Preferential listings on Google

[Old Grumpy]

What is it with Waitrose and Google? I am sat in James Cook Hospital Middlesbrough, looking for supermarkets near Stokesley (which is on my way home). Top of the list are Waitrose in Harrogate and Little Waitrose in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne!

[oddoneout]

What is it with Waitrose and Google? I am sat in James Cook Hospital Middlesbrough, looking for supermarkets near Stokesley (which is on my way home). Top of the list are Waitrose in Harrogate and Little Waitrose in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne!

They pay more to get top billing? Or Google has analysed you and decided you are a Waitrose customer...

[french frank]

I got Sainsbury's, Lidl and Tesco. So Coop's obviously not paying them enough then. Or they don't need customers as much as the others do.

[Pulcinella]

I got Sainsbury's, Lidl and Tesco. So Coop's obviously not paying them enough then. Or they don't need customers as much as the others do.

Where, in Stokesley?
I found only a Coop there (on iPad Maps).

And Wiki has this:

The historic High Street is lined with independent small shops and restaurants. Other facilities include a medium-sized Co-operative Food supermarket, showground, camping site, health centre, industrial estate, library, police and fire stations. The town has five pubs (The Queen's Head, The White Swan, The Mill, The Spread Eagle and The Green Man). Stokesley is also the home of Quorn, produced by Marlow Foods.

[Old Grumpy]

They pay more to get top billing? Or Google has analysed you and decided you are a Waitrose customer...

Yes, possibly the latter (hadn't thought of that!). Although I haven't shopped regularly at Waitrose for at least 3 years, since we moved South. The nearest to home is now ~ 22 miles away. More Tesco/Morrisons now.

[french frank]

Where, in Stokesley?

No, down by 'ere.

[oddoneout]

I got Sainsbury's, Lidl and Tesco. So Coop's obviously not paying them enough then. Or they don't need customers as much as the others do.

I got 2 Co-ops in Stokesley itself. Thomson Local has a list of assorted names at varying distances from Stokesley - but Waitrose not in evidence for the most part on the various searches. One of the results included an equestrian store in the supermarket search...
I've often been disappointed/frustrated doing such searches, and for national chains tend to google the name and set the location to get more accurate results.

[mikealdren]

A bit late now but a short detour to Coulby Newham would get you Tesco and Aldi. Even the larger Coop in Stokesley isn't great but there are good independent shops there. Where do you live, could you go home via Guisborough the you have more choice?

[oddoneout]

Yes, possibly the latter (hadn't thought of that!). Although I haven't shopped regularly at Waitrose for at least 3 years, since we moved South. The nearest to home is now ~ 22 miles away. More Tesco/Morrisons now.

The nearest for me is a 22 mile round trip, and there is another in the opposite direction getting on for 40 mile round trip. I used to go to the nearer one every so often - not least as I had John Lewis vouchers from the credit card so could get some treats. Also the nearby town is one I enjoy visiting. In theory now I have my bus pass I could go again but the bus is hourly(and poor timekeeping) and the store is quite a long walk to the town so it would just be a shopping trip, which has limited appeal or reason.

A check of distance for the second store threw up a fairly significant information mistake. Included in the results was one from some rail linked site which gave rail as an option between my home town and the city, complete with indications of numbers of trains etc. Quite an achievement considering that the line closed 55 years ago...

[Old Grumpy]

The nearest for me is a 22 mile round trip, and there is another in the opposite direction getting on for 40 mile round trip. I used to go to the nearer one every so often - not least as I had John Lewis vouchers from the credit card so could get some treats. Also the nearby town is one I enjoy visiting. In theory now I have my bus pass I could go again but the bus is hourly(and poor timekeeping) and the store is quite a long walk to the town so it would just be a shopping trip, which has limited appeal or reason.

A check of distance for the second store threw up a fairly significant information mistake. Included in the results was one from some rail linked site which gave rail as an option between my home town and the city, complete with indications of numbers of trains etc. Quite an achievement considering that the line closed 55 years ago...

[Old Grumpy]

A bit late now but a short detour to Coulby Newham would get you Tesco and Aldi. Even the larger Coop in Stokesley isn't great but there are good independent shops there. Where do you live, could you go home via Guisborough the you have more choice?

Thanks.

In the end we left quite late* so availed ourselves of the M & S Food located in the hospital itself.

*As it was dark we also didn't go via Stokesley/Bilsdale, but stuck to the main route - A174/A19(S)

[LMcD]

Thanks.

In the end we left quite late* so availed ourselves of the M & S Food located in the hospital itself.

*As it was dark we also didn't go via Stokesley/Bilsdale, but stuck to the main route - A174/A19(S)

Is it possible that the possibilities which they listed are the nearest in a straight line to wherever 'the system' believes to be your location? I was recently offered a medical appointment that was clearly the result of such an approach, including instructions on how to drive from two addresses - one of them not my own - to the location they chose after I'd told them that I don't drive and that there was only a very limited bus service which would involve a change of bus and a longish walk. They finally got round to offering me an appointment a couple of miles further away, in the county town, which I was able to access easily by catching a bus - there are 3 an hour - and then walking for just a few minutes to the premises in question.

[Forget It (U2079353)]

You might have added a Roseberry Topping on the M+S Food if daylight had permitted:

[Old Grumpy]

Is it possible that the possibilities which they listed are the nearest in a straight line to wherever 'the system' believes to be your location? I was recently offered a medical appointment that was clearly the result of such an approach, including instructions on how to drive from two addresses - one of them not my own - to the location they chose after I'd told them that I don't drive and that there was only a very limited bus service which would involve a change of bus and a longish walk. They finally got round to offering me an appointment a couple of miles further away, in the county town, which I was able to access easily by catching a bus - there are 3 an hour - and then walking for just a few minutes to the premises in question.

Probably the nearest Waitroses (this is The North remember), but certainly not the nearest supermarkets to my search parameter which was "supermarket near Stokesley"