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What is going on in the UK today with scales and
pricing? I found this on the BWMA site and was wondering if there is
any reverting going on as far as those UK residents who frequent this listserver
can tell?
Is there any moves being considered by the authorities to
force the issue of the scales? To complete the metrication that should have been
done almost 4 years ago?
Euric
Getting shops to sell in pounds and
ounces
September 12 2002 at
9:06 PM |
Frederick
Rodriguez
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I�ve been premeditating such a
move for some time, especially if everything�s priced solely in
metric whilst the shop has dual scales. Late this afternoon (check
date of this report) I thought I would contribute some
influence/pressure on a certain convenience store in my area to sell
me some baking potatoes in pounds and ounces.
Half of all
their loose fruit and vegetables were dual priced and the other half
(very recently) found its way to being priced solely by the kilo.
Usually in any case I tend to go to the greengrocers a few shops
down where they sell in pounds and ounces, aiming to maximise
revenue for them and minimise that of metric shops (especially if
they have scales with a superfluous Pound/Euro switch � HELLO, BOTH
CURRENCIES ARE DECIMAL!! - surely they could cover the Pound sign
with a sticker showing a Euro sign should there come such a bad move
as the UK entering the Euro). If I remember rightly, that
convenience store did have solely metric scales, but they now seem
to have dual scales (good on them), which I spotted yesterday when I
happened to be buying a bar of chocolate.
I knew the scales
to be dual since the screen where the weight is displayed had under
the left had side the characters �lb/oz� and under the right: �kg�
(I�m surprised that that model is not listed in the �Dual
metric-lb/oz scales and were to get them� page on the website). I
obtained a few baking potatoes from the rack just outside the front
and when they were being weighed, I asked the lady behind the
counter if I could see what the weighed in pounds and ounces (the
scales were switched to metric probably since they were first being
used).
She did not seem to speak much English (neither do any
of the others running that shop as far as I�m aware) so I showed her
the �lb/kg� button (most convenience stores in London are run by
ethnic minorities � nevertheless, plenty are still selling in pounds
and ounces!). I thought I should give them something to think about,
especially as they were beginning to price their fruit and veg
solely by the kilo: after all, most people either don�t understand
metric units or they understand them via converting them to
imperial. It�s a sort of thing that ought to help secure pounds and
ounces in shops, encouraging them at least to use the imperial
system as much as the law at the moment says. Some people are simply
tolerant towards unwanted metrication, usually if they don�t know
that it�s not the end � did anyone apart from the BWMA look at the
metrication of Royal Mail and expect such an intolerant Act of
Parliament like that of Michael Hesaltine in
1994?
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| Author |
Reply |
BWMA
Forum Owner
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| Re: Getting shops to sell
in pounds and ounces |
September 14
2002, 5:04 PM |
Even shops that use metric-only
scales mark goods in pound
pricing.
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Frederick
Rodriguez
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| Re: Getting shops to sell
in pounds and ounces |
September 14
2002, 5:45 PM |
The worrying fact is that only SOME
shops with metric (or dual) scales dual price their goods - check
Warwick Cairns' post about Queen's new shop. That shop I'm talking
about was beginning to quit including imperial prices as they
raise/reduce them and that is why I 'gave them something to think
about'.
The best shops to target are the ones with dual
scales because at least they can still weigh in pounds and ounces,
such as the one I was discussing. This kind of interaction with the
shopkeepers/staff should make them feel inclined not to go metric -
that shop probably thought that their customers were just about used
to the metric system whilst a year and a third after the law came in
force, an opinion poll concluded that most people either cannot
understand metric or they have to convert it into imperial.
I
do take your point though - I have seen with my own eyes what you're
referring
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