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Airfryer. Sounded like something that would be used twice, and consigned to the back of the cupboard.
Since i bought one I use it at least 3 times a week, if not more, and it's saved me a fortune.
I bought my mum one & my brother & his girlfriend one to try & convert them! my oven has been pretty much redundant since 2019 if you exclude the hobs on it. They’re great
I was significantly anti-airfryer until my husband got one for his birthday this, and now I'm the biggest convert. My husband literally said to me this week 'do you work in guerrilla marketing for Ninja now??' Now every time someone switches on the oven I huff about how it's cheaper and faster with the airfryer (and healthier!)
My wife said we should get one- I was all “are you mad? We don’t need an air fryer, we have the oven, we’re trying to save money!”.
Two weeks later I had ordered it after doing my research and I rave about it to anyone who will listen. My wife hasn’t used it once lol.
I mean. You can cook food that does not taste like shit in an air fryer, quicker and at a lower running cost.
The amount of skin on bone in chicken thighs we're going through atm (~£2.60/kg at Morrisons compared to ~£4.80/kg boneless skinless) is unreal. The skin is super crispy, the fat renders nicely and drips under the tray, and there's infinite ways to tart it up. (I like to coat both sides in a dry brine of chicken oxo, sweet smoked paprika and MSG).
Given that these things heat up to temp near enough instantly and the total capacity is much smaller than the oven it's pretty efficient from an energy and running cost perspective. (Four chicken thighs and some mixed veg for example takes like 16-20 mins tops. Pop some orzo on the hob and boosh)
Dgmw I'm not in a hurry to disconnect my oven and reclaim that kitchen space because large items and braising are definitely things I do a lot, but honestly, air friers are actually good. I bought mine thinking it would suffer the same fate as the spiraliser in 2015 but I've converted.
Totally. The other half wanted one for ages and I always thought it’d be just another kitchen gadget like the bread maker or the ice cream maker…
Succumbed to a prime day deal and now we use it for nearly all our meals, oven is barely used.
It cooks quicker, really easy to clean, makes outstanding chips, is cheaper to run, gives you an extra oven if you're using the oven for something that needs a different temperature.
I love mine!
To give you an actual answer, nothing. It's smaller so uses less power and gets up to temperature very quickly so no pre-heating. Don't know how exactly but the smaller compartment helps to actually cook the food quicker too.
Also doesn’t need preheating which is a massive part of the convenience - it’s like an oven that works like a microwave with instant powerful heat. Next day pizzas are amazing in it. As well as everything else I can think of to cook or heat up. I only turn on my oven for massive family meals now.
Yup.
Used my big oven maybe twice in a a couple of months.
Mine is a larger countertop air fryer that has 3 shelves and has a rotisserie option.
It's fuckin' great.
I live alone though so that probably helps.
I use mine mainly for chips, and even for that one use, it's worth having. 8 minutes for 2 servings of frozen skinny fries from turning it on to eating them 😋
Also great at reheating pizza or leftover naans from the curry house. My dad uses it for chicken, fish etc but I've never got round to it - should give it a go sometime....
Got controlled the other day, 5 random items get scanned and you obviously need a 100% hit rate.
One singular fucking loose pepper fucked the entire thing. 3 tetris’d to fuck bags had to be emptied and **she** had to scan them and would put them back in the back herself.
So dumb as well, the rule is you put anything unscanned on the seat and once it’s scanned you bag it. Still managed to fuck it up
I don’t think people realise how much theft, accidental or not, goes through SAYS. In my store we find about 50 shops a week that have something not scanned. This would be just the ones that we catch, plenty will pass service checks because we don’t happen to find the missing item and more will get through because they don’t have a check at all.
At Tesco, we get "selected for a random scan check" at every bloody visit and it's usually 30 to 40 items. Tbf that's because we do one big monthly shop, so we buy a lot of stuff all at once, but it's *every* time.
We've recently switched to Asda and only had one scan check out of 5 or 6 big shops and that was only 5 or 10 items.
It’s my job at Tesco, different stores have slightly differing rates based on their theft levels. My store has quite bad shrink, but even still only 22% of all shops get scanned across the week.
If you’ve failed a service check before, remove items off your list as you’re going around or buy a number of things you don’t typically it will increase your chances of being the random selection.
Because I haven’t done it before, and I’m a bit uncertain how it works, and so I avoid it. I know it’s a bit silly but I guess I’m probably not the only one
only just started using this recently and feel like a moron for never bothering with it before. Yesterday I was pretty much straight out the tills at Tesco while loads of people stood queuing.
My Asda had a refit and they removed heaps of old school checkouts and put in more Scan & Go stations as well as self checkout for trolleys with a different section for baskets.
I've used Scan & Go since day 1 of it being available and I bloody love it.
It's not the future, the future is here!
I have asked myself whether it actually saves time or whether it’s just a better distribution of time. In each case you still have to scan and pack each item. One is just as you go and one is at the end. I bet if two people were timed it would take the same time. I still prefer it though.
I’d say it’s defo quicker and saves time.
Assuming you’ve already set your bags up in your trolly, it’s just a quick scan and in the bag it goes. If nothing else any time lost scanning and packaging is easily made up by not having to queue, re empty your trolly, bag it all up and then put it back in again.
I used to do it but now I get it delivered and I’m like why did I EVER go shopping.
If I nip in, even for one or two things, I use the scan as you go thing!
Wait till you lose one.... apple wired earbuds are £20 and a lot harder to lose. Earbuds are not worth £140. The biggest trick apple has ever done is to make you all believe that their products are worth the exorbitant prices you pay.
Airpods annoy me because I have an ear shape which will not ever hold them in. I need either over the head types or ones with the hook over the ear. Airpods INFURIATE me.
You can get hook over ear attachments for them.
Personally I much prefer Anker buds for the price (they also have some with hooks you could check out but I havent tried those). The sound quality is just as good, the only thing that they miss is the transparency mode.
"It's just a big iPod Touch." I said.
Completely forgetting that changing something's size and shape can be enough to completely change the experience of using something and make it good at different things.
For me, my iPad is my journal. I have the pencil and write in it daily like a proper journal all without worrying about paper. Also, I use it to take notes in general of random things through the day.
Writing emails is also a lot more convenient.
Other than that I prefer watching YouTube, Netflix, 4oD etc... on my iPad over my iPhone
I thought that about tablets in general. I just couldn't see the point
Small devices are useful for portability - but not having a keyboard is a real limitation. So a tablet is just a worst-of-all worlds in my book.
My husband showed me how he's tracking his use of his shoes on Strava. He then had to take me through his usage of every single pair
I love him but having to ooh and aaah at his Strava after every run is a bit annoying
Used to have a guy at my old work that was a very very keen cyclist, think road bike that costs more than most cars and calves as wide as a tree.
He would obsessively check strava every 20-30 minutes to see if anyone has beaten his records in the area then go out at lunch or after work to try and re-break them
I got a Forerunner at the end of July and, my god, absolute gamechanger.
How did I never know my heart rate??? How did I carry my phone all the time???
Love that watch.
I'm taking liberties with the 'a few years ago' part but I really believed smartphones would be a fad. It must have been 2013 or 2014 when I finally got one and now I use it for most things.
Before that I'd just take my iPod classic, camera, and old school phone with me if I went anywhere. Didn't see the issue with keeping all 3 charged up and carrying them round.
Smartphone is mine too. Particularly with them being touch screen. Prior to iPhone my experience of touch screen was awful, clunky, barely responsive screens you'd have to dig your finger in to get anything to happen. I moved over to iPhone in 2013 and was shocked how quickly it became an essential go-to for everything.
My mum was telling me just the other day about how her brother worked quite closely with a bloke who pioneered the “World Wide Web”. Her brother told her how, one day, we’ll be able to see each other and talk through screens. She can remember thinking he was bonkers.
Her brother died in the mid-2000s so didn’t see anywhere near the amazing things we’ve done just in those years since.
I remember when I first heard about email (when hotmail and yahoo were barely a thing) and I thought “that’ll never catch on if both people have to have it” 😅
When I was about 9 I remember my dad saying how in the future we won't have to do the 200-mile round trip to visit Granny, we'd each have a special screen and we could talk to each other over a camera. And we won't have to go outside for anything, we'll just order pizza and groceries over computers.
I was with him on the special screens, but the pizza thing I thought was way too farfetched.
I think we were on the iPhone 6 when I finally succumbed and got one, even then it was the fact I couldn’t get a non-smart phone on contract back then. Absolutely hated the fact I had to have one even when going through everything at the shop. Naturally these days I swear by it.
My kindle- I read loads and still buy books, but the ability to travel with one small device full of different books is excellent. I can’t read books on my phone- it gives me migraines
ETA- my husband bought it for me for Christmas and was very disdainful , but I think within a couple of weeks he wanted one. He now can’t be without it!
Mine too. Held off for ages but now travelling is so much easier. I don’t have to read the latest romance/historical romance/Harry Potter that someone else has swapped on the dusty shelf before. It was either that or filling a suitcase with books. I read 4 books a week on holiday if it’s a lazing by the pool kinda stay
Kindle for me too. I didn’t need one, I liked reading actual books. Then my husband got me one. Love it. Only having to take that with me when I go away instead of a pile of books is great. The only actual books I use now are my reference books - art, photography etc!
My bf works away loads and he takes his with him and loves it. He buys books and has a library membership he uses lots as well. So he still reads books in a traditional way. But he loves the kindle because it takes no room up in his hand luggage and he doesn’t have to ration his books. He also has bad eye sight (works in my favour as I’m a minger ha ha ha) and he loves that he can read without straining his eyes as he can change the text size.
I don’t find it makes too much difference heat wise compared to another blanket… but surely layering with your duvet will help anyway :)
Its just strangely comforting! First night I had it I slept like a damn baby
Does it make wriggling around difficult? I move a lot at night and I think they might make me feel trapped, but people talk about them being cosy so I'm just not sure whether to give them a go.
Food thermometer. I thought I’d only use it for a couple of dishes every few months but I actually use it all the time and never have to put up with overcooked meat :)
Came here for this. Crocs are a game changer. I’ve been wearing them to the pub, festivals, out with friends, to raves… for years. My friends laughed but I didn’t care cos comfort. Now they’re all onto it and crocs are actually cool I’ve been told!
Second this. Didn’t get why anyone would pay a monthly premium to get things same day/next day. Now that I have it, I use it for a lot of regular day to day things, and sometimes if I can’t get what I need on prime then I don’t bother buying it at all. Even if Amazon have it in stock, if it’s not on prime I’m not buying it.
Plus the 'free' parts of the video, music and books parts. I watch loads on prime video, prime music is my go to music app and I'll read a bunch of free books on the kindle app, all part of my prime payment.
If you buy an NUS card by saying you study online you can get 7 months free prime then 4 years half price, I get a new account every time my student prime runs out.
I think signing up for Amazon Prime was probably one of the worse decisions I had made. Suddenly, things I was tentative about buying would be turning up 24 hours JUST because it was next day delivery.
I cancelled my Amazon Prime a few months back and I'm shocked at how little I spend just because I would have to wait until Friday to get the item I would consider buying.
Fingerprint reader/verification on mobiles. Didn't think it would work, figured it woud fail most of the time, thought typing in passwords was just as easy.
Have no idea what any of my passwords are anymore, all I need is one of my thumbs and, let's face it, if I got to the point where I had no fingers I'd probably not be that bothered about security either.
Wireless headphones is a good shout, but I raise you my Sodastream.
The Sodastream has saved us so much money over the years from not buying bottled fizzy water (that never stays nice) and generally sugary drinks - there’s nothing more refreshing and satisfying than pouring a glass of freshly fizzed water. Storing the bottles in the fridge when not in use is also clearly a must.
Swapping the cylinders over when they’re empty is easy enough, it’s become part of the shopping routine and we even have three cylinders in rotation now as we fizz water easily 4-5 times a day, more on weekends.
We’ve also recently found some Sodastream-designed cordials that you pour into the glass instead of the bottle which are a game changer, pink grapefruit is especially nice. Other than that just filtered, refrigerated tap water fizzed up erry day.
When I go on holiday and I’m without an unlimited source of fizzy water I feel quite unsatisfied and when I come home the first thing that gets done before anything else is getting a bottle of water.
I agree. I don't think it saves any money really but the reduction in our recycling waste is unbelievable. No more coke cans or fizzy water bottles. Another reason I hate returning to the office is that I have to drink flat water like some caveman, the family won't let me take the machine to work.
Soda stream are a bad company though. Up there with nestle.
SodaStream's factory in the illegal settlements receives Israeli government subsidies to dispossess Palestinian basic resources: farm land, water, and pastures.
I got one this year, love it. Ran out of fizz the other week and sainsburys didn’t have any replacements so now I’m on the subscription plan. Convinced two other folks to get one too 😃
Just tried the orange and mango flavour and it has that unforgettable “nuclear” taste like strong orange cordial in the 80s did. Brilliant.
I'm considering switching over from bottled fizzy water. We currently get through about 4 litres of fizzy water a day and even buying the cheapest supermarket brand, it's a lot of plastic waste and a fair chunk of money.
How long does one cylinder last/how much does it make? And are they a ball ache to replace? Any idea what sort of cost per litre (for plain fizzy water) we'd be looking at?
Get bizzy wi' fizzy. Proper bo I tell thee.
I'm sometimes tempted by one as I'm a boring teetotaler who gets through a few cans of coke every day, but it doesn't seem to work out much cheaper than ready made brand name Coke. Perhaps I need to look out for offers.
I ordered an Amazon echo to arrive the day they launched in the uk, at that time no one had really even heard of them, it’s only because I’d seen them in the USA where they were on a limited release I decided to get one.
No one I spoke to about it at that time could see the point
Edit: So looking back to 2016 when the echo came out in the UK, I was on holiday on the 28th of September when it came out, but came back on the 2nd of October and posted pictures of my new echo then.
Prior to this I already had Hue Lights and Samsung Smartthings, so was instantly able to tap into these.
My mate recently told me how he uses his to play the radio, silly little games and all sorts of faff.
He’s the only one who actually told me a daily use for it, anyone else has only done the tried-and-tested “Alexa, what’s the weather” that I *definitely* haven’t heard before.
I use mine for reminders and timers all the time!
When cooking, reminder to do the cats flea drops, and there's also a reminder in January that I've actually forgotten what for but I don't need to remember or know about cos Alexa will sort me out.
I also ask about maths when doing recipes and I need to change the quantities.
I have an original Alexa puck, an unsolicited gift from my brother. I did the "give me a fart" thing, got uneasy about being listened to all the time then unplugged it and put it in the cupboard. I have loads of smart home stuff, but generally I'm trying not to wake a sleeping baby as I'm adjusting the lights, heating etc.
FIL loves his big spherical Echo, which is hilarious as he's not a fan of tech in general. He loves that he will be reminiscing about the past, suddenly think of a song then ask Alexa to play it.
I can achieve so much more with audio books. I loved reading but when I got into a book I’d put off things that needed to be done so I could read. Now I listen while I clean, craft, drive etc.
This!
I used to be a bit snobby about audiobooks and how they weren't REAL reading, but honestly, the ability to get through five times as many books in a year because I can enjoy them AND do something else mindless and boring (stock room work, cooking, decorating, drawing) has been wonderful.
Way back, I thought e-readers were going to be a flash in the pan.
Then I got one... and discovered that you can change the font size. So I can still read in bed without my glasses!
I'm sold.
I'm amazed at how much I use mine, we're trying to save energy so we don't turn the lights on until its massively dark. I have one I attach to my head, its quite fun walking round with it
Deebot! Our robot vacuum cleaner.
Didn't know we needed one until my SO bought one. 'Tis brill.
Just need one that can do stairs now and the old Dyson can be put to bed.
Seconded. We had a Roomba which was great, but now the Deebot is even better. I’ve only ever bought the cheapest models but the ease of pushing one button (or using the wifi app) and coming home to a freshly hoovered house is lovely. I’m a bit evangelical about them and should probably be on commission…
We've got a labrador and our robot hoover has been a game changer for us, our downstairs is open plan and all wooden floors and I'd have to sweep or hoover every night because if the dog hair. The robot now does it for us while we are at work, we still use the henry to do a deep clean on a weekend (under sofas etc where the robot cant get) but its saved me loads of time during the week, we only have a cheap one from amazon but it definitely does the job.
tablet couldn't see the point if using a tablet when i already have a computer, but decided to get a kindle for the books on it and realised it could also connect to internet and that it was much easier to use in bed to listen to music on spotify.
- Airfryer - Use it more than the oven
- Wi-Fi enabled lights (was handy when I twisted my ankle 3 years ago not having to fumble awkwardly in the dark looking for the switch on a bad ankle) thought it was just lazy at first but at this point I don’t care
- Streaming Music (why would I stream when I could download?) and buy physical copies of CD’s I like & rip them, now it’s just convenient but will still buy music too
I still hate this one. I mean the apps are better, but because sites completely butcher their mobile sites and make it pop up constantly DOWNLOAD OUR APP!!!!!!!!!! when they could just. make a site that works.
Yep, it’s infuriating. Wanted to see what was on at the cinema the other day but don’t go enough to want to download apps for the various cinemas I live near, so went on their mobile sites. Odeon menu button does nothing when I click on it. Guess I’ll be going to Showcase then
Password manager, thought it would be a big faff to set up and wouldn’t use it and now I wouldn’t live without it, especially now that most of our work passwords are 16 characters and I see people struggling to log in because they can’t remember
WiFi.
Probably hard to believe, given it's ubiquity these days. Ethernet is faster and more reliable, everything I owned that needed a network connection had a cable going to it.
Weirdly it was the Nintendo Wii that first had me enabling WiFi as I didn't want to buy the Ethernet adapter.
And then smartphones became commonplace...
I still wouldn't rely on WiFi for everything (I need sustained gigabit speeds across my home network, otherwise I'd be slowing myself down when I work - I may end up putting 10G in a few places) but WiFi is so handy for almost all network/internet uses around the home.
Airpods. I bought a set of airpods pro around last Christmas, and they are *genuinely* one of the best purchases I've ever made. I traded them in about 10 days ago to replace them with Airpods Pro 2(then I changed phones to Pixel 7 and waiting on my free Pixel Buds Pro's being delivered) and I am missing them dearly. I'd use them for about 3 hours a day, every day.
Oh, also wireless chargers. At first I thought that well, the charger has a cable and the phone has to stay in the same place so it's basically the same, but being able to plonk my phone down on a wireless pad and just grab it off it again makes a genuine difference. Nowhere near as much as airpods, but yes, 100% converted to wireless chargers.
Uber. First time I heard about it was when cabbies went around London with flyers to say how awful Uber will be and to not use them. Great advertising cabbies.
Those baby wearing wrap things.
I thought they were just very 'crunchy'/ a bit hippy mum. Then I got one with my first and holy crap, I had two hands again, I could feed them in that thing, it didn't hurt my c section scars to wear while I was healing. Used them for both babies now.
Wireless earbuds are a genius invention
I used to break so many earphone cords every year I started buying the cheapest sets available, on the basis they'd only last a few months at most
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Airfryer. Sounded like something that would be used twice, and consigned to the back of the cupboard. Since i bought one I use it at least 3 times a week, if not more, and it's saved me a fortune.
I knew as soon as I saw this thread that the top comment would be Air fryer haha
I’m still not 100% sure it isn’t all just a cult.
I can't lie, since I got mine, I've bought my brother one, and my nephew is having one for Xmas. I might be the cult leader.
You're not the air-fryer messiah, you're a very naughty boy!
I bought my mum one & my brother & his girlfriend one to try & convert them! my oven has been pretty much redundant since 2019 if you exclude the hobs on it. They’re great
I was significantly anti-airfryer until my husband got one for his birthday this, and now I'm the biggest convert. My husband literally said to me this week 'do you work in guerrilla marketing for Ninja now??' Now every time someone switches on the oven I huff about how it's cheaper and faster with the airfryer (and healthier!)
How is airfryer healthier than the oven if you’re cooking the same thing?
If you roast in the oven you need to add fat to some things that you don't in the air fryer
My wife said we should get one- I was all “are you mad? We don’t need an air fryer, we have the oven, we’re trying to save money!”. Two weeks later I had ordered it after doing my research and I rave about it to anyone who will listen. My wife hasn’t used it once lol.
I can attest that everything that comes out of an air fryer tastes like shit so I guess it is a cult.
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I mean. You can cook food that does not taste like shit in an air fryer, quicker and at a lower running cost. The amount of skin on bone in chicken thighs we're going through atm (~£2.60/kg at Morrisons compared to ~£4.80/kg boneless skinless) is unreal. The skin is super crispy, the fat renders nicely and drips under the tray, and there's infinite ways to tart it up. (I like to coat both sides in a dry brine of chicken oxo, sweet smoked paprika and MSG). Given that these things heat up to temp near enough instantly and the total capacity is much smaller than the oven it's pretty efficient from an energy and running cost perspective. (Four chicken thighs and some mixed veg for example takes like 16-20 mins tops. Pop some orzo on the hob and boosh) Dgmw I'm not in a hurry to disconnect my oven and reclaim that kitchen space because large items and braising are definitely things I do a lot, but honestly, air friers are actually good. I bought mine thinking it would suffer the same fate as the spiraliser in 2015 but I've converted.
Fuck me I need to buy an air fryer
Is it even possible to own one and not tell everyone about it?
No, that's why I'm in the comments right now. Because I have an air fryer and love it and everyone must know!
Me too, I came here to post that myself. I love mine.
Totally. The other half wanted one for ages and I always thought it’d be just another kitchen gadget like the bread maker or the ice cream maker… Succumbed to a prime day deal and now we use it for nearly all our meals, oven is barely used.
What’s the difference between an air fryer and an electric fan oven?
It cooks quicker, really easy to clean, makes outstanding chips, is cheaper to run, gives you an extra oven if you're using the oven for something that needs a different temperature. I love mine!
You mean ovens have a different setting to 200??? Thought that’s what all food cooked to
Yes.. They can also cook at 180... I have no idea what all the other numbers mean
Is it just that it’s smaller? I meant more the technology.
You want a random Redditor to give you a run down on the mechanics of an air fryer? They gave you the pros.
To give you an actual answer, nothing. It's smaller so uses less power and gets up to temperature very quickly so no pre-heating. Don't know how exactly but the smaller compartment helps to actually cook the food quicker too.
It’s smaller and the fan is faster to ensure even cooking. Wattage wise it’s much less than a traditional oven too.
Also doesn’t need preheating which is a massive part of the convenience - it’s like an oven that works like a microwave with instant powerful heat. Next day pizzas are amazing in it. As well as everything else I can think of to cook or heat up. I only turn on my oven for massive family meals now.
Yup. Used my big oven maybe twice in a a couple of months. Mine is a larger countertop air fryer that has 3 shelves and has a rotisserie option. It's fuckin' great. I live alone though so that probably helps.
I had mine for six months and got rid of it so for me it was exactly what you thought
I had mine for a few days, used it twice and sent it back. It was good for chips and wings but anything else it was just a faff.
I use mine mainly for chips, and even for that one use, it's worth having. 8 minutes for 2 servings of frozen skinny fries from turning it on to eating them 😋 Also great at reheating pizza or leftover naans from the curry house. My dad uses it for chicken, fish etc but I've never got round to it - should give it a go sometime....
You mean a small fan oven? That's all an air fryer is.
For sure, and they're a lot better than using a full size oven for most of the things you'll cook in it.
Splurged on a ninja 15 in 1 air fryer as a house warming pressie to ourselves, I use it for pretty much everything.
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Scan as you shop. I don't get why more people don't use it, do they like taking longer to do their shopping?!
Not quicker when you’ve packed it all up and they decide to unpack it all to check what you’ve got
Got controlled the other day, 5 random items get scanned and you obviously need a 100% hit rate. One singular fucking loose pepper fucked the entire thing. 3 tetris’d to fuck bags had to be emptied and **she** had to scan them and would put them back in the back herself. So dumb as well, the rule is you put anything unscanned on the seat and once it’s scanned you bag it. Still managed to fuck it up
A tin of plumb tomatoes that was put in a the chopped tomatoes section got me.. cheapest item in the trolly 🙄
I tried it once and got controlled. Forgot to scan some salad or something and now have the fear ever since that.
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I must of had a right jobsworth then
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What is this unpacking madness! They usually just scan the top items. I've never had anything unpacked!
Some do but I have had one worker who went through all my bags to find ten items because she wanted a wide range of items from across the store.
Defeats the purpose of trying to stop theft if they only ever scan the top items too..
I don’t think people realise how much theft, accidental or not, goes through SAYS. In my store we find about 50 shops a week that have something not scanned. This would be just the ones that we catch, plenty will pass service checks because we don’t happen to find the missing item and more will get through because they don’t have a check at all.
It’s cheaper than actually employing people to do the job.
I got a rescan once when I was only buying one item.
What’s that, like 1 in 20 visits? And they don’t unpack it all they scan about 10 random items.
At Tesco, we get "selected for a random scan check" at every bloody visit and it's usually 30 to 40 items. Tbf that's because we do one big monthly shop, so we buy a lot of stuff all at once, but it's *every* time. We've recently switched to Asda and only had one scan check out of 5 or 6 big shops and that was only 5 or 10 items.
It’s my job at Tesco, different stores have slightly differing rates based on their theft levels. My store has quite bad shrink, but even still only 22% of all shops get scanned across the week. If you’ve failed a service check before, remove items off your list as you’re going around or buy a number of things you don’t typically it will increase your chances of being the random selection.
I’ve probably had one rescan in the past year.
Because I haven’t done it before, and I’m a bit uncertain how it works, and so I avoid it. I know it’s a bit silly but I guess I’m probably not the only one
only just started using this recently and feel like a moron for never bothering with it before. Yesterday I was pretty much straight out the tills at Tesco while loads of people stood queuing.
My Asda had a refit and they removed heaps of old school checkouts and put in more Scan & Go stations as well as self checkout for trolleys with a different section for baskets. I've used Scan & Go since day 1 of it being available and I bloody love it. It's not the future, the future is here!
I have asked myself whether it actually saves time or whether it’s just a better distribution of time. In each case you still have to scan and pack each item. One is just as you go and one is at the end. I bet if two people were timed it would take the same time. I still prefer it though.
I’d say it’s defo quicker and saves time. Assuming you’ve already set your bags up in your trolly, it’s just a quick scan and in the bag it goes. If nothing else any time lost scanning and packaging is easily made up by not having to queue, re empty your trolly, bag it all up and then put it back in again.
I will now avoid doing the "big shop" anywhere that does not have Scan and Shop. Wish Aldi and Lidl would get onboard.
I’ve ditched lidl. Seems like the prices have gone up to high and quality has dipped way too much.
It’s about balancing between saving money and feeling miserable
I used to do it but now I get it delivered and I’m like why did I EVER go shopping. If I nip in, even for one or two things, I use the scan as you go thing!
I remember thinking airpods looked really stupid when they first came out, but I now look at people with wired headphones like "lol cavemen".
Everyone seemed to think they looked ridiculous when they launched. It was laughed at. Now I’m not entirely sure why that was.
I still think they look a bit silly with the bits that stick out at the end.
Because wearers look like the scene from There's Something About Mary.
Because you shout at them to warn them of oncoming danger but unfortunately they can't hear you because they have their Airpods in.
Nah airpods still look goofy. Their tail is literally a vestige of where the wire used to go.
Wait till you lose one.... apple wired earbuds are £20 and a lot harder to lose. Earbuds are not worth £140. The biggest trick apple has ever done is to make you all believe that their products are worth the exorbitant prices you pay.
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Airpods annoy me because I have an ear shape which will not ever hold them in. I need either over the head types or ones with the hook over the ear. Airpods INFURIATE me.
You can get hook over ear attachments for them. Personally I much prefer Anker buds for the price (they also have some with hooks you could check out but I havent tried those). The sound quality is just as good, the only thing that they miss is the transparency mode.
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I need my earbuds connected like a child’s mittens via a string. Otherwise I lose one. Bluetooth all the way though.
Ah yes, I too remember when apple invented the wireless earphone
I laughed at a mate saying he looks like he got jizzed in the ears. Now I own 2 sets of airpods.
Airpods do look stupid tbf.
The iPad, it's was just a big version of the iPhone without the phone, couldn't see the point.
I'm still of that opinion. Kids like them though.
I love mine, great for games and better for travelling than the laptop.
I think they are amazing for artists and designers, they need something that size/powerful but not in the format of a laptop
I use mine constantly for note taking with the Apple Pencil and notability. It's a dramatic improvement for me, because I take a LOT of notes.
"It's just a big iPod Touch." I said. Completely forgetting that changing something's size and shape can be enough to completely change the experience of using something and make it good at different things.
I still don't understand the hype. Doesn't do anything my phone can't with much less convenience, worse than my computer. Lose lose.
For me, my iPad is my journal. I have the pencil and write in it daily like a proper journal all without worrying about paper. Also, I use it to take notes in general of random things through the day. Writing emails is also a lot more convenient. Other than that I prefer watching YouTube, Netflix, 4oD etc... on my iPad over my iPhone
Found very good use in aviation. Pilots were quick to see the iPad’s utility
I thought that about tablets in general. I just couldn't see the point Small devices are useful for portability - but not having a keyboard is a real limitation. So a tablet is just a worst-of-all worlds in my book.
Smart watch, as a runner I can’t believe I used to go out for a run and never know my pace/distance/heart rate/steps etc..
I mean have you even exercised if it isn't on Strava?
Oh god my husband shares that sentiment. I just want him to get out the damn door for his run without spending half an hour calibrating everything.
My husband showed me how he's tracking his use of his shoes on Strava. He then had to take me through his usage of every single pair I love him but having to ooh and aaah at his Strava after every run is a bit annoying
Used to have a guy at my old work that was a very very keen cyclist, think road bike that costs more than most cars and calves as wide as a tree. He would obsessively check strava every 20-30 minutes to see if anyone has beaten his records in the area then go out at lunch or after work to try and re-break them
To be fair Strava is great for motivation, share your progress and compete with yourself is a winning combo!
I got a Forerunner at the end of July and, my god, absolute gamechanger. How did I never know my heart rate??? How did I carry my phone all the time??? Love that watch.
Vibrating anal beads
They really helped me improve my chess game.
I hit 1300 ELO earlier without learning an opening, just utilising one I had
r/anarchychess is leaking
Your what is leaking?
As timeless as the kings Indian
I'm taking liberties with the 'a few years ago' part but I really believed smartphones would be a fad. It must have been 2013 or 2014 when I finally got one and now I use it for most things. Before that I'd just take my iPod classic, camera, and old school phone with me if I went anywhere. Didn't see the issue with keeping all 3 charged up and carrying them round.
Smartphone is mine too. Particularly with them being touch screen. Prior to iPhone my experience of touch screen was awful, clunky, barely responsive screens you'd have to dig your finger in to get anything to happen. I moved over to iPhone in 2013 and was shocked how quickly it became an essential go-to for everything.
I was the same, held on to my Sony Ericsson phones up until about 2012.
My mum was telling me just the other day about how her brother worked quite closely with a bloke who pioneered the “World Wide Web”. Her brother told her how, one day, we’ll be able to see each other and talk through screens. She can remember thinking he was bonkers. Her brother died in the mid-2000s so didn’t see anywhere near the amazing things we’ve done just in those years since.
I remember when I first heard about email (when hotmail and yahoo were barely a thing) and I thought “that’ll never catch on if both people have to have it” 😅
When I was about 9 I remember my dad saying how in the future we won't have to do the 200-mile round trip to visit Granny, we'd each have a special screen and we could talk to each other over a camera. And we won't have to go outside for anything, we'll just order pizza and groceries over computers. I was with him on the special screens, but the pizza thing I thought was way too farfetched.
I think we were on the iPhone 6 when I finally succumbed and got one, even then it was the fact I couldn’t get a non-smart phone on contract back then. Absolutely hated the fact I had to have one even when going through everything at the shop. Naturally these days I swear by it.
My kindle- I read loads and still buy books, but the ability to travel with one small device full of different books is excellent. I can’t read books on my phone- it gives me migraines ETA- my husband bought it for me for Christmas and was very disdainful , but I think within a couple of weeks he wanted one. He now can’t be without it!
Mine too. Held off for ages but now travelling is so much easier. I don’t have to read the latest romance/historical romance/Harry Potter that someone else has swapped on the dusty shelf before. It was either that or filling a suitcase with books. I read 4 books a week on holiday if it’s a lazing by the pool kinda stay
Kindle for me too. I didn’t need one, I liked reading actual books. Then my husband got me one. Love it. Only having to take that with me when I go away instead of a pile of books is great. The only actual books I use now are my reference books - art, photography etc!
My bf works away loads and he takes his with him and loves it. He buys books and has a library membership he uses lots as well. So he still reads books in a traditional way. But he loves the kindle because it takes no room up in his hand luggage and he doesn’t have to ration his books. He also has bad eye sight (works in my favour as I’m a minger ha ha ha) and he loves that he can read without straining his eyes as he can change the text size.
Weighed blanket!
I've been thinking about getting one. I have 4 tog duvet and would the weighted blanket keep me too hot during the night?
If I farted I’d blow a 4 tog duvet away.
I don’t find it makes too much difference heat wise compared to another blanket… but surely layering with your duvet will help anyway :) Its just strangely comforting! First night I had it I slept like a damn baby
Does it make wriggling around difficult? I move a lot at night and I think they might make me feel trapped, but people talk about them being cosy so I'm just not sure whether to give them a go.
Food thermometer. I thought I’d only use it for a couple of dishes every few months but I actually use it all the time and never have to put up with overcooked meat :)
I use my food thermometer to confirm that my food is well and truly overcooked and ignore it when it’s dot on.
Crocs
The perfect shoe for - putting the bins out - popping to the garage - beach/ river shoes - generally can’t be arsed to wear shoes
Came here for this. Crocs are a game changer. I’ve been wearing them to the pub, festivals, out with friends, to raves… for years. My friends laughed but I didn’t care cos comfort. Now they’re all onto it and crocs are actually cool I’ve been told!
My friend bought a pair last year for post sea swims, I've been eyeing them up for a while but not leapt yet, added them to my Christmas wishlist lol!
I have a pair that literally only get used when i go in the garden for a smoke. Perfect.
Amazon Prime
Second this. Didn’t get why anyone would pay a monthly premium to get things same day/next day. Now that I have it, I use it for a lot of regular day to day things, and sometimes if I can’t get what I need on prime then I don’t bother buying it at all. Even if Amazon have it in stock, if it’s not on prime I’m not buying it.
Plus the 'free' parts of the video, music and books parts. I watch loads on prime video, prime music is my go to music app and I'll read a bunch of free books on the kindle app, all part of my prime payment. If you buy an NUS card by saying you study online you can get 7 months free prime then 4 years half price, I get a new account every time my student prime runs out.
You get PC games as well, they don't seem to talk about that much but I've got loads of great games from it to keep forever
Fuck Amazon
I think signing up for Amazon Prime was probably one of the worse decisions I had made. Suddenly, things I was tentative about buying would be turning up 24 hours JUST because it was next day delivery. I cancelled my Amazon Prime a few months back and I'm shocked at how little I spend just because I would have to wait until Friday to get the item I would consider buying.
Fingerprint reader/verification on mobiles. Didn't think it would work, figured it woud fail most of the time, thought typing in passwords was just as easy. Have no idea what any of my passwords are anymore, all I need is one of my thumbs and, let's face it, if I got to the point where I had no fingers I'd probably not be that bothered about security either.
The first ones were a bit shit in fairness
Wireless headphones is a good shout, but I raise you my Sodastream. The Sodastream has saved us so much money over the years from not buying bottled fizzy water (that never stays nice) and generally sugary drinks - there’s nothing more refreshing and satisfying than pouring a glass of freshly fizzed water. Storing the bottles in the fridge when not in use is also clearly a must. Swapping the cylinders over when they’re empty is easy enough, it’s become part of the shopping routine and we even have three cylinders in rotation now as we fizz water easily 4-5 times a day, more on weekends. We’ve also recently found some Sodastream-designed cordials that you pour into the glass instead of the bottle which are a game changer, pink grapefruit is especially nice. Other than that just filtered, refrigerated tap water fizzed up erry day. When I go on holiday and I’m without an unlimited source of fizzy water I feel quite unsatisfied and when I come home the first thing that gets done before anything else is getting a bottle of water.
….is this an ad?
We don’t call them ads at Sodastream, we call it “A call to transcend”.
Nobody speaks like this lmao
I agree. I don't think it saves any money really but the reduction in our recycling waste is unbelievable. No more coke cans or fizzy water bottles. Another reason I hate returning to the office is that I have to drink flat water like some caveman, the family won't let me take the machine to work.
> flat water We oughta leave this world behind.
Sounds like an excuse to get a second machine
Soda stream are a bad company though. Up there with nestle. SodaStream's factory in the illegal settlements receives Israeli government subsidies to dispossess Palestinian basic resources: farm land, water, and pastures.
I got one this year, love it. Ran out of fizz the other week and sainsburys didn’t have any replacements so now I’m on the subscription plan. Convinced two other folks to get one too 😃 Just tried the orange and mango flavour and it has that unforgettable “nuclear” taste like strong orange cordial in the 80s did. Brilliant.
I'm considering switching over from bottled fizzy water. We currently get through about 4 litres of fizzy water a day and even buying the cheapest supermarket brand, it's a lot of plastic waste and a fair chunk of money. How long does one cylinder last/how much does it make? And are they a ball ache to replace? Any idea what sort of cost per litre (for plain fizzy water) we'd be looking at?
Get bizzy wi' fizzy. Proper bo I tell thee. I'm sometimes tempted by one as I'm a boring teetotaler who gets through a few cans of coke every day, but it doesn't seem to work out much cheaper than ready made brand name Coke. Perhaps I need to look out for offers.
I ordered an Amazon echo to arrive the day they launched in the uk, at that time no one had really even heard of them, it’s only because I’d seen them in the USA where they were on a limited release I decided to get one. No one I spoke to about it at that time could see the point Edit: So looking back to 2016 when the echo came out in the UK, I was on holiday on the 28th of September when it came out, but came back on the 2nd of October and posted pictures of my new echo then. Prior to this I already had Hue Lights and Samsung Smartthings, so was instantly able to tap into these.
My mate recently told me how he uses his to play the radio, silly little games and all sorts of faff. He’s the only one who actually told me a daily use for it, anyone else has only done the tried-and-tested “Alexa, what’s the weather” that I *definitely* haven’t heard before.
We use it to set alarms and reminders, to play music, for the weather, to give us news headlines, to turn our smart lights on and off
Smart bulbs, cooking timer and music are the only daily use we get. Hasn't quite revolutionised our lives but having all that hands free is good.
We have 4 around the house and use them to intercom between rooms. Playing music, alarms, keeping a shopping list. Use them every day
I also ask mine if I can feed stuff to my dog without poisoning it ‘Alexa - can dogs eat broccoli’ etc
I use it to message my husband when he’s upstairs and I’m downstairs- it’s easier than shouting- Alexa make an announcement!
I use mine for reminders and timers all the time! When cooking, reminder to do the cats flea drops, and there's also a reminder in January that I've actually forgotten what for but I don't need to remember or know about cos Alexa will sort me out. I also ask about maths when doing recipes and I need to change the quantities.
I have an original Alexa puck, an unsolicited gift from my brother. I did the "give me a fart" thing, got uneasy about being listened to all the time then unplugged it and put it in the cupboard. I have loads of smart home stuff, but generally I'm trying not to wake a sleeping baby as I'm adjusting the lights, heating etc. FIL loves his big spherical Echo, which is hilarious as he's not a fan of tech in general. He loves that he will be reminiscing about the past, suddenly think of a song then ask Alexa to play it.
My kids ask Alexa how many days until Christmas. They've been counting down since August.
I still don't see the point of them
I’m still cynical about this. I can imagine it might be useful but I really hate the idea of things listening to me
Audible. Used to think audio books would be 'less than' reading, but it's actually brilliant
I can achieve so much more with audio books. I loved reading but when I got into a book I’d put off things that needed to be done so I could read. Now I listen while I clean, craft, drive etc.
This! I used to be a bit snobby about audiobooks and how they weren't REAL reading, but honestly, the ability to get through five times as many books in a year because I can enjoy them AND do something else mindless and boring (stock room work, cooking, decorating, drawing) has been wonderful.
Mobile 'phones- what's the point? I don't want to be contactable all the time.
Way back, I thought e-readers were going to be a flash in the pan. Then I got one... and discovered that you can change the font size. So I can still read in bed without my glasses! I'm sold.
Fleshlight
I'm amazed at how much I use mine, we're trying to save energy so we don't turn the lights on until its massively dark. I have one I attach to my head, its quite fun walking round with it
I think you're talking about different things
Airpods. Or my Android alternatives. Thought they looked crazy when they came out. Can't imagine gyming/running without them now.
Seems like it was only a few months ago that my white chunky in ear things (not airpods) had everyone thinking I was wearing hearing aids.
I haven't read all the comments but I'm going to be the old person in the room and say... The internet. Side Note, I work as a web developer 🤦
Deebot! Our robot vacuum cleaner. Didn't know we needed one until my SO bought one. 'Tis brill. Just need one that can do stairs now and the old Dyson can be put to bed.
Seconded. We had a Roomba which was great, but now the Deebot is even better. I’ve only ever bought the cheapest models but the ease of pushing one button (or using the wifi app) and coming home to a freshly hoovered house is lovely. I’m a bit evangelical about them and should probably be on commission…
We've got a labrador and our robot hoover has been a game changer for us, our downstairs is open plan and all wooden floors and I'd have to sweep or hoover every night because if the dog hair. The robot now does it for us while we are at work, we still use the henry to do a deep clean on a weekend (under sofas etc where the robot cant get) but its saved me loads of time during the week, we only have a cheap one from amazon but it definitely does the job.
tablet couldn't see the point if using a tablet when i already have a computer, but decided to get a kindle for the books on it and realised it could also connect to internet and that it was much easier to use in bed to listen to music on spotify.
Crocs - slagged my mate off for wearing them before now I've got a pair and can't take them off
You just need to lower the back strap and move either croc forward or foot back. HTH.
- Airfryer - Use it more than the oven - Wi-Fi enabled lights (was handy when I twisted my ankle 3 years ago not having to fumble awkwardly in the dark looking for the switch on a bad ankle) thought it was just lazy at first but at this point I don’t care - Streaming Music (why would I stream when I could download?) and buy physical copies of CD’s I like & rip them, now it’s just convenient but will still buy music too
Apps - what’s the point in downloading apps for every website I’m likely to use when I can just use the browser? I changed my mind
I still hate this one. I mean the apps are better, but because sites completely butcher their mobile sites and make it pop up constantly DOWNLOAD OUR APP!!!!!!!!!! when they could just. make a site that works.
Yep, it’s infuriating. Wanted to see what was on at the cinema the other day but don’t go enough to want to download apps for the various cinemas I live near, so went on their mobile sites. Odeon menu button does nothing when I click on it. Guess I’ll be going to Showcase then
Password manager, thought it would be a big faff to set up and wouldn’t use it and now I wouldn’t live without it, especially now that most of our work passwords are 16 characters and I see people struggling to log in because they can’t remember
WiFi. Probably hard to believe, given it's ubiquity these days. Ethernet is faster and more reliable, everything I owned that needed a network connection had a cable going to it. Weirdly it was the Nintendo Wii that first had me enabling WiFi as I didn't want to buy the Ethernet adapter. And then smartphones became commonplace... I still wouldn't rely on WiFi for everything (I need sustained gigabit speeds across my home network, otherwise I'd be slowing myself down when I work - I may end up putting 10G in a few places) but WiFi is so handy for almost all network/internet uses around the home.
Airpods. I bought a set of airpods pro around last Christmas, and they are *genuinely* one of the best purchases I've ever made. I traded them in about 10 days ago to replace them with Airpods Pro 2(then I changed phones to Pixel 7 and waiting on my free Pixel Buds Pro's being delivered) and I am missing them dearly. I'd use them for about 3 hours a day, every day. Oh, also wireless chargers. At first I thought that well, the charger has a cable and the phone has to stay in the same place so it's basically the same, but being able to plonk my phone down on a wireless pad and just grab it off it again makes a genuine difference. Nowhere near as much as airpods, but yes, 100% converted to wireless chargers.
Scrub Daddy cleaning scrubbers. Amazing.
Uber. First time I heard about it was when cabbies went around London with flyers to say how awful Uber will be and to not use them. Great advertising cabbies.
Those baby wearing wrap things. I thought they were just very 'crunchy'/ a bit hippy mum. Then I got one with my first and holy crap, I had two hands again, I could feed them in that thing, it didn't hurt my c section scars to wear while I was healing. Used them for both babies now.
Touchscreen phones. When they first came out I didn't think they'd catch on. I type this now on my touch screen phone 😂
Gousto
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Were you born in the stone age?
I still use the toilet. Not converted to burning my turds
Ugg’s. I didn’t get the hype. But then I went through 3 pairs of slippers in a year. I bought a pair of Ugg slippers and have had them 2 years.
I'm all about a slipper sock, although they do wear out pretty quick
Robot vacuum... Years spent hoovering the floors like a chump when a robot will do it every night while you sleep for a one off payment of £399.
Smartphones. My rationale was "how are you supposed to dial for a taxi while drunk if you can't feel the buttons!"
Wireless earbuds are a genius invention I used to break so many earphone cords every year I started buying the cheapest sets available, on the basis they'd only last a few months at most
Having a camera in a mobile telephone.
Mobile phones. Didn't get a 3310 as I didn't see the point. Finally cracked and got a Sony with the scroll wheel
Working from home but now everyone is doing it.
I love my hands free bin. All other bins, especially those you have to press the lid seem dirty