“I tried a Co-op own brand "Irresistible" Braised Beef & Truffle Chips (£4 to serve one), heated as instructed. The quantity of beef was pretty meagre, but worse, it was fatty and chewy and I had to discard about half of it. The gravy, chips and sauce were fine, but overall, a regrettable experience.”
“Why don't the Co-op have a review section on their own website? Probably worried about what many customers would say I expect.
Usually ok, but is located conveniently for me. Prices are often uncomfortably high.
They claim to be an ethical supplier but don't really think about what they are doing- one of the examples is loose leaf tea where they claim to be environmentally friendly by using less packaging BUT THE PACKAGING CAN'T BE RECYCLED! The old packaging was a cardboard box which can be recycled with the tea in a foil bag which couldn't be recycled but was much thinner and smaller.
I just got one of their Chicken in a bag and it was awful- really tough meat like an old broiler bird. I thought the bags were supposed to make the chicken more tender so if this is true it would have been next to inedible. And Co-op chicken is expensive compared to Asda, Lidl, Tesco- well basically anywhere else.
So be careful what you buy. Some stuff is ok but you really do have to be careful (sorry about repeating the 'careful' but I really believe it is justified).
The staff appear disinterested in the customers (if you can find one they do help when asked) but there are frequently very few on the floor and I get the distinct impression that they are understaffed deliberately. I don't think this is actually the fault of the staff.
The manager doesn't appear very often- the only time is when there are almost no staff at all and he is rushing and pushing you through as quickly as possible hardly even noticing you. It makes me feel like I'm inconveniencing them and shouldn't be there. I've heard him barking orders to the staff- he is above doing those menial tasks like serving customers?”
“Co-op Braised Steak and Mash. I had this today for the first time. I won't have it again. The steak was tough and definitely not braised as I understand braising. Two pieces were inedible and I have a full set of teeth. The rest were simply tough.
This next comment is a matter of personal taste - another reason I won't buy again is the taste. I couldn't taste beef in the gravy. It had an overwhelming tomato flavour. The quantity was good but I left half of it so this was irrelevant.”
“Chicken in the bag chicken that the ass fell off was completely tasteless only partially saved by the chicken stock I had previously cooked for the gravy. Completely dread”
“Had to buy roast in the bag as I missed the other shops. Cooked it for an hour, went to turn it and the ass fell off. Haven't eaten it yet but presume that it will be tasteless”
“It did big time.Bought a roast in the bag chicken at £4.50 as other shops closed just before we got there. Regular chicken should be @£3. Cooked it for about an hour and when I tried to turn it the ass fell off. Complete rubbish”
“I purchased a Hereford Sirloin Steak (£6) on 23 December 2019 and it was dreadful. There was gristle in every mouthful. Co-op really needs to review their provider”
