12/22/2015

Aldi Supermarkets


THE GOOD
> Excellent prices for most things. Some products are cheap and are great, while others are cheaper than in normal supermarkets. You can expend 100 bucks and will get a trolley fully packed with staples.
> Nice packaging and design.  
>  Aldi favours local manufactures and producers, so there are more chances of finding an Australian product that is actually Australian in Aldi than in other supermarkets.  
> You can find first-class brands at discounted prices, a la Reject Shop.
> International goodies available at decent prices, usually cheaper than in normal supermarkets. Perhaps not cheap, but affordable.
> Seasonal and special goods are sold at incredible prices as well, from TVs, garage stuff, tools, Christmas or Easter seasonal products, and what is not.
> Aldi liquor are very small sections, I would say, but their prices are amazing, and you find from the local Australian one to French wines. 
 > Products I like are their dish-washing liquid, their serrano ham, their speck and smoked ham, wafer crackers, some varieties of instant coffee, some of their cheeses, and some of their rubbish bin bags. 
> Very fast cashier lines. Their cash line are opened or closed depending on the number of people approaching, so more people cueing, more cashiers are opened immediately.  
 > If you are not happy with a product, they will exchange it and return your money, not problem.

THE SO-SO
> Aldi's organisation system is not the usual and will get you a bit to get used to it.
> The fresh veggies and fruit area is mediocre by all means.
> The meat section is mediocre by all means. 
> Although they have the basics, the variety and quantity of products is limited.  Sometimes I have found myself looking for a staple, and did not find it.  
> Products you love disappear for long periods of time or never come back. 
> The packaging of their generics is too similar to know brands, so its seems you are buying a known brand, but it is a generic. No problem if you give a dam about that you are buying. 
> Some of their cheap prices are more expensive than the specials or every-day-prices in Woolies and Coles. So if you are on a budget study the prices beforehand.  
> Although it varies from person to person, generally speaking customer service is never as good, friendly or attentive as in Coles or Woolies.
> Depending on the stores, you cannot take the basket outside the cashier, which forces you to pack your staff at the speed of light because nobody will do so for you, and they have a tiny space to move around, and the next customer is approaching dangerously.

 THE BAD
> The warehouse feeling of their supermarkets.  
> Their cold meat area. I have had some of their cold meats that, when fresh, are excellent. However, I have noticed that despite the expire date being quite long, some of them have grainy white dots that are not salt, they are something I don't want to see on any cold meat. It is not just once, it is many times that I found them. I even warned the manager in one of their supermarkets. Next time I visited they were still there. I think it has to do with the refrigeration chain being broken between the producer and the shop, or perhaps between the warehouse and the supermarket. I recommend you to inspect every single packet of cold meat you buy. I do so.
> Some products are cheap because they are crap. Period.  I hate their gourmet chips, they always taste of stale and are way too salty and anything but gourmet.
> If you pay with a card, they charge you a tiny commission fee, pro-rate, so the more you spend the more commission they get. 
> No express lines or cash-only lines.

The Reject Shop


The Reject Shop stores aren't pretty fancy ones, but they are the sort of stores you want to have nearby if you are on a budget or just don't want to pay more than you should for anything.

I have bought many things from the Reject Shop in the past, from fancy gourmet salt, coffee, laundry soap, plastic containers, storage items, and party/seasonal needs. Except for a couple of times when I bought things that were not good, I was always satisfied with the things I bough from the RS and the prices I paid for.

My experience in these shops is that one can find:
> Items that although from good brands ended being so-so in quality due to faulty manufacturing  and or design /assembling.
> Discontinued lines of first class brands.
> End of batches of first class products that are being replaced by the "new" or "improved" varieties of the same.
> 2-dollar-shop kind of stuff.
> Products from good brands manufactured for/from other countries that fall short for the needs of preferences of Australians.
> Cheapies imitating good brands stuff.
> Party needs and seasonal celebration stuff. 

If you are lucky you can buy the same product, brand and model as in your supermarket for a fraction of the price. If you are unlucky, something you have bought, will break very soon! As a rule of thumb, I always advice to check the price of a product of a well-known brand in Coles or Woolies using your smartphone to see if what you are buying is a bargain or not. 

I tend to stick to known brands in the RS because, when I have found crappy stuff, were all unbranded. Having said that, many times I have been pleasantly surprised with unbranded products that were great at ridiculous prices.

Their catalogues are great to find extra-cheap items that you might need.

12/21/2015

Ikea Australia


THE GOOD
> Ikea offers you anything you need for your home at affordable or very cheap prices. If you are a student, have a budget, are newly-wed, moved cities, moved countries, have and need to furnish your full house right now or buy essential items at good prices, this is your place.
> Cool design and styling. They really have an eye for colour, funkiness, simple functional well-designed items, some of them designed on purpose for Ikea by young designers, while others are replicas of well-known designers.
> Very friendly and even enthusiastic guys in their stores.
> Free metre tapes and pencils to take measurements all over the store.
> Pick up and/or delivery services are fast and very well organised. They are not cheap, but not more expensive than other private services that would do the same for you.
> I specially like some of the basic stuff for the kitchen, bathroom, pot plants area, and some of their organisational boxes. They are good quality, cheap and good looking. And no assembly or very basic assembly is required.
> They have a free concierge service at the exit of their stores, so you can leave your trolley and purchases with the guys there and pick them up when it suits you. 
> They have reward points system with Ikea Family card.    
> I like their meatballs with mash potato at their "restaurant". Guilty pleasure. 

 THE BAD
> They don't pay as much taxes in Australia as they should as evade plenty of taxes with dodgy well-planed evading tax systems. They make millions out of Australians like vulgar predators. 
> They have inflated prices for Australians, for the same items. Booohhhhh.
> Some shops are understaffed, so if you visit during the weekend, you will be fighting for the attention of the guys in the shop.
> No online shopping in Australia except for WA and SA. Pathetic. 
> Pick up service has some important downsides. They only pick up those products that are in their warehouse area of the shop, not in others, even if you buy plenty of them. You have to do that personally. Stupid!
> The delivery is just for bulky items. They don't want your small items. If you push them, they will take them to your place BUT you are responsible if they get broken or get lost. They are not liable. Seriously... Outrageous.
> They don't transfer items from one shop to another. Say you want a chair that is available in shop A but not in shop B, they don't care, you go to the shop yourself, they won't bring it for you to the shop you live close by. 
> If an item is out of stock, you cannot leave your details for them to inform you that the item has arrived. You have to keep checking their website. Of course, you cannot prepay and reserve any item. And of course, they don't tell when approximately is the item going to be back in stock. They give a dam about you.
> Some of their products are cheap and will do for an emergency, but they are crap. If I had the money I wouldn't go to Ikea. As simple as that.
> I hate flat packing, with a passion. But there is no option because if you want your things properly assembled, you do it yourself  or you pay a fortune to other people to do that for you. Bring me the old furniture shops. That was customer service as it should be.
> If you just want to buy a couple of things you have to walk like a kilometre to get to your thingie. 
> The coffee in their restaurants is very cheap, refillable, but you won't want to refill, ever :D.    
> I never experienced the benefits of their rewards card. I got plenty of promotional emails instead, and some of the discounts to members were so ridiculous that bordered  insulting. 

NOTES
+ The assembly service they offer is overbooked most of the time, meaning there is a waiting list or it will take them a while to go to your place. But most people buying in Ikea need those items right now. Buy a proper screwdriver and set of tools, that will get your things assembled faster. Otherwise, assembly guys are everywhere these days, check the yellow pages online. 
= I love their assembly instructions pages, no words. Effective in most cases, but not always. Like they treat us like 3-year-old customers. 
 - So much style and the style of the uniform of the staff is dreadful :O. 

Dick Smith (Online Retailer)

 


Dick Smith have plenty of just-online offers, like pro-rate expense discounts, or day specials, beyond what is in the catalogue, so I decided to try the online shop to buy two items I needed and take advantage of one of their special online weekend discounts. The prices were already fantastic, but I saved 30 extra bucks on the spot.  Their delivery fees were really cheap.  

The purchase online was very easy and I promptly received confirmation of the processing and shipping of my order. They provided me with a tracking link, which mentioned that I better  until after 7pm next day to get any info about my order. I did so on at the requested time to no avail, and the same next day in the morning without results. I called Dick Smith's Customer Service and they redirected me to the freight company. The lady on the phone was lovely but she could not track my parcel with the info I had been provided with and none of the numbers worked; she guessed that the parcel has not been dispatched yet and that was the reason.  Not even two hours later, the delivery guy showed up at my place! That was a day and a half after my purchase online, which is fantastic. 

They need to solve their tracking reference system because it could have happened that my parcel was late, or I was not at home, and it would have been an annoyance for all the parts involved. Nobody wants to be glued to their place to wait for a delivery that has no day or time on it. They just show up. So a working tracking link is necessary. 

Beyond that my experience online was very good.

Recommended. 

Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines

Drukair is the official Airline of the Kingdom of Bhutan, and one of those airlines that you want to try, just to say, "I've flown with Drukair" because unless you go to Bhutan you won't be travelling with them anywhere any soon. And going to Bhutan is utterly cool, and utterly expensive not because of the flights.They usually travel from Bangkok or Singapore to Paro.

The flight was comfortable enough, in an average plane, not the latest model but good enough, although not the best if you have long legs!  The flight attendants were really lovely and attentive, all dressed in the national costume. The food was good, sort of international standard meals, nothing Bhutanese but once you've been in Bhutan you understand that you might not be ready for their national dishes! There was no entertainment program, something I always miss. but this was a short flight from Bangkok to Paro via Dhaka and the views were quite spectacular when approaching Paro.
 

I was utterly disappointed when I saw the products sold in the duty-free magazine as they were all corporate brands, your know, Gucci, Chanel, Dior that sort of thing, the same you find in any other airline. It is difficult to understand why an airline that represents a country like this, that sells another way of life,  is providing a on-flight shopping experience that has nothing Bhutanese in it! The Bhutanese awesome whiskies, colourful traditional textiles and handicrafts, traditional books or music were nowhere to be seen.   

Arriving in the airport of Paro is an experience itself. The landing of the plane is considered one of the most difficult and dangerous in the world, because of the altitude, surrounding mountains and dramatic and unexpected weather variations (this is the Himalayas, mind you). Yet, their pilots are master navigators (an Aussie pilot said) and they do it with great easiness every single day! If this was not enough, the airport of Paro is just a cute tiny traditional building and another experience to go through. 

In the inbound flight we were lucky enough to fly with one of the Royal Princes and his entourage. They were all dressed in their traditional national costume! The Prince was in First Class, but the entourage was in Economy Class, with us the rest of mortals. How cool! All the foreign travellers were very excited. The red carpet was spread for them on arrival!  Not for me, sigh. 

 

After the stop in Dhaka during the inbound flight I got a couple of Bangladeshi males seating next to me. One of them made my flight to Paro really unpleasant. A classic 'douche'. I commented on the situation with one of the flight attendants after landing, and she said that I should have called one of them and they would have moved me or him. But the plain was full! And can you imagine the situation and the scene! I think they should seat all Bangladeshi males flying without their wives next to other males and the problem would be solved. Unfortunately, men in certain parts of the world cannot come to treat Western women with respect.
   

I had a pleasant flight with Drukair. Their prices are not too high, but there is no option, option A or option A. I thought the flight with Drukair was part of the experience I got in this amazing country. Yet, I expected something more Royal, like in the upholstery of the seats, and the service on board.

12/20/2015

Kathmandu

I am a traveller, so Kathmandu is one of the many stores I visit when preparing a trip, or buying travelling staples that I don't have.

Travel stores are always ridiculously expensive, especially if you want to buy Goretex products or mountain stuff, shoes, or first quality products. However, Kathmandu is the most expensive of them all. 

Their stores are always great regarding variety of products for women, men and children, and general travel needs on offer. If they are not discounted lines, their pricing is always way more expensive than any other travel store for identical product and brand. Their own brand products are very expensive and quality is medium. One of the few exceptions is their pocket backpack and other products in the Pack&Go range.

Their sales are epic, usually 50-60% off. However, despite the 'discount', they are still overpriced and more expensive than in other travel stores. As a rule of thumb I would recommend going to Kathmandu knowing what exactly you want and having checked pricing for the same brand and product elsewhere beforehand. I would not recommend on-the-spur-of-the-moment shopping at Kathmandu!
 
In the past I have bought a few items  that I thought were worth an investment, like merino wool layering, and found that they were just OK regarding quality. Not bad, but not worth the pricing at all.

I have visited and purchased from a good deal of Kathmandu stores in Australia and New Zealand, generally speaking, the staff are very friendly, but not as knowledgeable or with the same level of expertise as other travel chain stores. Also,  I found that there are not many people in the aisles attending to customers either, and some of them have an attitude, that is not the one I like to find anywhere where I have to expend big bucks. 

I have never bought from their website, but they offer free shipping for orders over 100%, and they are worth trying as reaching the 100$ mark is super-easy at Kathmandu. 
 

Kathmandu Pocket Backpack

Usually I don't fancy Kathmandu's own brand products, but this foldable pocket backpack is a brilliant exception. Actually these pocket backpacks are  is my travellers kit hall of fame after using them for years.  Why are they worth having? Because they are:
> Foldable. If don't want to fold it, you can still fit it anywhere as it is made of nylon and, therefore, very flexible and lightweight.
 > Great quality. They truly last for ever.
>  Very light, about 150- 200 grams depending on the model you buy.
> Adjustable shoulder straps. And you detach the bottom when you fold the back into the pocket. 
> Detachable waist strap.
> Roomy, 15 L average. I use my old one for doing the grocery shopping and I can carry many kilos in it, many! 
> They can be washed with hand soap and will be as new.
 > Good looking!
> Unisex.
> They are truly practical for every day travelling and touring. I got many compliments ("I would like to get one of those, where do you buy them?" sort of thing) from non-Australians as I take this every time I travel.

Kathmandu tends to change the colouring of these from year to year, and readjusts the design from time to time, still keeping all the features that make this backpack the awesome product it is.

These backpacks are usually expensive but, in cases like these, when I know the product is great, I tend to wait for the big sales, like Boxing Day or Mid Year sales when you can get them at very reduced prices. Also, the older models are cheaper and more discounted than the new ones; if you have budget, the oldie is still as good quality as the newbie just not as trendy.