Waitrose & Partners Crouch End

"I very much like Waitrose and have been a regular customer for many years, but with the cost of living crisis I find the prices generally too high these days. I understand why that is, but nevertheless it's hard to manage on a pension nowadays."

"Zero stars because of how awful the manager with glasses is. He’s extremely rude to his employees and made many customers including myself uncomfortable. I’ve since been avoiding the store simply because of the manager and how ridiculous the manager is. If it was possible to give zero stars I definitely would have given zero!!!"

"This used to my favorite shop but sadly recently all you can experience is rude staff, manager will not let you in through the door at 6:58 am because the shop is not open until 7am despite the fact that it is freezing and raining outside, the door is wide open and there are other people already inside shopping LOL! Maybe I should have worn a suit, not gym clothes and I would have been let inside! Technically he has the right to do so, but if you are overpaying for everything, you would think you could expect more friendliness and respect. I won't be coming back which is a shame as I have been shopping there for years."

"My impression is a profound lack of ethics. Since the pandemic I ve noticed that they ve doubled their prices on items that aren t even exceptionally good or organic without justifying it with a better choice of products. They just go for customers' gullability but don t offer real quality nor convenience.. The fact that Waitrose and Partners in Crouch End are still in business makes me think that their typical customers are not very aware of quality (except for the Duchy Organic line of products which is certified organic although with some detractors) and they trust blindly the old Waitrose image (which was created prior to the distinction between organic and non organic food) that gave customers recognition on their spending power that made them feel like they 'had status', or put simply their aficionados can afford to spend money on products that cost more than in other shops without being organic or free range or even just fresher. This is very much the case with Waitrose Crouch End. Rapeseed oil (a pro inflammatory oil that in Puglia was historically regarded as the worst oil for food and known simply as 'olio di colza' and it was never once in the past associated with Britishness as it was produced in France) is rife in all their pre packaged meals. We live in a time where we have a higher bill for everything and we need to be more aware of what we eat because we have new chemicals added to our table (although I often wonder how legislation can be overruled to the point of allowing such ecological disasters such as the use of glyphosate and poisonous bee-defeating feeds). Waitrose candidly sell defrosted fish to its customers which is new to me as in Italy normally you sell it either fresh or frrozen but refreezing defrosted fish poses a risk to health that not many are willing to take). What more can I say... a wealthy person buying in Waitrose Crouch End as it is after the pandemic really denotes how much wealth can come with ignorance on quality for some unlike in the past."

"This used to be a great store, but they no longer stock the things I used to buy there. The staff I talk to say this is a common complaint, and I fail to understand what the justification is for removing so many items of stock to fill up the shelves with things you can buy next door for less money. The queue system is also hopeless."