UK Council of Elders

On March 2nd 2009 we received an enquiry e-mail via http://www.welshfoodalliance.org.uk/ from:
xxxxxx@marks-and-spencer.com
>
> Dear Secretary, Welsh Food Alliance,
>
> We have received a letter asking us some specific questions in relation to
> the UK Older People's Summit.  I am not sure exactly how you would like us
> to participate and would appreciate a chat with David Smith Policy
> Advisor.  Would you be able to send me his contact details?
>
> Best wishes
>
xxxxxxx
> Marks & Spencer

David Smith spoke to M&S within two days, providing a detailed briefing on responding to items a – w at Part 2 of our questionnaire.

Without prompting, they offered additional information regarding work being undertaken on portion sizes.

No further communication received.
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No response to our letter of 28 January 2009
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Apart from a telephone call from their diversity section five weeks after the 28 January 2009, no written response received.
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Hello David
It was good to chat to you on Friday.  As promised I have shown this e-mail to Diana Hunter and she has asked me to let you know that

she is confident that all of the points below are already catered for in our existing stores, and will be going forward.

 We set great store by what our customers tell us and will strive to put as many of their ideas into effect as we can.
As previously stated, Diana would be very interested to see the outcome of your findings and looks forward to receiving it.

We wish you success with the summit, and would like to assure you of our good wishes for the future.
Kind regards
Assistant to the Director, Store Development


Dear ...

Thank you for your call.
As promised to support your engagment, we have prepared two questions in our letter:
·     What age friendly service innovations are being introduced, in addition to store conversions and proposed new buildings?
·     To what extent do these innovations represent excellence in design applicable to everyone and not just older people?

In addition, other supermarkets are in the process of commenting on  a. to w. headings listed below. You are welcome to do so.
Please ignore the 1 – 5 ratings as this is directed at service users

M&S wished to provide a further input directly on specific food issues, eg work on portion sizes and this is like wise most helpful

We look forward to hearing from you

David Smith
Policy Adviser
Welsh Food Alliance

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Thank you for your recent letter regarding the UK Older People’s Summit to be held on 18 March.

Our ethos is to ensure that all of our food stores are 'good for everyone' as well as being 'good with food'. They are designed with all customers in mind, with the aim of providing a pleasant, easy to shop environment with access for all. Each store is considered individually when being refitted, in order to optimise these aspects and the overall customer offer. This can often prove challenging, given the diverse portfolio of 3,000 Co-operative stores, in terms of their location, shape and size.

In line with our mission to be the UK’s preferred community food retailer, we often operate stores in areas where other retailers don't or won't trade, and offer more stores incorporating Post Offices than any other retailer in the UK. We install cash machines in conjunction with the Co-operative Bank and offer paypoint and bill payment options through our checkouts. Many of our larger food stores also incorporate Co-operative pharmacy and travel branches offering a one stop shopping solution for our customers.

Other design and customer service aspects considered include:

• considering the most appropriate car park layout, with disabled parking bays located close to the entrance;
• optimising lighting for customers, both externally and internally to the store;
• providing ramps for ease of access, and removing steps where possible;
• installing automatic doors and safety square warning graphics on clear glass;
• maximising the available aisle width space for ease of access and removing clutter and trip hazards from the aisles;
• providing a wide selection of trolleys and handbaskets to cater for all needs, including shallow trolleys, trolleys to take baskets, electric carts for use in our larger stores, hand-baskets on wheels and providing wheelchairs in larger stores;
• providing customer toilets where space permits;
• providing customer seating, both externally and internally, where space permits;
• considering the overall shelving height used in store and the shelf profiles adopted within the shelving. Many of our convenience stores only utilise shelving which is 1.6m high, aiding access to the products on the top shelf. Many shelf profiles are angled, again aiding access to the products.
• producing signage, in-store graphics and point of sale with fonts selected ‘for legibility at a minimum font size, and maximum colour contrast to aid legibility;
• ensuring our kiosk and checkout designs are ergonomically tested for ease of access, including the height of the till screens and basket shelves;
• providing hearing loops at kiosk points;
• providing low level writing shelves and disabled checkouts;
• providing a home delivery option at selected stores;
• ensuring DDA compliance;
• ensuring our stores increasingly provide a wider range of healthy nutritious food, irrespective of size, including the provision of quality fresh foods by increasing the amount of refrigeration installed at refit.

On this occasion I’m afraid we do not have a representative available to attend the summit, but we would be happy to participate in any future events.

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Thank you for your recent letter to Marc Bolland. I have been asked to reply.

Mr Bolland regrets that he will not be available to participate in the Summit on 18 March. He asks The Welsh Food Alliance to note that one of Morrison's key contributions to age friendly service is our Market Street format. This enables customers to buy as little (or as much) as they want. Many of our older customers value the service of our butcher, fishmongers and bakers, and the opportunity to buy one freshly cut lamb chop, or even just one sausage.

Please accept my best wishes for a successful event.

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All our supermarkets, except our smaller convenience format stores, have wheelchairs and adapted trolleys with seats for use by those customers who may have difficulty in getting round the store to do their shopping. Larger stores also have electric scooters. We have introduced baskets with wheels into some of our smaller stores. We also have chairs at the back of our checkouts which elderly customers appreciate. We have clearly signposted wide-aisle checkouts. The majority of our stores have induction loops (operational 24 hrs a day) that are clearly signposted. In our petrol filling stations we have service call facilities that enables customers who cannot leave their cars to request assistance without leaving their vehicles. Our on-line (internet) shopping service is also helpful for older customers.

Most customers who need help would approach our customer service desks in our stores and our colleagues would then be able to tailor support to their individual needs.  Our colleagues in store also look out for and help customers with particular needs, taking them to products they are looking for, and especially for the elderly or others who need more support, walking them round the store to help them do their shop ("accompanied shops"). We offer extra help with packing of shopping and taking it to cars or taxis for customers who would like this.

We have accessible customer toilets in most of our supermarkets. Where there are no customer toilets, our store managers are able to give customers in need access to the colleague toilets.

So far as food and nutrition are concerned, we have a number of policies in place that would assist our older customers :
We recognise the trend of increasing single households and offer a range of 1 portion meals such as our chilled ready meals and our 220g baked beans in tomato sauce and curry in tins. Customers are also able to tailor foods to their preferred portion size at our deli, fish and meat counters; and to select smaller portions from our loose fruit and vegetables.
We take the special dietary needs of our customers very seriously and pride ourselves on our wide selection of healthy and tasty food. We provide our customers with clear and transparent nutrition and ingredients labelling to help them make an informed choice. We display Multiple Traffic Light labelling on the front of products to show if a product is high (red), medium (amber or low (green) in calories, fat, saturated fat, salt and total sugar. This is supported by a nutrition panel on the back of pack.  Our Multiple Traffic Light labelling is useful for those looking to control particular nutrients in their diet, and its colour coded nature makes it easier for those with poorer vision to choose healthier products.
We summarise allergens contained within a product in an ‘allergy box’ on pack. Where we believe there is a real risk of a product having come into contact with allergens that could leave a customer with an allergy at risk, we provide information in an allergy advice box. We have a wide variety of own brand products suitable for those with special dietary requirements, such as our Freefrom range and Be Good to Yourself range. Our Freefrom range offers a variety of tasty foods that are suitable for those following a wheat, gluten or dairy free diet. We provide comprehensive guides which list all Sainsbury's own-label products that are suitable for a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free or wheat free diet; these guides are available online and can be requested from our careline. We also provide product guidance for customers following a nut-free diet; this is posted or emailed to customers who sign up to our mailing list. Our Be Good to Yourself range is nutritionally balanced and has controlled levels of sugar, fat and salt; this range is suitable for those wanting to either control their weight or simply control the amount of fat or sugar they have in their diet. We also offer a choice of reduced-sugar products, including reduced sugar jam and reduced sugar baked beans for those wishing to choose lower sugar options.We stock a wide variety of branded products, including special diet foods such as cholesterol lowering spreads, as well as nutrition supplements such as Complan.
In addition to our products, we provide a range of healthy eating leaflets which cover topics such as heart health, healthy weight, diabetes, food allergies and intolerances and a healthy diet. We also provide information on special diets on our website. Customers can also seek health advice from our pharmacists in-store.
Our store managers are also able to tailor a small number of the products they sell to their customers' needs. So, for example, in one of our stores that I know well where there is a large and loyal cohort of older shoppers, the store manager has been able to request that she stocks particular products that her customers have asked for; this is something the customers have told me they appreciate.

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