Coles Hits Back At Criticism Of 'Lazy' Supermarket Item

Coles has clapped back at a customer for labelling one of its items as ‘lazy’ and ‘useless’.

An angry customer took to Reddit to make their feelings known about one particular item distributed in the popular supermarket: pre-sliced vegetables.

While the customer didn’t understand the use of the product, many users on social media slammed the tone-deaf post.

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One person wrote: “I work in aged care. This is a godsend for clients who still love to cook but their hands simply can't hold a knife like they used to.”

Another commented: “A lot of comments here calling out people for being lazy, but these are actually a godsend for people with disabilities, fine motor issues, etc.”

A third person said: “Primarily these are for time poor people not people with disabilities. But yes no problem with that. Issue is the packaging though. They need to pack in wax paper or whatever the biodegradable stuff is.”

Coles category manager for dairy, frozen and convenience Elizabeth Babic also defended the item, saying there were many reasons why pre-chopped veggies were necessary. 

She told news.com.au: “Coles Fresh Kitchen is convenient for time-poor customers who like to grab and go and reduce food preparation time with a range of pre-cut fruit and vegetable, healthy breakfast additions such as boiled eggs, and soups.

“Some of the products also allow for microwave cooking so it is quick and easy meal solution, and retains nutrients better than other methods of cooking such as boiling.”

Babic also said pre-sliced vegetables help reduce food wastage as customers may not need an entire product when cooking.

She added: “Pre-cut and packaged fresh produce improves accessibility to healthy and delicious fruit and vegetables, for customers with disability or the inability to cut and prepare food themselves.”

However, this isn’t the only item that has attracted negative press in recent days, as one Reddit user even ripped into Coles’ newest snack: panko crumbed chicken doughnuts.

Well, listen, anything fried is alright by me.

The user posted a photo unveiling the newest addition to the store, leaving many divided.

One user wrote: “Just some chicken tendies trying to make ends meet.”

Another commented: “So their the scraps of the scraps that have been minced for the 3rd time then bound with artificial meat glue and hidden in crumbs, f**k coles and all they stand for?”

While one seemed to get around them, writing: “I think it would cook more evenly this way. No cold dense centre.”