Never send a man shopping, even to Tesco

Image: Gene Hunt

The instructions were simple enough: buy a family-sized lasagne, a feather duster and some yoghurts (not petits filous).

So simple that they instructions were heard and faultlessly understood: family-sized lasagne, a feather duster and petits filous (not yoghurts).

For men of a certain generation, the headline clearly holds good.

Tesco gets a bit of stick here. I have moaned about how long it took them to do anything about the wall their home delivery van left looking like a miniature leaning tower of Pisa. I complained when a quick check of a receipt showed too late that they had not given me the £1 off a jar of coffee the voucher had promised. Someone left a comment to the effect that Tesco was ghastly and to be avoided at all costs.

So let it be said that the customer services desk could hardly have been more accommodating when I was smartly sent back to the Isleworth store to correct my error (I had also bought an unnecessary washed salad).

I didn't think the journey was worth it. I had even mislaid or thrown away the receipt.

By chance, I parked in more or less the same spot on my return visit. This meant that I effectively retraced my steps back to the store. And there it was, on the ground: a by-now sodden receipt. Mine (no, I am not a litter bug; it had fallen).

I felt more adequately armed than if I had been able to offer only smiles, apologies and some bluster about use of a debit card meaning they had proof of payment.

The assistant to whom I explained my problem agreed it was never wise to send a man shopping but said company policy was not to refund items from the chilled section if returned more than 20 minutes after purchase. I replied that I could hardly have got back more quickly and had, in any case, been waiting in their queue for several minutes.

She summoned a superior, who sighed, said she really shouldn't do it but agreed she would. Off I went for the yoghurts, returning to pay the 50p difference and carry my prize back home.

A trivial matter? Yes. Worth relating at all? For you to judge. But Bravo Tesco: small gestures can be important and much is forgiven. Any chance of getting back that quid on the coffee?