Tesco: Always noted for their attention to detail… image spotted on Digitalspy, posted by L.P. Robinson.
So, the Tesco Brownhills turd polish – known by Tesco fans as a ‘refresh’ – has apparently concluded. We have nice new wooden benches for the drunks, vagrants and teens; charming flower beds, new signage and a patched-up car park. The store has had a lick of paint, and everything smells of new plastic, including the olives on the new deli counter. Designers even went to the extent of erecting costly wooden fencing around the perimeter of the site, in what is a presumed to be an attempt to hide Ravens Court, lest the denizens of Brownhills remember the fact that the now derelict central precinct was supposed to be site of a new store, long since abandoned.
There’s just one snag – there’s still nowhere for cyclists to park their steeds. Tesco Brownhills remains the only major supermarket in the area without a single cycle parking space or facility. I rarely shop there except out of necessity, and when I do, I park my bike in the porch, where it marks the shiny new white paint and looks untidy. Hardly a good solution.
I’m not the only person to notice this. Fellow Brownhills cyclist Lee Slater took the initiative, and asked on the Tesco Brownhills Facebook page on the 19th July if there would be any cycle racks.
Lee received no reply. The curator of the page, known simply as ‘Tesco Brownhills’ continued to broadcast the good retail news, soullessly gushing over relaunches and point-of-sale fluff. Lee was clearly ignored.
Not to be deterred, Lee asked again on the 23rd of July…
Lee was told the racks were on order, in a post which demonstrated the wholly innovative approach of the store, not just to retail but to the wholesale bastardisation of the English language.
Several weeks passed with nothing said, and I thought I’d keep the issue live. After all, I don’t want my bike nicked, and I really don’t enjoy marking the lovely porch paintwork. I asked again on the 12th August. Nothing.
I have asked again today. I find this bizarre; I know Tesco have a dismissive attitude to cyclists – the remote and somewhat bizarre position of racks at the new Walsall showcase store demonstrates their contempt admirably – but isn’t our money as good as anyone else’s?
Just in case the retail behemoth is having trouble procuring the hardware, there are models available in stock at the following companies:
I’d point out that most cyclists prefer Sheffield Stands to the weedier and awkward ‘wheel bender’ style, but anything is better than what we have now.
Tesco: get your act together, please.
How to do it: Sheffield stands as applied at Waitrose in Lichfield.