To the person who picked my Waitrose order this morning

[inmylifeIlovedthemall]

I just want to say a MASSIVE thankyou to you.

I know my requests for green bananas, underipe avocados, lean bacon etc. etc. might be very irritating, but the fact that you and your colleagues do actually send me those things means a great deal to me.

I have been isolated now for 13 weeks, only going out to my allotment. I have no one here with me and only see friends / family on video. The food you deliver to me is my only treat.

I order once a fortnight to save slots for other people and you help me to make my order last two weeks.

So, please be aware that the care you put into picking my order is very much appreciated. I wish I could meet you to say thank you, or know who you are so I could tell Waitrose just how much you do to make this customer very, very, happy.

THANK YOU

I got meat today from tesco and it all has ages left before the sell by date. Amazing!
My other deliveries have had such short dates that I'd almost given up. Last time, the large pack of chicken breasts were delivered in the 8-9pm slot and they were use by the same date!

I might email them this time as suggested, and say thank you.

Definitely email them. I’ve been using the store a lot the last few months, it’s a much less stressful experience than some of the other supermarkets and their stock has always been much better. They even had soap all the way through.

I spent a fortune at waitrose yesterday. Never again. Unless I win the lottery.

Op, please email customer service, they will be delighted at this.

DD2 is currently a picker at Asda. She said that they can only pick what is on the shelf. At the moment loose veg isnt a good bet as so much is poor quality.
I noticed that in mine too. I didnt pick some veg the other day as i wouldn't have paid for it myself it was all on the turn. I think frozen will do for me at the moment.

Willow2017 DD said the tricky bit is trying to guess if the customer would rather have second rate fruit/veg or no fruit/veg. The person in charge of identifying poor produce was told by management to lower her standards.

I thought from the start of lockdown that there would be shortages of fruit/veg in summer. Looks like it is happening.

My Asda delivery last week had a couple of ok substitutions but the rest were poor quality and very short dated. The red onions were disgusting - one was soft, one was mushy and the 3rd was literally dripping out of the net it had almost liquified; I’m shocked anyone thought it was an acceptable product to send out!!

A good thing about it though is that you can go online after the delivery and request refunds for poor quality, short dates and unsuitable substitutions - so things like a pie and 3 other meat products that all expired on the day of delivery, the red onions mentioned above and single portion ready meal sent in place of a 2 person meal. Another meal choice we ordered 2 mains (part of their £8 meal deal) and were only sent one with no sub offered so DH had to go out and find something suitable for another dinner.

I will probably use Asda again as their choice of baby meals is far better than other supermarkets that offer delivery in our area and their shops don’t break the bank; plus, because I’m shielding, I’ve been given a free delivery pass by them which is really appreciated.

This weekend we’re having a Morrisons British Food box delivered which was good on the previous occasion we had one - their 1kg potatoes were lovely Jersey Royals so they got brownie points but, because it’s a fixed contents box, you get no fruit or other dessert items.

My Sainsbury delivery driver delivered to me a week before we went into lockdown and has delivered here before so remembered I have a disability and would likely be shielding, so he rang me from the van to ask if I wanted contactless. I did feed back to their customer services.

But but but, I had no idea you could order direct from Waitrose online? I’ve ordered from Ocado, in fact I’m eagerly anticipating them starting to deliver M&S, but ... Waitrose direct??? Is there an app or does one have to use a website?

Ah, I take it back, I have just discovered their app, and as a screen reader user it is completely inaccessible, so they’ve lost my potential custom from the outset.

If all the other supermarkets have accessible apps then that downgrades Waitrose to the bottom of the pile in my view.

Off to feed back to their (oh so good) customer services. Let’s see if they can rise to the challenge, or even if they want to.

I've been shopping for shielded folks as part of the volunteering scheme. It's bloody hard! The fact you OP were specific would be really well received. When people say "bread" or "cheese", it's a nightmare: I know in their head is the lovely mild cheddar they've been eating for decades, so I imagine their disappointment were they to receive Red Leicester, for example. When people give subs or say no subs, I at least have a clue.

How on earth would you interpret "5 bananas, note ripe"? Is this a typo, and they want 5 unripe bananas, or is it being made clear they want ripe bananas? This is the difference between a successful banana cake, or a steady supply of bananas over a week.

I'd be thrilled to get a "thank you" note. I really do think hard about what people mean by "nice ham".

Aw - what a lovely thread - lovely staff and yes I’m sure it’s nice to have positive feedback. Don’t have a Waitrose near me sadly.
As for overripe bananas - chop two up, freeze for a couple of hours, blend up with a spoon of natural soya yogurt and hey presto , vegan ‘whippy’ ice cream.

We've had great a "click and collect" and delivery service from Asda. Beautiful fruit and veg, appropriate substitutions and considerate delivery drivers. We're usually Tescos shoppers but haven't had half a chance of getting a delivery with them! We're considering sticking with Asda post-lockdown.

My Mum was once visibly disappointed when her Feta cheese didn't arrive with her waitrose order. The driver came back 20 minutes later with a pack for her - he had nipped to Sainsbury's down the road and got her one! She was over the moon, but we didn't want to ring Customer services to praise him in case he got wrong for this.

I had a call from my Waitrose driver a couple of christmases ago saying he was running 10 minutes late. No problem. I wasnt going anywhere. When I opened the door, he was standing there with 2 free bottles of champagne as an 'apology' I was amazed! He was also a very good looking surfer type, which sort of made it even nicer.

Do email them.
Waitrose employees win a prize/treat if they are regularly complimented by customers

I have been shielded I have found Asda to be the best option, not forgiven waitrose yet for not sending the Pom Bears salt & vinegar 😂 I was really looking forward to them, they charged me too!

How do you order green bananas from Waitrose?

They are fantastic, I have been really impressed with them. They have redeployed some John Lewis staff as drivers etc if appropriate and seem to go above and beyond with the organisation of their stores at the moment.
Some bread has been a bit short dated but iirc it could often be the same shopping in store so I just freeze and rotate it. It usually lasts a bit longer than the date anyway.
I got some frozen pastries I hadn’t ordered and when I phoned the store to offer to read out the barcode and pay they said it didn’t matter and to keep them.

I get surveys to do every few orders. Always have difficulty with the question ‘Did the delivery driver go above and beyond to make your experience special?’. Hard to say yes, when they turn up on time, are friendly and chatty, observe social distancing well - their baseline for Good is so high!

Morrisons have just started delivery and click and collect in my area, the subs are more expensive, And you have to pay the extra

@tara66

How do you order green bananas from Waitrose?

When you order online from Waitrose there is an option to add a note about an item, which is read when your delivery is filled.

I love Waitrose service too :)

I have been alternating between Waitrose and Sainsbury's deliveries (when I can get them!). I find them both good, but Waitrose win because of their no-charge delivery, not charging for goods which are use by the date they are delivered and general friendliness and service. I usually shop once a fortnight at Waitrose anyway so am familiar with their products. If you look, they really do have some very good offers which make their 'expensive' reputation not quite fair.

Asda are the worst, even before Covid. I used click and collect several times in the past and most stuff only had a day or two of shelf life on!

I love Waitrose. There's always a massive queue to get into my local store (whilst not much queueing anywhere else) so it looks like a lot of people love it too. Their 'Essentials' range is great quality and it's a pleasure to shop there as the staff are so lovely - some other places are a chore.

I miss the free coffees at the moment though - the highlight of my visit. I think it's worth the extra £20/25 for the fortnightly shop compared to Asda/Lidl etc.

My niece has been doing my shopping (God love her). Her teenage job was at Waitrose and it's obviously rubbed off. She's worked out that I order chicken breasts, mince and wine every week as yesterday they were doing three-for-two offers (this was Morrisons) and she duly bought three of each. I've requested specific brands a couple of times but have also said it really doesn't matter - She's managed to get them anyway.

She will definitely be getting a "bonus" from us and a commendation to her management (Mum and Dad ).

(Haven't managed a single supermarket slot since February.)

Interesting to see how different everyone’s experience of online deliveries has been.

I normally shop at Sainsburys, Aldi, M&S and Waitrose picking the things I like from each.

After I received my shielding letter I waited 5 weeks without a slot. It took several phone calls to Waitrose and Sainsburys before I was finally offered one. Sainsburys have just never responded.

I am now a total convert to Waitrose and surprised to find that they are really no more expensive than my previous shopping habits. Probably because I am making sure I buy the offers where possible and am not picking up extras.

Not selling allotment goodies Windyatthebeach because I have only had it two weeks and currently it is full of couch grass and little cleared patches planted up with seeds. I am dreaming of my harvest but will share it with my lovely neighbours.

I have emailed Waitrose to say thank you. It is a measure of how life has changed that I was so happy when my delivery arrived last night.

@Obviouspretzel

You're not doing it right. What you have to do is focus all your attention on your avocado, for 2 days solid, 3 - 5 days after you bought it. At some point, you will have a 30 second window, within which you can enjoy your avocado, perfectly ripe.

Honestly. Some people just won't make an effort...