A FURIOUS expat Scot has accused Tesco of “discrimination” after discovering that they couldn’t supply him with haggis in London – on Burns Night.
John-Paul Greenock, originally from Edinburgh but now living in in Leytonstone, East London, had hoped to enjoy the national dish for dinner.
But he was disappointed to discover that none of his local Tesco stores stocked the savoury pudding.
He messaged the supermarket’s Twitter page to say that they should be ashamed of themselves, adding that the lack of haggis was “disgraceful” and that he felt discriminated against.
Tesco replied offering to look into it to see if they could provide the Event Manager with a tasty treat for his Burns’ dinner.
However, their attempt to placate the angry customer proved fruitless as it turned out there was none in his area.
The first message from John-Paul to Tesco last Wednesday (17th) said: “So Tesco does not sell Haggis in London for Burns Day? Absolutely disgraceful. They should be so ashamed of themselves.”
They replied saying: “Hi John-Paul, I’d like to look in to this for you. Can you please DM me your postcode so I can check your surrounding area?”
He provided this, adding: “No Haggis anywhere from Tescos and that sucks. Bad customer care, bad service, just bad.”
Tesco then said: “Hey John-Paul. Sorry you can’t find any haggis in London. Which one were you looking for?”, posting a link to their website showing that they had various options including vegetarian.
After no reply was forthcoming from the Scot, they came back to him again to try and find out which haggis he was after.
He proudly informed them he was looking for “proper haggis” but it made no difference as their search did not turn up any.
Another apology was offered and the employee behind the message even showed empathy towards John-Paul, but it did not seem to change his mood.
They said: “Hi John, I am sorry it doesn’t look like any of your local stores have any haggis. I totally understand this will be disappointing. I’m up in Dundee so if I was able to send you down some I would.
“I’ll get this fed back to my support team so hopefully in future we can get this in stores in London. Hope this helps.”
However, he remained angry and wrote: “Why? So many Scottish in East London and I feel discriminated against. Morrisons/Asda/Waitrose/Sainsburys have it.
“A massive brand like yours and no haggis on Burns Day. Shocking.”
There are over 108,000 Scots living in London and there are Burns clubs who give expats a chance to savour haggis, neeps and tatties on the bard’s birthday. There are also various pubs and restauarants which offer Scottish cuisine for a taste of home.
At least thirteen events specifically for Burns night will be put on, including Burns Night Supper Club at the Pear Tree Cafe in Battersea Park and a full week of celebrations at Mac and Wild, Fitrzrovia.
On Tesco’s website they offer three different Haggis, including a vegetarian costing £2.70 and meaty versions for £2.00 or £3.50.
