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Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

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Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#131

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

Ancapistani wrote: post #111
Reason077 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “It's the same in most large cities. Of course this is paid for at the till...” I think it can actually save you money. I’ve lived in London flats where there were multiple large supermarket brands (Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, ASDA) all within easy walking distance. And smaller corner convenience stores like Tesco Express and Co-op and even Amazon’s one. And also some of the discounters (Iceland, Aldi) only slightly fur…

Coming from an American perspective, this seems nuts: > So I’d buy my olive oil and coffee there but go elsewhere for my apples and tomatoes etc… easy to do when all the shops are close together and you’re walking by them anyway! You're just walking into a supermarket carrying bags from other stores? Do that here and you'll quickly have "personal security" in the form of loss prevention following you around the store…

Then you'd show them the cashiers slip, and/or it's obvious because the packages are of a brand they don't carry anyways.

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#132

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

082349872349872 wrote: post #41
ffgjgf1 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> model should be adopted elsewhere too, the opposite of going hyperscale So you are saying there were no grocery stores in the US before Piggly Wiggly opened up? It was the model that preceded the current one throughout the western world. It clearly failed because it couldn’t compete with the efficiency (and much better customer experience and prices) provided by supermarkets. It wouldn’t work without imposing some…

Last place I lived in the US still had corner markets (in the 1990s), because the neighbourhood predated cars. OTOH I once worked in a city there that was younger than I was, and it was a disaster: nothing but drives to franchise "concepts", and had there been anyplace to walk to, there weren't even any sidewalks. Now I live in a village dating to the 14th century, and don't even need to walk to the store, let alone…

At first thought I'd see this in similar ways, with the exception of anything that is (or should be) fresh, like fruits, vegetables, meat & fish/sea-fruits.

How is your delivery experience with those?

At second thought I'd miss the haptics/olfactorics of smelling/tasting new kinds(or so far unknown to me) of cheeses, or the general discoverability of other items in store, like soaps, deodorants, shower-gels, shaving-stuff, etc.

Searching and ordering these online is a bad substitute for me.

At third thought all of this delivery-hype should be shunned, because it's just cementing in a class of low-wage workers, ready to be exploited, for the fucking convenience of all the the tasteless assholes giving a shit about such things.

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#133

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

ffgjgf1 wrote: post #40
DeathArrow wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would gladly take small, diverse stores who sell local products over big supermarket chains. Unfortunately, in most big cities in EU this is not an option, anymore.

Except the user in the comment above is describing stores which sell the same products as supermarkets just at higher prices and less inventory. > small, diverse stores who sell local products over big supermarket chains. Unfortunately, in most big cities in EU I guess it depends but where I am more upscale areas are full of such shops. Even right next to large supermarkets. They do fine because they offer niche/spec…

Oh lookie Sophie! Now we are having a piece of Kuhnigunde, doesn't she taste real beefy? Yum!

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#134

Post by Ancapistani »

LargoLasskhyfv wrote: post #131
Ancapistani wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from an American perspective, this seems nuts: > So I’d buy my olive oil and coffee there but go elsewhere for my apples and tomatoes etc… easy to do when all the shops are close together and you’re walking by them anyway! You're just walking into a supermarket carrying bags from other stores? Do that here and you'll quickly have "personal security" in the form of loss prevention following you around the store…

Then you'd show them the cashiers slip, and/or it's obvious because the packages are of a brand they don't carry anyways.

That’s not why it’s seen as suspicious, though. Shoplifters use large bags to conceal their stolen merchandise.

I drive a Jeep, and therefore don’t have a secure place to keep valuables. I’ve been followed in stores many times because of that, even though I make sure that it’s zipped up and worn over both shoulders in an attempt to reduce suspicion.

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#135

Post by Reason077 »

Ancapistani wrote: post #134
LargoLasskhyfv wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you'd show them the cashiers slip, and/or it's obvious because the packages are of a brand they don't carry anyways.

That’s not why it’s seen as suspicious, though. Shoplifters use large bags to conceal their stolen merchandise. I drive a Jeep, and therefore don’t have a secure place to keep valuables. I’ve been followed in stores many times because of that, even though I make sure that it’s zipped up and worn over both shoulders in an attempt to reduce suspicion.

Seems weird to me that they actually physically follow people around in this age of CCTV, though. Firstly you’re going to be annoying / intimidating / insulting a lot of legitimate customers, who will shop elsewhere if they don’t feel welcome. And secondly because it must waste a lot of staff time?

In busy UK supermarkets (and malls) there will usually be security guard(s) near the exit. Sometimes they have a little security station where they can monitor the cctv themselves, or otherwise a radio in their ear connected to a back office.

If something suspicious is seen they’ll stop people as they leave and ask to have a look in bags etc.

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#136

Post by 082349872349872 »

LargoLasskhyfv wrote: post #132
082349872349872 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last place I lived in the US still had corner markets (in the 1990s), because the neighbourhood predated cars. OTOH I once worked in a city there that was younger than I was, and it was a disaster: nothing but drives to franchise "concepts", and had there been anyplace to walk to, there weren't even any sidewalks. Now I live in a village dating to the 14th century, and don't even need to walk to the store, let alone…

At first thought I'd see this in similar ways, with the exception of anything that is (or should be) fresh, like fruits, vegetables, meat & fish/sea-fruits. How is your delivery experience with those? At second thought I'd miss the haptics/olfactorics of smelling/tasting new kinds(or so far unknown to me) of cheeses, or the general discoverability of other items in store, like soaps, deodorants, shower-gels, shaving-…

Fruits and veggies are fresh[0]. We don't cook meat & fish ourselves. Refrigerated stuff comes in a special cold bag with ice; frozen stuff comes in a special box with insulation and dry ice.

We're old, so discovery is not a big issue — we explore other things; weekly shopping is much more about exploitation[1]. (being able to start from last week's baseline online is a big win over manual shopping, and to some degree we get exploration anyway, as the store always adds in freebies of items they'd like us to try)

Finally, we're not in an anglophone country, so delivery (and removal of the special containers afterwards) is done by a combination of (a) the postal service, (b) transport companies, and (c) employees of the store. All covered by at least union-negotiated baselines; all with insurance and much more than 2 weeks paid vacation; all paid decently[2]. No "independent contractors".

[0] if we cared more, we'd get them at the Friday farmers' market.

[1] we are eating to live, not living to eat

[2] just looked it up: transport employees are USD ~60k/yr, postal carriers ~67k/yr, so the store is probably in that range.

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#137

Post by penjelly »

pstadler wrote: post #34

There's a YouTube channel[1] explaining the difference between North American cities and European ones. As a resident of Amsterdam he covers this city a lot. I'm from Zurich, Switzerland. I don't own a car because everything I need is either in walking/cycling distance or reachable by public transport. While I've been well aware of the car dependency situation in North America, watching a few episodes from the mentio…

ottawa, canada. no car for 9 years, i live downtown but yeah everything is spread out pretty far outside the core dt area. Worst part though is the culture expects a car more than you actually need one in my exp.

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#138

Post by Ancapistani »

Reason077 wrote: post #135
Ancapistani wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not why it’s seen as suspicious, though. Shoplifters use large bags to conceal their stolen merchandise. I drive a Jeep, and therefore don’t have a secure place to keep valuables. I’ve been followed in stores many times because of that, even though I make sure that it’s zipped up and worn over both shoulders in an attempt to reduce suspicion.

Seems weird to me that they actually physically follow people around in this age of CCTV, though. Firstly you’re going to be annoying / intimidating / insulting a lot of legitimate customers, who will shop elsewhere if they don’t feel welcome. And secondly because it must waste a lot of staff time? In busy UK supermarkets (and malls) there will usually be security guard(s) near the exit. Sometimes they have a little…

Part of it is that they are intending to be intimidating - they want to be seen, to let the person know they're watching.

Ironically, at least for large retailers like Walmart, if they suspect you're actually stealing things they won't physically follow you. Instead, they will monitor CCTV and intercept you at the door. In fact, it goes further than that - they'll allow you to leave if the amount you stole is less than the threshold for a felony. They'll build a profile on you, using facial recognition, and intercept you in the future when the aggregate theft amount reaches the threshold.

This is all very variable, depending on the state, region, city, or even neighborhood. Some Walmarts have no visible security presence while others have multiple uniformed police officers (hired via private contract) at the entrances.

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#139

Post by ffgjgf1 »

082349872349872 wrote: post #136
LargoLasskhyfv wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At first thought I'd see this in similar ways, with the exception of anything that is (or should be) fresh, like fruits, vegetables, meat & fish/sea-fruits. How is your delivery experience with those? At second thought I'd miss the haptics/olfactorics of smelling/tasting new kinds(or so far unknown to me) of cheeses, or the general discoverability of other items in store, like soaps, deodorants, shower-gels, shaving-…

Fruits and veggies are fresh[0]. We don't cook meat & fish ourselves. Refrigerated stuff comes in a special cold bag with ice; frozen stuff comes in a special box with insulation and dry ice. We're old, so discovery is not a big issue — we explore other things; weekly shopping is much more about exploitation[1]. (being able to start from last week's baseline online is a big win over manual shopping, and to some degre…

> we're not in an anglophone country, so delivery

I’m not sure not having those things is at all unique to Anglophone countries

Re: Average distance to a supermarket in Amsterdam is 400 meter or 1300 feet

#140

Post by Reason077 »

Ancapistani wrote: post #138
Reason077 wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems weird to me that they actually physically follow people around in this age of CCTV, though. Firstly you’re going to be annoying / intimidating / insulting a lot of legitimate customers, who will shop elsewhere if they don’t feel welcome. And secondly because it must waste a lot of staff time? In busy UK supermarkets (and malls) there will usually be security guard(s) near the exit. Sometimes they have a little…

Part of it is that they are intending to be intimidating - they want to be seen, to let the person know they're watching. Ironically, at least for large retailers like Walmart, if they suspect you're actually stealing things they won't physically follow you. Instead, they will monitor CCTV and intercept you at the door. In fact, it goes further than that - they'll allow you to leave if the amount you stole is less th…

> "Part of it is that they are intending to be intimidating - they want to be seen, to let the person know they're watching."

Yes, but what's the point of this? Why risk intimidating legitimate customers? You're just going to offend them and they'll shop elsewhere next time, so you lost revenue.

And if they are a thief, don't you want to actually catch them doing it so you can ban them from the store, or prosecute?

The most successful shoplifters are probably the ones who blend in and don't look suspicious anyway.

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