LIST: Things about The UK you wish you had known

I just walked home a couple of hours ago laden like a pack mule. I'm here to testify, my back hurts and I know I overdid it. Might have to buy a trolley and see if DH makes good on his threat to divorce me  

Bribe him with kinky sexual positions, then remind him that if you throw out or damage your back permanently, you'll never be able to do this or that again.  There are a few I can't do because they put pressure on my injury.  Much to our dismay, one of them is a fav for both of us.

That's a nice one, Courtney!

I kind of like this one. It's rather Paul Smith-y.  

So what's the term for one of these in Britain? And where can I shop for one? I think of these being rather grandma-y, but I'm one of those young(er) women who can't handle carrying heavy things even short distances due to my neuro condition. Even carrying a 1/2 gallon of milk for a 1/2 mile would give me issues.

So what's the term for one of these in Britain? And where can I shop for one? I think of these being rather grandma-y, but I'm one of those young(er) women who can't handle carrying heavy things even short distances due to my neuro condition. Even carrying a 1/2 gallon of milk for a 1/2 mile would give me issues.

http://www.johnlewis.com/search/shopping-trolley?_requestid=2808987

http://funky-shopping-trolleys.co.uk/page2.htm

The Debenham's one I posted has an insulated bit for chilled items! Trolleys are getting cleverer and cleverer!

Yes, my trolley, used for my trombone, hahah, has a chillerbit - that actually works really well for keeping things cool. 

Coming a bit late to the discussion, but I was laughing because of the any many times I had this same discussion with my husband when we had a flat in a city centre and no car.  I couldn't fathom why I wouldn't want a trolley, but my husband insisted I should not get one. I can't have looked much more stylish when I started dragging my hand luggage to the only store in walking distance instead.  I just couldn't carry all those bags! He still insists it's an old lady thing, but I completely disagree. Maybe it's a male thing?

I saw some cute ones at Ikea the other day that I liked.  This article was fun as well showing lots of stylish ones that are becoming popular at big retailers. http://www.shoppersbase.com/33654/shopping-trolleys-uptodate/

He still insists it's an old lady thing, but I completely disagree. Maybe it's a male thing?

I saw some cute ones at Ikea the other day that I liked.  This article was fun as well showing lots of stylish ones that are becoming popular at big retailers. http://www.shoppersbase.com/33654/shopping-trolleys-uptodate/

lol, maybe it is?  But I already do so many old lady things, I think my husband is used to it.  I crochet, sew [I just inherited my Nana's things from her alteration shop, too, so it's gone kind of hard core, lol], bake, make things from scratch, and I love hats and gloves! And I know for a FACT he's into older women anyway

Thanks for that link.  I'm ready to start a revolution! With two small kids,who will still only be 5 and 6 when we arrive, it's essential to me to have something for them to hold on to. They have 'stations' on either side of the buggy, where I've attached bungee cords for them to grab hold of, and if they let go, we turn around and go home. Especially now that London seems like it might be a viable option [turns out my husband's current job has offices that do what he does in Marylebone], I will need that tool!

He still insists it's an old lady thing, but I completely disagree. Maybe it's a male thing?

No, I don't think it's a male thing. I've always thought of it as an old lady thing as well.

It might be just a stereotype and maybe times are changing and it's actually more of a younger person's thing as well now, but I worked in retail in the UK on and off for over 10 years (1999 to 2010) and the only people I ever saw shopping with those little trolleys were old ladies.

I do think it's an 'old lady' stereotype in the UK. But certainly not in much of mainland Europe! So come on UK people, this is just a silly UK stereotype we need to get over - the sooner we young, fit ladies start using trollies, the sooner we catch up with our European sisters! 

I do think it's an 'old lady' stereotype in the UK. But certainly not in much of mainland Europe! So come on UK people, this is just a silly UK stereotype we need to get over - the sooner we young, fit ladies start using trollies, the sooner we catch up with our European sisters! 

Absolutely!  I find it so liberating to be able to toddle off to the shop and not have to worry if they'll have an offer on, say, 3 bottles of mineral water for the price of two.  If I was hand-lugging I couldn't tote that many plus other stuff but with the handy dandy trolley -- no worries!  But then I'm an old lady anyway 

Which brings to mind the offers themselves: here you have to buy the 3 whatevers to get the savings.  Where I come from they work it out per item.  So if it's 2 cans of coffee for $5 (regularly $3 each) you can buy the one can for $2.50.  It seems so discriminatory to me against people living on their own, people without a car and - yes - OAPs!

Interesting Boston Diner.

Where I was last living in the US, some stores required the multi-item purchase, some would allow you to buy one at the "2 for" price; same with the BOGO.....Food Lion would NOT honor the price for one item even if the stock was depleted and there was only 1 left. Some were a bit more accommodating, but it was always well to check the till receipt, as the computer was only programmed to give the discount if 2 items went through the scanner.

I also hate the multi-buys, and I have reasonable space for storage. Some stuff I just don't want 2 or 3 ..... just reduce the price so I can buy what I want/need! And I also think it is worse for OAPs who don't need to 'stock up' or buy a year's supply of something!

Which brings to mind the offers themselves: here you have to buy the 3 whatevers to get the savings.  Where I come from they work it out per item.  So if it's 2 cans of coffee for $5 (regularly $3 each) you can buy the one can for $2.50.  It seems so discriminatory to me against people living on their own, people without a car and - yes - OAPs!

See, I was very surprised to find that stores in the US would allow people to buy just the one item at the lower price... it just doesn't make sense to me that you should be able to do that.

The whole point of those offers is to make you buy more and spend more money... the stores make more profit if you go in for just one item and then end up buying 2 or 3 of them because they are on offer.

So, from a business perspective, I don't see that there's any benefit in allowing people to just buy one item at the offer price  .

I worked in retail for a number of years and the focus was on selling more products and taking more money - the offers were specifically designed to make people by more than one item.

Last autumn, Which? (essentially a UK counterpart to Consumer Reports) did an investigative piece on MultiBuy practices across the supermarkets. Be careful - it's not always a great deal...

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/nov/19/which-supermarket-pricing-multibuy-offers

I find this to be one of the most annoying things that supermarkets do!