she bought hundreds of pounds worth of food in supermarkets to feed her massive family.

The single mum was jailed after pleading guilty to ten charges including the thefts of bank cards and using them to pay for goods in shops.

Waugh took the cards from neighbours on January 6 last year and used them the next day to buy shopping from her local Tesco totalling £234.59.

Later the same day, she went to an Asda at Edinburgh’s Jewel area and spent £337.07 with the cards.

All shopped-out, Waugh said caring for her children left her “drained.”

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard she was “under significant financial pressure” and felt the need to steal just to get by.

Her defence agent Elspeth McDougall said her past offending “caught up with her” and she paid the price by losing custody of her children.

She said: “She was under significant financial pressure and that is reflected in the fact that these charges relate to buying groceries for the family from Tesco and Asda.”

Sheriff Raymond McMenamin told Waugh he would have sentenced her to six months in prison, but for her plea at an early stage.

He said: “I’m genuinely sorry to know of all your difficulties in the past but you can’t tackle them with criminal behaviour.”

Fraser inspired by gran to launch Superjam tea parties 074

By Alexander Lawrie
 
A TEENAGE jam-making entrepreneur is launching a new charity venture – Super Jam Tea Parties for the elderly.
 
Fraser Doherty, 19, kicked off the first Tea Party in Edinburgh yesterday, and the young businessman has big plans to roll the events out across Scotland.
 
The fresh-faced teen has struck deals with retail giants Waitrose who are donating the tea and cakes for the events, and John Lewis who are supplying the teapots, cake stands and tablecloths,
 
The City of Edinburgh Council has also given its full backing to the charity by providing the venues for the parties free of charge.
 
The charity idea was initiated by Fraser’s paternal grandmother – the same one who gave him the inspiration for the Super Jam – and her work with the elderly and the housebound.
 
He said: “I first got the idea about the Tea Parties from my grandmother. My brother and I used to help her when she organised small tea dances for the elderly in her area.
 
“And since Super Jam took off I always thought it would be a natural progression to do something like this.
 
“I wanted to bring young and old together because a lot of people never have the opportunity to mix.
 
“For some of the elderly here today this might be the only time this week they get a chance to have a wee chat with their friends.”
 
The Scots youngster started out making his sugar free jam in his parent’s small kitchen and soon landed exclusive sales contracts with supermarkets Waitrose and Tesco.
 
He began by producing up to 1,000 jars per week, selling them to neighbours, farmers’ markets and to customers online.
 
And the sugar-free substance is now the top-selling jam in many supermarkets stores across the country selling over 500,000 jars per year – with Fraser on his way to becoming a millionaire.
 
Currently taking a break from studying for a Business Studies and Accountancy degree at Strathclyde University, Fraser has enlisted a team of volunteers to help make the parties go with a swing.
 
Expert knitters have produced 30 different tea cosies for the event, while students from local colleges and universities will be on hand to serve out the tea and scones.
 
Fraser said: “I think it is really important to look after the elderly and I’ve always been conscious about trying to put something back into the community.
 
“And if it is a success, then we’ll hopefully be able to organise events on a national scale.
 
“I can’t thank all the volunteers enough, it’s so good of them all to get involved in the charity and to give their time for nothing.”
 
Speaking on behalf of John Lewis Partnership, David Lincoln, a Waitrose branch manager, said how pleased he the company was to be supporting the new charity.
 
He said: “It’s a fantastic idea and Fraser’s business ethos, which is about putting something back into the community, chimes well with our own.
 
“We’re sure these Tea Parties will take off in a big way.”
 
Councillor Norman Work, Vice Convener for Health, Social care and Housing for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “When Fraser first came to me I thought this was a fantastic idea and I am happy that we can use his entrepreneurial ideas to such a good end.
 
“The opportunity to get out and interact with others is very important as you get older and I’m sure the older people will enjoy the occasion.
 
“With this excellent example of partnership working and with Fraser’s enthusiasm, these events will hopefully spread across the city.”
 
The ex-Royal High pupil hit the headlines last year when his homemade health jam business was awarded the Global Student Entrepreneur Award in Chicago – a competition that saw him beat 750 students from around the world to the prestigious title.