Dear Tesco. Is it really too much to ask...

Dear Tesco

Is it really too much to ask...
For a trolley??? Like most of your regular customers, I spend between £600-£800 per month on groceries in your shop. Yet because I have a disabled child shopping is far from easy. Admittedly, shopping with a 2 and a bit year old, is never an easy task. But when your child is unable to race around the aisles, or is unable to physically sit in the trolleys, things become even harder. Until a few months ago, I'd put my nearly 2 year old daughter in the reclining baby seat type of trollies. But obviously these have weight limits, and my daughter reached this limit. Her legs were dangling over the edge of the trolley.

So now, my option is to push my daughter in her wheelchair around the shop with one hand, whilst struggling with a heavy basket with another hand. This means several trips a week, which I have to fit in around the various therapy and hospital appointments. This also means that on the weekend, after a week at work, my husband has to brave the aisles.

In November, I approached customer services with my dilemma. Knowing that a 'special' trolley would benefit not just me, but lots of families and their children in swindon. Back then, it seemed simple. A trolley would be ordered and arrive within 6 weeks. 6 weeks came and went, but taking into consideration December, I waited until February before asking again. At this point I met with a duty manager 'B' who said she had worked in other stores where there were trolleys, so she'd try and get one from there, plus order a new special trolley from head office. She took my number and said she'd be in touch. February, march ... April... Nothing!
So back to the store I go. I ask to speak to 'B', who is unavailable, so a male duty manager comes down. I explain the situation. He radios to 'B', then feeds me what I now know to be the biggest cock and bull story ever!! Apparently, there are no spare special trolleys ANYWHERE. Infact, they aren't even available to order anymore. They are in the process of designing one!! BS!!!

Feeling frustrated, I contact head office myself. Something I should have probably done at the start. On the same day, I had a call from the store manager 'S'.

He apologised for everything that had happened previously, and assured me that he had now ordered a special trolley. That it would arrive in store within 21 days, but in the mean time, he'd managed to get hold of one on loan from another store. Though he wasn't sure how he was going to get it to Swindon yet. But he'd of course let me know when it was in store. So I left it a week, nothing.. So I popped In and asked to see 'S'. He was available but 'B' was. Knowing she'd fobbed me off previously, she fed me more BS about how she'd not forgotten, was onto it, etc. And no, the loan trolley still wasn't in, but she'd let me know when it was. Still nothing!

With Hope being unwell the past few weeks, my focus upon this had slipped. But when I was leaving Tesco on thursday, I saw it. And what I saw was completely unsuitable! I know it's the one, as it's as described I suppose. But really it's so completely useless to us. It's really much more suited to a large perhaps autistic spectrum child. Or a large child who at least has control of it's head and trunk. It was basically a blue plastic almost school-chair like. Ok, it'll probably suit someone. But we are still no closer, to what is beginning to seem like the impossible.

Ok, yes Tesco, I could do my shopping online. Thanks for the other offer, to have someone assist me round the shop. But you know what? We are excluded from 'normal' enough. I'd just like to be able to do my shopping without it being a big deal.

Yours sincerely
Caroline