Z Z.
2/5
I've been using this little shop since the very first day they opened and always found the staff to be polite and courteous despite high staff turnover and the grief they get from the local drunks.
I have two things that people should be aware of when using the store: I've come across, and unfortunately bought, out of date things quite a few times- one item was out of date by over a year! Cakes, bread, sandwiches, cat food and fresh ready meals.
They always remove out of date things when you let them know.
My biggest bugbear is that milk is often sour when bought (even when there's a week left on the dates) and this has been happening for years. I know they used to freeze the milk before letting it thaw in the shop fridge but haven't seen this happen recently, despite this the milk is always sour so it must be the way they're storing it upstairs when they buy in bulk.
If they're still freezing it and defrosting it then this isn't safe because if customers aren't aware it's already been frozen and then freeze it at home then they'll get sick.
Staff are always gracious when returning the gone off milk but usually deny any storage issues. Twice I've taken something from the fridge and found it was warm to be told their fridge has broken. Why's it still in a broken fridge and being sold?
I've spoken with three other customers in the shop who have dealt with sour milk so this is happening far too regularly. One woman said she was going to speak with environmental health but I doubt they did anything because it's still happening.
In short, buy tinned goods and long life items but definitely avoid buying anything fresh. My fault for not checking dates on old food but there's no excuse for storing fresh goods poorly and risk making people sick.
