Tesco Broughton Chester Extra

I was made aware of Tesco in Broughton (Wales) using the name Chester for the title of their store. According to the Tesco store finder website the full name of the store is "Broughton Chester Extra". Now I understand the Broughton part as it's in Broughton and I understand the Extra part because of the size and facilities the store offers but the Chester part was a conundrum.

So I asked them.

The original tweet and full conversation | Picture on Facebook.

And fair play to Tesco, they answered.

Original conversation

So we went back and forth, they wanted to know whether it was referring to the app and I pointed out that it was on their website and (as I've been told) on their instore signage.

So then they gave me their first fob off.

Original conversation

Regular readers will know that I have recently mapped the post codes in Wales and it looks a bit like this.
Tesco's reasoning for their store in Broughton to also be called Chester is, they claimed, down to it having a Chester postcode.

Originally posted here - 'Going Postal'

As was pointed out to them by others and myself this was mean that they ought to have dozens of stores all across Wales with Shrewsbury, Hereford and Chester in their name. I also pointed out that there are towns in England that have Welsh post codes and if they use this as an excuse for Broughton then it might come back to haunt them in future. As an example, the towns of Sedbury and Beachley which are just across the border from Chepstow have NP postcodes. So using Tesco's logic then any future stores opened in these towns would be called "Tesco Sedbury Newport" or "Tesco Beachley Newport". Now I can only see this happening on one side of the border, which is why I mentioned it.

And they back tracked again.

Original conversation

So now it isn't the post code at all, so they must have been telling lies when they said it was. They also now claim that it is called "Chester Extra" not "Broughton Chester Extra". And their reasoning this time is that it's because Chester is the nearest town to to the store. That's another glaring mistake there as Chester has been a city since 1541, that's not 20 to four in army time that's nearly 500 years ago.

I asked if this was their final excuse as they have given a few different ones and that I would be checking for other examples and they replied with a "sorry to hear... anything else... etc" message. I will add that they were prompt at replies, even when they didn't know they would tell me they would look into it and that they'd be in touch later. So the actual effort was appreciated.

But essentially it's all just bullshit, as I was looking at other stores along the border I noticed the largest concentration was in Chester and it suddenly became obvious. If you visit the Tesco store finder website and type Chester into the search you'll be greeted with the following results.

If Chester is full don't panic just open a new Chester store in Wales. Share via twitter | facebook

When you click on each store it shows you the address, location, opening times, facilities etc. The only 'Extra' anywhere near Chester, England is in Broughton, Wales. None of the others are open 24 hours, none of them offer the same range of services and facilities. Basically what's happened here is the same as has happened with Chester FC, Chester Hawarden Airport and a range of hotels and businesses around the north east of Wales (I've yet to post about this but you can view some via the West Cheshire album on FB). They want the best of both worlds, they want the cheap land and buildings in Wales but they want the Chester name on the top. They want their target customers to think that they are spending their money in Chester. So what if they have a few funny signs? All that matters is that they can get away with it because no one questions it.

And when they do you fob them off. And when they question that, you fob them off again. And when you question that, you give an insincere apology and fob them off again.

EDIT - 23/02/2014

I have recently received a message from one of my readers who has been given yet another fob off from someone at Tesco regarding why they called it Chester when it isn't in the same country as Chester. Remember that first they said it was because of the post code. When challenged about that they changed their minds and said it was because Chester was the nearest town (it's actually a city). Here's the third excuse.

Dear Jon
Thanks for your response and for confirming which store you were referring to.
I’ve spoken with my Business Support Team, who have advised this store has Chester in the name simply because of the name of the street.
The store is clearly listed as being in Wales and not England. I sincerely apologise for any upset caused.
Your feedback is much appreciated and our Store Locator Team have been made aware of your concerns.
If you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards

Ian Thomas
Tesco Customer Service

So this week they are naming stores after the road they are on and not the post code of the nearest 'town'.

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