No-go snow firms should be ashamed

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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These pathetic supermarkets and mail-order firms who say that they can't venture north for Scottish home deliveries should be held to account, argues Alan Cochrane.

It is nothing short of an outrage that some of Britain’s – repeat Britain’s – biggest retailers have effectively declared Scotland a ‘no-go’ area for Christmas home deliveries.

And it’s just as much of an outrage that Scotland’s opposition parties are taking the side, not of their constituents – many of whom are housebound and dependent on those home deliveries – but of the fat-cat supermarkets.

It is nothing short of bonkers for Jeremy Purvis of the Liberal Democrats and David McLetchie of the Tories to play petty politics with the issue and attack the SNP for not keeping the roads open and thus giving the likes of Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury an excuse for their highly selective behaviour.

The fact is that some main roads, yes probably due to Nat inefficiency, were closed last week; but only for, at most, two days. They’ve been open ever since and they’re open now.
However, these pathetic supermarkets and other mail-order firms are saying that because of the weather and because of the backlog they’ve accrued during those two days, neither they nor their couriers can venture north for Scottish home deliveries.

It was an unhappy baptism of fire for Keith Brown, Scotland’s new transport minister, in what was effectively his first day in post. It must be said at once that he responded very well and very robustly too, as might be expected from a Royal Marine with a Falklands campaign medal.

Perhaps fortunately for the wimpish creatures who took the decision to scratch Scotland off their home delivery maps, Mr Brown confined his reaction to writing to the companies concerned, attacking their “unreasonable behaviour” and demanding that they change their minds as “a matter of urgency.”

It is earnestly to be hoped that his strictures succeed.

The world does not stop at the M25 and there is almost always a varied weather pattern all over Britain. By what logic do these retail giants justify their decision to ban home deliveries in say, Hawick or Gretna, but not in Hexham or Carlisle? Do blizzards recognise borders? When heavy snow falls, are the roads any more passable in Northumberland than the Scottish Borders?

And if the heavy snow, predicted for the London area materialises over this coming weekend and the motorways become even more like parking lots than they do normally, can we expect Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s and the others to ban home deliveries there too? Or is it Scotland only that’s been singled out for special treatment?

The rhyme and reason – if there is any – to home deliveries has always been a bit of a mystery to most of us anyway. For instance, a large heavy consignment from the City of London was delivered to my door in Edinburgh four days after the order was placed.

However, a much smaller item (it’s a Christmas present, so I can’t give details I’m afraid) that was ordered two weeks ago has been with despatched via Royal Mail. Using the latter’s ‘Track and Trace’ facility I’ve learned that my packet has been at the Gatwick Mail Centre for a week now but as of last night showed no sign of any northwards movement.

Yet a third item is awaiting collection ten days after being ordered.

The benefits of the internet and of internet shopping are continually extolled to us. But what older members may regard as merely a different form of the old mail-order system is not much good if what we order isn’t mailed and delivered to our doors.It’s all very well for the country’s retail superstores saying that they’ll manage to deliver our goods to their stores in our neighbourhoods. But if we wanted that we’d have bought the blessed things there in the first place.

Possibly correctly, the rest of the world has a good laugh at how Britain comes to a standstill with snow. However, surely nothing is more deserving of mocking laughter than the dismal antics of these mammoths on the world’s retail stage in declaring that part of Britain is off-limits to them for a significant part of their service.

[rmdriver]

Quite agree.........There is no bad weather now. Stop being a bunch of pussies.

[Judgee]

I don't blame them, Scotland is bloody freezing all year round, its minus 10 degrees in August ffs!

[Broxi51]

Boycott the feckers