Free tea and coffee what is all the fuss about ?

Are they giving away free coffee too?

free haribo. won’t people think of the poor cornershops

You’re going soft on us (no, not that kind of soft). 🙂

free haribo. won’t people think of the poor cornershops

Pity. I was hoping for a steaming hot cup of brown milk to arrive with my new grips tomorrow.

You’re all wrong, Nescafe Azera is the nuts, anything more expensive is just posturing, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.

Nescafe Azera

I want to punch everyone in the face that was involved in making the advert for that.

I get free tea (or coffee) at work, but I still buy my own tea bags from Tescos.

With CRC’s present delivery times, the coffee will be stone cold by the time it gets here. Maybe they could do ice tea?

the ‘fair-trade’ label that means very little to a farmworker on a plantation.

Does fair trade not benefit farmworkers then?

Anyway I suspect the free coffee in Waitrose is fair trade anyway.

On the original ish topic, would be nice to have a Waitrose near us. Current nearest is 180 miles away. John Lewis not much closer.

on subject of local farms, local venison farm – which was nice to visit – has closed their shop and now only stock direct to Waitrose (or is that indirect). So – do I support Waitrose and their suppliers?

It’s toooo hard.

With CRC’s present delivery times, the coffee will be stone cold by the time it gets here. Maybe they could do ice tea?

All very well until they run out of iced tea so just post you a bottle of their nan’s piss because it looks close enough that they think you won’t notice.

Don’t y’all forget to get your little cards stamped now will ya’s. 🙄

All very well until they run out of iced tea so just post you a bottle of their nan’s piss because it looks close enough that they think you won’t notice.

This strategy hasn’t done Starbucks any harm.

Don’t y’all forget to get your little cards stamped now will ya’s.

I always do, but that’s in a little privately owned shop in town that I’ve been going to for many years. Elsewhere I always use Cafe Nero, because I like their comfy chairs, their coffee, and their lemon and poppy seed muffins.
And I get my card stamped there, too. Loyalty costs nothing, and I get a free coffee every so often.

Does fair trade not benefit farmworkers then?

direct trade is very different and only works for smaller scale roasters which while they are quite big businesses getting through tons of coffee a month they are not Nestle or Illy.
this link explains the difference quite well

http://www.unionroasted.com/about/direct-trade.html

it means more money for the farmer and a better quality product, something big producers are not really interested in.

This really is a first world problem….

local venison farm – which was nice to visit – has closed their shop

‘Free range’ venison is far superior to farmed venison. 🙂

Try a farmers market for local produce.

grum – Member
Tighter anti-monopoly regulation? There’s plenty of instances of supermarkets abusing their power.

It’s stupid to suggest that people have to be ethically pure in every way before they’re allowed an opinion.

I didn’t for a minute suggest anybody has to be ethically pure to have an opinion. My point was that things move on, businesses need to evolve and the government cant legislate against large companies trying to maximise market share and profitability.

I also cant see how giving customers a free coffee is anti competitive. I would say it is improving the customer experience meaning they stay longer, return more often and spend their money in Waitrose rather than competitors.

Lastly I cant see those in charge at Waitrose worrying about competition from an independent coffee shop, they complete with Tesco, Sainsburys and ASDA.

cin_girl — “‘Free range’ venison is far superior to farmed venison.
Try a farmers market for local produce.”

yes, have had good venison from proper game butchers. quite hard to find round here (bizarrely). Used to be two good game butchers in area, but even they were 12 miles away both.

Farmers market — yes, not bad – again the ones round here are a bit hit or miss, not usually that local produce..

This strategy hasn’t done Starbucks any harm.

Are you actually a coffee snob or are you just making a really worn point that isn’t that valid?

Personally I never go near Starbucks, Costa etc and always prefer to support an independent.

I despair at the world though sometimes. Hear, hear.

Most people are not going to turn away a freebie.
It just takes a little bit of thought to realise nothing is free and it’s paid for somewhere else (mentioned before).

I shop independently as much as possible and if we don’t, the very way our villages, high streets and town centres look will be just bland and uniform, with no character.

Bunnyhop – Member

I shop independently as much as possible and if we don’t, the very way our villages, high streets and town centres look will be just bland and uniform, with no character.

The problem with uniformity is that the start-up cost is so high small independent cafe/business is unable to take the risk. Only the large ones with deep pockets can do so to establish their presence all over, hence trying out their formula all over i.e. popping up all over with similar design outlook and taste. Consumers have no choice but to use them. Yes, consumers don’t have to frequent them but then if they keep seeing them all over, sooner or later they just give in to try them.

The business rate etc are crazily high that prevent any people with small capital to try out their luck.

For indie cafes to survive they really need to differentiate themselves from the big uniform outfit. But the problem is not all indies are able to differentiate their products or services offer. The big players on the other hands can cherry pick ideas from small indies then using their powerful channels to sell them.

😐

so Free coffee and a free 60 minute prime time advert for their Easter eggs on BBC1

Must be great being Waitrose 😉

Are you actually a coffee snob or are you just making a really worn point that isn’t that valid?

I’m a snob full stop. But I am going to only buy coffee from independants that have good corporate training manuals from now on.

So yes to both really.

torsoinalake – Member

I’m a snob full stop. But I am going to only buy coffee from independants that have good corporate training manuals from now on.

So yes to both really

I don’t there is such thing as coffee snob if the coffee taste good to you. I hate to pay even for a £ just to drink hot ash water if I have the choice.

However, I am not bothered about who I buy it from so long as they taste good. 🙂

I shop independently as much as possible and if we don’t, the very way our villages, high streets and town centres look will be just bland and uniform, with no character.

+1

Just had to queue at the cake counter where the coffeee machine is also sited. Not impressed, I wanted to buy something (apple and blackberry crumble cheesecake) and delayed by freeloading ponces getting their drink.

Then delayed again at the checkout whilst they queue to have their card swiped for the free drink, bugger all actually purchased.

I don’t really drink coffee (gosh, am I really admitting to that on STW?) I feel discriminated against.

Waitrose is part of the John Lewis Partnership and is probably a lot better to their employees (the partners) than your average local coffee shop. People should maybe do some background reading on how it’s run before comparing it to Tesco’s or Starbucks etc.

….and is probably a lot better to their employees (the partners) than your average local coffee shop.

I’m not sure what you base that conclusion on. The staff at the local ‘one of’ independent coffee shop near my site are undoubtedly happy in their work. And I know for a fact the hours and days they work are tailored to suit their constantly changing personal and family commitments.

I doubt that a supermarket chain, whoever owns it, will ever be as flexible and as responsive to constantly changing individual staff needs as a coffee shop where the relationship between owner and staff has developed to become one of genuine friendship.

The John Lewis Partnership are a customer of ours and very different from other supermarket chains, probably because they are employee owned. I’d certainly rather work for them that for a small local coffee shop. Here’s what wiki has to say on the subject:

“Every employee is a Partner in the John Lewis Partnership, and has an opportunity to influence the business through branch forums, which discuss local issues at every store, and the divisional John Lewis and Waitrose Councils. Above all these is the Partnership Council, to which the Partners elect at least 80 per cent of the 82 representatives, while the chairman appoints the remaining. The councils have the power to discuss ‘any matter whatsoever’, and are responsible for the non-commercial aspects of the business: the development of the social activities within the Partnership and its charitable actions.

The Partnership Council also elects five directors on the Partnership Board (which is responsible for the commercial activities), while the chairman appoints another five. The two remaining board members are the chairman and the deputy chairman.

Every non-management Partner also has an open channel for expressing his/her views to management and the Chairman.

The John Lewis Partnership publishes a weekly in-house magazine, called The Gazette. It is the oldest in-house magazine currently still being published in the UK. Each John Lewis branch also has its own weekly magazine, called The Chronicle. Partners can write anonymous letters to the Gazette and the Chronicles, holding management to account.

The John Lewis Partnership has a very extensive programme of social activities for its Partners, including two large country estates with parkland, playing fields and tennis courts; a golf club; a sailing club with five cruising yachts, and three country hotels offering holiday accommodation for the Partners. When Brownsea Island was to be sold by HM Treasury for £100,000 in 1962, The John Lewis Partnership joined with The Boy Scout Association and The Dorset Wildlife Trust to provide £25,000 each to The National Trust which bought it. The John Lewis Partnership runs Brownsea Castle as a holiday venue for employees.

Partners are also enrolled in a very favourable pension scheme, are covered by death-in-service insurance, and are given very generous holidays. In addition to this, upon completing 25 years of service for the company, Partners are given a paid six-month break, known as “Long Leave”.

Finally, every Partner receives an annual bonus, which is a share of the profit. It is calculated as a percentage of salary, with the same percentage for everyone, from top management down to the shop floor and storage rooms. The bonus is dependent on the profitability of the Partnership each year, varying between 9% and 20% of the Partners’ annual salaries since 2000.”

We (cocoa bean co) supply John Lewis/Waitrose with Confectionary products (hand made eggs, chocs n’ similar) – one of the better companies out there and compared to some of our large buyers they are excellent to work with. As epicsteve said above they are prob one of the best companies to be employed by and i’d be perfectly happy to be employed by them, and if they want to give me a free coffee then sure!, i’d take one.

I do buy stuff from John Lewis but i’ve never shopped in Waitrose as the nearest is 120 miles away, a bit far to drive for the weekly shop.

epicsteve – Member

The John Lewis Partnership are a customer of ours and very different from other supermarket chains, probably because they are employee owned. I’d certainly rather work for them that for a small local coffee shop. Here’s what wiki has to say on the subject:

What do you supply them with?

I am not bothered about who is running JL so long as they provide me with the goods and services I want I am happy. In fact they are rather good really.

I do shop at Waitrose as the queues are short plus the fact that I like one of their German blue cheese. Price wise not so bad by comparison to many so I am happy.

Never tasted their free coffee if those free coffee are like their own coffee bean brands then I tried them all. Nothing special.

I worked for John Lewis, not as staff but as part of their curtain making service as an independent workroom. It was a dreadful experience. Wrong fabric would turn up, incorrect measurements 50% of the time. I was the person who re-made the stuff that had gone wrong in the first place, their curtain department still couldn’t get that right, so the re-makes often had to be remade.

We all have the choice of where we buy a tea and a coffee, regardless of how popular costastarbucksmaccyd is or any other shop that is forced onto our High Streets and town centres. I choose not to use them. It’s easy, just walk past, ask a local where the best independent Tea room or coffee shop is and in you go.

What do you supply them with?

Consulting services.