To think Waitrose loyalty card is losing all its benefit?

[Precipice]

The free coffee disappeared at the beginning of the pandemic (it's "suspended"), in two weeks the newspaper offer is going. There were to my mind the only tangible benefits of having this loyalty card.

They claim there will be "personalised offers". Of course this is vague, but all it sounds like is that the Waitrose card will become like the loyalty cards of many shops where they get the benefit of tracking your purchases and in return for the loss of your privacy, you get nothing or almost nothing in practice, like the current occasional vouchers of "get x off if you spend ". (You can tell perhaps that I am not a loyalty card "fanatic", but I am willing to use some in some circumstances.)

I miss the "free" coffee! It was a pretty nice one (as machine coffees go), and I used to enjoy walking home with my hot drink in hand. Nowadays the card isn't worth it.

The Tesco Clubcard is the only one really worth having, and Nectar is a distant second best.

People didn’t expect it in Tesco or wherever.

It’s been possible to use Clubcard points to get free stuff for decades - meals out, trips to legoland etc. etc.

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/best-worst-customer-loyalty-cards-22894407.amp

This is a summary of various loyalty and reward cards. Most give a fixed amount of points per spend, which can be collected and then exchanged for something ‘free’, whether that is a coffee or vouchers that can cover the entire cost of a purchase.

Waitrose went for a different ‘free’ mechanic - the paper and coffee with purchase. Now they don’t really offer anything, so unless you are already the kind of loyal customers who wants to shop with a scanner, it’s not clear why you would use the my waitrose card.

@merrymouse

People didn’t expect it in Tesco or wherever.

It’s been possible to use Clubcard points to get free stuff for decades - meals out, trips to legoland etc. etc.

I meant actually being given something in the store to take out. Not freebies to apply for or collect points for.

Tesco Clubcard is by far the best for us, we get Disney+, railcards, magazine and free delivery saver. Go to Waitrose once a week for small shop so got the paper one day, Sat or Sun was best for this, and at the moment are using the new 50p off two items which is a bit of a faff.

I use Waitrose mainly for the convenience - , its very blose by, but I usually shop at the weekend to get a newspaper which I'll no longer be doing. Removal of the coffee was disappointing, and meant I went in less, as was the 20% off from items you chose yourself - so, yes ever declining visits.
Also irritating that most of the stores near me were updated a bit before pandemic, reducing regular food areas to replace with ginormous sushi counters that no-one ever seems to use - more geared to office lunch time, the rather than local residents; offices around here are still not really back in use.

I am viewing this as an opportunity to reduce the shopping bill. Waitrose is our nearest supermarket and the number of times I get dh to 'pop to Waitrose for enough bits to pick up a paper' rather than stop at spar for the one pint of milk we need. It would inevitably end up closer to 20 quid. And yes, I know this is fucking stupid.

I didn't know Tesco clubcard did Disney plus! I am off to check

I meant actually being given something in the store to take out. Not freebies to apply for or collect points for.

Whether you download vouchers or collect the free gift immediately in store, it’s all just a promotion to encourage a particular behaviour.

On the plus side they are accepting my prepaid Guardian vouchers again now

Are they only partnering with the Guardian or with other newspapers too?

@HarryDresdensLeatherDuster

It has been the worst and most pointless loyalty card for years!

Oh hang on, M&S are up there too.

Ditto to that. I’ve frequently been asked in Marks whether I’d like a Sparks card. No, thanks, the ‘benefits’ are of no interest to me. Likewise the John Lewis one.

I can only see the point of loyalty cards if they give you points, like Nectar and Boots.

where I live the only places I can get chicken liver are Waitrose and Morrisons, of which Waitrose is cheaper

Yes, and you can get organic chicken liver at Waitrose as well

@merrymouse

I meant actually being given something in the store to take out. Not freebies to apply for or collect points for.

Whether you download vouchers or collect the free gift immediately in store, it’s all just a promotion to encourage a particular behaviour.

Absolutely. But free instant gratification is always going to be popular.

Also irritating that most of the stores near me were updated a bit before pandemic, reducing regular food areas to replace with ginormous sushi counters that no-one ever seems to use - more geared to office lunch time, the rather than local residents; offices around here are still not really back in use.

Oh god the bloody sushi counters - we lost a cheese and cold meat counter to make way for it. I love Japanese food but Waitrose sushi is bloody awful and I never see anyone buying any.

I don’t even think it is aimed at the lunch crowd - it’s more of a fashion thing - this is a residential area so not huge numbers of offices etc, and I can get excellent sushi delivered by 10 different sushi places, why would I want so schlepp to Waitrose to buy some rubbish stuff?

The Sushi bar in our nearest Waitrose is always quite busy but there’s colleges and schools and a lot of local businesses.
It’s not part of Waitrose though it’s ‘Sushi Daily’ which I assume is a franchise.
It also has a wine bar which is very popular.

Mustlovegin it was hit & miss whether they would accept my Guardian subscription vouchers as they said I was getting the newspaper free of charge. I never actually benefited from the free newspaper as I had paid for it already.

Does no-one else get their papers delivered so Waitrose offering them free is by the by?

@TatianaBis

Does no-one else get their papers delivered so Waitrose offering them free is by the by?

Presumably the 95% of My Waitrose card holders who never bothered with the free newspaper coped just fine. 🤔

This is peak Mumsnet

I was hoping they might rollout the dried goods plastic free idea where you can bring container

@SparklingBrook the 5% seem to be on here whingeing.

Presumably Waitrose absorbed all the data they needed from those who went in each day to get their free paper and coffee, and decided the cost was no longer worth the benefit of analysing their daily £5 spend.

I was hoping they might rollout the dried goods plastic free idea where you can bring container

Depending on the product, it may be a bit unhygienic with Covid?

Depending on the product, it may be a bit unhygienic with Covid?

They are still doing it at Oxford and a few other stores.

Yes, thanks, nowhere near unfortunately

I bought the Waitrose Valentines meal on Friday. It’s £20 but I fancied steak, the wine is nice and the starters were a neal in themselves.

I got a money off voucher with the receipt - £4 off £40. Great but it expired …today! How could they not tell from my card that I am not a “spend £60 in a weekend” customer?