In our unending quest to bring you all and sundry Tesco-related news, we find the British retailer proving its superiority to our US-based supermarkets not just in its creative use of the color green, or its environmental policy, or its employee-friendly housing policy. It seems the British are also beating us in one more crucial area: grammar. The grammar-nerd activists at the Plain English campaign (is it just us, or do the British have too much time on their hands?) have pressured Tesco to amend its checkout line verbiage:
The Chief Executive of supermarket giant Tesco, Terry Leahy, has sent us a letter saying that the store will be changing the signs that are displayed above its express checkouts. Pedants all over the country have always moaned that the traditional '10 items or less' sign is grammatically incorrect. Following a number of complaints from members of the public as well as ourselves, Tesco's signs will now read 'Up to 10 items'.
Mr Leahy wrote: 'You will now be pleased to learn that, following letters like yours, we are in the process of changing this signage. In all new stores the signage will now read 'Up to 10 items' we will then follow a programme of replacing existing signs in stores undergoing refurbishment or as and when signage needs to be replaced.'
Phew, we're so glad that's been settled before Tesco arrives on our shores.