Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Waitrose loyalty card is losing all its benefit?

259 replies

Precipice · 08/02/2022 20:55

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.)

OP posts:
merrymouse · 09/02/2022 19:39

I'm not sure it's ever been the norm to go to a shop and expect to be given stuff for free has it?

Nothing is ever free, but there is nothing new about sales promotion - bogof promotions, free gifts in cereal packets, happy meals, green shield stamps etc. etc.

merrymouse · 09/02/2022 19:41

@TatianaBis

You don't get free coffee and newspaper with any other supermarket so I'm not sure why people are whining.
Other supermarkets have other selling points - usually price.
TatianaBis · 09/02/2022 19:45

Other supermarkets have other selling points - usually price.

That's certainly not M&S's selling point. And Waitrose has other selling points beyond free stuff.

Sparklingbrook · 09/02/2022 19:47

Maybe other supermarkets will start with free coffee and papers to try and lure customers in. Will everyone be queuing up at the free coffee machine in an Asda soon?

Blossomtoes · 09/02/2022 19:52

@Sparklingbrook

Maybe other supermarkets will start with free coffee and papers to try and lure customers in. Will everyone be queuing up at the free coffee machine in an Asda soon?
Doubt it. With the cost of living going up all the time the only thing that will lure people in is low priced.
Blossomtoes · 09/02/2022 19:52

Prices, even!

Sparklingbrook · 09/02/2022 20:02

Doubt it. With the cost of living going up all the time the only thing that will lure people in is low priced

But people on this thread are saying they shopped in Waitrose for the free coffee and newspapers, so there's luring to be done. Grin

Blossomtoes · 09/02/2022 20:06

That was more than two years ago. The world’s a different place now. Waitrose is going to have to cut prices too or it will struggle.

Original poster
Precipice · 09/02/2022 20:07

You don't get free coffee and newspaper with any other supermarket so I'm not sure why people are whining.

It's not really "free": it's in exchange for allowing data collection on that shop by using the card. Nobody thinks that any shop is offering anything out of a spirit of generosity. It's to encourage more spending, more frequent visits, "habit forming", etc. If there's no benefit to using the card, there's no reason to use it, but loyalty card data is worth a lot to shops. The discussion in this thread has been that previous loyalty card "rewards" had some value, and that now this is no longer the case.

Other shops having likewise useless loyalty card programs? Sure, I'll agree.

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 09/02/2022 20:11

@Blossomtoes

That was more than two years ago. The world’s a different place now. Waitrose is going to have to cut prices too or it will struggle.
Maybe, it'll be interesting to see what happens, if only 5% took advantage of the free paper offer anyway.
VelvetChairGirl · 09/02/2022 20:11

do you still get free coffee in ikea?

saraclara · 09/02/2022 20:54

Jeeze. It gets worse.

If you leave it more than a few days, you have to choose which two offers of 50p savings you want, and register them THE DAY BEFORE you go shopping!

"Choose this reward on or before Tue 15 Feb
Valid for use until Wed 16 Feb

merrymouse · 09/02/2022 20:55

And Waitrose has other selling points beyond free stuff.

The point is that there is nothing new about offering complimentary gifts or services or special offers. Either it’s successful or it isn’t.

There is also nothing wrong with comparing loyalty card schemes. Companies offer money and gifts to get feedback from customers.

TatianaBis · 09/02/2022 21:05

@merrymouse

And Waitrose has other selling points beyond free stuff.

The point is that there is nothing new about offering complimentary gifts or services or special offers. Either it’s successful or it isn’t.

There is also nothing wrong with comparing loyalty card schemes. Companies offer money and gifts to get feedback from customers.

Maybe it was too successful and thus costing Waitrose too much money.
TatianaBis · 09/02/2022 21:09

@Precipice

You don't get free coffee and newspaper with any other supermarket so I'm not sure why people are whining.

It's not really "free": it's in exchange for allowing data collection on that shop by using the card. Nobody thinks that any shop is offering anything out of a spirit of generosity. It's to encourage more spending, more frequent visits, "habit forming", etc. If there's no benefit to using the card, there's no reason to use it, but loyalty card data is worth a lot to shops. The discussion in this thread has been that previous loyalty card "rewards" had some value, and that now this is no longer the case.

Other shops having likewise useless loyalty card programs? Sure, I'll agree.

Everything involves data collection in some form these days.

The card still has offers on it and you can use it for quickcheck.

I don't drink coffee so the change doesn't bother me.

Sparklingbrook · 09/02/2022 21:15

I don't care which supermarket knows my shopping habits, as long as they have scan as you shop.

Blossomtoes · 09/02/2022 21:17

Maybe it was too successful and thus costing Waitrose too much money.

I agree. When they started the free coffee you didn’t even have to buy anything. Madness.

It did give me a laugh though. There was a queue for the coffee machine one day and a woman started moaning, at which point the entire queue started heckling her about how disgraceful it was to have to wait for a free gift. Watching her slink away made my day.

User0458832 · 09/02/2022 21:49

DS used to work in a small Waitrose without a self serve coffee machine and when the free coffee first started before you had to buy anything there were big queues of people that never shopped there and he had to spend a lot of time just serving coffee, people just signed up for a card and used it to get their morning coffee

YourWinter · 09/02/2022 22:03

I really wish all contributors to this thread would email Waitrose Customer Services and let them know how badly they have handled the relaunch of the loyalty scheme. It is embarrassingly awful - I work there, I think they're probably better employers than many other retailers, but I'm ashamed of their new direction. Their 'best customers' are those who regularly use the fresh food counters. Sadly most staff can't afford to shop there.

Sparklingbrook · 09/02/2022 22:13

@YourWinter

I really wish all contributors to this thread would email Waitrose Customer Services and let them know how badly they have handled the relaunch of the loyalty scheme. It is embarrassingly awful - I work there, I think they're probably better employers than many other retailers, but I'm ashamed of their new direction. Their 'best customers' are those who regularly use the fresh food counters. Sadly most staff can't afford to shop there.
It's all happening on the Waitrose Twitter page TBF.
YourWinter · 09/02/2022 23:55

Thanks, I don't use Twitter. I hope some notice will be taken of the general feeling about this latest change.

user68901 · 10/02/2022 06:52

I spend a fortune in Waitrose . I always self scan and can get round really fast. But I literally never ever receive ANY money off vouchers. I think I might call them up . It's very galling to see so many get £7 of £70 shop etc. Maybe I need to stop shopping there for a while and they Weill send them to me to incentivise me to go back ?

Sparklingbrook · 10/02/2022 06:55

@user68901

I spend a fortune in Waitrose . I always self scan and can get round really fast. But I literally never ever receive ANY money off vouchers. I think I might call them up . It's very galling to see so many get £7 of £70 shop etc. Maybe I need to stop shopping there for a while and they Weill send them to me to incentivise me to go back ?
On Twitter they recommend you check your settings on My Waitrose if you have never received anything’s if it’s set to ‘no marketing’ or something.
Daisy03 · 10/02/2022 06:58

I have health insurance from vitality, and one of the perks from that is 25% off healthy foods at Waitrose. That comes in cash back form monthly so I have to scan the loyalty card to get it

Lulu1919 · 10/02/2022 06:58

Only ever used mine for a coffee and occasionally a newspaper
Don't even know where it is ...took it out my wallet one day and never put it back

Swipe left for the next trending thread