Civilised Shopping
There is a strong London connection too - Waitrose traces its origin back to a small grocery shop opened in Acton, West London in 1904 by a Mr Waite, a Mr Rose and a Mr Taylor. For those that don't know, the business is owned by the staff, not shareholders. Nice article here.
posted by Ham at 00:32 --
Comments here: 9
Comments on "Civilised Shopping"
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Anonymous said ... (08:00) :
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Cheltenhamdailyphoto said ... (09:38) :
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Helen said ... (10:45) :
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Ham said ... (11:33) :
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Anonymous said ... (12:12) :
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Anonymous said ... (13:49) :
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marley said ... (21:20) :
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Joy said ... (21:45) :
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Anonymous said ... (11:41) :
post a commentExcellent.....and the being owned by the staff thing reminds me of when I was at school and we had a "learn about business day". One of my friends mentioned that he "...had an interest in the John Lewis Partnership.. which actually meant he had Saturday job in Waitrose.
NiC
I too love Waitrose. I don't shop there for everyday shopping since it costs more but i adore going there now and then. Also at Waitrose, if something is faulty with your goods, they will refund the amount plus the same again! Amazing. I do like the staff owning thing. Great incentive to work hard. We have a fairly new one in Cheltenham with a great coffee shop too.
As Anonymous implied: Waitrose is part of the John Lewis Partnership, where the shareholders are the staff. All those shops are wonderful even if Waitrose is a tad expensive.
Curiously, although I would never say that Waitrose was cheap, each time I've compared prices it's come out very clearly within pence of SainsCo. BUT there is so much they have that SainsCo don't, and the quality is so far above that yes, I spend more.
And I refuse to put a Te$co chicken that's sold for £2 or so into my mouth. They _can't_ be properly reared.
I am happy for you that your neighborhood grocery remained in the area over the years and was able to improve and keep old customers coming back. That isn't easy these days but your post confirms the idea that it can be done by those who are determined.
We live very close to Canary Wharf and our supermarket choices are Waitrose,Tesco Metro, Lidl, Asda & Somerfields.
We mainly shop at Waitrose,just popping to Lidl for certain items.
Why,because Waitrose is actually cheaper than Tesco (as it's Canary Wharf they mainly stock their finest range). Asda is cheaper than Waitrose,but the quality is definitely worse. Lidl continues to suprise,great value for Prosecco & Parmesan and the fruit & Veg can be pretty good as well!!
Rob
I like Waitrose too, but find the Cheltenham store a bit more expensive than my usual supermarket. I think all of the big 4 should have these evenings, given the money i've paid to Mr Morrison over the years I deserve it!
Lucky you! I wonder if they're doing the same thing here in Norwich. You can keep the cava, I'll take the sushi :D
joy
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Also at Waitrose, if something is faulty with your goods, they will refund the amount plus the same again!
Not any more they don't. They're now programmed to attempt to get you to take a replacement rather than give your even your money back. Replacing costs less than refunding. Same old corporate defraud the customer strategies now applying here that T£$co have increasingly employed (and got away with) for the last 10 years.
Waitrose is going down the pan - if my recent experience of the service in the Hexham brach is anything to go by. Frankly, service is better in my local Aldi (and many of the, particularly deli, products are as good if not better, and half the price). I'm still wiating for even an acknowledgmeent of my letter of complaint sent to Waitrose Head Office a month ago.