Theme - Supermarkets around the world: Waitrose
Waitrose is my favorite supermarket by a long way. Why? Well, what you see in the picture is a hand scanner. If you have an account card, you can use these: you just take the stuff off the shelves, scan it and put it into your bag. Pay with a card in a machine on the way out. That's it.
That would be pretty persuasive for me, but on top of that Waitrose is an ethical supermarket, the only one apart from the Coop. They make available local produce, organic and fair trade food. The quality of their food is superlative and they have a great range of ingredients. They have product tastings like Champagne and strawberry ice cream and great prepared meals.
I'm going to shut up abut them now, after all they don't pay me. Oh. Actually they do - I get cash back using the account card.
In a nutshell, I'm not saying there are no problems but Waitrose is the closest you'll get to an old style shop; it is the best of British retailling.
Twentyfive Daily Photo Bloggers around the world are posting a Supermarket theme picture today; select a number to visit another:1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19 -20 -21 -22 -23 -24 -25
posted by Ham at 00:44 --
Comments here: 24
Comments on "Theme - Supermarkets around the world: Waitrose"
-
Ryan said ... (04:55) :
-
Anonymous said ... (07:44) :
-
Anonymous said ... (08:05) :
-
Sarah said ... (14:02) :
-
Anonymous said ... (15:57) :
-
PDPB said ... (17:11) :
-
Unknown said ... (18:02) :
-
Denton said ... (18:42) :
-
Jazzy said ... (21:38) :
-
Kala said ... (00:20) :
-
Anonymous said ... (06:58) :
-
Ineke said ... (08:31) :
-
Andreea said ... (09:03) :
-
Ham said ... (10:28) :
-
Kathrine said ... (12:09) :
-
Anonymous said ... (14:06) :
-
Ham said ... (14:34) :
-
Felicia said ... (21:53) :
-
Ham said ... (22:31) :
-
J said ... (00:46) :
-
Ham said ... (07:20) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11:51) :
-
John said ... (01:00) :
-
Anonymous said ... (22:56) :
post a commentThat's a great idea to save time. I think I would like that store as well.
That sounds awesome. Time saver for sure!
Crazy! I love it!!! And i'm a super fan of h***** d*** ice cream!!! I'm so jealous of the tastes available in UK, we do not have the same over here! I hate you!!! ;-) I think i'm gonna cry right now... bououuuhhh!!!! snirf... I want a Waitrose supermarket near my house too!!! It's so unfair! Lucky you! :-)
Insteresting scanning information. Whole Foods is a US chain that offers more selection in terms of organic and fair trade, but don't offer local produce. They are also super expensive.
Wow this is such a cool place! So you don't have to line up anymore during checkout? I hope they have many of those scanners coz if they don't there would still be queing :)
damn, you beat me to it. a shot of waitrose, our favorite shop ;)
beats me how you got a shot of these scanners without getting lynched though.
A shame I didn't know about this, as I would have been out with my camera. Can you add me to your notification list for the next project. Ta
I am going to send this link to our local supermarket with the suggestion that they could improve. The scanners are a great idea.
What a great futuristic photo.
Regards
wow - no lines at the cashiers? that is a wonderful idea - I would totally go for that scan and go!
We still use cash, very old cash that is. We don't even have an ATM machine on the market.
I want Waitrose too!
oh i really love this! amazing what can be interesting. my own delhaize supermarket has the same system. will try to post on it soon as well. still love waitrose and there is none around ...
To all those jealous people, it is wonderful being able to waft through almost however busy the store is. There are seventy scanners, I've neve had a problem. There are other self-scanning UK stores, but they are all (?) at checkouts, so you have to queue and take the stuff in and out of your trolley.
On the ethical front, I'd like them to start printing the "Food miles" on their packing, but that's a folorn hope.
Pricewise, you CAN spend a lot there, but oyu don't have to. Like for like, a total shop is within pence of Tesco & Sainsbury (from time to time I price my shop online to check), but you (I) end up buying the stuff that you can't buy in the big supermarkets. Meat that tastes of something. Proper cheese. Decent tasting fruit and veg. For me, it's worth spending twice as much. I used to hate buying fruit from SainsCoDa, only to find it went from unrip to rotten, or tasted of cardboard.
Denton - good luck!
pdpb - I asked them first!
First of all this is a great photo!
And secondly - What a cool shop. I would go there, too!
Have a nice week - Kathrine
I'd like to patronise Waitrose (in a good way) but I've never found our local one (the sames as yours?) to have the variety of organic and Fairtrade stuff that "our" Sainsburys does. On identical lines I've also often significantly more expensive. A shame, I grew up with them :(
I really like the scanner idea though. Maybe I should give them another go, it's been a while.
Nic, I'm sure it is the same (South Woodford). There is a bit of an art getting the most of the shop, and I suppose a lot depends on the type of shopping you do (excluding cleaning materials, 90% of my shop is fresh food). A pig I know may have something to say on the subject soon.
Love your photo, at first I was wondering how this related to the supermarket. What a great system! How can they tell that you have scanned everything in your bag? I guess they have lots of security cameras?
Felicia - it's the obvious question, I'm surprised it took this long to ask!
What hapens is - at random - you are selcted for a check. It doesn't happen too often and you don't have to do a thing, it's all taken out and packed back for you. If you have got it wrong, then the next time you have to be checked as well. With that and most people's innate honesty, combined with the saving in wages, it must work for them
I've never used the one in waitrose, but the ones that I have used actually have some kind of a weighing device or something. Because the machine identifies that you haven't put the product in the bag.
J - that's the sort at Te$co, that does nothing except let them fire another cashier. These, you carry round with you.
It is the same one then :) (But the Sainsbury's I use is not in Woodford as that's a crap Sainsburys!)
Fresh food is most of our shop too (though happily most of our veg are now coming from t'allotment so I know it's even fresher than Waitrose :)
I'll give it another go and let you know how I get on.
Nicely framed ham, you should do magazine work!
Waitrose is indeed a fine supermarket, but in the north west we have Booths. Marginally posher than Waitrose, and they have an emphasis on local produce, where the labelling states the farm it came from. It's made shopping under one roof a pleasure again.
BTW - I love your site. I can't believe how much of London I never saw when I moved north 4 years ago.