Are Waitrose Any Good?

Kimberley · 5 January 2006 at 3:44PM

My local supermarket Morrisons is closing on Jan 21st, they sold the store to Waitrose. The store is just a few hundred yards away from my house so the Waitrose is all i have for shopping. The nearest Tesco or Sainsburys to me is 4 miles away :mad: I don't drive, so i have no choice but to shop here

I have heard Waitrose are expensive but have good quality food, but how much more dearer are they and do they still do the BOGOF offers?

Anyone on here shop at Waitrose? :beer:

lushkat · 5 January 2006 at 3:57PM

Waitrose is my nearest store too and I very occasionally get really get really good bargains when they reduce stuff especially meat. I usually find about 5.15 pm a good time for them as they close around 6 or 7. Not so great if you are working!

There are a few things they do that are fairly well priced (very few), I think they call it their price commitment or something like that, but they are never going to be as reasonable as Morrisons or ever have so many BOGOFs as Morrisons.

Have you thought about ordering online from Tesco or Asda? Do they deliver to your area?

lush_walrus · 5 January 2006 at 4:07PM

I shop at Waitrose all of the time, they are definately more expensive, but in this case it is a matter of getting what you pay for. I find that the meat and veg are far superior to Tesco etc and worth the money. The only things I would recommend that you shop elsewhere for are the boring things such as washing powder, washing up liquid etc.

My Waitrose doesn't have any BOGOFF offers really, but do have lots of good reductions if you pick the right time to shop. And the really big advantage of shopping in Waitrose is the fact that the whole process is far more civilised than the chaos and busy nature of Tescos! For some reason although Waitrose is often busy people just seem to behave better in there.

Lemoncurd · 5 January 2006 at 4:08PM

I go to Waitrose all the time (also just down the road from us) and have found that a lot of the things I buy all the time are cheaper than Tesco. Meat and produce is very expensive though so I tend to look out for the reduced meat and only buy it then. I tend to buy own brand mainly and don't mind paying a little more on some things at Waitrose as I feel that their quality is better. I do get quite a few things on multibuy offers there.

Kimberley · 5 January 2006 at 4:09PM

Yeah guess i'll have to shop online. I know Tesco deliver in my area, but some things i like to pick out myself. What i'll do then do one shop there and compare to prises at Tesco online

Kimberley · 5 January 2006 at 4:18PM

Lemoncurd wrote:

I go to Waitrose all the time (also just down the road from us) and have found that a lot of the things I buy all the time are cheaper than Tesco. Meat and produce is very expensive though so I tend to look out for the reduced meat and only buy it then. I tend to buy own brand mainly and don't mind paying a little more on some things at Waitrose as I feel that their quality is better. I do get quite a few things on multibuy offers there.

So i guess their meat is as dear as getting it from the Butchers?

Lemoncurd · 5 January 2006 at 4:21PM

lush_walrus wrote:

The only things I would recommend that you shop elsewhere for are the boring things such as washing powder, washing up liquid etc.

And the really big advantage of shopping in Waitrose is the fact that the whole process is far more civilised than the chaos and busy nature of Tescos! For some reason although Waitrose is often busy people just seem to behave better in there.

I used to think this about washing powder etc but then discovered that the washing liquid I buy (own brand non bio) is £1.79 a bottle in Waitrose but £2.39 in Tesco!

Got to agree about Waitrose having a much nicer shopping atmosphere, I think the number of people using Quickcheck helps. The other thing I've noticed is that the contents of peoples baskets is very different - Waitrose customers seem to have a lot more fresh stuff and basic ingredients, Tesco - more processed stuff, maybe these are the items which are better value in the respective stores.

Penny-Pincher!! · 5 January 2006 at 4:25PM

Personally, I find Waitrose excellent quality for just about everything. 18 months ago I only shopped at Waitrose and M&S...abit of a food snob :rolleyes: Although there meat is a little dearer, it is the best meat I have tasted from a supermarket and even there frozen meat/poultry is of excellent quality. I normally do a Waitrose shop online when I come across the £10 off £75 voucher with free delivery. When I do this its usually to stock up with there excellent meat/poultry and freeze everything. There offers online are sometimes very good, especially if its things you normally buy. If I had the money, I think I would shop there most weeks

I depend solely on home deliveries and rarely go to supermarket to shop. Asda is the best so far Ive found with online shopping and any problems, I have emailed them and they have always refunded me in full with no problems.

I hope you sort it out.

PP
xx

zeddy_2 · 5 January 2006 at 4:44PM

Hi,

I too shop at Waitrose occasionally becuase there is one about 30 seconds away from where I live.

I think they are FAR superior to Tesco and the like, but they are a bit out of my price range really. I tend to go to Tesco (which for me is 7 miles away) to do my once a week big shop and will pop into Waitrose for fresh things through the week, like bread and veg.

Have to agree with what is said about the meat in Waitrose though - it is really nice, but I don't find it to be that much more than Tesco and is so much nicer I am prepared to pay the difference (though we have cut down on the amount of meat we eat to make the times that we do nice meat).

Online shopping is ok, but like you say you can't pick out the things that you want, which I like to do. Have you looked into the cost of a taxi or something from your house to the local Tesco? It might be about the same as the online delivery costs. Just a thought anyway.

Kimberley · 5 January 2006 at 5:37PM

Nah! I got a taxi from my local shopping centre once, it cost me £15 quid :mad: but i guess at over £2.50 a mile it was right. My local Tesco is about 4 miles away, so a Taxi would cost about £10

I will do my first weeks shop in waitrose when it's here, then i'll compare prices on Tesco online. With meat and veg i like to choose my own so i'll get them myself, but non perishables i'll compare in price once i get a jiff of the difference in prices.

If their meat is about the same as in the butchers, i'll buy from whoever is cheaper.

I just wait and see

Mado · 5 January 2006 at 11:02PM

Buy the bulk of boring stuff on-line (tesco will do for brand name items...) and all your fresh food at Waitrose. Their own brand is very good. (OH swears by their Muesli, own fruity yogurts are deliciuos, pasta range is excellent, Bistro pizza are the only ones we eat!)
Certainly dearer but a real pleasure to visit.
Staff know what they are doing, don't look bored, are helpful and friendly.

As mentioned above reduced for sale by date stuff is always excellent when you find it.
They have some BOGOF, but not as many as the other shops.
But think also they are the most ethical supermarket, pay farmers a fair price (which is why they have the best products) and the employeed own the company!

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Are Waitrose Any Good?

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