Forum Topic

Is Waitrose the best ?

Is Waitrose the best of all the supermarkets in Ealing - I mean in terms of value, product quality, convenience, cleanliness, delivery and customer service? Which is the worst Ealing supermarket?  

Gerry Tan ● 4691d39 Comments

If only other major companies that have a customer 'coalface' would behave like John Lewis do.Wouldn't that be fantastic.Imagine if the train operating companies treated their customers like that or even local councils or mobile phone providers or energy companies.Well...one can dream, can't one!

Michael Brandt ● 4683d

"The John Lewis Group are famed for their customer service so anyone who has got comment to make would do well to feed back to them. I've done so before and been contacted to discuss my observations."That also happened to me. I complemented John Lewis' in an online forum (admittedly not a Waitrose purchase but a PC) and was amazed to be contacted to thank me for my comments.

Nigel Brooks ● 4684d

Gerry, I love Waitrose. I agree with some comments that it's not as good as it once was, but it does the wife and I just fine. I particularly love their patisserie counter and the microwave haggis you can buy (which I cannot find anywhere else) that goes stunning with scrambled eggs for a great breakfast (don't forget lashings of Tabasco Sauce!). I like the spacial aspect of the store and find the range on offer is more than adequate. The John Lewis Group are famed for their customer service so anyone who has got comment to make would do well to feed back to them. I've done so before and been contacted to discuss my observations.

Bud Richards ● 4684d

Aha. Check out the Waitrose organic cucumbers Susan. they actually taste of something other than the chemically-enriched water in which 'normal' cucumbers are grown.

Nigel Brooks ● 4686d

I have never heard anyone say 'yum yum' about a cucumber before.

Susan Kelly ● 4686d

I remember walking into Waitrose West Ealing one day..and I thought it was a knock-out!Seriously, I do shop there fairly regularly and find it a very pleasant shopping experience. I like the way organic foods are clearly symboled on the shelving..whether it'sBaked Beans (yum yum), Corn Flakes, Blue-berries, or cucumber (yum yum) etc etc !

Jim Lawes ● 4686d

That's not just west Ealing Gerry but across Waitrose as a whole. I think that the whole JLP perform their Social Responsibility 'duty' well.

Nigel Brooks ● 4689d

Was that recently?  I thought supermarkets had at last got the point that customers are fed up with having so much packaging to deal with when they get home.  It must be nearly 10 years since the wonderful WI protest campaign and 20 more since environmental groups started complaining loudly.It was the customers' fault - we just kept on buying it and taking it away to dispose of it for them free (or rather at our Local Council's expense ie Council Tax Payers' expense).  I'm told that in Germany there are readily accessible recycling bins for customers to remove and leave lots of packaging in the store - which saves having to deal with it at home.Without the campaigns ie ordinary people taking action there was no incentive to improve packaging in particular for where it is most necessary ie transportation to prevent spoilage or to use reusable containers ie those they now use in Waitrose to refill the vegetable shelves with (or when I last went when they had neat trolleys with stacking reusable plastic crates!).Still like with junk mail I suppose you have to re-visit and re-assess every so often.

Philippa Bond ● 4689d

£10,000,000 given to charity?  I think John Lewis Partners at West Ealing Waitrose should thanked for their generosity and community spirit.

Gerry Tan ● 4689d

Those 'little green tokens' have so far resulted in £10,000,000 being given to local good causes.

Nigel Brooks ● 4689d

The staff (or partners) DO decide the charities.

Ben Owen ● 4689d

Just ask for one!

Nigel Brooks ● 4689d

Well I could do, but if they are meant to give me a token and don't then they are not doing their job properly are they?

Bernadette Clover ● 4689d

The Retford Morrisons which I have occasion to frequent several times a year when visiting friends in the area is very good.The Brentford Morrisons, by comparison, is the pits.

Tony Colliver ● 4689d

    http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/waitrose-top-for-organic-vegetables-customer-service-and-milfs-2013043067123

Tony Colliver ● 4689d

Yes, but we all know that you are faking it when you do that - too obvious you see!  :-)

Tony Colliver ● 4689d

Charities ask to be included and, I believe, the partners vote which three local ones to support each month.If you are not offered a disc, simply ask for one.

Nigel Brooks ● 4690d

That's a good point, but who chooses the charities?Is the customer meant to be given a token or are they meant to take one?  They never seem to bother offering me one.What do you think of Iceland Ben?

Bernadette Clover ● 4690d

I've often wondered what it would be like if a company like the John Lewis Partnership took on some council service contracts instead of the corporate cowboys councils seem to be so keen to be in'partnership' with.Where all the employees are partners and valued and treated like companies used to and get evenly shared bonuses right down to the saturday staff

Michael Brandt ● 4690d

They are the best at supporting community projects. Each month, all stores donate £1,000 to share between three local charities. The amount that each charity receives is in proportion to the number of votes they receive from customers. Customers are given one green disc to use to vote for their favourite charity. This Saturday, 1st June, from 10am, Waitrose will have a lorry at West Ealing to run an 'Exchanging Places' event to enable cyclists to experience a HGV driver's view of the road, and get a much better understanding of the blind spots around the vehicle.  The purpose is to raise awareness of the dangers of lorries, and what cyclists can do to avoid being caught in the danger zone. I call that Corporate Social Responsibility. Waitrose are definitely by far and away the best at doing that!

Ben Owen ● 4690d

Oh, I find Waitrose are the best for having plenty of tills open and not keeping me waiting. I get cross at Marks first thing when they have just one till open, regardless of how busy it is.

Susan Kelly ● 4690d

I heard on the radio that M&S checkout staff are to scan 14 items a minute to keep them "tills a rolling".  In Waitrose it's more like 14 an hour!  They have some of the slowest check out staff ever and then the customer in front decides that they want to pay by card or do a bit of "tree hugging" and asks for the cardboard on a pack of biscuits to be removed and put in the bin. I always leave an extra 20 minutes when going to Waitrose.

Bernadette Clover ● 4690d

Meat and fish is good at Morrison's.

Keith Iddon ● 4690d

Sorry..,are good!

Keith Iddon ● 4690d

If I had the choice I would not touch Morrisons with a bargepole. Endless misleading offers, poor quality food (apart from their meat) and chaotic stock control.Unfortunately it is also almost next to my office so we use it ..a lot!

Michael Brandt ● 4690d

Marks are just streets ahead, their own downside being not selling a wide range of branded goods, for which I nip across the square to Tesco Metro.

Susan Kelly ● 4690d

I think there will be a new Morrisons in the old Blockbuster building in W Ealing. I do use Lidl but their fruit and veg are I find, often a bit "tired".  As for Waitrose .......http://bit.ly/XEk0nm

Viv Ellis ● 4691d

Lidl in Hanwell is also good for washing powder etc. and dried fruit and nuts.I like the jars of small onions in balsamic vinegar.Tins of tomatoes and tom. puree/passata also good value. They also sell garlic that I have never seen on sale anywhere else.It comes in a small basket and the bulbs are single gobstopper size cloves.Bit sweeter and lovely slow roasted.If you are a bird lover as I am,the shop next door sells cheap bird food(50 suet balls £5.99).

Keith Iddon ● 4691d

Yes Gerry, there is parking at the one just past Gold's Gym. However there is a time limit (can't remember what it is) so don't get caught. Whether they are legally enforceable  or not the hassle of getting tickets is worth avoiding if possible.There is a second Lidl as well nearby but I have never been to it.Their non-food stock is sold on a here today gone tomorrow basis.  They are particularly good for some things and give further choice.I wish more of their packaging was recyclable.Don't forget to take your own bags - they get brownie points for that - but you can sometimes find short sided boxes that you can re-use if you do forget.

Philippa Bond ● 4691d

Free

Michael Brandt ● 4691d

Is there any parking at Lidl's please?

Gerry Tan ● 4691d

Oh! I only ever use my Fortnum and Masons carriers.

Michael Brandt ● 4691d

Their wine is good value too and is quite often featured in newspaper recommendations.If you hold any of those value/taste test articles that are in newspapers from time to time,Waitrose quite often compares quite badly with the ranges from other supermarkets.If you do shop at Lidl,make sure you take some carrier bags with you as they don't supply them.You could even use your old Waitrose bags so when the neighbours see you unloading your car they will not look down their noses at you...;-)

Keith Iddon ● 4691d

Quite trueLidl is the revelation for me.Not the most civil of places to shop. Some very rude and pushy types of customer often there but the fruit, veg and even flowers are a fraction of the price of Waitrose Tesco and Sainsbury's and have proven to be of equal and very often better quality.

Michael Brandt ● 4691d

Surely we all know by now that some stores are better for certain things and some better for others.

Keith Iddon ● 4691d

Waitrose is not as good as it was, it's still good but it was excellent.

Michael Brandt ● 4691d

Thanks Emma, but what is the BEST one ?

Gerry Tan ● 4691d

i love waitrose and marksandspencers and tesco and sainsburys they are all good supermarkets

Emma Barnes ● 4691d

I think Waitrose has gone down hill in recent years and I seldom go there now. I use Marks and Tesco Metro in the Ealing Broadway mall.Worst? I would say Sainsbury in West Ealing.

Susan Kelly ● 4691d