Waitrose brings back free coffee for members without them having to buy anything
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Waitrose is bringing back free tea and coffee for customers signed up to its loyalty card, even if they do not buy anything from the supermarket. The company has emailed customers to inform them of the change from January 27, saying: “You’ll be able to get your free hot drink without buying anything in store first. Don’t forget your reusable cup!”.
Currently, the upmarket grocer requires myWaitrose members to buy something before they can claim their free drink. The myWaitrose scheme, which is being re-branded as My Waitrose, was introduced in 2011 and has nine million members. It began offering a free tea or coffee without a purchase in 2013, making the supermarket the second-largest provider of coffee in the UK and raising concerns about its effect on smaller, independent coffee shops.
That year, the Gelateria Gazzeria, a cafe 20 yards from the Waitrose in Buckingham, filed a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading. The regulator said it would not be taking any action. A year later, Andy Sawford, then the shadow communities minister, claimed it would “further destroy the British high street”. Waitrose said the claim was “nonsense”.
However, it changed its policy following long queues and complaints from regular shoppers who claimed that it was attracting freeloaders rather than genuine customers. Waitrose clamped down on the scheme in 2017, requiring loyalty card members to make a purchase.
