A POWER outage has caused problems for a major Wokingham supermarket forcing it to close early.
Tesco in Finchampstead Road is today unable to sell any chilled or frozen foods as a result.
And the store has had to close early.
A note on its Facebook page said:
“TESCO WOKINGHAM IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED
“We will reopen as soon as we possibly can.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and thank our customers for their patience.”
Ironically, the outage happened as temperatures struggled to get above freezing overnight and snow is all around.
There have been reports that the store was closed but the store is open and selling non-frozen or chilled items. #A sign by the entrance to the supermarket warns shoppers that they won’t be able to purchase their full shopping list today.
It says: “Due to a power outage overnight, we are currently unable to sell any chilled or frozen products at this time.
“We are working to remedy the situation as soon as possible.
“Sorry for inconvenience.”
One shopper told The Wokingham Paper: “Lots of staff were there, both inside and outside, all helping, all talking to customers with questions.
“Couldn’t fault their reaction other than the waste aspect of it, albeit in today’s society companies can’t take any risks during such events.”
Photos on social media show that the store has been forced to remove all the affected items from the freezers and chiller cabinets. It is thought that they will have to be destroyed, rather than sold.
They include tubs of margarine, packets of cheese, butter and yoghurts.
Shoppers have been unhappy that the store has to throw away the food.
One said: “What a waste”.
Another wanted to know if Wokingham Foodbank could distribute the food.
And a third pointed out: “So much of that would still be edible if it wasn’t for food laws.”
Other shoppers have said their home deliveries have been cancelled without notice.
Tesco has been contacted for a comment.
