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?

I agree OP. I used to live in the states and loved Whole Foods. It’s eye wateringly expensive but the store experience / stock justified it imo. Waitrose is a slightly nicer but ridiculously more expensive version of Tesco.

Only ever been once. That sounds expensive though. Bloody love booths though my fave place to shop. Can't wait for the cafe to open back up inside.

It has an enormous range of really great interesting ingredients which I love buying to use next to the cheaper basic foods we eat regularly.
Their essentials range is very good and not expensive.
The staff are polite and helpful, which makes for a more pleasant overall experience.
The toilets and babychange facilities(at ours) are reliably clean.
All of the above cannot be said of some other supermarkets. Indifferent, grumpy staff (probably with good reason) ..unclean toilets....etc

But! You can buy gochujang at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda where we live, and it's not a particularly diverse area....

I love Waitrose but only shop there if i have gift vouchers. When we got married a few years ago we ended up with about £300 of vouchers so had a few weeks of lovely "treat" type shopping! The rest of the time i use Tesco or Sainsburys and im perfectly happy with that.

I voted YABU because no Koreans buy gochujang at Waitrose. Find an Asian grocery store and get a proper Korean brand. Waitrose one is shit.

Otherwise, I love Waitrose.

For me as a single person the 3 for £10 meat and fish deal is brilliant. I can get lovely tuna and salmon, which makes me 3-5 dinners, for the cost of one and a half packs of tuna elsewhere.

I don't shop there all the time, as I prefer Tesco/sainsburys prices for loo roll etc but every 6 weeks or so it'll be Waitrose.

I buy this from Amazon for future reference. Handy to get delivered without the temptation of fancy Waitrose products.

[Image removed as it contains identifying info]

The other thing I love about Waitrose was I noticed last summer the store manager out in the car park collecting trollies because they were short staffed. The trollies were then cleaned and passed to shoppers.

Compared to Morrison’s who just shrugged when there were no trollies near the store and said there was no-one out collecting them.
I always feel like the staff at Waitrose care about their customers.

When one in Notts closed down to become a Lidl people had apoplexy! The lowering of the tone! House values would plummet! All sorts of unmentionable things would happen!
Reader, they didn’t. It all turned out fine!

We shop at waitrose/M&S when we want a nice bit of beef fillet/steaks and burgers for dinner parties. The price is extortionate but the quality is amazing.
The items you had in your list though, I'd have gone some where else.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ducks-supermarkets-tesco-waitrose-sainsbury-asda-animal-cruelty-b1721209.html%3famp

Just saying.....

@Joeblack066

When one in Notts closed down to become a Lidl people had apoplexy! The lowering of the tone! House values would plummet! All sorts of unmentionable things would happen! Reader, they didn’t. It all turned out fine!

Made me lol !

I've Just done my weekly shop in Waitrose.
4 adults at home (all wanting 3 meals a day) + one hungry teen & 5 cats.
It's my closest supermarket & not too big, I can do the weekly shop in less than an hour.
purchased enough for 7 evening meals (Salmon,chicken, prawns, burgers, mince, pizza and cod + Some veggie options for me)
Lunches include eggs, soup, sausages, ham Pate, cheese.

Snacks, sausage rolls, crisps, bakery biscuits & hot cross buns.
2 large packs fresh coffee, tea bags & green tea.

Extras, bread, tonic water, orange juice, cranberry juice,
Camembert for baking, yoghurts, pasta, rice, curry mix, popadoms, chick peas & milk

Veg & salad. Lots of each, everything from lettuce, watercress, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, carrots, garlic, etc etc
Fruit
Oranges, apples, bananas, strawberries, raspberries (& cream)

Cat foot 5 x boxes of sachets & a bag of dry food

Cleaning products- kitchen roll, bathroom cleaner, dishwasher tablets, bin liners and tin foil.
Toiletries
Face wipes, cotton wool, san pro, Hairspray, toothpaste.

A candle (on special offer) a large bar of dairy milk.
I probably missed a few things out

Total cost of shop £165.00

Can someone explain what / where is Booths? I've seen it mentioned loads on this thread? Is it like the Harvey Nics food hall?!

I recently shopped at Aldi (closer to my work so thought I’d give it a try) and couldn’t believe how awful the fruit and veg are. I’d rather pay an extra £10-15 a week on good food than have to throw away £20 of cheap food because it’s inedible.

Maybe you have a bad branch. I get great fruit and veg from Aldi. I eat it, not throw it away. I'd rather pay £10-15 extra to not throw £20 of food away too... except that doesn't happen. In any case, if we're comparing Aldi with Waitrose, it would be more like £50 extra per week.

In truth , because I can .... been a long time coming....back in the day 4 jobs , single parent to 3 under 5 ....now am well paid in a job I love very part time . Love having a mouch,picking up nice things for lunch. That said , if we have lots coming over ( remember those days?) it’s Lidil all the way 🤣

I shop at both Aldi and waitrose. I don’t find waitrose to be better quality. I use them when I want a quick shop as the quick tills are usually quiet and it’s closer to my house. I prefer the wine selection in Waitrose and the cheese selection is better. No difference at all in the quality of the meat, fruit and veg, but it is presented more carefully in Waitrose.

Can someone explain what / where is Booths? I've seen it mentioned loads on this thread? Is it like the Harvey Nics food hall?!

No it's not a fancy food hall, it's a supermarket, quite similar to Waitrose, but only in the North of England (mostly Lancashire, Cumbria and bits of Yorkshire, I think). Smallish branches with an emphasis on quality (some local) produce. I live 5 mins from one branch and 15 mins from 2 others - there are quite a few around.

@lazylinguist thank you!

I used to shop regularly at waitrose for my mum because she said their small portion frozen ready meals were not as bad as most. (I paraphrase) She didn't enjoy being dependent on carers and not able to cook for herself. That said, once Aldi opened up nextdoor to Waitrose, the waitrose list got a lot shorter. I don't have one nearby but went a couple of months ago to buy marmalade oranges because they sell them and Lidl don't. I've decided that the posh farm shop at skipton is better retail therapy now.

I know people that only shop at m and s or Waitrose and tend to be a bit snobby about it. It is a 'thing' a kind of ' shopping status symbol'

Ive not heard one person call anyone a Snob.

Swapped to waitrose a couple of months ago after using Sainsbury’s and morrisons. Can’t believe the difference in the freshness and taste of fruit and veg..even my kids will eat waitrose salad and fruit which is no mean feat! Worth it just for that.

Waitrose is a good standard supermarket. Pricing is as expected and reasonable for the quality. It's direct equivalent high street competitor would naturally be M&S Foodhalls.

Not as inexpensive as other usual mass market super markets that tend to dominate the UK groceries sector.

Nor would it hold a (Goop) candle to the likes of new local (west central London) favourite groceries provisions of Farm Fetch nor the likes of Daylesford Organic, Wholefoods, Partridges, Bayley & Sage, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Selfridges or Mercato Mayfair etc.

Waitrose do however do good customer service levels and provide thoughtful information on their foods and wines. Waitrose Duchy Organic is reassuringly fine (irrespective of your loyalty to Royalty etc). Overall shopping experience is slightly a cut above at Waitrose and M&S compared to Sainsbury’s etc as staff tend to be more polite, accommodating and generally make customers feel more valued.

It's all about options and diversity these days as there are other supermarkets out there including those that have more economical offerings and so tend to cater for select demographics. The higher end groceries stores tend to do well catering to those who usually dine out if not for the perky ongoing pandemic.

If you are London centric and need a quality oriental food store recommendation (apart from Chinatown) try Japan Centre, Tian Tian Market, Korea Foods, H Mart or Ying Yip.

I must admit that Asda veg tends to be a bit less fresh and lack lustre at times , something that doesn't happen with the other supermarkets usually. Not sure why or maybe it's just our one that's like it!