Bananas rotting on the shelves in Waitrose

Not for the first time I find bananas rotting on the shelves in Waitrose.

Not the first time I have to draw to the attention of staff, bananas rotting on the shelves, but no one cares.

bananas rotting on the shelves #Waitrose #Farnham pic.twitter.com/0Vos8X4FJr

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) November 10, 2018

bananas rotting on the shelves #Waitrose #Farnham pic.twitter.com/90oYzzNV3F

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) November 10, 2018

Bananas rotting on the shelves in Waitrose, sweating and rotting in plastic bags.

Pomegranates in plastic boxes.

A handful of sliced green beans in plastic, shipped from Kenya.

Are the customers of Waitrose so lazy, so useless, they cannot slice beans? And why ship green beans from Kenya?

The service no better. Only three tills manned.

As I am leaving I mention the rotting bananas. Not the first time I have raised bananas rotting on the shelves.

No one cares.

This is the norm for Waitrose, piss-poor service, fresh produce packed in plastic.

Waitrose and M&S, with their high prices, are the two worst supermarkets for piss-poor service and obscene use of plastic.

Contrast with Hisbe, fresh produce loose, cereals, nuts and dried fruits loose, liquids for example organic shampoo top up own container, and excellent service.

And yet Iceland has a TV commercial banned for highlighting damage palm oil plantations cause to rain forests.

Waitrose pick your own offers

Waitrose pick your own offers

Waitrose pick your own offers

As I walked into Waitrose Farnham, sign saying pick your own offers, 20% off.

What does this mean, literally pick your own offers, get 20% off? Rather than offers on what you do not want, or dumb buy one get one free, when you only want one and generate food waste?

Many items had labels. What did this mean?

Sounds like a good idea. I pick what I get on offer. After all that is what the label says.

I asked a passing employee. Or partners as Waitrose call them.

I take what I want to the checkout, get 20%? Er, not quite. You have to go on-line, pick what you want, then show Waitrose card at checkout, then get 20% off.

WTF. What dumb-arsed, brain-dead jerk at Waitrose head office thought up such a dumb idea? I have to go on-line before I shop, to decide what I want on offer?  It is going to cause chaos at the checkouts. People are going to take items to the checkouts, expecting 20% off (I asked). Apparently the web site does not work, click the wrong item, nightmare trying to suss how to un-click.

Why not have pick what you want in store, go to checkout, scan Waitrose card, get 20% off. Ooh far to simple.  far better to have a complex system to piss customers off.

It is like the free coffee. It used to be possible help yourself to a free coffee. Easy, simple. But that was far too easy for customers. Now have to go to checkout, pay for coffee, show Waitrose card, cancelled from bill, then get cup for free coffee.

Today, I lacked my Waitrose card, handed back free newspaper, free coffee cup.

Not to worry regular customer, go the information desk and ask for a cup. Er no, that would be treating customers with respect, and far too easy. Told to go on-line, obtain the number for card. Did not work. I could than have called Waitrose. It was not worth the effort. I walked out and went home.  Had there been someone on the desk who knows I am a regular, I would have been given a cup.

Waitrose Farnham always has long queues at checkouts, because they fail to adequately man.

Waitrose Farnham has unbelievable bad stock control. Last week no cherries. This week no cherries, no Kenyan tea, no fresh bread. Every week, there is the same problem with poor stack control. Every week something I want is not on the shelves. Apart from M&S, I do not have this problem in any other store.

Afternoon in Farnham

Very cold walking along the River Wey and up through Gostrey Meadow. Frost on the river banks.

River Wey running high and fast.

Dark and gloomy in the Parish Church.

Hassle in Waitrose as no Waitrose card, two week on and still not arrived, even though allegedly fast tracked, and would not even have the hassle were it not for hassle from two weeks ago. Or would have had hassle today but for the ever helpful lady on information. She called Waitrose. Bad news they had not even processed my card. She gave me a cup for free coffee, to save hassle at check out.

Waitrose must sort out Waitrose Farnham. Speaking with customers, everyone is sick and fed up with the piss-poor service. Waitrose prices but Asda service. If Waitrose Alton can provide good service then so can Waitrose Farnham.

Last week a poster for Heather a singer-songwriter I know in Parish Church for an album release concert. Today I bump into her. I miss bus, and have a chat, pick up a signed copy of her latest album Pohala.

Twelve pounds for an album from an unknown artist is far too high. A tenner max, and even that is pushing it. It also needs to be released on bandcamp.

Poundland has already opened. Surprisingly not busy. Other places when Poundland opens, for at least the first week, packed.

1728 bus leaves early. I return to Waitrose and catch 1748, which it too would have left early, but for people getting on the bus.

On bus from Aldershot, I meet a blind girl who I met yesterday. Being blind, she reads audio books. A strange way of describing, I would say listen. I suggest she downloads The Way of the Bow. She uses a feature I have never tried on Android. She speaks ‘The Way of the Bow’ and it searches for and finds. Quite impressive.

When I alight from bus, already hard frost on cars.

Afternoon in Farnham

Delay setting off, three network in meltdown, no internet.

Three buses pass by, passenger even tells bus driver as she alights from bus, passenger, but still ignorant driver drives off.

Bus driver to Farnham appears to be in some zombie state, gives every impression of being drugged out of his brain, fails to pick passengers up at bus stops, fails to stop when requested to stop.

RS12 GTS

RS12 GTS

The world and his idiot appear to be out today. In busy centre of Farnham, black Porsche parked on double yellow lines, on footpath, in front of traffic lights. Driver, who was sat there, then gets out, narrowly missing pedestrian with car door, then goes into a shop.

15% off party food in Cook. But not off mince pies, apparently people do not eat mince pies at parties. Frozen or unfrozen mince pies? Why freeze mince pies? Cook has a perverse view freeze everything, as that is what we do. Mince pies is about the only thing worth buying from Cook. Expensive, but excellent. Something to sample. It was disgusting.

Looked in Loaf, sorry, tea room closed. Lots of bread left, which they throw away.

Vivaldi Singers, local amateur choir, rehearsing in Farnham Parish Church for a concert in the evening. Taverner, Vivaldi, Palestrina. What I heard did not sound like either Palestrina or Vivaldi, very dark, therefore I assume Taverner. it is always worth saying which Taverner, as there are two, though both are John Taverner. I guessed the later Taverner.

Note: My guess proved to be correct, Svyati by John Taverna (1944-2013).

candle lit Farnham Parish Church

No candles. I looked around and found candles. Lit a candle, quite atmospheric, candle and Taverner.

Nightmare in Waitrose. Each visit service gets worse.

Return bus, zombie driver.

Piss-poor service at Waitrose

If Waitrose think their customers do not notice their piss-poor service, they are seriously deluding themselves.

Today in Farnham, their piss-poor service worse than usual. Long queues at checkouts, not all checkouts manned.

Waitrose profit clearly more important than time of customers.

The usual piss-poor service in Waitrose, actually worse than the usual piss-poor service. Long queues, no cups by free coffee machines to deter people having a free coffee, have to get from check out.

I was asked what coffee did I want? Why, do you get a different cup? Billed £2, then £2 taken off the bill. Would anyone pay £2 for coffee from a machine? OK better than rubbish served by Costa or Starbucks, but then it would have to be ditch water to be worse. What a complete waste of everyone’s time.

Do Waitrose not understand how they are alienating their customers?

You do not get this poor service at Alton. Why Farnham?

Little shelf to sit at and drink coffee. But why by the door, why not further along away from the cold door? Maybe to get rid of you.

Coffee shop in Waitrose Alton

cappuccino

The only reason I was in Waitrose was dysfunctional public transport system and a 40 minute wait for the next train, having been on a bus from Winchester to Alton that is timed to arrive at the station as the train is due to leave.

The last time I was here the store had not long opened. The coffee shop looked far better than Costa and a very pleasant, cheerful and helpful girl behind the counter. This evening a woman who made it obvious she would rather be anywhere else other than where she was, in other words the service to be expected in Costa.

I ordered cappuccino and a carrot cake. A ten minute wait, though I was warned a couple of minutes wait as the machine had started a self-cleaning cycle. The machine I noticed was dirty from spilt coffee. I am used to machines being spotless.

The cappuccino was ok, far better than the awful coffee in Costa. The carrot cake was rubbish, a typical factory mass-produced cake. The coffee was fair trade.