FoodCoop Avis 

Central Co-op and in particular Brendan at George James & Son have been so respectful, kind and helpful with all aspects of their service being excellent. Mums funeral was perfect and the entire family will always be extremely grateful.

My mother in law Joan passed away December 16th 2023 .The staff at the Buckminster road branch in Leicester were lovely , answering every question sensitively and with compassion . Nothing was too much trouble .The existing headstone was removed for the inclusion of Joan's details and cleaning by the Loughborough Co-op stone masons and although it took a little longer than expected the headstone was reinstalled yesterday and it looks beautiful . 5 Stars to all of the staff .

I took in parcel which they refused to accept. Although they agreed it was within acceptable size and weight parameters. When asking why we pretty much got told to blame yodel.

Signed up to the co op app BY PUTTING IN MY POSTCODE to then find out that i dont need coop. I need Cooo central?!?! Why is it 2 companies???? So i ring co op to swap my membership and am told sorry we cant do that we are 2 different companies. NOWHERE ON MY LOCAL CO OP DOES IT SAY CO OP CENTRAL! So now i have to wait 8 WEEKS! For them to send me a CHEQUE for a quid. Put me offf co op altogether tbh wanted to swap membership now i think ill jist keep my quid. Co op ypur membership scheme was designed by a 2 year old. If you knew my postcode was in a co op central area then why didnt you notify me at any point that i wouldnt be able to use a co op card in my local co op?! I gave you my postcode!!!!!!

I no longer agree with "Cooperative values". These used to be about fair trading, supporting local communities and friendliness. No longer. Why is there so much emphasis on Pride and LGBTQ+ now? Inclusivity could include other things, for example the Christian aspect of Christmas instead of the seasonal commercialism or traditional family values. Having been a member, I no longer vote in Coop elections, nor take an active part in questionnaires and rarely shop with them

My Mother died and was wearing a pair of earrings which were of sentimental value. The Co Op didn’t return them and when we asked they claimed they didn’t know what had happened. Nice little side earner for the staff. If you use these people make sure everything valuable is removed. Disgraceful.

Absolutely awful experience resulting in us having to move our business and our father to another local family undertaker. Too much bad stuff to write about our experience, please avoid our experience and heart ache by not using them

Incredibly disappointing experience with Towers and Son funeral services, crick, northants. Multiple errors made, refusal to apologise for their mistakes, lack of impartiality, just total commitment to a single person with no regard whatsoever to the thoughts, feelings and welfare of every other individual connected to the deceased.

Complicit in facilitating the theft of fingerprints I had taken of the deceased which were intended to be made into keepsakes for the deceased persons young nieces, Towers and Son gave those fingerprints to someone else who then refused to return them.

The deceaseds family were refused the opportunity to see the deceased or to obtain further fingerprints to correct their previous error. The deceased persons family were alsp denied the right to join the funeral procession to the funeral as Towers and Son would not disclose the start time or location of the procession, neglecting their duty to be supportive and not directive. If a funeral director believes their client to be acting unreasonably, the funeral director can and should act impartially and assist all parties at their own discretion, but not Towers and Son.

Towers and Son initially refused the deceased persons family the right to carry the deceased into the funeral, insisting he would be wheeled. Any decent individual deserves to be carried to their own resting place. Only after a persistent intervention were we allowed to carry the deceased persons casket into the funeral.

Overall a very poor experience of Towers and Son funeral services. If I could give 0 stars I would.

Paid £1 and thought I couldn't go wrong. Cashier said QR code doesn't work in midland co op. Paid £3.50 more than I would have if she knew her job.

In July 2023, my dear mother passed away, and we chose to engage the services of the local co-op for her arrangements. However, our experience left us deeply disappointed. Upon seeing my mother's body, I was shocked to find it wrapped in a plastic bag under a gown, and the coffin displayed visible marks that were concerning. The staff's reluctance to allow the family to view the body was disheartening, and their multiple excuses only added to our distress. It's important to note that if you decide not to view the body, it seems they may not handle your loved one with the care and respect they deserve. Regrettably, I will never choose their services again, and I strongly advise others to explore alternative options during their time of need. Erdington Birmingham branch.

No thought :
Sadly it’s something that we can’t ever correct as the cremation has taken place.
From beginning to end:

Lack of empathy, offices that had seen much better days , lack of information and a long winded process.

£1,500 for a cremation. I understand we could not go to the chapel of rest. I understood it was a non attended cremation but it took from 04/09/23 ( visit to co-op) and 05/10/23 to collect the ashes .

Lack of information surrounding the date/ time of cremation and when ashes could be collected. Just told the week the cremation would take place (beginning 25/09/23) Just because this form of cremation was chosen, doesn’t mean you don’t want to think of your loved one and make interment arrangements.

I would not recommend the Oxley branch and I am sorry we did not go to Selmans. But there is nothing we can do about it now. Only hope that changes to this pure cremation package are made as there is no thought for the family who have lost a loved one in any way, shape or form.

From the collection of the deceased 21/08/23 : visit to do arrangements 04/ 09/23
Collection of ashes 05/10/23
Lack of detail and far too long a process.

If you use the Co-op on the Station Road in Desborough, Kettering make sure you DO NOT use the self service. I have just been accused of not paying £29 for some groceries. The self service till never gave me a receipt and the till staff did not see me use my credit card and summoned her manager to confront me. Luckily my Halifax banking app registers transactions instantly and I was able to prove I had paid my bill. Unfortunately not all credit card companies work this way, if I had used my Nationwide card I would probably be sitting in a police cell right now.

I have been buying here since it was called Budget back in time I believe. Things ain't getting better at all.
Very poor customer service. Awful prices for a company using a false flag such as support the local community buying locally etc. You can tell right away by the staff dress code and the safety & higiene procedures in store that the standards are quite low. The attitude the younger staff members show all around proves that the training and experience is almost inexistent.
Won't get back there unless I must.

Awful care of deceased and staff
I have worked for the coop for 3 years having recently left due to the awful care for the families and deceased which I raised multiple times to management which always fell on deaf ears, I had wages wrong all the time owed wages for 1 year and had to really fight to get them not too mention the turn over of management we never had support, its such a disaster leicester central coop I honestly would advise anyone against working or using them I left because for me too stay meant I accepted their behaviours, all there bothered about is money and turnover not families the things I witnessed, funeral directors taking jewellery and not caring for deceased again all was reported to senior management and ignored one thing I will say is if you do use them ALWAYS go and see your loved one in the Chapel of rest because if you say no too viewing they couldn't care less about them so sad and evil.

Date of experience: 02 August 2023

The staff are always friendly and helpful; there is a wide range of goods on offer and generally speaking, we are almost always able to get what we want

My partner has dementia and enjoys visiting coop stores 4 - 5 times each week to choose snacks and treats. His favourite shop is the coop because the staff are so friendly. We visited the spies lane Halesowen shop last month and had a distressing experience. My partner has Alzheimer’s and he found a box of chocolates which had a sticker pricing them at £4.50. We put these through the self serve till and the price was £6.00. My partner kept insisting they were £4.50 and refused to pay £6.00. I then took him out the store to the car because he was becoming upset and realised my car keys were missing. I went back in store to get someone to void the sale and to see if my keys had been handed in and found a male member of staff and let him know and explained my partner who has dementia was convinced they were £4.50 - the member of staff said very abruptly and rudely that that was the old price. He also asked where I had put the bread that was on the receipt? I said someone must have used the till after me, however his attitude made me fell like a thief. I then asked member of staff if any car keys had been handed in he radioed to other staff said no they hadn’t and walked off. My partner was beginning to get agitated so he accompanied me back into store to walk round the route we had taken to see if they lying on the floor. We did find them and evenually managed to get home.
Most stores we visit are dementia friendly however spies lane coop is the opposite it was implied I was a thief, the member of staff was the opposite of friendly and there was no help offered to look for my keys even though the shop was virtually empty and he knew I was caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. My partner felt help wasnt offered because he was being discriminated against (many people can’t cope with dementia) so he is upset.the response we received didn’t reassure us that this store was a safe place to visit
The irony is that Coop Midlands has chosen Dementia UK as there charity this year - sort out your own staff first!

I recently had an incredibly frustrating experience at Central England Co-op. I attempted to make a purchase at one of their stores, but was shocked to find out that they refused to accept two forms of digital ID, which is absolutely unacceptable.

As a modern-day consumer, I rely on digital identification for various transactions, and I have never encountered such outdated policies from a retailer. I presented two valid forms of digital ID, but was told by the store staff that they were not acceptable. The lack of flexibility and refusal to adapt to modern technology is disappointing and inconvenient for customers like me.

The store's insistence on only accepting physical identification is not only inconvenient, but also poses a security risk. Digital IDs are often more secure than physical IDs, as they are encrypted and password-protected, reducing the risk of identity theft. Central England Co-op's refusal to accept digital IDs shows a blatant disregard for customer convenience and safety.

Furthermore, the staff's unhelpful and dismissive attitude towards my digital ID was unacceptable. They showed a lack of understanding and willingness to accommodate modern forms of identification, which is unacceptable in this day and age. Their refusal to accept two valid forms of digital ID reflects poorly on Central England Co-op's customer service and adaptability to evolving technology.

As a result of this disappointing experience, I was unable to make my purchase at Central England Co-op and had to go through unnecessary hassle to find an alternative way to provide identification. I am deeply disappointed with their refusal to accept digital IDs and their dismissive attitude towards modern technology.

In conclusion, I would not recommend Central England Co-op to anyone who relies on digital IDs for transactions. Their refusal to accept digital IDs, unhelpful staff, and lack of customer-centric approach are highly disappointing. I urge Central England Co-op to update its policies and embrace digital identification for the convenience and security of its customers. Until then, I will be taking my business elsewhere.

Your app is rubbish wanting codes emailed to me which then the app wont accept.
I suspect your website needs updating or upgrading in its software
I have my card but wont use your app

Stop emailing COOP!!!!!
I have continually UNSUBSCRIBED to Central England Coop but they still keep sending me emails!!!!!

I DO NOT WANT their emails
I DO NOT like the Coop!!!!!

I was phoning round for information on funeral plans and rang central cop funeral at Lichfield. The lady that took my call answered all my questions, was very professional and emailed me all the details I will need to decide on a funeral plan. Great service and professionally presented