It seems the credit crunch is Aldi’s friend

Well, the credit crunch has hit our pockets, but increased Aldi’s profits it seems. Word is they are making more than ever from their cut price goods, and we the consumer are lookng to them for the bargains.
Now I’ve never been to an Aldi, don’t even know if there is one near me, I’ll have to look when I web surf and play Bingo at the same time, (some people can multi-task!).

They may be worth looking into, despite the fact that I LOVE 50p specials at Tesco’s. Mabe Aldi has 49p specials?

Comparing notes at Tesco, Sainsburys, Marks and Spencers, and Lidl

Instead of trying to miss the weekend crush, I decided to go and try have a look in all the shops on the weekend.  I didn’t do this expressly, but because I was looking for charcoal for a summer barbecue. This necessitated the need for me to go to 9 shops in total, but it gave me the chance to look at the 4 big ones on the same day.  This is not ordinarily the type of thing I’d do unless I was being paid for this research mind you.

I learnt a few new interesting things. Lidl is very cheap, but the racks need some sorting through before you find what you are looking for . Many of the items are in different languages, so you can’t be exactly sure sometimes that you are buying the right thing. What looks like peppermint tea may definitely not be.

Sainsburys is a pretty store, clean, and organised – and the only one with charcoal out of all of them.  Yay for Sainsburys.

Marks and Spencers opens up half an hour before trading times. Clever marketing ploy, gives you more time to choose what you want, and means that when the tills open, there are already people standing there waiting to play – cashing in the second trading hours are allowed. Bright move that is.

Tesco is as always very busy, queues move quickly, and most of the shelves look pretty neat. The marked down shelf, where they put all the  ‘bargain buys’ is my best every time. I generally eat that food on the day so it’s a great buy for me. No charcoal there though.

I must admit, there is  a good reason why I hermit on the weekend and rather play Bingo or skill games online than squash through the masses. One is far more enjoyable than the other, but the exercise was valuable, and now that I’ve done it I don’t have to do it for ages again. I’ll go back to my friends in Bingo.

Do you need a Personal Concierge?

Well, I’ve been trying to figure out how to fit my home life and work life all into one 24 hour period.

6 years ago I wanted to start a business that provided services to employees inside the work place, to make their life easier. Dry cleaning, massage, nannies, etc, all in the name of making other peoples live easier, cos I know how difficult mine is.  Well, fancy that – someone (quite a few actually) stole my idea, and now there are a lot of companies that provide Corporate Concierge Services, and Lifestyle managers to help their employees.

What I really like, is that the companies that have really got it right, are advertised on http://www.capabilityjane.com/ .  It’s nice to know that there are companies out there that care, and invest money in their employees.  It also shows, in the loyalty towards the company. Tesco’s IT Director, Jon Higgins, has been there for over 18 years. 

It is said that 10% of a staff member’s time is spent on doing personal things at the office. Well, there are two trains of thought here.  One, if they are doing it in their lunch hour, then they are perfectly entitled. Two, if it’s only 10 %, then I recon you are lucky to have that person, hold on to them! 

I work a 10 hour day, and travel for an extra 2. That’s twelve hours taken care of. Then I get home and manage children, and their lives, another 2 hours, and then I have time to sort out the necessary things. Only by that time it’s 9pm and the doctor I have to phone, shop I have to go to, hairdresser I have to make an appointment with, and plumber I need, are all off duty and in the pub. 

So you see, you HAVE to do it in office hours.  How else is it to be done? Is that unreasonable?

I don’t think so. In fact, I think that those that have the luxury of a person at home to ‘take care’ of things are lucky.  Single Moms don’t have that luxury, no, they give away half their wages every month to have peace of mind, and to beg someone else to manage some of the little things that need doing (you won’t believe how many au pairs won’t do ironing or shopping). So I need a concierge. Yes, I do. But I don’t want to pay for it.

 

What do they do? Just about everything, see a list here:

The find people to do : cleaning, lawn mowing, ironing, French polishing, washing windows, chimney sweeping, gutter clearance. You can use them to run the simplest of errands or project manage jobs that take years to complete.

They can help to find tutors, nannies or dog-walkers, security for the home. If you give them access to your house keys they can co-ordinate deliveries and arrange entry for suppliers.

Some even look after all your cars and other vehicles.  They can even buy cars for you! Some say they can secure better value, shorter lead-times and give expert advice.

Some have all these experts in house, and some outsource the work to teams they have been using for years. Basically, whatever you need, they can offer – for a price of course, and that is where it comes in. HOW MUCH? Well, more expensive than an evening at home playing Bingo, but perhaps more useful at times. It’s even a way to get someone else to do your chores whist you play Bingo online with your friends perhaps? Now, I wonder if they have someone that’ll sleep with my partner as well? ;- 0