I don’t understand Waitrose.

[JensonsAcolyte]

I just went to the big Waitrose because they stock gochujang paste. I thought I may as well get a few bits, chicken, cereal, crisps, pasta etc. All the sort of stuff that isn’t dinners but filler food.

£90!

For four bags of shopping.

And it didn’t feel special or posh or magical or anything.

Why do people shop there? Is it actually a snobbery thing? We have a Sainsburys, Tesco and Lidl within a mile or so radius as well.

The only thing it had going for it for me was the aforementioned chilli paste that I couldn’t get in Tesco. But other than the Ingredients range, the other ranges they offer aren’t very wide.

Will anyone admit that they shop there out of snobbery/classism?

Meat SHOULD be expensive. If it's not then the suppliers are being screwed over and the animals are living in miserable conditions.

I realise that it being expensive is no guarantee that these things aren't happening. But cheap meat is a guarantee that they are.

- their food is generally much better quality - and I don't want to eat rubbish, cheap food

This is the bit I take issue with. I think it's easy to assume all Waitrose food is better because it's more expensive. But I suspect that if you went and bought the closest equivalents of a whole bunch of everyday foods and ingredients... say from Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Aldi, the actual differences in quality would be small to negligible and would not all be in Waitrose's favour.

JasonsAcolyte were you by any chance buying gochujang paste for the sticky rice Ottolenghi dish that was in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago? I made it last week but had never heard of gochujang paste before.

My local Waitrose is quieter than the other supermarkets. I very rarely have to queue and no bunfight in the car park. It’s clean (unlike my local Tesco), the aisles are wide, there’s enough choice and more importantly, plenty of choice in the ranges of things I want to buy. I know I could get an equivalent shop cheaper elsewhere but I can afford to pay for the nicer experience offered by Waitrose, so I do.

Thank you @BigPyjamas, it was an honour to look after them all! I don’t doubt that they could probably have saved an extra tenner a week but they all knew we had their backs everyday

Haven't RTFT but... I do about about a third to a half my grocery shopping in Waitrose for several reasons, none of them for the snob value (you should see my car...):
Nearest large supermarket
Good treatment of staff
Good treatment of suppliers
Pleasant staff
They stock what I want and I don't have slog across acres of Sainsbury's to find it
Can park close to the doors

I get the rest of our groceries from various places including our local Co-op and local market.

I have a friend who,pre covid, wouldn't shop anywhere but Waitrose. Then the first lockdown hit,and she couldn't get a delivery from Waitrose,for love nor money. She ended up having to settle for Tesco deliveries.And you know what? She was quite happy with them.

I shop there for convenience (it's my nearest supermarket, within walking distance) and because I know it's well stocked and will have everything I need. And it's just a bit less frantic / chaotic than nearby Tesco (my second nearest).
I don't however buy basics there, apart from a modest top up if I run out. Pasta, loo rolls, canned tomatoes etc, I buy them in bulk from a cheaper supermarket when I do an online order.

I've only once seen a Waitrose that was big enough to do a whole weekly shop in, they don't seem to have many of them. There's a couple of medium sized ones near me as well as one tiny local one. Like most smaller supermarkets, the range of brands isn't big enough to have a wide variety of price points. That's why I don't do my main shop there: I don't think Waitrose is considerably more expensive than other equivalent stores, I just think they mostly have medium sized stores which only stock a limited product range. The smaller Sainsbury's and Tesco's near me are the same. Most people shop in the superstores.

I usually shop at Asda and pay a lot more than £90 for 4 bags of shopping. But I wouldn't buy pre-cooked chicken from any shop as I don't think it's good value.

I too would expect very little in terms of volume for treats and snacks if that's what I'd spent £90 on.

I just like Waitrose full stop! It's less crowded, it's quiet in the store, everything is laid out nicely, and their range is excellent. I can never understand people complaining that they are expensive - OK if you buy the most expensive meat, fish, ready meals, etc., but they have excellent 3 for £10 offers all the time (mostly main dishes too - so 6 servings of a dish for £10 - not bad). The Essentials and No. 1 ranges are both excellent and wide-ranging. Their fruit and vegetables are lovely, as are their flowers and deli counter.

I do shop at Sainsbury's too, but don't like Tesco much. Lidl I detest as I find their fruit and vegetables are of poor quality and go off very quickly.

I think Waitrose probably pay their staff and their suppliers better and more fairly and I partly shop there to support that.

I have just returned from my weekly shop at Waitrose. I have to pass a Tesco and a Sainsbury’s to get there. I shop there because ;
It treats its suppliers ethically
It sources fairly traded items
It has a wide range of products not just cheap and in bulk quantity
The more unusual ingredients I use to cook can only be bought there
The customer service is excellent
The staff are knowledgeable
It is so much cleaner and spacious than the other supermarkets
It sells lovely non essential products

I like it more than the other supermarkets😊

I nearly always shop in Waitrose. Main reason is that it's my nearest supermarket - walking distance. Customer service is also good, they sell stuff I like, have everything I want, and once you get used to a shop it's much easier to shop there all the time, because you know where everything is. If I go to Asda or Sainbury's there's always stuff I can't find or isn't stocked. I think the price difference partly depends on what you buy. I might save £5 on a £100 shop by going to Sainsbury's but it's not worth it to me if it takes a lot longer and involves going to a second shop to get the things they don't stock or changing my meal plans.

All supermarkets do lots of research on their customers and pitch themselves at certain demographics. I'm not posh or rich, but I cook from scratch and rarely buy ready meals or snacks, buy mostly organic, etc. So Waitrose is more my kind of shop than Asda which seems to have a huge choice in ready meals, sauces and snacks, which are things I don't buy. I don't think it's snobbish to go to choose a shop because it will have most of the things on your shopping list?

Waitrose food is really good quality and delicious in my experience.

@Sparklingbrook

If you do Self Scan (QuickCheck) there's never a surprise at the till.

Waitrose QuickCheck is one of the reasons I don't do a full shop there. In Sainsbury's, you scan something once and then pres the plus button for how many of the same item you've got (e.g. 4 bottles of milk, 7 packets of Cornflakes). In Waitrose, you have to scan it over and over again. Also, deleting items you decide you don't want is much harder in Waitrose. Not to mention hjow they handle the random checks at the till - in Sainsbury's they get the scanner out and check however many items it is from your bags; in Waitrose they take your phone off you and go through it! As I pointed out to the manager, if they're promoting QuickCheck as a way to reduce contact with shared equipment in the store, passing my phone between three staff members because two of them don't know how to do the check scarcely helps!

I don't drive and live next to Sainsburys, Waitrose and M&S plus lots of greengrocers and butchers. The m&s is by a huge mile the best where we are. The fruit is so much nicer. Our Waitrose is rubbish it's cramped and expensive for basic items.

@makingmyway10

I have just returned from my weekly shop at Waitrose. I have to pass a Tesco and a Sainsbury’s to get there. I shop there because ; It treats its suppliers ethically It sources fairly traded items It has a wide range of products not just cheap and in bulk quantity The more unusual ingredients I use to cook can only be bought there The customer service is excellent The staff are knowledgeable It is so much cleaner and spacious than the other supermarkets It sells lovely non essential products

I like it more than the other supermarkets😊

the same reasons for me and because all of the employees are partners in the company and are treated really well. I worked there as a teen and they were really wonderful. I like their 'cooks' range and also their meat. I don't buy everything from there though, and buy most of my shop from Sainsburys because it's cheaper

Food shopping, cooking and eating takes up a large part of my life, so I shop based on the experience, time it takes and getting the items I like, rather than the cost. I guess we are very privileged in that respect. Is that the same as snobbery?

I live near two Sainsbury’s stores. One is delightful and well stocked. I like browsing the Habitat homewares and it now has a good selection of plant based brands (we’re not veggie, but rarely eat meat anymore); the other one has a crap atmosphere and is badly laid out.

There is an Asda and an Aldi a short distance away, I don’t like either, I can’t do a full food shop in either. Asda is massive but has a rubbish choice of vegetables. Aldi has decent enough vegetables, but the most basic of everything else - spices, pulses, grains, pastas, etc. Aldi tills are horrendous. There is nothing that excites me in either, the atmosphere is crap, it’s usually busy and irritating in both stores.

There is also a huge M&S food store not too far away - I don’t often do a full shop as it’s always quite busy and not very restful, but I nip in from time to time to stock up on things I like that I can’t get elsewhere.

We have a Waitrose that I cycle past on my commute so sometimes pop in for a few bits (can’t fit more in my bike bag). It’s not big and is very busy. I don’t actually find it that exciting but it is convenient. Prices seem similar to Sainsbury’s but they do sometimes have spices and pastes I can’t get in other supermarkets. I wouldn’t bother going out of my way to go there for a full weekly shop.

I also use a Chinese, Indian and Japanese supermarket, a farm shop and a whole foods shop on occasion. Parking is fairly impossible as they’re all in the city centre, so usually only go if I’m passing and just buy ingredients I can’t get in the supermarkets.

I’ve just spent a ridiculous amount of time writing about my supermarket habits. I should really go and do something productive...

I haven’t shopped at Waitrose for over a year. Mainly because I couldn’t get any delivery slots, so had sainsburies deliver every single week without fail. Love their range and also love the Nectar points element as use them for Xmas.
However, 2 weeks ago some vouchers for £24 off a £120 shop came through my door. Thought I would try and get a slot, luckily I did. When I had everything in my basket, not even half of what I normally get came to £136!! I was gobsmacked. I mean some of the premium beers and spirits are £2/3 more a bottle than elsewhere, hams £2 for 2 more expensive and lots of other extortionate. things. They’ve certainly gone way up in price compared to other supermarkets.
Well, I emptied my basket and have bowed to never do a full weekly shop there again.
I don’t often drive past it, so it’s inconvenient also.

their cooks range is convenient, and the 3 for £10 for meat/fish that isn't on a do not use list from environmentalists campaigning about animal welfare. They are good supporters of local charities, they've supported the school fundraising endeavours on a pretty regular basis.

I don't buy everything there either, but the stuff I do buy I don't think is easily substitutable for like for like quality and I've got many food shops near.

Sorry but I don't really get Waitrose as a regular shopping venue. They have some products with a clear quality difference, buy many things aren't markedly different to what you'd buy in Aldi or Lidl other than in price.

They have a good veg selection (ditto M&S), and a bigger wine selection than local discounter. I shop in Lidl/Aldi fortightly, Tesco every month (for things I can't get in Lidl/Aldi), and M&S occasionally for a treat.

That said, I almost always cook from scratch and don't buy ready meals/convenience products - and I'm sure Waitrose ready meals/convenience foods probably are better quality than you'd get in many other places.

Horses for courses.

I much prefer M&S own range to Waitroses, the yogurts , cheese and creams are all much nicer. Waitrose do stock some things I can’t find elsewhere , but I pretty much think they are not more expensive than sainsburys.
It’s not posh , hardly! Posh and magical are Harrods and selfridges food halls.

@PMcGintysGoat

Sorry but I don't really get Waitrose as a regular shopping venue. They have some products with a clear quality difference, buy many things aren't markedly different to what you'd buy in Aldi or Lidl other than in price.

They have a good veg selection (ditto M&S), and a bigger wine selection than local discounter. I shop in Lidl/Aldi fortightly, Tesco every month (for things I can't get in Lidl/Aldi), and M&S occasionally for a treat.

That said, I almost always cook from scratch and don't buy ready meals/convenience products - and I'm sure Waitrose ready meals/convenience foods probably are better quality than you'd get in many other places.

Horses for courses.

@PMcGintysGoat But not everyone has that choice! My closest Aldi, Tesco and Lidl are 10 miles away (20 mile round trip) in a place I'd never go to otherwise. Meanwhile, Waitrose is very close by.

I never buy M&S as they are very pricy and I don't like their ready meals- overpriced pasta dishes and the like.

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