Worst Store Ever!

Rowan would like to present the dubious award of “Worst Shop Ever” to the Merkur at the bottom of our street. Merkur may be Bosnia’s biggest domestic chain of mini- and super-markets but this example is truly a scourge on its name. I struggle to think of a redeeming feature of our local store. It rarely has what you’re looking for, and we would never think to shop there for anything other than life’s basics. The fruit and veg it displays were fresh once, long before they saw those shelves. At the other end of the scale the frozen produce looks like it actually experienced the ice age!

The trigger for this odious honour came tonight as we purchased some cheese. A block of pre-packaged Gouda, tightly wrapped in bright yellow plastic. I should have been suspicious but its slightly squidgy feel but we were in a hurry. We got home to discover it was emitting a powerful an odour – not normal. Then Rowan noticed it was about a quarter green, visible through the packaging. To prevent some kind of bio-hazardous incident it went in the bin without opening.

Don’t think this is in anyway reflective of the general state of supermarket shopping in Mostar. It’s not. Nor does it represent a wider problem with small stores. Less than fifty metres up the road from this Merkur is a fine little grocers that in less than a fifth of the floor space provides a far superior shopping experience, certainly when it comes to quality, fresh fruit and veg. Tonight we paid the price for not wanting to walk that little bit further. It was a high price but we won’t make the same mistake again!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Grim!
What's the drill for returning goods with receipt and "I just bought this and when I opened it..."
Presumably not a good plan or you would have tried it?!
I'm with you on this one. They are rubbish. Looks like they are rubbish across the whole of Bosnia too.

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