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?

@nannykatherine

What the heck is gotaching paste anyway ???????

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gochujang

Tasty and googlable

Did someone hold a gun to your head while you were there and force you to put things in your trolley? Or maybe the price labels had all fallen off. Yes some things in Waitrose are expensive, I never buy crisps there for example, but they have great veg, a good fresh fish counter, lovely bread. There’s a saying , you pay your money and make your choice.

I do wish they would start doing the free coffee again though. I would rather have that than the free newspapers.

I do my main shop in Sainsburys as price, quality and experience is ok. My Aldi and Asda are cheaper but it's hideous in there, cramped and surly staff. I love my Waitrose as it's far nicer to shop there and all the staff are lovely but I couldn't afford to buy everything from there.

@JensonsAcolyte

No, lunches. Sliced chicken. Cost me £7 for two packs! Seven English pounds

But you presumably saw the price and bought it anyway?

So you didn’t have to spend £7 on two packets of chicken.

Because I love the variety and quality of food. I can actually taste it rather than the plastic you get in all other supermarkets. Tomatoes are real, and they taste of tomatoes. Meat is not a homogeneous mess and tasting of plastic. It is really meat. As with anything in life you have extra, 1st, 2nd and rubbing quality and that’s why I am more than happy to pay for it. Additionally since I don’t throw any food away and am more conscious of what I buy it actually costs me less.

The fruit is a lot better, it actually tastes like fruit instead of water!

@Endofmytether2

I put my last weekly shop from Asda into the other main shops to compare prices and these were the results:

Asda £51.91
Aldi £50.39
Morrisons £56.83
Tesco £62.12
Waitrose £76.35

I did this because I was wondering if Aldi was as competitive as it used to be which, as I suspected, it isn't anymore. I then checked the others out of nosiness, lol.
I bought 48 items consisting of fruit, veg, cooked meats, bakery, frozen chicken, juice, etc, so it was a reasonable range.

But the best way to shop Waitrose is bulk buy your staples ONLY when on offer.
Plugging the numbers into Compare isn't going to show the savings you make when your regular items are 1/3 off. Ditto treats - this week I bought a chunk of Blue Stilton (Cropwell Bishop no less) reduced from £4.95 to £2.29.

I shop pretty much only in Waitrose. You just have to know where to put your money. Their essential range is better than many brands for a start. Their meat tends to not be full of water and fat so you need less. Their veg keeps longer too. They also have good reductions on their counters. They make their money from people wanting shortcuts so pre-cooked meats and fish is really expensive. They also do lots of expensive pre-prepped veg and desserts.

I don't shop there all the time - I tend to go in for 'a few nice bits' or do weekly shops there when they send me vouchers as it is expensive otherwise. Or at Christmas! I like the choice and range of ingredients and interesting stuff. I really do prefer it for fresh produce and meat/fish. I tend to go at the end of the day and get lots of yellow stickered products as well. The store is quiet, not crowded, not stressful. The self checkout system always seems to work well with no problems. There are no massive aisles full of crap that I don't buy. Their reputation for welfare also.

I did a weekly shop there today and I always notice how expensive the stuff like branded cereals, lunchbox foods and cooked meat are. But a lot of other stuff is no different.

My nearest supermarket is Lidl - it's five minute's walk away and I do shop there at least half the time. It's so much cheaper for cooked meat, cheese, lunchbox foods, cereal, etc. but there is such a small choice of meat/fish and also of general cooking ingredients and I find it gets boring because I just end up buying the same things week after week. Also there's the stress of them not necessarily having all the things you want - even veg.

I also live near an Asda, which I hate (horrible food, crowded, stressful, full of families trailing round treating it like a day out) and Tesco (absolutely massive and again not amazing food). I like Sainsburys but it's over the other side of the city and so not massively convenient. So basically, Waitrose works for me a lot of the time.

@blobblob

We can't comment because we don't know what you bought. £90 might be reasonable. I shop there because:

• they treat their staff better
• they treat their suppliers better
• their food is generally much better quality - and I don't want to eat rubbish, cheap food
• they support charities that I support
• their staff are properly trained and pleasant and polite

I have done cheaper shops before and I feel hard done by because the food's not as nice or I know the supplier's been screwed over or the chickens have lived miserable lives etc etc

You think people shop there for snobbish reasons. Really - why on earth would they?? I'm sick of people moaning and virtue signalling about what they think should happen but supporting businesses that make it less likely.

100% this. Have Aldi Lidl Tesco Sainsbury’s and M & S all within a mile of our house but always shop at Waitrose which is two miles away, Ocado or M & S.

I do a budget recipe blog and have price compared all the main supermarkets with each other. If shopping at Waitrose with the essentials range and cooking from scratch they’re much the same price. Obviously Aldi and Lidl cheaper but when buying plain ingredients even they aren’t much different. It’s all the nice added extras that take the price up.

It is more expensive but yes it is better than the others

@BlueLobelia

I shop at Waitrose for specific things also. A particular brand of caesar salad dressing right now - sometimes their fresh pastas. I used to get mortadella there but Lidl stock it for a much better price.

But no, not for every day. It can be madness and I get suckered into the luxurious treaty vibe of it.

A particular brand of caesar salad dressing

Sorry that I'm a bit late to this but it is incredibly easy to make a caeser salad dressing yourself that is just so much better than anything in a jar or bottle:-

and there's a link to the recipe there as well

I like the fact that on entry it’s not piled high with useless plastic tat/sugar filled treats/drinks on “Buy one get 4 free”. It’s the closest supermarket to me and I also think they price match so it’s no more expensive than other supermarkets for branded items. The staff are always great. I think food is important and I want to know that farmers etc get a fair price for what they produce, and that animal welfare standards mean something. Buying the cheapest chicken/eggs/meat from a non UK producer in Aldi just doesn’t appeal in the same way. I can’t understand how the same basic food can be produced so cheaply and that puts me off.

I shop there when I can, I like the ethics of the company and I don’t mind spending a little more on quality food, knowing the staff are well paid and treated well. I also like the way they treat their suppliers esp the farmers. I’m not wealthy or a snob, I work part time as a cleaner to top up my pension, but I choose to spend money on good quality food and do without other things, ie eating out and new clothes. It’s a personal choice x

I shop at sainsburys for basics but Waitrose for meat and luxury items. But then I have a Waitrose at the top of my road so it’s laziness sometimes too and I do a whole shop there. I would never ever eat Tesco meat - vile mush pumped full of water. Lidl meat is ok, haven’t tried Sainsbury’s.

Something that surprised me was that Waitrose actually isn’t that expensive. I’ve only been a couple of times as we don’t have any round here but I was quite taken aback by it not being a fortune.

Waitrose is a fundamentally more enjoyable and higher quality shopping experience. Meanwhile plenty of Asda and Tesco shoppers spend £300 pm on their cars whilst I drive a 12-year old Honda.

i use the shop for specific things on a regular basis, i find on certain items theres longer use by dates than other supermarkets, i also prefer their milk , im not posh work part time at minimum wage.

@LadySinfiaSnoop

I shop there when I can, I like the ethics of the company and I don’t mind spending a little more on quality food, knowing the staff are well paid and treated well. I also like the way they treat their suppliers esp the farmers. I’m not wealthy or a snob, I work part time as a cleaner to top up my pension, but I choose to spend money on good quality food and do without other things, ie eating out and new clothes. It’s a personal choice x

THIS.

People got used to ultra cheap, low quality food and now anything that is reasonably priced seems expensive. I honestly don't mind paying a bit more for quality or for higher wages.

@JensonsAcolyte

No, lunches. Sliced chicken. Cost me £7 for two packs! Seven English pounds

'Sliced' chicken will always be more expensive than just chicken pieces, depending on weight and also whether it's cooked? at £3.50 each the price is not too far off from what you'd get at Tesco, probably a pound cheaper.

I stopped shopping at Tesco because our one was huge and too often I would buy clothes for the kids, a DVD or something for the house. Or splash on the bogofs.

I switched to Waitrose and kept strictly to my shopping list and we spent a lot less. These days they’re much more competitive and their Essentials range is fab. We wouldn’t switch back.

@blobblob

We can't comment because we don't know what you bought. £90 might be reasonable. I shop there because:

• they treat their staff better
• they treat their suppliers better
• their food is generally much better quality - and I don't want to eat rubbish, cheap food
• they support charities that I support
• their staff are properly trained and pleasant and polite

I have done cheaper shops before and I feel hard done by because the food's not as nice or I know the supplier's been screwed over or the chickens have lived miserable lives etc etc

You think people shop there for snobbish reasons. Really - why on earth would they?? I'm sick of people moaning and virtue signalling about what they think should happen but supporting businesses that make it less likely.

This all the way. If I’m buying meat for DC I want it to be good quality and ethically produced, so organic and to high welfare standards, which recent exposes have shown is not the case at producers for cheaper supermarkets. I want the staff at places I shop to be treated well and paid properly, which means I need to put my money where my mouth is. As many previous posters have mentioned, they often find the staff are friendlier and happier - no doubt in no small part due to better wages and working conditions. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to try to live by my own ethical standards, and I’m not going to ignore them for the sake of the possibility of a slightly cheaper grocery shop. I say ‘possibility’ because by getting to know the ranges, stocking up when there’s offers etc., it can actually work out pretty much the same price overall as elsewhere.

I shop at Lidl. It's not only cheaper , but I think there's more variety and a lot of the food's better. Their biscuits, their version of magnums, even the toilet paper!

I go there for some things .. I might want a specific I can’t get elsewhere because no doubt they have more unusual stuff .. and often I do a shop just in their special offers ..which are very good..can be 1 /3 off . And it’s not much more than anywhere else then ..I wouldn’t do a full shop there .. but it’s always a pleasure to go there and staff are polite and the quality is top quality.. aldi is cheap but not allt cheaper than Tesco and Sainsbury’s .again I get specifics in aldi but not much fresh stuff. Their wine though ..Aldi is brilliant for wine and gin . !