Independent retailers have overwhelmingly backed the wholesale trade after accusations that it had rude and unhelpful staff, and its depots were expensive, dirty and often out of stock. The remarks came from restaurateur Paul Clerehugh when he spoke at the recent FWD Catersummit conference in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Clerehugh criticised cash and carries and hit out at delivered wholesalers. He did compliment Booker and Makro on a couple of their initiatives but, on the whole, blasted the wholesale sector. However, in a straw poll taken this week, Grocer Club readers accused the restaurateur of talking poppycock and claimed that standards in both the C&C and delivered sectors were not only up to scratch, but probably better than they have ever been. Sue Cussans, who runs the Barton Stacey Post Office near Winchester, in Hampshire, is a customer of Booker's branch at Eastleigh and said the staff were pleasant and helpful. She added: "The C&C I use is as clean and tidy as it needs to be and better than it was years ago. The prices seem reasonable, although I don't have time to do comparisons, and the stock situation is good." Munir Ahmed runs a general store in Birmingham and buys from the local Bestway C&C where he finds very competitive prices, excellent stock levels and very helpful staff. He said: "I don't agree at all with the view that C&Cs are dirty places, with unhelpful staff. I would dismiss such claims entirely. Bestway is a good place to do business." Award winning retailer David Tubby, who runs the Country Produce store in Cold Norton, Essex, was generally happy, but did have some mixed views of the C&C environment. He largely dismissed the restaurateur's claims, but said he was disappointed with stock levels at his local Booker branch, where he also found the prices to be too high. He added: "I have switched a lot of my purchasing to Dhamecha's in Barking, Essex, which is the most helpful and competitive C&C I've ever used." Tubby said C&C's have to be functional and added: "I would clamber over a pallet or two if it meant getting better prices." Costcutter retailer Paul Dale from Wickford, Essex, jumped to the defence of the delivered sector and said: "I get most stock from Nisa, where service levels are nudging 100%. The local wholesaler I use for confectionery gives excellent service. The accusations are totally without foundation." {{GROCER CLUB }}

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