Dick Dasterdly

[QUOTE=jimenato;11008769

I also like to select my own vegetables rather than have them picked out for me which is what happens in the village shops. I can choose what I like and it takes half the time because you don't have to wait in a queue.



Re: Carrefour, we bought a Hoover from there last week, after an hour's use it gave up. I put it back in the box and went to get my money back and was told that it had to be looked at and possibly fixed by tecnico. Not only would they not give me my money back or exchange it (which is what any decent place would do) but they wouldn't even take it from me, demanding that I take it home and clean it before tecnico would look at it. Ok, it was a bit dusty but I was expecting them to just bin it and give me another.

I should have stuck it ...[/QUOTE]

I see the same problems buying fruit and veg on the local markets here.

The stallholders strongly object to anyone attempting to choose their own and there are almost always queues, though to be fair the prices are normally less than in the shops.

As for the Hoover I agree.
You should have stuck it,..........sideways.
They don't like it up em Mr Mainwaring.

Chiclanagir

The trouble is in the markets you ask for a kilo or half a kilo and when you get home you see you have got the crappy stuff that they have picked from the back that is past its sell by date. Last week when I tried to ask for a bag to pick my own I got shouted at.

cricketman

Two types of market from my experience around Spain:

1. The fixed markets in the centre of cities/towns. Here the stall holders are really friendly and ask you which ones you would like etc

2. The cheap 1 euro per kilo markets that maybe set up once a week at a fairground. Much more common in the South. For these ones you get what you are given hence the much cheaper prices. Quality is normally pretty good but you may get a few squashed and bruised ones along the way

Chiclanagir

Fixed market. But I suppose being blonde and English they always assume you are on holiday so won´t be going back.

Lynn R

Most of the stalls in our indoor market are happy to provide bags and let us choose our own produce - we don't go to the ones who don't! Nor do we buy from the outdoor market stalls, many of whom have "no tocar" signs displayed.

Almost all of Mercadona's fruit and vegetables are now sold loose too, following their change of policy introduced in late October.

cricketman

Sure, just a shame their offerings are completely tasteless

cricketman

If you spoke the language OK then you would have been treated fine, not that this is a good excuse for poor service

My wife is Spanish and blonde. Many Andaluces thought she was British when we lived down there, but she never got such a poor service

Lynn R

I don't buy many from there, but they do have Granny Smith apples which the market doesn't, and their grapes tend to be in better condition than the market ones. Otherwise the market is cheaper (just bought vine tomatoes at €0.75 per kilo) and better.

jimenato

I'm afraid expats are fair game down here to some (by no means all) businesses. We aren't really in a tourist area but we are near enough to the coast that quite a few come up for a day out.

I guess that some of the bars and shops just assume that any foreigner is a tourist and won't be seen again. They are right - they won't be seen again but because the word has gone around that they'll rip you off. The businesses that treat the expats right do very well out of them.

It's not about language (most residents here speak pretty good albeit accented Spanish) it's about fair play and good business practice.

jimenato

They taste the same as all the other vegetables around here.

cricketman

How come in my 3.5 years on the Costa Del Sol I never came across this?

Some shop keepers were friendlier than others, but in general the level of service was way better than my experience in the UK. And while I am fluent in Spanish it is pretty obvious that I am not Spanish

cricketman

You can find some good fruit and veg in Costa Del Sol. Tomatoes, avocados, aubergines, lettuces and potatoes in particular, but not in the supermarkets where they will be from the cheap plastic covered green houses (except for Hipercor's luxury super expensive selection)

jimenato

I'm sure you can - I think that you said before somewhere that the city markets generally have better quality veg but the nearest city is Algeciras and it's the best part of 2 hours round trip. We have to make do with Supermarkets, village shops and weekly markets and there ain't much to choose between them, apart from in the supermarkets at least you get to choose your own.

ETA - And TBH I don't think Mercadona's veg are as bad as you say. To a certain extent it about what you do with them and Mrs J is very good at that.

jimenato

Read my sig

And I am absolutely not going to get into a UK/Spain pissing contest.

JB80

Veg is pretty good here, we generally go to a local farm and can buy a weeks worth of excellent quality veg for 6 or 7 euros, normally it's not even that much if I'm honest.
The tomatoes are the best we have ever had and same with those purple & white eggplant things.