Morrison’s 'banana station'

Why does Morrison’s Supermarket have such trouble with the sale of bananas?

A recent visit to Morrison’s supermarket left me furious, and the following letter was sent to their customer service department.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I wish to complain, and hopefully encourage change in the way Morrison’s supermarket handles the sale of bananas.

Other supermarkets I have frequented treat bananas like any other fruit: loose bananas are on display and you are able to select them based on their ripeness and size and buy as many as you require. This is a good banana system offering freedom of choice and simplicity.

Morrison’s take a different approach. They require a 'banana station' which is staffed by someone who must select bunches of bananas, weigh and price the bunches and hang them on the outside of the banana station. This removes my freedom to select specific bananas; I have to choose a bunch that best matches my needs.

If I require 6 bananas but the banana station only has bunches of 5 bananas or less, I have to either make do with 5 or seek out the member of staff who is charged with manning the banana station and relay my banana requirements to him or her. At times I have very specific banana requirements that may seem pedantic to anyone else and I do not feel comfortable sharing my banana criteria, so again I will make do with just 6 random bananas picked out by the banana station staff member.

The maintaining of a banana station is surely a costly way for a supermarket to sell bananas. The hanging of the bananas may indeed be a better method of storing the fruit in store, but surely this can be done without the forced bunches approach.

I don’t want to have to go elsewhere just to buy my bananas, but unless your banana policy changes to meet my requirements, and surely those of the majority of banana shoppers, I’m afraid that is what I must do.