Are waitrose employees the snottiest supermarket staff? Which is the friendliest? Light hearted?

[Mollyringworm]

As I've just commented on a thread regarding the staff at waitrose and then realised it was a zombie thread I would like to start my own supermarket related thread to sate the appetite of all those wanting to have a right go at waitrose (Or indeed, praise it).

The staff at my waitrose are very snotty sometimes, often don't say hello or thank you, look really really bored and uninterested when scanning your stuff (look, I know it's tedious but how hard is it to smile and say hello?), tut when u ask for extra bags (even though I'm paying for them) - one woman regularly gives me 2 bags to load about 10 bags worth of stuff and then looks majorly put out when I ask for more. Once had a member of staff tell my dd to 'get down' with some venom when perching on a low shelf to get some cakes. My dd age5 often asks for 3 of the green charity-coin things cos she's very altruistic and wants to put one in each box. She has been told 'no' on more than one occasion.
A friend of mine has a daughter that worked there briefly and she said she hated it as the customers were so snotty and rude. Maybe the staff are a reflection of the customers.

By absolute contrast the staff in my local co-op are absolute legends, I love 'em. My favourite memory being when my car ran out of oil and two of the guys came and helped me refill it 'cos I didn't know what to do (I will point out here I'm blonde and big of boob - also sorry to conform to stereotype)

I would like to hear all your supermarket staff-related stories and we can later on have a vote on which has the best employees.
Apologies if this is a recurring theme I'm relatively new to mn and wanted to get my growing annoyance at waitrose off my chest (I'd stop shopping there but they're the only supermarket locally selling chabonnel&walker pink Marc de champagne chocolates, to which I am addicted)

Disclaimer: I'm not being sponsored by co-op, honest.

Waitrose used to be good round here. Now it's very very snooty. You get treated really badly and rudely now. The people in there are mainly snooty and rude too. Always feel looked down on in there. And they seem to begrudge the free coffee.

Tesco, used to be awful, now it's fantastic. Everyone so helpful and friendly, no snobbery or looking down on anyone. Always have a nice chat at check out.

I think m&s can be snotty and the customers often think they are above themselves.

Seriously? When I rush in to M&S at Waterloo or my local one there are all sorts of people in there. Most of them just in a dead rush to get somewhere else.

Where are all these "above themselves" "Hyacinth" types? Mostly they just seem to be normal people to me.

I generally get very good customer service, had amazing service from next recently.
Supermarkets are much of a muchness, not had any really bad experiences that I recall.

Every time I've moved house, which is a lot, I make sure there's a Waitrose nearby. Best staff, very polite and friendly, always willing to help. Worst have been Aldi and Lidl, impatient, rude and speak crap English. Ocado delivery crew always polite , friendly and offer to bring shopping inside for you.

Waitrose staff near me are really lovely, they literally can't do enough to help and are very friendly. I thought it was part of the Waitrose training..
our local Sainsbury's come a close second.

Our local Waitrose has lovely polite and friendly staff, apart from one lady who is very sour and abrupt. M&S food hall nearby is also fab;
one lovely man took me off to customer services to put my shopping through for me when DS1 was driving me mad, DS2 was very tiny and very angry and there were massive queues at all the tills. I was so grateful!

Tesco nearby is a bit hit and miss. The delivery drivers are all lovely though.

Aldi is awful, they're so rude in both our nearest ones. It's clear that the customers are a massive inconvenience to them!

I think they are all pretty similar around these parts tbh. I have a friend who works tills at Waitrose and she is lovely!

I used to work in a waitrose in Yorkshire. The staff were some of the loveliest people I worked with but the management were all really nasty to staff. The store manager actually used to throw cages around the warehouse and scream at staff.
We also had a complaint put in from a customer about out accents saying we all sounded common.

Yankee - That's awful! Glad the lady behind you stuck up for you.
Without a doubt,I find that Tesco staff are worst. Everywhere. It doesn't matter what part of the country it's in (I've been in ones in Scotland as well as Brighton and greater London) or what size shop it is - Express,Metro or Extra,they are all as bad. Surly,unhelpful and will never put themselves out to help. Have had responses like 'Don't ask me,this isn't my department' when asking a member of staff in the children's clothing department a question.

The nicest staff in my experience are without doubt Waitrose. Always pleasant,but not to the point of cringie-ness (is that a word?). Always willing to help,and happy to do so.

I worked at Waitrose. It's hard to develop a superiority complex when a lot of the customers you serve treat you like the hired help (which you are ).

I never get why you get snooty people working in designer shops? As posh as the shop is, it's still a retail job, I doubt they can buy the clothes themselves...

yankeedoodle fucking hell! Just read your comment, what a rude nasty bitch, I hope she got into big trouble.

Yankee how horrible! Nice that there was a friendly person in the queue but still a grim experience :(

I was actually going to put a thread on here a while back about Waitrose after a hilariously bad experience. Rude unpleasant staff, being huffed at for needing bags (had left mine in the boot) etc. I had only gone in there as it was en route home!

But the funny thing was my local Waitrose is in a built up area with a rather teeny car park. They employ TWO parking attendants. There was a queue for spaces, 1st attendant "try up the back" (sceptical face)
Went up the back. There were actually three spaces. I went to reverse my small city car into one. Other attendant - an older gent- starts flailing "oh you'll not get your car in there do you not want to wait??" I said er no and proceeded to reverse in, in one smooth movement leaving a good foot on one side and 6 inches the other as they'd parked on the line. He was nonplussed.

On returning to my car the woman driving the tank I'd parked next to was having a hissy fit about how on earth she'd ever hope to get out and then gave me full on daggers - twas bizarre.

Tesco on the other hand is always an unremarkable experience

My local Waitrose staff are lovely too! They all (including all the teenagers) know exactly where all the stock is located and nothing is too much trouble.

Our local Waitrose staff are lovely whether they are on a till or are management. In contrast Sainsbury's are generally rude, unhelpful and the till supervisors stand around chatting and aren't proactive, seems to have no pride in their work what so ever. Clearly there are exceptions but sadly they are let down my their poor colleagues.

We ended up discussing this in the office the other day (as in where can we all go and work without the stress and enjoy our jobs, it was a hard week). Every one agreed that our local Aldi staff seem extremely happy. They are efficient, chatty, polite and just seem to love their work. It maybe because Aldi staff have to do what ever is required thus have some variety in their role. I think they are also (relatively) well paid.

Local Waitrose staff are fab - really go out of their way to be helpful. A joy to shop in Waitrose.

For sheer fun, it has to be Lidl. Our Lidl has a brilliant team. If the cashier spots a bottle of wine he'll say "Mind don't drink it all at once" or similar.

Aldi not so friendly but very efficient. I find Sainsburys to be hard work - it's like the cashiers are told to ask a range of questions, yet don't expect any answers.

We used to have a Somerfield. Grim.

Waitress staff are all lovely and go out of their way to help and be nice to my toddler. M&S are even sweeter.

I find most supermarket staff lovely - maybe it's a Welsh thing!

That said the staff in my local co-op are ASTOUNDINGLY lush. They're almost pals. I stopped there in the way home the morning after my mum died and the lady asked what was wrong - I told her and she came out from behind the kiosk to give me a hug!

They always ask after the kids if I go in alone, they remember their names and what they've been up to. I recently started seeing someone following the end of my marriage and he came in with me to buy croissants once, and now they're always asking me 'how's the lovely romance??' and whether we've a date this weekend. Bless their cottons, they make buying eggs pleasurable.

Waitrose staff are generally lovely. Slightly biased as DC1 works there. Waitrose customers not so lovely. Someone mentioned upthread about being treated like the hired help. That pretty well sums up a not-so insignificant number of Waitrose customers. DC1 has had fingers clicked at her and been on the verge of tears, but has hardened up now - useful life experience.

Handy tip for Tabbylady - if you've left your bags in the boot, just chuck everything back into the trolley andload up the bags when you get back to the car. It's what most people do at Aldi

Our local Waitrose staff are lovely. It's a big store and I go there too much a lot and have never had anything other than pleasant and polite service

You must be near me OP.

The staff in my local waitrose are known for their rudeness!

In my nearest supermarkets the Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Morrison's staff as especially welcoming and friendly. By contrast, the Tesco staff are not. I assume it's a management thing.

Asda are horrendous, i really don't care about customer service as long as I can get in, pay and go! But I've walked out of 2 Asdas due to their horrid ignorant bastard staff. Never shop at asda now.

Coop are usually nice but with one exception in my local....horrible sourfaced woman called Janet, she's a local legend/joke!! No one's ever seen her crack a smile

I think the management of the store probably has a big influence? We have 2 sainsburys (one is a mini one) in the big one the manager bought my daughter a doughnut in the cafe and the staff are very friendly . In the mini one the staff member asked for a discount for me and said we have a lovely manager ! Lidls just throw your stuff at you in our one 😁

Sainsburys near me are pretty good - staff range from fine to lovely and helpful (especially the guy who spotted me struggling to get to the free till with the borrowed pushchair from hell plus laden basket yesterday and swooped in to carry my shopping for me ).

I have to say, their delivery drivers are brilliant - almost always on time (and call if not, unlike some I could name Tesco) and unfailingly pleasant and helpful.

Our local Asda is pretty awful and the staff can be hard work but, to be fair, I'd be hard work if I was paid minimum wage to deal with some of their clientele and a store layout (including 99% self-service tills) which would drive the most reasonable person to acts of violence.