I have long since given up hope that the critical customer on Migipedia will be taken seriously. I'm actually only here for entertainment, the real satire on offer here every day is better than any TV comedy :-))
Latest example: https://migipedia.migros.ch/en/106507000000#qanda-607740
Please keep it up, dear Pisa generation! I'd better not go into more detail, otherwise I'll get another rap on the knuckles from Tabi...
Good morning @Federwolke
We also take critical customers seriously on Migipedia. Criticism and feedback are very welcome, as long as it is constructive!
We at Migipedia or the Infoline are only human and sometimes make a mistake or make a wrong statement, as in this example. But thank you for your feedback.
I will look into the changed recipe for Bon Chef Hollondaise sauce again and talk to the person responsible for the product.
Best wishes and have a nice day, Nicole
Hi Nicole
If you were to take critical customers seriously, I should have noticed this in the last five years with about 200 of my own and countless read requests from other critics. The satisfactory answers can be counted on one hand, so it has nothing to do with "making a mistake". Rather, the problem is with the system, i.e. quite high up in the hierarchy. The Infoline staff only do what they are told to do. And that is to reel off standard phrases, put customers off, beat about the bush. You rarely get an answer other than:
- The product was no longer popular (the reviews and reactions on Migipedia often show the opposite)
- Space is limited (which is demonstrably not true, but the logistics and staff are limited, otherwise there wouldn't be so much wasted space for the individual items in some stores)
- The recipe change was rated as an improvement by the testers (here, too, the numerous protests are negated or dismissed with deadly arguments)
- Palm oil is sustainable (shortly before it was said that we use as little palm oil as possible, then: we can't do without palm oil. Whenever something was refuted with counter-examples, the justification strategy was simply changed)
Topics that are discussed too critically are simply killed off, and a few exuberant users come in handy as justification. Or the probing questions and theses of critical users are simply ignored. The non-answering of such questions often reveals a lot.
So much for the general criticism. Now to the specific case with the Hollandaise:
No Infoline employee can be so stupid as to repeatedly address people by the wrong name, even when they wave their fence post vigorously. Rather, I suspect a bug in the software that always shows Infoline employees the name of the person who opened the topic, even when third parties join in the discussion. The fact that nobody else notices this is alarming.
Very well-trained staff who are competent in all Migros-related topics are unlikely to be available - how could they? When you see how many sometimes banal questions your people are bombarded with, it is not surprising that standard phrases are always delivered first. If you wanted to consult the relevant experts about everything first, you would probably have to increase your staff tenfold. The majority of customers can probably be fobbed off with standard sentences. The trick would be to recognize which questions (at the latest on the second follow-up) require a more considered answer. The Infoline is obviously unable to cope with this, whether due to incompetence, a lack of training or simply because of the time pressure and working atmosphere. In any case, I don't envy any of you (Infoline, moderators) your job. The frequent turnover speaks for itself. But enough speculation. I just wanted to share my impressions in more detail. Maybe someone will feel offended again and threaten me with a ban. Do what you like with it, I've been with this marketing fig leaf for too long to get upset about it :-)
Hello @Federwolke
I would like to give you some feedback on the specific hollondaise sauce case:
I have discussed this with the product manager: A recipe change was made to the sauce as of last season 2015/2016. Skimmed milk powder was added to the sauce. As a result, the sauce no longer has to be mixed with milk (but can still be), but with water.
Yes, the taste of the sauce has changed. The sauce has been optimized in terms of taste and consistency, and various tastings have been carried out. It's a pity you don't like the recipe adjustment, unfortunately we can't cater to all tastes.
Due to the negative feedback, the team will taste the product again (once stirred with water and once with milk) and evaluate it.
Kind regards, Nicole
"A recipe change was made to the sauce for the 2015/2016 season."
Can't be right, because a year ago the sauce was the same as it always was (bought in Bern Westside on 07.04.2016 - luckily I have a good memory and the receipts are available online). This year I poured it down the sink after a few bites. I ended up with asparagus "nature", still better than soiling them with this filth. The packets bought for the whole season at a special offer ended up in the bin. You could avoid this by warning customers with a "new recipe" notice, then I would have only bought one packet. But as I've often said here: You now have to set aside half a day for a normal shopping trip to read the small print on every item and hopefully realize that the composition of a product that has been tried and tested for decades has been tampered with. So much for "we take our customers seriously".
Nevertheless, thank you for your answer, even if it doesn't provide any new insights. As I have already written: Tasting is always successful. I could fill a book with all the Migros products that have been downgraded, replaced or removed without replacement in recent years. I'm probably getting old and simply can't keep up with the new tastes that we should have today. A small consolation is that I realize that I'm not alone in this when I ask around in my environment. I'm still surprised that this doesn't give you more food for thought, but less and less...
"A recipe change was made to the sauce for the 2015/2016 season."
Can't be right, because a year ago the sauce was the same as it always was (bought in Bern Westside on 07.04.2016 - luckily I have a good memory and the receipts are available online). This year I poured it down the sink after a few bites. I ended up with asparagus "nature", still better than soiling them with this filth. The packets bought for the whole season at a special offer ended up in the bin. You could avoid this by warning customers with a "new recipe" notice, then I would have only bought one packet. But as I've often said here: You now have to set aside half a day for a normal shopping trip to read the small print on every item and hopefully realize that the composition of a product that has been tried and tested for decades has been tampered with. So much for "we take our customers seriously".
Nevertheless, thank you for your answer, even if it doesn't provide any new insights. As I have already written: Tasting is always successful. I could fill a book with all the Migros products that have been downgraded, replaced or removed without replacement in recent years. I'm probably getting old and simply can't keep up with the new tastes that we should have today. A small consolation is that I realize that I'm not alone in this when I ask around in my environment. I'm still surprised that this doesn't give you more food for thought, but less and less...
And a few years later, they did exactly the same thing with the green pepper sauce: the recipe was changed without any indication on the packaging, you now have to use 0.5 dl of cream instead of milk (very impractical, unless you happen to have an opened packet of cream lying around, whereas milk is a daily requirement). The sauce now tastes chemical, no comparison with the previous version, which I loved for over 20 years. Fortunately, I noticed the change in the recipe this time when I was shopping (yes, you learn with time) and only bought one pack - it was the last one. And don't get me started on the more expensive Knorr sauce: I can buy it elsewhere and I'm certainly not going to reward Migros for constantly making its own brands worse so that it can then remove them from the range with the excuse "demand has fallen".
And a few years later, they did exactly the same thing with the green pepper sauce: the recipe was changed without any indication on the packaging, you now have to use 0.5 dl of cream instead of milk (very impractical, unless you happen to have an opened packet of cream lying around, whereas milk is a daily requirement). The sauce now tastes chemical, no comparison with the previous version, which I loved for over 20 years. Fortunately, I noticed the change in the recipe this time when I was shopping (yes, you learn with time) and only bought one pack - it was the last one. And don't get me started on the more expensive Knorr sauce: I can buy it elsewhere and I'm certainly not going to reward Migros for constantly making its own brands worse so that it can then remove them from the range with the excuse "demand has fallen".
As is well known, it is new without glutamate...
And a few years later, they did exactly the same thing with the green pepper sauce: the recipe was changed without any indication on the packaging, you now have to use 0.5 dl of cream instead of milk (very impractical, unless you happen to have an opened packet of cream lying around, whereas milk is a daily requirement). The sauce now tastes chemical, no comparison with the previous version, which I loved for over 20 years. Fortunately, I noticed the change in the recipe this time when I was shopping (yes, you learn with time) and only bought one pack - it was the last one. And don't get me started on the more expensive Knorr sauce: I can buy it elsewhere and I'm certainly not going to reward Migros for constantly making its own brands worse so that it can then remove them from the range with the excuse "demand has fallen".
Hi Federwolke, thank you very much for your message. We are very sorry that we can no longer convince you with our sauce. It is important for us to explain why we have optimized the recipes of our Bon Chef sauces: In order to further improve the quality and taste of our Bon Chef sauces, we have made some changes to the composition. The recipes are now more contemporary. For example, many of them now contain fewer calories, less fat, less sugar and less salt. It's true - you now have to add 0.5 dl of cream instead of 1.5 dl of milk when preparing the green sauce. During the changeover, we affixed a sticker to the newly produced pouches to indicate the modified recipe. After this range of 2-3 months, the sticker was removed again. This sticker is therefore no longer shown on the packaging. However, the adjusted list of ingredients can still be found on the back of the packaging. Hopefully we have been able to help you with our answer. Kind regards, Lea
Hi Federwolke, thank you very much for your message. We are very sorry that we can no longer convince you with our sauce. It is important for us to explain why we have optimized the recipes of our Bon Chef sauces: In order to further improve the quality and taste of our Bon Chef sauces, we have made some changes to the composition. The recipes are now more contemporary. For example, many of them now contain fewer calories, less fat, less sugar and less salt. It's true - you now have to add 0.5 dl of cream instead of 1.5 dl of milk when preparing the green sauce. During the changeover, we affixed a sticker to the newly produced pouches to indicate the modified recipe. After this range of 2-3 months, the sticker was removed again. This sticker is therefore no longer shown on the packaging. However, the adjusted list of ingredients can still be found on the back of the packaging. Hopefully we have been able to help you with our answer. Kind regards, Lea
Thank you Lea, but as is so often the case, your answer doesn't bring any new insights that I haven't already discovered myself. Leaving out the "new recipe" after 2-3 months on a long-life item is not well thought out. Forward-thinking customers buy such things in larger quantities during promotions, perhaps once a year - that's what happened to me now. It's been ages since the last promotion and I still wanted another pepper sauce. And precisely because I'm now sensitized to such changes, I read the back page in the store. "Well, I'll just try a packet" I thought, and it was definitely the last one. Go ahead with your "improvements". With the chemical flavor you might be able to convince younger customers who don't know anything else - I'm slowly getting to an age where I have more time to cook and can make a sauce like this myself. But first I'll try out the competition's products, as I have done with so many things that Migros has ruined or removed from its range in recent years.
