As anyone will know who follows me on twitter I am not a huge fan of supermarkets or large high street chains. However, I do use them and I acknowledge that they are a convenient place to shop for basic essentials and are a vital part of a vibrant community.
So when a couple of weeks ago I was approached by the local Tesco, who said they would like to get more involved with the local community, I was keen to see what they had in mind.
A meeting was arranged and last week I met a very nice young chap who was the 'Better Service Manager' from the local Tesco branch here in Ramsbottom. His idea was to see if we would like to get involved with a festive children's treasure hunt they run in store the week before Christmas...so far so good.
Now here is the thing!
He wanted us to donate three or so large prizes that they could give to the winners of the treasure hunt...and this kind of got my back up a bit.
Here is Tesco, with an annual turnover of £70,000,000,000 (that's £70 BILLION!) asking a local, independent family business to 'donate' prizes for its in store children's activities which are ultimately there to boost the Tesco stores sales
In return for donating these prizes we would be allowed to promote our business in Tesco by way of posters or leaflets. Although I am always looking for new ways to promote my business (and for a moment was tempted to accept) I ultimately decided not to go ahead. After now having a few days to reflect on this now and feel it is the right decision.
What do you think? If it was your business what would you do?