AIBU to think Waitrose is all fur coat and no knickers?

[ANiceLuxury]

Im normally an Asda, M&S and Iceland shopper. I’m fed up of going to 3 different supermarkets a week for groceries (I like different things in each of the above stores) so over the last 2 weeks I ve tried Waitrose online delivery.

Both times the food has not been as good as M&S and Asda. I ve had black potatoes, eggs that have a black tinge to them when cooked and bland strawberries.

Some of the range I bought was duchy (sp) and it’s no different to Asda.

I don’t understand why Waitrose has this upmarket reputation.

I’m starting to think it’s all fur coat and no knickers..

Now it seems everyone agrees that Asda food is shocking, so why is it?

So many food producers make food for multiple supermarkets. But by far Asda is worse than them all. Got to be a reason

yes Waitrose have taken some good steps on plastic and sustainability too - I'm more inclined to shop there for that reason.

Store management definitely makes a difference.

Strawberries in February?!!! Why? They will taste of nothing and will have a huge food mile price to the planet.

Oh Booths is definitely the best we always seek one out if we are holidaying in Yorkshire.

I hate all online shopping, it's never quite what you'd choose yourself. Have never been in a Waitrose but my top three would be:

1. Booths
2. M & S
3. Sainsbury's

To the PP who asked -- Haimisha pickles are 'home-style' pickled cucumbers in the Mrs Ellswood range.
And OP is BVU to buy the overpriced Duchy stuff, it's not worth the extra, quality is uneven and it's just a Brand -- Duchy lemons? They weren't exactly grown in Cornwall.
and i hate the thought of giving that man any of my hard-earned dosh

I love Waitrose but the nearest one from here is well over an hour away.

Nearby we have Morrisons, Spar, Co-op, Tesco, ALDI and ASDA. Aldi is by far the best value for money and the quality in our local one is excellent.

“Eggs with a black tinge” 🤢

YADBU. Asda food is terrible, especially the own brand stuff- full of sugar and artificial flavouring. Our local one smells nasty. I don't know how they manage to get such tasteless fruit and veg.
All strawberries in February are bland - even the ones I bought on the market last week, so its unfair to judge a supermarket on that.
Waitrose venison meatballs are ace.

You bought strawberries in February and expect them to be nice?!

My dad used to deliver goods to all the big supermarkets and he said it made him laugh that he would go to an apple farm where all the apples were in crates labelled for each supermarket. Same apples, same farm but Waitrose & M&S charged more for the exact same product and shoppers seemed oblivious. Unless it’s their own ready meals or specific cakes etc their fruit and veg are the same just clearly not looked after as well

YABU buying strawberries in February.
Black-rimmed eggs are down to over-cooking, not Waitrose's fault!
Tesco is far and away the worst for feral kids on scooters.

We use Waitrose mainly because it's almost on our doorstep.
I do find that their veg is often very short dated. Last week they had a huge selection of mushrooms, all of which were on that day's date. Most of them will have been thrown away.

YABU buying strawberries in January

If the mushrooms were on that day's date they would be reduced later in the day wouldn't they?

I like the Waitrose essential range on Ocado and the in store sushi is lovely but I agree the store itself is too overpriced for everyday usage ditto M&S. I do wonder why so many people love Asda though? My mum loves shopping there but I find the cost high for the quality of food. I feel like many of the foods there are high fat, processed rubbish. I dread to think what sort of lives the animals that go into the ready meals etc have had. The fruit and veg always looks a bit sad and forlorn. Sainsbury’s is a lovely supermarket with good quality fresh foods and lovely homeware. I think it’s the cheapest now too?

Yes, Sainsbury's is better.

Agree with everyone else about buying strawberries in February though, that's just wrong.

It's a curate's egg. Not sure if free range or not.

I shop at WR and have for years as it's my closet supermarket. I like the sense of space, the lovely assts, and the quality of a lot of stuff.

However, I also get an online shop, alternate weeks, from other cheaper supermarkets (Tesco) for basics and rely on WR mainly for meat which I like to see.

WR eggs are an atrocious price- Tesco are £1.89 for 12 large f/r - WR are almost £2 more.
Salmon and some fish is far more pricy.

WR is about 10% more expensive than other comparable shops- not Aldi or Lidl ( don't have any on my doorstep.)

10% of an average £80 a week shop is a lot over the year. Pays for my car insurance :)

I dont understand the fuss about M&S food...nothing ive had has been any better than anywhere elses...

I like it, but mainly because it's my nearest supermarket and is quite small so I know where everything is. I hate huge shops with dozens of aisles, homeware, etc - I just want to get what I need with minimum fuss. Also Waitrose staff are very friendly and helpful and the queues are normally short.

There's also an Asda and Sainsbury's near me, which I go to occasionally, and sometimes go to M&S on the way home from work. I find them all a bit frustrating - Asda seems just scruffy and full of crap I'd never buy, Sainsburys is just too huge and the queues are long, M&S has too many expensive ready meals, not enough real food. None of them stock all the stuff I normally buy, so it means I have to go to 2 places to get what I want.

But I suppose if Waitrose wasn't local I'd just get used to one of the others & wouldn't notice the difference. Occasionally I do a price comparison and it never comes out with a huge difference in price from any other supermarket - less than £5 more on a shop of maybe £120, which is a lot if you are on a very tight budget, but for me it's worth that in the time I save by going somewhere local and familiar. But it probably depends what you buy.

I only had a bad experience with my Waitrose online delivery.
A FEW times they actually delivered chicken which was a past it’s day or expiring on the day of delivery.
I could not believe it actually.
I complained so much about this that the local shop got these deliveries taken away from them .. apparently I was not the only one according to the driver.

I’d say that’s M&S all advertising and all processed.

I usually get Taste the Difference at Sainsbury’s. Not sure how much difference there is could be like a placebo. But it seems nicer.

Ocado I just do Waitrose Essentials.

I am always shocked at the prices for fruit and veg in Waitrose. I mean it’s all naturally grown. How different can satsumas be that they are twice the price of anywhere else.
Some of Waitrose own brand is appalling. Baked beans and hummus are both are dry, tasteless and I found black baked beans. Literally never found that even in the cheapest of the cheap. The bread is part baked so goes stale quickly - not because it’s authenically freshly baked French bread.

The only plus is the range of interesting foods. Really good for odd stuff to cook from scratch ( payday only though).

Looking back over some posts it seems that a lot of posters are comparing ready meals and processed foods incl cakes.

I never buy ready meals and make my own cake.

I like WR for its variety of meat- they are the only supermarket I know of who sell game in season- and they have a better range of fresh fish.

I also think- gets on soap box- we should all stop buying soft fruit that has been flown across the world so we can try to save the planet.