Can anyone give me a good reason why I should switch to Waitrose.

chuckley

mrs_moneyspinner wrote: »

quality doesn't get quantity I know, but if you are buying fresh meat waitrose don't pump theirs with water like other supermarkets (or so they tell me at my branch when I asked them why theirs costs more) and the cut has less fat or gristle so there is no waste. The other supermarket joints of beef etc do seem to shrink al lot. Quality on fruit and veg is really important for me and I find tesco in particular has really short shelf life on veg but waitrose seems to have the longest . HOWEVER, I do wonder if irradiation isbeing used by some supermarkets to preserve their fruit and veg and as yet there is no law to say they must declare this as far as I know.

i noticed this too! a bag of salad used to last a day!!!!! i used to spend and waste so much.

u do worry me with the preserving comment tho...

satan666wayne

£13.72
Tesco
£20.22
ASDA

£22.25
Sainsbury's

£22.23
Ocado

xaulleo

I have switched to Waitrose. I find their products' quality and shelf life so much better, their delivery is free (as opposed to Ocado) and when I shop in store it's so much more pleasant. By ensuring I stick to their deals for the things I need, I always keep my shop under £90 and that's with 2 children! I also look on sites like this one for voucher deals when I do an online shop and generally get an extra £5 - £15 off.

Having said that, it would prbably be cheaper still to get the really basic stuff (eg. kitchen roll) from somewhere like Tesco and just the nicer things at Waitrose. But I don't have that much time!!

[Deleted User]

I also wonder about shelf life, irradiation and fruit and veg. My fresh from the field organic veggies don`t last as long as some of the premium pre-packed veggies from the better supermarkets. Why?

Lenny_bun

I shop in Waitrose now and have done for a year or so having switched from Sainsbury's. It's very civilised and I can find the things I need easily. I also find the service very good especially on the deli counter and meat counter. For the things on my regular list, they work out slightly cheaper or very very similar to other supermarkets including Tesco. If I see deals on things in other supermarkets I will get them there though.

I use quickcheck in Waitrose which makes things awesomely swift and pain-free. I have a John Lewis partnership card which means I get points for general spending and double for Waitrose or John Lewis spending. The vouchers come through 4 times a year and I think are really worth it.

rospax

Waitrose comes top of my list for many reasons:

1. I only buy organic food, prefer Soil Association standards of animal welfare and permitted treatments, flock sizes, etc. to many other lesser organic standards. I find Waitrose has both the range and availability of organic produce that I want. Although hailed as comprehensive organic food suppliers I often find stocks have run out in Sainsbury's on the items I want and the organic standards they accept in order to claim something "organic" are far lower - too low for me.

2. Part of the John Lewis Group, their employment standards are higher than all other supermarkets, offering profit-sharing to employees.

3. Waitrose stocks several items of locally-sourced produce in all its stores, reducing food miles and supporting small, local producers.

4. Every time I try to save money by buying Tesco or Sainsubry's meat, even though it's still organic, my husband complains it is tasteless and I end up giving it to the cats (they don't always want it either!) or throwing half of it away (I don't eat meat myself) which is very poor economy. My husband would rather eat a smaller portion of something great quality. Healthier too.

5. Waitrose's fruit and veg is better quality, better tasting, better lasting than Tesco and Sainsbury's, even for organic. The number of times I have bought something in Tesco 'cos it looked like a bargain in an attempt to save money and ended up regretting it... tasteless, spongey, quickly rotting...

6. I don't want infinite choice - I want my supermarket to narrow it down for me to a range of products of the right quality and price. Waitrose gets this right for me.

Bottom line, I think it depends on what kind of shopping you do. If, like me, you buy only fresh, organic food, no ready meals, no junk food and snacks, then Waitrose is top for quality, flavour, shelf-life and above all, ethics. Like a previous poster, I also use Ocado once or twice a month and invariably get £10, or 15% off my order and it's nearly all Waitrose products, hardly ever any substitutions, friendly delivery staff, easy refunds for mistakes, etc. Both companies do an "essentials" range which are excellent quality and competitive price.

I am all for saving money but I believe that we have come to expect food to be far too cheap and this is damaging the economy in a much deeper way by sqeezing producers and forcing them to lower their standards of production and animal welfare. I won't be part of this. I trust Waitrose to take care of their producers. I don't trust the others.

rospax

Oh, and I also have a John Lewis Partnership Card which gives me cash vouchers which in turn I use for more Waitrose shopping. Great value. It's an ordinary credit card too and I earn money for all my purchases made anywhere.

Rosip wrote: »

Waitrose comes top of my list for many reasons:

1. I only buy organic food, prefer Soil Association standards of animal welfare and permitted treatments, flock sizes, etc. to many other lesser organic standards. I find Waitrose has both the range and availability of organic produce that I want. Although hailed as comprehensive organic food suppliers I often find stocks have run out in Sainsbury's on the items I want and the organic standards they accept in order to claim something "organic" are far lower - too low for me.

2. Part of the John Lewis Group, their employment standards are higher than all other supermarkets, offering profit-sharing to employees.

3. Waitrose stocks several items of locally-sourced produce in all its stores, reducing food miles and supporting small, local producers.

4. Every time I try to save money by buying Tesco or Sainsubry's meat, even though it's still organic, my husband complains it is tasteless and I end up giving it to the cats (they don't always want it either!) or throwing half of it away (I don't eat meat myself) which is very poor economy. My husband would rather eat a smaller portion of something great quality. Healthier too.

5. Waitrose's fruit and veg is better quality, better tasting, better lasting than Tesco and Sainsbury's, even for organic. The number of times I have bought something in Tesco 'cos it looked like a bargain in an attempt to save money and ended up regretting it... tasteless, spongey, quickly rotting...

6. I don't want infinite choice - I want my supermarket to narrow it down for me to a range of products of the right quality and price. Waitrose gets this right for me.

Bottom line, I think it depends on what kind of shopping you do. If, like me, you buy only fresh, organic food, no ready meals, no junk food and snacks, then Waitrose is top for quality, flavour, shelf-life and above all, ethics. Like a previous poster, I also use Ocado once or twice a month and invariably get £10, or 15% off my order and it's nearly all Waitrose products, hardly ever any substitutions, friendly delivery staff, easy refunds for mistakes, etc. Both companies do an "essentials" range which are excellent quality and competitive price.

I am all for saving money but I believe that we have come to expect food to be far too cheap and this is damaging the economy in a much deeper way by sqeezing producers and forcing them to lower their standards of production and animal welfare. I won't be part of this. I trust Waitrose to take care of their producers. I don't trust the others.

angie54321

kittie wrote: »

I also wonder about shelf life, irradiation and fruit and veg. My fresh from the field organic veggies don`t last as long as some of the premium pre-packed veggies from the better supermarkets. Why?

A bit of topic, but here goes....

Firstly, let's not forget that it was one of the 'better' supermarkets (M&S) who started the trend for pre-packaged ready meals. They realised they could use poorer quality ingredients, and disguise them in a heavily flavoured, fat and salt ridden sauce. Good business for them, very bad for consumer health. The pre-packaging of goods has moved on substantially from there into the 'fresh' produce are - but use the same principles as those for ready meals - the high profit (for the supermarket, not the farmer) is the only important factor. Your health (or ill health if you eat a lot of pre-packaged stuff) is of no consequence. I'm sure they would just argue that they are giving you a choice, so it is your fault if you end up ill or obese. But when we don't know what is being done to our food, we erroneously presume that the supermarkets do take into consideration the health of their customers. Unfortunately, they don't.

Your fresh organic veggies are far better for you (and much fresher) than the pre packaged veggies from your supermarket. All those clear puffed up packs are actually filled with modified air, with the oxygen taken out. It preserves the shelf life and makes the product look better. Salad and vegetables in those packs can be two weeks old! The modified atmosphere seriously depletes vitamin levels, so although the vegetables look okay they have a lot less nutrients in them. All those carrot sticks or shredded runner beans or lettuces or whatever are less nutritious. Also when you see these vegetable and salad bags in the supermarket, it all looks nice. You go home and put it in the fridge but when you take it out the next time it doesn’t look as nice as when you bought it. That’s because the supermarkets use flattering light which is designed to bring out certain colours and make the things look good. Also, the minute you open these bags you’re meant to use the contents. But if you don’t, if you just open the bag and then leave the contents, it’s spectacularly obvious how in no time at all they absolutely flag. They become flaccid in a way the fresh equivalent wouldn’t. A really fresh rocket salad, for example, kept in a bag in a fridge, will keep for 2-3 days. If you buy the same from a supermarket, the minute you take it out of the bag it’s more or less fit for the compost heap! And that’s because of thee fact that it’s not very fresh. It's been sitting around for a while, it’s been over-handled and it’s been put in this modified air. So, it’s a great con - but it’s also a massively expensive con.

Read the food journalist Joanna Blythman's books, especially Shopped, for information about how the food we buy in supermarkets isn't anywhere near as good for us (and the farmers supplying it) than buying it from ethical and more local sources. (That's how I found out about the pre packaged salad and vegetable bags!).

Buy your fruit and veg from a veg box scheme, or local farms or farmers markets. Go to local ethnic shops for your ingredients like garlic, ginger, chillies, herbs and spices, lentils etc (much cheaper!). If you eat meat/fish, use a local butcher/fishmonger (if there is still one around in your area). Supermarkets are good for toilet rolls and stuff like that - buy your food elsewhere!!

Bennifred

Rosip wrote: »

Waitrose comes top of my list for many reasons:

1. I only buy organic food, prefer Soil Association standards of animal welfare and permitted treatments, flock sizes, etc. to many other lesser organic standards. I find Waitrose has both the range and availability of organic produce that I want. Although hailed as comprehensive organic food suppliers I often find stocks have run out in Sainsbury's on the items I want and the organic standards they accept in order to claim something "organic" are far lower - too low for me.

2. Part of the John Lewis Group, their employment standards are higher than all other supermarkets, offering profit-sharing to employees.

3. Waitrose stocks several items of locally-sourced produce in all its stores, reducing food miles and supporting small, local producers.

4. Every time I try to save money by buying Tesco or Sainsubry's meat, even though it's still organic, my husband complains it is tasteless and I end up giving it to the cats (they don't always want it either!) or throwing half of it away (I don't eat meat myself) which is very poor economy. My husband would rather eat a smaller portion of something great quality. Healthier too.

5. Waitrose's fruit and veg is better quality, better tasting, better lasting than Tesco and Sainsbury's, even for organic. The number of times I have bought something in Tesco 'cos it looked like a bargain in an attempt to save money and ended up regretting it... tasteless, spongey, quickly rotting...

6. I don't want infinite choice - I want my supermarket to narrow it down for me to a range of products of the right quality and price. Waitrose gets this right for me.

Bottom line, I think it depends on what kind of shopping you do. If, like me, you buy only fresh, organic food, no ready meals, no junk food and snacks, then Waitrose is top for quality, flavour, shelf-life and above all, ethics. Like a previous poster, I also use Ocado once or twice a month and invariably get £10, or 15% off my order and it's nearly all Waitrose products, hardly ever any substitutions, friendly delivery staff, easy refunds for mistakes, etc. Both companies do an "essentials" range which are excellent quality and competitive price.

I am all for saving money but I believe that we have come to expect food to be far too cheap and this is damaging the economy in a much deeper way by sqeezing producers and forcing them to lower their standards of production and animal welfare. I won't be part of this. I trust Waitrose to take care of their producers. I don't trust the others.

^^^^ wot she said!:T^^^^^^^

lottiespoon

i have shopped at waitrose a few times and found the quality of food great. As they don't deliver near me i used ocado. They don't seem to understand that raw meat should not be packed in the same bags as cheese and cooked meat etc. it didn't matter how many times i complained about this hazzard it still carried on. They even have colour coded bags and still couldn't get it right!:mad: