Christmas Turkey and Ham Rip Off

whatbuttons?

I just wanted to warn some other users of an experience I've had with a particular wholesale butcher in Coolock - Spring Valley Meats
I had a party on Saturday night for some friends and as we were serving a Christmas dinner for 14 people I ordered a Boned & Rolled Crown of Turkey and a Ham about a month ago, and was told at the time of ordering that the cost would be €30 for the ham and €35 for the turkey. However, when we went to pick it up on Friday morning the price had skyrocketed to €35 for the ham and €50 for the turkey crown. That's a total of €85 when we were told it would be €65 when we ordered.
I'm absolutely disgusted at the treatment we received - nothing was written on our order form so there was no record of how much it should have cost - and we were told to basically like it or lump it.
We will never ever use this company again and I would warn others to be very very careful about using them for your meat.

godtabh

whatbuttons? wrote: »

I just wanted to warn some other users of an experience I've had with a particular wholesale butcher in Coolock - Spring Valley Meats
I had a party on Saturday night for some friends and as we were serving a Christmas dinner for 14 people I ordered a Boned & Rolled Crown of Turkey and a Ham about a month ago, and was told at the time of ordering that the cost would be €30 for the ham and €35 for the turkey. However, when we went to pick it up on Friday morning the price had skyrocketed to €35 for the ham and €50 for the turkey crown. That's a total of €85 when we were told it would be €65 when we ordered.
I'm absolutely disgusted at the treatment we received - nothing was written on our order form so there was no record of how much it should have cost - and we were told to basically like it or lump it.
We will never ever use this company again and I would warn others to be very very careful about using them for your meat.

more of a lesson to you to make sure you getting everything in writing

davo10

whatbuttons? wrote: »

I just wanted to warn some other users of an experience I've had with a particular wholesale butcher in Coolock - Spring Valley Meats
I had a party on Saturday night for some friends and as we were serving a Christmas dinner for 14 people I ordered a Boned & Rolled Crown of Turkey and a Ham about a month ago, and was told at the time of ordering that the cost would be €30 for the ham and €35 for the turkey. However, when we went to pick it up on Friday morning the price had skyrocketed to €35 for the ham and €50 for the turkey crown. That's a total of €85 when we were told it would be €65 when we ordered.
I'm absolutely disgusted at the treatment we received - nothing was written on our order form so there was no record of how much it should have cost - and we were told to basically like it or lump it.
We will never ever use this company again and I would warn others to be very very careful about using them for your meat.

A month ago the butcher may not have known what supplier was going to charge, it may also have been charged by weight.

juan.kerr

davo10 wrote: »

A month ago the butcher may not have known what supplier was going to charge, it may also have been charged by weight.

In that case you would expect the butcher to caveat the price, which is fair enough. It doesn't sound like that happened in this case however.

whatbuttons?

godtabh wrote: »

more of a lesson to you to make sure you getting everything in writing

Unfortunately I wasn't able to visit the wholesaler in person so I had booked over the phone. It's a little difficult to get a piece of paper with writing on it through a telephone line, and as we had ordered from the company in this way before we had no reason to believe there would be any issue

davo10 wrote: »

A month ago the butcher may not have known what supplier was going to charge, it may also have been charged by weight.

They only had "one size" of turkey crown and I was told when booking it would be €35, not €50.

juan.kerr wrote: »

In that case you would expect the butcher to caveat the price, which is fair enough. It doesn't sound like that happened in this case however.

Thanks juan.kerr, that's exactly what has happened. Told one price at the time of booking, but charged another price in the shop.

sandin

actually sounds like good value if you are getting 14 people from it.

Also considering all the supermarkets could not give out prices of fresh turkeys even a week ago, I can't see how a butcher could have given it 2 months ago.
- Prices this year are about 20% up on last year due to huge increases on feed. (note how chickens have increased by about 25% too)


Possibly they gave an estimate?

and for the sake of 20quid, why ruin the memory of a good night?

whatbuttons?

Please bear in mind this is not a full bird, only the crown, large though it was, and it was not an estimate, that was given as the price just 3 weeks ago (ordered 04/12 and collected 21/12). To be honest I'm not here to argue about it. I am simply relating a bad experience so that others dealing with the company can draw their own conclusions from the facts.
As regards the 20 quid, it was 25 quid because the price of the ham had also increased from the quote, and 25 quid would have gone a long way towards gifts for my family and friends. Some of us are not so well off that 25quid is insignificant, particularly given the time of year.

Chris_5339762

Aldi had fresh whole turkeys for €20, bloody nice too Tesco had 6lb of ham for about €25 IIRC. Butchers are incredibly expensive for turkey and ham and while they are nicer, they are not a huge amount nicer than the Lidl/Aldi ones. Certainly not enough to justify the difference.

anewme

I paid 53 for a 12lb free range bronze turkey from a local farm. The taste was amazing and also comes with the comfort of knowing exactly where the it came from, the animal welfare aspect and also the ability supporting a local family business.

Its not just about the monetary cost.

sandin

whatbuttons? wrote: »

Please bear in mind this is not a full bird, only the crown, large though it was, and it was not an estimate, that was given as the price just 3 weeks ago (ordered 04/12 and collected 21/12). To be honest I'm not here to argue about it. I am simply relating a bad experience so that others dealing with the company can draw their own conclusions from the facts.
As regards the 20 quid, it was 25 quid because the price of the ham had also increased from the quote, and 25 quid would have gone a long way towards gifts for my family and friends. Some of us are not so well off that 25quid is insignificant, particularly given the time of year.

From your own figures it was €20 in total. 15 on the turkey and a fiver on the ham.
If this fed 14 people than you got brilliant value especially as the turkey was all prepared for you by the butcher.

Again - I would doubt very much if the butcher gave you an actual cost - just an approx. cost as prices for fresh turkeys only started to appear about 17th. - On Saturday 15th, Conor Pope on Newstalk could not get any quotes for fresh turkey from any supermarket / butcher, so I can't see how your butcher could have given a price on 4th Dec - even though you said in the OP that it was a "month ago"

Basically the butcher said "should be about €35" but all you heard was "€35" and then as an act on vengenance for you not hearing properly you decide to make a slanderous statement behind an annoymous name on a public forum. - Clever boy, hope it made you feel good.

IMO €50 for a large breast crown, to feed 14 people (prob 4-5kg) fully boned and rolled and ready for the oven seems very good value.

keithclancy

I think the problem is the Butcher set the expectation that it would cost X amount, but when the product was picked up it was Y amount.

That would slightly annoy me too to be honest.

daenerysstormborn3

My bf ordered our turkey from Superquinn 2 weeks ago and the price he was told then was the price Superquinn charged when we picked it up on Sunday so this excuse of "prices for turkeys could not be given out ahead of time" is rubbish imo. 3 of my friends got their turkey and ham in the same Superquinn and had the same experience as me. My aunt got her turkey and ham in her local butchers and also had the same experience and she ordered her turkey and ham over a month ago.

keithclancy

pixiebean22 wrote: »

My bf ordered our turkey from Superquinn 2 weeks ago and the price he was told then was the price Superquinn charged when we picked it up on Sunday so this excuse of "prices for turkeys could not be given out ahead of time" is rubbish imo. 3 of my friends got their turkey and ham in the same Superquinn and had the same experience as me. My aunt got her turkey and ham in her local butchers and also had the same experience and she ordered her turkey and ham over a month ago.

A Supermarket Chain can do that though because they are buying in bulk, a small butcher wouldn't be able to commit to a large purchase so is at the mercy of the supplier.

username123

keithclancy wrote: »

A Supermarket Chain can do that though because they are buying in bulk, a small butcher wouldn't be able to commit to a large purchase so is at the mercy of the supplier.

I paid my local small butcher for a turkey and ham in early november and collected it the day before christmas eve. We all know that the prices go up at christmas, any decent butcher incorporates that into his pricing. Its not a complex issue.

The OP has been ripped off. Quoted one price and charged another. Its not on and the price of turkey at christmas is irrelevant tbh. If someone told you over the phone that your order costs one price and then charges you another when you go to collect it they are ripping you off by putting you on the spot plain and simple. I would think the OP has a case for small claims here.

sandin

pixiebean22 wrote: »

My bf ordered our turkey from Superquinn 2 weeks ago and the price he was told then was the price Superquinn charged when we picked it up on Sunday so this excuse of "prices for turkeys could not be given out ahead of time" is rubbish imo. 3 of my friends got their turkey and ham in the same Superquinn and had the same experience as me. My aunt got her turkey and ham in her local butchers and also had the same experience and she ordered her turkey and ham over a month ago.

keithclancy wrote: »

A Supermarket Chain can do that though because they are buying in bulk, a small butcher wouldn't be able to commit to a large purchase so is at the mercy of the supplier.

The OP went to a wholesale butcher - a supermarket chain will have a decent margin built in and will guess the market price. The supermarkets will all quote an "average weight" and can err on the smaller size very easily (one of their tricks of the trade).

I still say €50 for a boned and rolled crown of fresh Irish turkey for 14 people was great value for the OP.

username123

sandin wrote: »

I still say €50 for a boned and rolled crown of fresh Irish turkey for 14 people was great value for the OP.

Irrelevant, quoted one price and charged another when on the spot is sharp practice and not a company I would consider doing business with knowing that this is how they treat their customers.

keithclancy

username123 wrote: »

I paid my local small butcher for a turkey and ham in early november and collected it the day before christmas eve. We all know that the prices go up at christmas, any decent butcher incorporates that into his pricing. Its not a complex issue.

The OP has been ripped off. Quoted one price and charged another. Its not on and the price of turkey at christmas is irrelevant tbh. If someone told you over the phone that your order costs one price and then charges you another when you go to collect it they are ripping you off by putting you on the spot plain and simple. I would think the OP has a case for small claims here.

Fock sake, thats what I said:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=82390456&postcount=11

username123

keithclancy wrote: »

Fock sake, thats what I said:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=82390456&postcount=11

"Setting an expectation" is not the same as "Quoting a price for an order".

Setting an expectation is like the butcher mentioning in October that turkeys cost x amount or so per lb in December.

Quoting a price for an order is saying, yes I will provide this piece of meat at this price for you to collect on this date.

I would like to know what happened when the OP complained. I know in my local butchers if a young/new/inexperienced staff member made a mistake on the phone with a price that they would stand over the quote, even at a loss to themselves - 20 quid is not worth losing a customer for - this thread alone is more than 20 quids worth of bad publicity.

sandin

don't forget that on public forums you normally just hear one side of the story and for the OP to create a racket over €20 becasue he may / may not have had a right quote, especially when it seems he got great value, is crazy.

Can anyone say that €50 for a boned and rolled fresh turkey crown for 14 people is not good value?? (The M&S price was about €110 and that was for a previously frozen bird)

daenerysstormborn3

keithclancy wrote: »

A Supermarket Chain can do that though because they are buying in bulk, a small butcher wouldn't be able to commit to a large purchase so is at the mercy of the supplier.

sandin wrote: »

The OP went to a wholesale butcher - a supermarket chain will have a decent margin built in and will guess the market price. The supermarkets will all quote an "average weight" and can err on the smaller size very easily (one of their tricks of the trade).

I still say €50 for a boned and rolled crown of fresh Irish turkey for 14 people was great value for the OP.

If you read my post again, my aunt ordered from her local butcher and paid the price she was quoted when ordering. If one can do that, why not all.

username123

sandin wrote: »

don't forget that on public forums you normally just hear one side of the story and for the OP to create a racket over €20 becasue he may / may not have had a right quote, especially when it seems he got great value, is crazy.

Can anyone say that €50 for a boned and rolled fresh turkey crown for 14 people is not good value?? (The M&S price was about €110 and that was for a previously frozen bird)

I agree on the one side of the story.

The value issue is irrelevant. The point is that one price was quoted and another was charged. Although I dont think its amazing value, its similar to what my own butcher was charging.

keithclancy

username123 wrote: »

"Setting an expectation" is not the same as "Quoting a price for an order".

Setting an expectation is like the butcher mentioning in October that turkeys cost x amount or so per lb in December.

Quoting a price for an order is saying, yes I will provide this piece of meat at this price for you to collect on this date.

I would like to know what happened when the OP complained. I know in my local butchers if a young/new/inexperienced staff member made a mistake on the phone with a price that they would stand over the quote, even at a loss to themselves - 20 quid is not worth losing a customer for - this thread alone is more than 20 quids worth of bad publicity.

Not really, over the phone its a matter of he said she said.
Unless its written down or recorded it didn't happen.

If the OP got there and the price wasn't as expected then then they should not have accepted the product.

username123

keithclancy wrote: »

If the OP got there and the price wasn't as expected then then they should not have accepted the product.

This isnt realistic. Where else was the OP going to get turkey and ham to feed 14 people at Christmas? Small claims frown upon retailers putting people over a barrel like this.

Although its a fair point that a phone quote means very little - I wouldnt say it means nothing though, the OP cannot prove it was said, but the retailer cannot prove it wasnt said.