My first shopping expedition at our newly opened Waitrose....

[Crankarm]

John Lewis offers a price-match on every single item they sell. They also offer free extended warranties on consumer electronics items.

Which has more holes than a sieve. A couple of years back they had a Sony digital compact camera I was interested in. Asked if it would still be available at same price in one week's time? They said yes. Went back the next week to buy and the buggers had put it up £30. The sales guy an arrogant $^&£! refused point blank to honour what he had told me the week before as he said Tescos had also put their price up. WTF! I went away and searched on line for a cheaper price to price match. Found that Jacobs were offering the said same camera at £10 lower than JL had agreed to sell it to me. So thought I had them and went back to the Peterborough store with the price match. The guy again refused point blank to match the price. he came up with all sorts of excuses that Jacobs had no shops ......... errr .... they do in Birmingham and Leicester. He told me to go there and buy it then. He was really arsey. I showed him their price guarantee I printed off their website "Never knowingly undersold ...." He dismissed it and was then joined by a female middle aged colleague who dismissed it. In the end I got the store manager and I got my camera at the price match, but they still weren't keen. I never had such trouble in Sainsburys, Co-Op or any other store to come to think of it. JL gets on my £^$s as they have this oh superior attitude like no one can deliver better service at lower prices. Yes they can, many shops offer a lot better service IME. JL's target customer is middle class, middle Englander, they wear JL's awful grey and green clothes,drive a silver Mercedes and have kids called Tarquin and Gisella and they won't shop anywhere else. If you are a customer who arrives by bike they couldn't really care less as they see you as a low value shopper.

WRT to extended warranties. They can afford to give them free as their products are so expensive any way they must make a tremendous mark up on goods they sell.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

If you are a customer who arrives by bike they couldn't really care less as they see you as a low value shopper.

I've always found the customer care to be very good although I was unaware, up until now, that they had a lookout to see which method of locomotion you use to get to the store in order to vary the level of service!

 

[summerdays]

I think for JL it is to price match to local shops possibly - certainly it has worked for us, we had £30 or more off a phone we brought from there. And we do have a tendency to buy white goods from there. If you don't like the service or the price you go and shop elsewhere, for us the JL experience is good.

 

[PK99]

. JL's target customer is middle class, middle Englander, they wear JL's awful grey and green clothes,drive a silver Mercedes and have kids called Tarquin and Gisella and they won't shop anywhere else. If you are a customer who arrives by bike they couldn't really care less as they see you as a low value shopper.

.

How come so many feel the need to adopt a class warrior stance when discussing JL or Waitrose? Envy? Jealousy?

my experience of JL: A year or two ago i bought a PC ( this one in fact! sony VAIO all-in-one) to save time i bought on line. After a day, the DVD drive swallowed a DVD and refused to either play it or eject. One phone call and an hour later i took the duff model into the Kingston JL branch who recovered the DVD and swapped the duff PC for a new one. Price? same as the cheapest online alternative i could find.


And, by the way, do check out the price guarantee:

So, if you see or buy a product from us and find it cheaper with a high street competitor (excludes
online-only businesses), as long as their service conditions are comparable, such as delivery charges and guarantee terms, then we´ll match that price for you when you buy, or refund the difference for up to 28 days after if you´ve already purchased.

Your situation was outside the Price guarantee: They were matching the local price and the competing offer was mailorder or a distant store.

The match is to high street competitors, very clear and explicit. If you use JL regularly you will see that they match special promotions in local stores (eg JL kingston regularly displays signs saying they are matching the prices of a local promotion on specific items ie Bentall's in kingston)

 

[trsleigh]

If you are a customer who arrives by bike they couldn't really care less as they see you as a low value shopper.

Ummm.... so why has our local Waitrose introduced a free trailer loan scheme?

 

[Norm]

JL's target customer is middle class, middle Englander, they wear JL's awful grey and green clothes,drive a silver Mercedes and have kids called Tarquin and Gisella and they won't shop anywhere else. If you are a customer who arrives by bike they couldn't really care less as they see you as a low value shopper.

Strangely accurate representation of Chateau Norm there, Crankster. Well, you got the names of the Smalls wrong, and the clothes today are grey and blue, but other than that, pretty good.

The only thing is that, the last time I went to John Lewis by bike (a trip which nearly killed me, as I had to climb 350ft up to Handy Cross) I spent over £2k on a bed, and I'm not sure that would class me as a low value shopper. Admittedly, they did give me some funny looks walking round in a hi-viz Altura jacket and putting my helmet and gloves down before trying the different mattresses.

It's a lovely bed, though, and the dog really appreciates the dual-tension mattress.

 

[srw]

We've got a Waitrose about to open. I don't suppose I'll use it for the big shop - Sainsburys is closer to home, and I know the price of the basics I buy, so I'll be able to compare (in fact looking online, it's 20p more for a basic tin of tomatoes, so I'll stick with Sainsburys)

But the Sainsbury's cheapo tomatoes will taste of vinegar, while the Waitrose ones will taste of tomatoes.

We used to shop regularly in Tesco, and regularly came away with a pile of crap we didn't really need and which tasted much less good than it looks. Now that we shop in Waitrose we only buy what we need and it all tastes good. That's because they do the basics (veg, bread, meat, fish) really well, and for a fair price. There's a decent choice of each, and they're all top-notch quality and without a premium in price. Tesco's slogan used to be "pile it high, sell it cheap". The only way to do that is to sod the quality.

 

[MacB]

But the Sainsbury's cheapo tomatoes will taste of vinegar, while the Waitrose ones will taste of tomatoes.

We used to shop regularly in Tesco, and regularly came away with a pile of crap we didn't really need and which tasted much less good than it looks. Now that we shop in Waitrose we only buy what we need and it all tastes good. That's because they do the basics (veg, bread, meat, fish) really well, and for a fair price. There's a decent choice of each, and they're all top-notch quality and without a premium in price. Tesco's slogan used to be "pile it high, sell it cheap". The only way to do that is to sod the quality.

Yep, though I would have to differ with you on the bread, in fact we find bread to be poor quality from Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda, as well, the only one we rate, locally, is Morrisons...this is all the bakery stuff as opposed to the standard branded sliced loaves.

 

[PK99]

But the Sainsbury's cheapo tomatoes will taste of vinegar, while the Waitrose ones will taste of tomatoes.

We used to shop regularly in Tesco, and regularly came away with a pile of crap we didn't really need and which tasted much less good than it looks. Now that we shop in Waitrose we only buy what we need and it all tastes good. That's because they do the basics (veg, bread, meat, fish) really well, and for a fair price. There's a decent choice of each, and they're all top-notch quality and without a premium in price. Tesco's slogan used to be "pile it high, sell it cheap". The only way to do that is to sod the quality.

I'm pleased to see others share my high opinion of JLP/Waitrose. Bottom line you get what you pay for and Waitrose, quality for quality, is well priced in comparison to the big supermarkets but does not do the super-cheap low quality basics that some others do. ​

Though i do rate the "any size any shape" discounted line at Sainsbugs

 

[dellzeqq]

Waitrose - better fruit, better meat, better nibbly bits, better fish, better cheese, better wine. Tescos - nasty tired fruit, iffy pink meat, no nibbly bits, not much fish and none I'd want to eat, dull cheese, expensive nasty wine, and discrepancies between the price on the shelves and the price on the till. And, in my local Tesco, it pays to check your change. Even if you've only bought milk and the Guardian.

 

[Fab Foodie]

If you are a customer who arrives by bike they couldn't really care less as they see you as a low value shopper.

So that's why out of all the local supermarkets, Waitrose has the most sheffield stands and the best cycle-parking facilities... readily accessible and under cover to boot.
Why is there a constant stream of the reasonably well healed (amongst others) loading panniers and baskets with Waitrose goodies throughout the day?

 

[MacB]

So that's why out of all the local supermarkets, Waitrose has the most sheffield stands and the best cycle-parking facilities... readily accessible and under cover to boot.
Why is there a constant stream of the reasonably well healed (amongst others) loading panniers and baskets with Waitrose goodies throughout the day?

Shhhhh, Cranky knows what he knows.......

 

[Crankarm]

So that's why out of all the local supermarkets, Waitrose has the most sheffield stands and the best cycle-parking facilities... readily accessible and under cover to boot.
Why is there a constant stream of the reasonably well healed (amongst others) loading panniers and baskets with Waitrose goodies throughout the day?

I just guess my experiences of JL are clearly different to yours. I must have unwittingly stepped into the JL fan club blog .

 

[Arch]

But the Sainsbury's cheapo tomatoes will taste of vinegar, while the Waitrose ones will taste of tomatoes.

Not in my experience. By the time I've added onion, garlic, meat of choice, pepper and courgette (my standard pasta sauce), and simmered for a few minutes, they taste absolutely fine. Maybe if you're the sort of wierdo who eats tinned tomatoes on their own...

The Basic beans are fine for me too - maybe slightly less rich than Heinz, but then I'm slightly less rich that people who can afford Heinz.

Saving pennies on the things I use as ingredients, and can therefore add value to, so to speak, means I can afford a treat everyso often.

 

[mr Mag00]

if what comes across on a website then perhaps its your attitude to people.

we shop at waitrose as we do not wish to fuel Tesco. we are far from your Waitriose streotype Crankarm but we appreciate food as has been demonstrated on here it is far better quality. we certainly do not have money to waste and currently no disposable income.