Out of date ham

Mr Johnson

Hi,

I bought some packaged ham in Dunnes yesterday. Gave some to the cat before having any myself. She got very ill a couple of hours later. Checked the ham, it was 9 days out of date.

Is it worth kicking up a big fuss with Dunnes or will they just tell me tough sh!t ?

Thanks.

TheDriver

if you have your receipt, then they will take it very seriously as in theory you can get the health board etc involved because of the meat making people/cats sick.

Mr Johnson

I have the receipt, I'll drop up later.

I thought they might just tell me that I should have read the 'use by' date on the label so it's my own fault.

Thanks.

Domscard

Mr Johnson wrote: »

I have the receipt, I'll drop up later.

I thought they might just tell me that I should have read the 'use by' date on the label so it's my own fault.

Thanks.

It shouldn't have been on sale - and 9 days out of date, there's really no excuse :eek:

borderlinemeath

I bought salad dressing in Dunnes last April that was over a month out of date - only realised when I opened it and it tasted a bit off - then I checked the date.

When I brought it back I went to the shelf to get a different one - but they had all expired 10th March 2010 - so I got a different one.

Brought it to the customer service desk where they were very apologetic and I also told them that the rest of the shelf stock was out of date. The girl called a manager over so I assumed he got the rest of the stock pulled off the shelf.

About a week later I was passing the dressing and I just checked the stock and it was still the same out of date stuff! It was 10 mins to closing and there was no sign of a manager and queues at all the tills so I didn't bother saying it to any staff member.

2 weeks later it was STILL on the shelf- I brought it to the attention of a manager on duty and I waited until he got somebody to lift it off the shelf.

Moral of the story - check your dates!! Dunno whether it's staff cutbacks or that they are badly managed and don't get their stock rotation done.

wmpdd3

9 days out of date for a fresh product is unbelievable. Really shocked about that. I'm think they will take it very seriously, at the least, the fresh manager would be investigated as well as all staff involved.

Nolimits

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I bought salad dressing in Dunnes last April that was over a month out of date - only realised when I opened it and it tasted a bit off - then I checked the date.

When I brought it back I went to the shelf to get a different one - but they had all expired 10th March 2010 - so I got a different one.

Brought it to the customer service desk where they were very apologetic and I also told them that the rest of the shelf stock was out of date. The girl called a manager over so I assumed he got the rest of the stock pulled off the shelf.

About a week later I was passing the dressing and I just checked the stock and it was still the same out of date stuff! It was 10 mins to closing and there was no sign of a manager and queues at all the tills so I didn't bother saying it to any staff member.

2 weeks later it was STILL on the shelf- I brought it to the attention of a manager on duty and I waited until he got somebody to lift it off the shelf.

Moral of the story - check your dates!! Dunno whether it's staff cutbacks or that they are badly managed and don't get their stock rotation done.

That's absolutely shocking, as an employee of Dunnes speaking you should have told the store manager the entire story and told him you would be informing head office, I can't speak for the store manager but I can assure you head office would have taken a very hard line with all involved.

Esoteric_

Tbh they'll probably just refund you and leave it at that. I've accidentally bought out of date food in Dunnes loads of times and they never give a sh!t. The dunnes where I live has always got out of date food that they do be too lazy to remove from the shelves and the customer service is atrocious because they're too busy chatting to each other and texting to actually serve people.

the groutch

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I bought salad dressing in Dunnes last April that was over a month out of date - only realised when I opened it and it tasted a bit off - then I checked the date.

When I brought it back I went to the shelf to get a different one - but they had all expired 10th March 2010 - so I got a different one.

Brought it to the customer service desk where they were very apologetic and I also told them that the rest of the shelf stock was out of date. The girl called a manager over so I assumed he got the rest of the stock pulled off the shelf.

About a week later I was passing the dressing and I just checked the stock and it was still the same out of date stuff! It was 10 mins to closing and there was no sign of a manager and queues at all the tills so I didn't bother saying it to any staff member.

2 weeks later it was STILL on the shelf- I brought it to the attention of a manager on duty and I waited until he got somebody to lift it off the shelf.

Moral of the story - check your dates!! Dunno whether it's staff cutbacks or that they are badly managed and don't get their stock rotation done.

if i'd seen it still on the shelf i'd have contacted the Eastern Health Board, they'd have sent out an Environmental Health Officer out

jor el

the groutch wrote: »

if i'd seen it still on the shelf i'd have contacted the Eastern Health Board

10 years ago, maybe.

I can't believe anyone would buy a product like this without checking the date first. I always look at the dates on any fresh product, especially meat, before buying. Lesson learned, I hope.

pleasant Co.

jor el wrote: »

I can't believe anyone would buy a product like this without checking the date first. I always look at the dates on any fresh product, especially meat, before buying. Lesson learned, I hope.

Sometimes people just want to get in and out of dunnes as quickly as possible, it's understandable for a consumer to expect what is being sold to them to not be out of date...this is basic stuff and very bad form by this particular branch.

TheDriver

i agree, a lot of people don't check dates because they believe all these ads about the best meats etc in their local mass produced supermarket.

jor el

Mactard wrote: »

Sometimes people just want to get in and out of dunnes as quickly as possible, it's understandable for a consumer to expect what is being sold to them to not be out of date...this is basic stuff and very bad form by this particular branch.

Yes, 9 days past use by is incredibly bad form, but I'd always check to make sure what I'm buying isn't going to be out of date tomorrow, as is often the case. It takes no time at all to check the date, and would prevent a nasty shock like this in future.

borderlinemeath

jor el wrote: »

Yes, 9 days past use by is incredibly bad form, but I'd always check to make sure what I'm buying isn't going to be out of date tomorrow, as is often the case. It takes no time at all to check the date, and would prevent a nasty shock like this in future.

I would be the same, I am the very one who roots at the back of the fridge to get the longest dated produce - but the very odd time you can be distracted. My local dunnes changed their opening hours and started closing at 7pm instead of 8pm - by the time I finish work and get to Dunnes its usually about 6.45pm and I'm running round trying to get all my stuff while they are announcing they are closing so it can easily happen to the best of us!

ttm

OP's issue is very common in Dunnes. Maybe not 9 days but I can nearly always find past sell by date items in ANY Dunnes store.

OP get your self some free Dunnes vouchers by emailing the whole board of directors about the problem. You need to work out the email address yourself as they arn't on the website but I seem to remember it was FirstnameinitialSecondname@dunnes-stores.ie Directors names are on the website.

I say email the whole board as at least something then gets done, tell the shop and nothing gets done except you get a replacement or your money back.

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I bought salad dressing in Dunnes last April that was over a month out of date - only realised when I opened it and it tasted a bit off - then I checked the date.

When I brought it back I went to the shelf to get a different one - but they had all expired 10th March 2010 - so I got a different one.

Brought it to the customer service desk where they were very apologetic and I also told them that the rest of the shelf stock was out of date. The girl called a manager over so I assumed he got the rest of the stock pulled off the shelf.

About a week later I was passing the dressing and I just checked the stock and it was still the same out of date stuff! It was 10 mins to closing and there was no sign of a manager and queues at all the tills so I didn't bother saying it to any staff member.

2 weeks later it was STILL on the shelf- I brought it to the attention of a manager on duty and I waited until he got somebody to lift it off the shelf.

Moral of the story - check your dates!! Dunno whether it's staff cutbacks or that they are badly managed and don't get their stock rotation done.

Again very common I found the issue in one store was that they girl checking the dates was only 4ft tall and couldn't reach/see the top shelf :rolleyes:. You'd have thought a company with so many managers could work that one out for themsleves.

On one occasion 3 full trolley loads of past sell by date items were removed when I complained they were still on the shelves 2 days after I had first pointed this out.

jor el wrote: »

10 years ago, maybe.

I can't believe anyone would buy a product like this without checking the date first. I always look at the dates on any fresh product, especially meat, before buying. Lesson learned, I hope.

I heard that some older people won't use Dunnes stores for food shopping because they have poor eyesight and can't easily read the sell by dates.

Edit> Just checked my old email for stuff from Dunnes and this comment in one email seems relevant.....

It is through customer feedback and comments that we can continue to improve services for all our customers.

honerbright

Mr Johnson wrote: »

Hi,

I bought some packaged ham in Dunnes yesterday. Gave some to the cat before having any myself. She got very ill a couple of hours later. Checked the ham, it was 9 days out of date.

Is it worth kicking up a big fuss with Dunnes or will they just tell me tough sh!t ?

Thanks.

Kick up a massive fuss. I work in Dunnes (Deli) And we date check the deli floor every morning, sometimes twice a day and also we check dates when we pack out new stock and rotate etc. Everything due to go out of date gets taken off the shelf the morning before the use by date and reduced. Date checks should be being done every single day so obviously the staff are not doing their jobs properly.
Also, I hope your cat is OK!

91011

Considering the number of fresh foods products sold in a supermarket, it is possible that an error can be made. - We all make occasional errors and we don't all get thrown in jail or have health boards slammed down our throats when we make an error.

Simplest solution, ask for manager, bring it to managers attention. If manager is any good they will re-enforce to the staff the importance of ensuring fresh food products are always in date.

Domscard

91011 wrote: »

Considering the number of fresh foods products sold in a supermarket, it is possible that an error can be made. - We all make occasional errors and we don't all get thrown in jail or have health boards slammed down our throats when we make an error.

Simplest solution, ask for manager, bring it to managers attention. If manager is any good they will re-enforce to the staff the importance of ensuring fresh food products are always in date.

I fully appreciate that mistakes can be made - everyone is human. But really, if deli stock is normally checked at least once a day as a matter of policy, how on earth could something be overlooked for 9 days :eek: More than one person must have been having a series of bad days to let that happen.
As others have said, I always check the dates on fresh food, but I know that people in a hurry can make mistakes too. The OP was very lucky that his/her mistake did not result in a serious health issue - and I hope the cat is okay too. I always thought that cats would not eat anything that was off - I know mine never did. A rule of thumb we used to employ back in the day - if the cat would eat it, it was safe Glad I don't have to depend on that now after this information.

91011

Domscard wrote: »

I fully appreciate that mistakes can be made - everyone is human. But really, if deli stock is normally checked at least once a day as a matter of policy, how on earth could something be overlooked for 9 days :eek: More than one person must have been having a series of bad days to let that happen.
As others have said, I always check the dates on fresh food, but I know that people in a hurry can make mistakes too. The OP was very lucky that his/her mistake did not result in a serious health issue - and I hope the cat is okay too. I always thought that cats would not eat anything that was off - I know mine never did. A rule of thumb we used to employ back in the day - if the cat would eat it, it was safe Glad I don't have to depend on that now after this information.

true - it shouldn't have happened, but some suggestions here are over the top. The best one is get directly to the person in charge of that particular store and if they are any good (dunnes managers usually are good) they will deal with it at local level.

ttm

91011 wrote: »

true - it shouldn't have happened, but some suggestions here are over the top. The best one is get directly to the person in charge of that particular store and if they are any good (dunnes managers usually are good) they will deal with it at local level.

Dunnes Managers are usually very very poor, if they were any good I suspect they would be working somewhere else.

Quotes from some Dunnes managers I have spoken to....

"if you pay peanuts what do you expect" as a reason for nothing beeing done about the same items reported being out of date for 3 times over a 5 day period

"this is a failing store" - as an excuse for a host of other problems in the store

"its perfectly OK to sell items past their sell by date provided they still look OK"

"the best before date is only a guideline there's no reason we can't sell items after that date" - possibly true and not a point I'd bother arguing but still not what you'd expect to hear from a Dunnes manager

"the incorrect special offer price is not our [Dunnes] fault its the manufactures fault that label shouldn't be on there so you can't have a euro off" - the item (and all those in display) had a "1€ off label price" sticker on them.

"I think that the member of staff that removed the best before dates was doing it on his own account as no one would have told him to do it"

kelle

jor el wrote: »

10 years ago, maybe.

I can't believe anyone would buy a product like this without checking the date first. I always look at the dates on any fresh product, especially meat, before buying. Lesson learned, I hope.

I'm a mother of 3 and I have to move fast when I go to a supermarket. Basically I have a list and know exactly where everything I want is. Sometimes I may not get a chance to check Best Before dates.

Nolimits

ttm wrote: »

Dunnes Managers are usually very very poor, if they were any good I suspect they would be working somewhere else.

Quotes from some Dunnes managers I have spoken to....

"if you pay peanuts what do you expect" as a reason for nothing beeing done about the same items reported being out of date for 3 times over a 5 day period

"this is a failing store" - as an excuse for a host of other problems in the store

"its perfectly OK to sell items past their sell by date provided they still look OK"

"the best before date is only a guideline there's no reason we can't sell items after that date" - possibly true and not a point I'd bother arguing but still not what you'd expect to hear from a Dunnes manager

"the incorrect special offer price is not our [Dunnes] fault its the manufactures fault that label shouldn't be on there so you can't have a euro off" - the item (and all those in display) had a "1€ off label price" sticker on them.

"I think that the member of staff that removed the best before dates was doing it on his own account as no one would have told him to do it"

As someone who knows company policy I can tell you all of those are absolute crap (just to clarify I'm not calling you a liar) It's not ok to sell stuff past its used by date. The product should be taken off and reduced the day before the use by date and thats if its fresh food. Due to the fact that date checks aren't preformed everyday on the main shop floor items whose use by date is within a week would usually be taken off.

If the same things are being reported 3 days as being out of date (Im assuming they are litereally the same product and not 3 different dates) the manager should be out of a job and would be if head office knew about it.


If products came in flashed with a euro off sticker then a call should have been placed to the company in question asking for the shop to be credited (and charge the lower price) or they should all have been placed into returns and sent back.



About the salad dressing (borderline meath) I was talking to my store manager today about it, he cut me off half way through saying "don't say that was about this shop" I assured him it wasnt as we'd sell out of salad dressing every week. At the end of the story I said to him if that happened here then heads would roll, he said they certainly would and his would be the first. Its incredible to think how many people didn't do their job right there. Do you mind if I ask which store it was (I wasn't asked to ask you by the way its just my own curiosity)

patrickc

i was in tesco shopping tonight, and was checking the dates on loads of things.

was well surprised that the stuff with the longest date that i checked was at the front and the shortest date at the back, no rotation there I tell ya

ttm

Nolimits wrote: »

As someone who knows company policy I can tell you all of those are absolute crap (just to clarify I'm not calling you a liar) It's not ok to sell stuff past its used by date. The product should be taken off and reduced the day before the use by date and thats if its fresh food. Due to the fact that date checks aren't preformed everyday on the main shop floor items whose use by date is within a week would usually be taken off.

If the same things are being reported 3 days as being out of date (Im assuming they are litereally the same product and not 3 different dates) the manager should be out of a job and would be if head office knew about it.


If products came in flashed with a euro off sticker then a call should have been placed to the company in question asking for the shop to be credited (and charge the lower price) or they should all have been placed into returns and sent back.

First four of my statements were included in my emails to Dunnes and the store manager afaik was called up to Dublin and had to create an action plan to rectify the issues. I should of mentioned the same statements were all from department heads/mangers and not the store manager, I'm fairly sure the guys that made those comments don't work for Dunnes anymore. I believe the store manager still works for Dunnes as I discussed the issue at lenght with him long after the initial incident when he put two and two togther and realised I was the person who had made the complaints that had caused him so many problems.

I know what the store should have done but they didn't and I at first intended to email customer service but because at the time there was NO contact email address on the website I got pissed off and sent emails to every member of the board, I found an email for for job applicants hidden in a web form that had a dunnes-stores.ie address and as I work with email systems tried all the obvious email address combinations and got a result.

Dunnes might have changed a good bit since then but I know after an improvement all the same issues started to occur a few months later and I can still spot the odd item on the shelves past the best before date but as I don't do a full shop there anymore I wouldn't really be looking at as many items as I used to.

Nolimits

I'm sure some stuff does stay up that's out of date, human error as it is will see to that, however there is no excuse for it staying there after it has been pointed out. I'm glad something was done about it and if the people who made those comments are no longer working for the company, then it isn't Dunnes loss.

When I read things on here about Dunnes it's almost like a different company to what I know, the store I work in is very well organised in comparasion as alot of the issues that come up here just wouldnt be allowed.

somme

Up to a few years ago ,Dunnes used to take fresh food off the shelves with 2 days to go before its best before date and just give it back to the suppliers ,who had to replace it. But now under the H.A.C.C.P regulations, Dunnes or any other supermaket are responsible for selling or disposing of the product ,as suppliers cannot accept out of date products back onto their delivery vechicles,that is why you have 2 for 1 and other such offers on fresh food in the big supermarkets .

wmpdd3

In Tesco, all fresh food that is due to go out of date in the next 24 hours is scanned into a gun (handheld computer), this will print out a reduced label at different times during the next 24 hours to clear the product. It's linked to the deliveries and tills so it knows how many should be in the store.

With customers picking up products from the back and mixing up the rotation I don't know how a busy supermarket could keep control on all this stock with some kind of computerised process.

Mr Johnson

Hi,

I went into Dunnes on Saturday with the ham and explained what had happened. The junior manager I spoke to went and spoke to the duty manager and came back with an offer to give me a refund plus a free packet of ham which I just took as I was in a hurry as usual.

I had told them that I had to pay €40 vet bill to get the cat checked out but they didn't offer to refund this. You think they should have ?
I also told them that the only reason that I hadn't given the ham to my young son was that it was his birthday and he was full of cake ! So they could have had very serious situation.

Not too impressed anyway, so I'll take the advice of the posters who said to get on to the higher-ups in the head office.

Thanks.

ttm

tbh, if it was a one off I'd probably not take it any further, but take a good hard look at dates next time you do your shopping and if it really is a problem with the way the dates are checked, stock is rotated and the store is managed then you'll soon find some out of date stuff and have reason to complain.

The cat really is a bit of a side issue, I've never found a best before date on any of the rats ours often eat.

Domscard

ttm wrote: »

t

The cat really is a bit of a side issue, I've never found a best before date on any of the rats ours often eat.

Well, I imagine any rat that a cat would eat would be freshly killed and not lying around for 9 days! I hope the OP's cat has another 8 lives left anyway
Completely OT, but I can' get that old nursery rhyme out of my head when I see this thread - the one that goes 'Pease porridge, hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in the pot, nine days old'!

Mr Johnson

I know cats wouldn't normally eat rotten food, but this one is almost 20 years old and doesn't know what's going on most of the time !

I sent off a mail to head office anyway, we'll see what they have to say.

Run_to_da_hills

I had a similar issue with Tesco over smoked salmon that was purchased off the clearance shelf.

When I got home I noticed that the vacuum seal was pierced, I returned it within 30 minutes with receipt. The customer service manager tried to accuse me of damaging the packet, he then backed down when I told him it was taken from the clearance shelf and told me that was the reason why it was discounted.

I warned him that this was illegal and as soon as I mentioned the FSA they were very prompt to give me the full refund.

Archeron

Wow, this thread is amazing to see what SHOULD happen.

A while back, I bought a pack fresh cakes in Supervalu. They looked mighty fine, and they were served after dinner. Didnt realize, that underneath, every one of them was completely green with thick mould. One girl had bitten into one, and bokked out when she got the taste.

Supervalue told me it had nothing to do with them, and I should take it up with the bakery. They wouldnt even give the money for them back, and seemed to be quite annoyed that I had even raised the point.

Domscard

Archeron wrote: »

Wow, this thread is amazing to see what SHOULD happen.

A while back, I bought a pack fresh cakes in Supervalu. They looked mighty fine, and they were served after dinner. Didnt realize, that underneath, every one of them was completely green with thick mould. One girl had bitten into one, and bokked out when she got the taste.

Supervalue told me it had nothing to do with them, and I should take it up with the bakery. They wouldnt even give the money for them back, and seemed to be quite annoyed that I had even raised the point.

OMG :eek: Definitely Supervalu's responsibility as the retailer. No way do you have to go back to the manufacturer - your contract was with Supervalu who sold you the product. Did you speak to the manager? I'd be so mad I'd nearly go back to them again now and/or write a letter to head office. Probably a bit late in the day but I'd want to vent.

Run_to_da_hills

Archeron wrote: »

Wow, this thread is amazing to see what SHOULD happen.

A while back, I bought a pack fresh cakes in Supervalu. They looked mighty fine, and they were served after dinner. Didnt realize, that underneath, every one of them was completely green with thick mould. One girl had bitten into one, and bokked out when she got the taste.

Supervalue told me it had nothing to do with them, and I should take it up with the bakery. They wouldnt even give the money for them back, and seemed to be quite annoyed that I had even raised the point.

That was probably down to the inexperienced manager that worked in the store. I would have gone above him and reported it to their head office.

Archeron

Domscard wrote: »

OMG :eek: Definitely Supervalu's responsibility as the retailer. No way do you have to go back to the manufacturer - your contract was with Supervalu who sold you the product. Did you speak to the manager? I'd be so mad I'd nearly go back to them again now and/or write a letter to head office. Probably a bit late in the day but I'd want to vent.

Yes, it was the store manager I spoke with, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She was really dismissive to me and barely even looked at me while I was speaking to her.

Ah well, you live and learn!