DrWhoPilot

As a long term loyal customer I feel Waitrose standards are going downhill.

Home delivery problems:
We often have to reject short-dated items. This should be done by the packer on our behalf (I'm assuming it isn't a deliberate policy to shift short dated stock!)

OTOH, Watercress with 2 days to go before the date was rejected because it was full of yellow leaves. Shortly after this experience we saw the same thing in a waitrose store. This suggests to me the dates are not realistic. Compared with M&S where their product was in excellent condition.

Unlike Ocado which delivers in carrier bags and recycles them, Waitrose now delivers in crates. This means I have to waste a lot more time unloading from crates. I either have to keep going back and forth to crates on the doorstep or I have to risk my back lifting the crate to the kitchen. I also have a concern about hygiene of crates which might be contaminated with spillages of cleaning products etc.

Has it not occured to Waitrose not only that this is annoying customers but is wasting the time of their drivers? I know all about the argument for not using bags, but what is wrong with using paper bags or recycling carrier bags? This smacks of penny pinching hiding behind a "green" pretext and with zero consideration for the customer.

Waitrose flagship store at Canary Wharf:

A couple of weeks ago I was struck by how dirty the floor in the food hall was. Also the unkempt appearance of some shelves.

IMHO Waitrose has gone from a premium experience to something much less good. They can only trade on their previous reputation for so long before this catches up with them and people take their custom elsewhere.

Ordered 2 office chairs needed urgently for next day delivery.

-Next day, their tracking system said not yet dispatched

-30 mins waiting on phone, told the system was wrong and items would be with me that day

-Eventually arrived 2 days later

-Chairs were poor quality, very noisy, creaking all the time. Filled out form to return them and I've not heard anything 1 week later

My company has now blacklisted Staples and will not purchase from this company again

Boots Travel insurance

In my opinion I was miss-sold this product which is not fit for purpose. I am £1000 out of pocket

Missed a return flight on a skiing holiday due to 0.6m of snow in the resort overnight which blocked the roads plus an avalanche on the road to the airport etc. You might imagine this is exactly what travel insurance is for.

Some of the party had a "free" NatWest account policy which paid out immediately

The Boots policy is underwritten by different companies, which caused us extra effort and buck passing but the eventual reply was that we were covered for a missed departure ONLY on the outbound journey, NOT on the return journey !!!

This was a so called Platinum policy which CLEARLY states in the official "Policy Document" :

"Boots - Let's feel good" (Hahaha)

Missed departure covered to £1500 and missed connection £1000

NO MENTION THIS IS ONLY ON THE OUTBOUND JOURNEY

The alternative flights for 3 ppl cost me £1000 and Boots Insurance have wriggled out of paying whereas the free NatWest account insurance paid up immediately for the other 2 ppl with no hassle

Disappointed that Boot have let me down

Following my 1* review

Following my 1* review, I was invited to contact the claims company (see below). I did so and have heard nothing back - not even an acknowledgement! It seems they responded so as to be perceived as "responsive and caring" to anyone reading my complaint, but they don't actually do anything.

Anyone reading this please do a quick scan to confirm the following:

5* reviews mainly relate to how good the purchasing experience is (handing over your cash is easy !!)

1* reviews mainly relate to disappointing claims experience