Waitrose

We all look for the most cost-​effective way to shop but can we afford to compromise on quality? With Waitrose products price matching many cheaper stores but still providing better quality as well as an added value of superb customer service what can a shopper want more?
Customer Service:
There isn’t much to say about the customer service at this particular Waitrose store other than it being top of the game. With a smile, a hello and a question about how your day is going with a short conversation depending on your answer, you couldn’t ask for a more friendlier bunch of staff than these guys. Being a regular shopper here allows me to see consistency all the time and I never fail to engage in an active conversation with the cashier.
Product’s:
We all know that Waitrose is technically classified as a premium label store, but if you were to look closely, you can catch many of your everyday products (name branded) for the same price. Many Waitrose shoppers don’t mind paying a little extra for the quality but Waitrose is becoming a store that is welcoming all types of shoppers regardless of how much they can spend elsewhere. My recent discovery has allowed me to spend the same amount as I would (probably just a tad more) than I would at the Morrisons next door but quality in comparison to both store puts both stores in seperate league tables.
**5 stars for the consistent customer service whether that being first thing at 8am or later in the day after 2pm. The price-​matching feature is a bonus as it allows me to save a few pennies as well as being able to grab a free coffee and a free newspaper/​magazine (courtesty of Waitrose free members card) sets the bar very high for all the other food outlets to compete with. Many look for a bargain at cheaper stores but I’ll ask you this again, can we really afford to compromise on good quality food?**

I admit it I’m a snob and I love waitrose.
Having lived by Holloway Road for 4 years I have the choice of the tesco metros, sainsbury locals or for a bigger shop Morrisons or waitrose. I cannot stress the difference between Morrisons and waitrose on Holloway Road. They are like a different world yet so close physically. One is a nice relaxing experience with beautiful food, beautiful people and slightly inflated prices. The other is not and is a horrible experience that you only tolerate for the lower prices.
I personally would rather just relax whilst shopping, not have to que for ages and pay a fraction more for the pleasure. But occasionally I’ll do a big bargain shop and instantly regret it and get in an argument with some idiot in Morrisons that often is someone that works there!

Our favourite of the Waitrose stores in striking distance from Shoreditch — we regularly combine a shop here with a visit to Holloway Bridge swimming pool, Sobell leisure centre or Holloway Odeon cinema — well stocked and a very good in store butcher. The only let down is the bakery — never been that impressed with the bread. If you live in Holloway then the only other choice is Morrisons which reminds me of Primark — no staff, hundreds of customers, nasty stock piled high and sold cheap. That really is not a choice…

Relatively large store, with the typical great quality of food, a bit of everything and customer service. With their own parking (which sometimes requires a ticket, that then needs to be signed off at the checkout (think this is predominately for match days)), Waitrose is simply one of the highlights of Holloway Road.

Lets face it, things here are just better, the stuff they sell is better, going to the place is just better and always worth a treat!
Parking here is easy, probably the only easy parking in the whole of Holloway, even when overrun by football supporters heading for the Emirates. The food here is great and the same as any other Waitrose as are the the slightly more expensive prices.
Be careful this place is also evil, I always come here for bread and end up buying the most pretentious limited-​edition-​organic-​first-​pressed-​by-​himalayan-​virgins food. Just stick to the offers and the regular stuff and be careful! The harsh world of Waitrose will suck you in!

If you live in or around Holloway Road you basically have two options for your weekly shop: the bustling scrum of Morrisons or the calm and relative sophistication of Waitrose. It speaks volumes about the area that that the its main supermarket giants sit at such opposing ends of the socio-​economic scale, and both seem to co-​exist together in perfect harmony, divided by the boundary of Seven Sisters Road.
This particular branch of Waitrose is a large and well-​stocked, just right for buying the weekely groceries or for a quick whizz-​round for when you’re hosting one of those legendary Islington dinner parties. It has a great deli section with mouth-​watering cheeses from around the world and its wine aisle is also pretty good, including a good selection of UK wines.
I’m sort of glad I don’t live close enough to Waitrose that it ravishes my bank balance on quite such a regular basis, but it is the best place to food shop in Holloway by a long chalk.

A nice market, spacious and airy. Waitrose does charge a bit much on a lot of products and I usually only shop for beer there. Sometimes, Waitrose has good deals on beer, and some stores have great selection. This market had very average beer selection, and no good deals when I visited. Meh, a typical Waitrose.

For the most part, a grocery store is a grocery store. Of course, you hear that Waitrose is more expensive than the other places, but this Waitrose offer the best shopping experience in Holloway.
And they have the best selection of beer of all the stores in the area.

the singularly most unpleasant shopping experience i have EVER had was at sainsburys camden. but we’ll save that gripe for another day.
my loyalty isn’t simply because i used to be a waitrose girl myself, earning pocket money when i was at school; although that could be reason enough as they treat their staff excellently and you’re taught that customer service is all. nor is it beause i like their free cookbooks; or that heston (my beloved chef crush!) is their new face.
It’s because it’s just the easiest shopping experience ever. there’s no hecticness, no shoving, no jostling and no chucking my groceries down a speeding conveyor belt so my eggs smash to smithereens (thanks sainsburys camden).
just great customer service. there’s someone on every aisle to ask questions if need be and they know what produce they stock and if they are unsure then it’s no trouble for them to ask. (again, thanks sainsbury’s camden when i ask staff on a cheese counter a cheese related question i don’t really expect barely a break in her ‘important’ chitchat with her colleague to give me a sullen «dunno»)
the fact is that for evey day items there’s very little difference between a sainsburys/​morrisons/​waitrose bill… i’d say perhaps a couple of quid at the most and frankly i see that extra pound or two as a kind of shopping service charge; a tip, if you like.
especially for the lovely guy who physically brought down every single chicken they had to see if there was one sized right for my chicken brick. and who then came to find me at the check out to give it to me.
now THAT is service.
oh, and you boys, if you accompany your other half on a saturday shop the edge can be taken off with the various tit bits to taste. we had four cups of frangelico and five or six servings of cheese and ham the other week, all served with a giggle at our temerity! i’ve even converrted my stingy northerner of a boyfriend who would only shop at thrifty tesco!

Ok, I am sorry… maybe I am a pompous prat but I really like Waitrose. It’s nice, clean… and [calculates in head to $$] yeah I do pay that much money when I shop at Whole Foods in San Francisco or Marin for a piece of broccoli. Came here not to long a go to make some of the boys that I was staying with dinner in return for the fact that they let me stay with them free of charge.
One of the boys and I went to the beer section and picked out some speciality beers here. He really like this one honey flavoured one that I can’t recall the name of right now but it was pretty friggin’ good.
I wish they would put one of these in St. Andrews so I didn’t have to keep going to the gross Tescos Metro that is such a JOKE.
I paid a bit extra and got one of their nice carrier bags too. But DAMNIT the boys stole it from me before I left to go back to St. Andrews the chavs (just kidding they aren’t really chavs) but I WANT MY FUCKING WAITROSE BAG BACK… You know the cute one with the crab and all the veg on it? *contemplates calling them and forcing them to post it back to me*

I can’t help but get the impression that Waitrose is for middle-​class, pompous folk who have trust funds and a Dalmatian named Binky.
I went in once with my rich friend and was appalled at the farcical prices she was paying for stuff that is half the price in my local Somerfields. I’m sorry but £1.79 for a head of broccoli is ridiculous.
They unashamedly admit they aim at the higher end of the market that probably pertains to better quality products.
Apart from the price, Waitrose is a good supermarket.