Waitrose

I don’t know which Waitrose location is worse — Chiswick or Richmond. I think they are equally terrible. Popping into Waitrose should be a delight, what with their supposed super service and all but these two locations just kill everything that is positive about Waitrose.
The cons:
–Terrible layout. Hard to navigate. People going every which way. Impossible to pop in for one or two items without it taking 25 minutes.
–Shelves are always empty or in the process of being restocked which adds to more foot traffic and crap in the aisles to navigate around.
–Checkouts/​tills are setup terribly. There is a group of ‘regular’ tills which have queues that bust into the aisles behind them. Then there is a group of ‘quick check’ tills which are for those who scan their groceries with the little scanner dealy but they look exactly like self-​checkout tills, so self-​checkout people are always going there and getting reprimanded. Then there is the self-​checkout area. Queues a mile long.
–The space is long and narrow yet they have arranged the aisles to width-​wise instead of length-​wise.
–Employees look grumpy, probably because there are always so many damn people in this store that they are unable to do their job properly.
Pros:
There are none.
Please, Waitrose, gut this store and hire an interior designer or whatever the equivalent is to design store layouts.

Based on the ridiculously good customer service that I just received at this Waitrose today, I’m gonna go ahead with a very big 5-​star rating!
The story — I’m American, so finding sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) at a UK or Euro grocery store is a challenge like no other. It should be next to the flour and sugar, am I right Americans?
So, I catch a young female worker after combing the second aisle that I thought –might– contain this crazy item, and ask her «where oh where is this sodium bicarbonate?». She directs me to the aisle that I was already in, but gives me a description of what it looks like. So, I head back and find it within a minute or so and move on with my shopping. (it wasn’t far from the flour and sugar — doh!)
About 5 minutes later, I grab a spot in line to checkout and the same Waitrose worker pops up in front of me to show me that I had grabbed the gluten-​free bicarb because there was none of the regular left on the shelf, which she realized after directing me there. She says «that one is expensive, so if you don’t need it I found more of the regular bicarb in the back». Can I just say, WOW!!!
She had: 1. followed up on the direction she gave me, 2. realized that I may need help, 3. went in back to find the right item, and then — 4. FOUND ME in the store to give me the right item. I couldn’t even stand it — and gushed all over her with thanks. This store is not small and it is not quiet, which means that she really went searching with armfuls of this product to make sure that she got it to me.
I’m still happy about it. And I love this store. It also has every organic, diverse and good product you could possibly need. And delivers to your home if you like. And hires amazing staff, apparently. Thumbs up for Waitrose!

Waitrose is lovely. They have a great selection of fruit and veg that actually good enough to eat, a great selection of ready meals, fresh meats, dairy, etc. I have absolutely no problems with what Waitrose has to offer.
What I do have a problem with is how utterly horrible it can be to shop here. This place is rammed Sundays. It doesn’t not seem to matter what time you go, it will be busy, and when it is busy, it is a nightmare trying to get around – especially if you know exactly what you need and where it is located. There will inevitably be someone trying to keep you from completing you mission in a timely manner.
The store seems to be busy during lunchtimes (hey, which supermarket isn’t?), after work hours and most of the time, really. I think it’s upscale-​ness attracts more people during all times of day than Tesco ever could. Does this keep me from shopping here? No, absolutely not. Sometimes Tesco comes no where near Waitrose in terms of quailty, and that is what keeps me going time and time again.

I do not shop regularly here as I still find there are cheaper alternatives but for me its a treat once a fortnight to buy something from Waitrose! I have always been impressed with the food. Their prepared meals are delicious and the staff are the most smartly dressed and helpful in any supermarket I’ve been to. Wide aisles make for a really nice feel and it never seems that busy compared to other supermarkets. If I could afford to I would shop here every week.

This Waitrose is absolutely incredible, especially compared to what I had been used to in central London…
I do want to point out first that you can access it in a wheel chair, which is very good!
The store is absolutely massive with a great selection of fruit, vegetables. There is also a deli and a huge selection of cheese, and an enormous selection of alcohol further at the back.
There is also a fishmonger and a butcher, which is great, because everything looks very very fresh, and a little fresh bakery of course!
This Waitrose is huge, and very well maintained, with a lot of staff around if you need help. Most importantly, although it is big and full of goodies, it does not feel cramped, and it’s actually an enjoyable place if you are a foodie like me.
Only downside is that there are a lot of people so you can wait in the line for a few minutes. That being said, there is parking, and it can be free if you spend more than £10 I think.

This is a full-​service grocery store that carries quite a selection of fresh and prepared food. Their packaged sandwiches are great for taking on the road when you can’t/don’t want to stop. Their packaged sushi is pretty good too.
And, you can even find their prepared sandwiches in other places like Boots at Heathrow.

I love Waitrose… I used to be a fan of marks & Spencers but I think im now a fan of Waitrose… i love their quality and options… they do not just carry their brand name… you can get everything here… without having to run to tescos… I love the food… im beyond a fan… gourmet food and easy to prepare dishes… they even have ethnic food choices which M&S miss out on…

Ah, Waitrose. The prince of supermarkets. And sadly, however much they make out they’re now budget conscious, still largely beyond my means for your every day kind of shop. However for the odd occasion we do pop in and have yet to be disappointed, except for the time when they did not have fresh chestnuts when even Mr Tesco had managed to schlep over to China and bring some back for the festive season. what I like about Waitrose are the details. Bought a very nice 4 person salmon and prawn mousse starter last summer. Apart from being delicious the sturdy little pots the mousse came in are still going strong as ketchup receptacles for the mini-​natsters in my family. Go, and budget be damned!