| Re: Are grocery / supermarket prices as complex as train fares? Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 22:32, 22nd October 2025 |     |
Hmmm.
I am rather less of a fan of Waitrose than I used to be - having worked there as a loyal partner for eleven years.
From the BBC:
'My autistic son deserved better from Waitrose'
Tom Boyd had stacked shelves as a volunteer at his local Waitrose for years
The mother of an autistic man who was told he had to stop stacking shelves at a Waitrose store where he had worked as a volunteer for years has said he "deserved better".
Frances Boyd said her son Tom, 28, began work experience at the Cheadle Hulme store in Greater Manchester in 2021, and continued to work unpaid, accompanied by a support worker, as it gave him "a sense of purpose and belonging".
However, she said when she asked if he could be offered "just a few paid hours" in July, the supermarket chain's head office told him he had to stop and could not return to the store.
A spokesman said Waitrose "worked hard to be an inclusive employer" and was investigating the matter "as a priority".
Ms Boyd said Tom, who has limited communication skills, started at the store as part of his skills development for the workplace on his further education course, and continued to volunteer on two mornings a week.
She said he was "so proud of his work", which involved putting stock out and tidying the shelves, and was praised for his work ethic by managers. "If I went in and saw him, he was smiling, and it gave him independence, a sense of purpose and belonging. He gave over 600 hours of his time purely because he wanted to belong, contribute, and make a difference. We feel deeply let down."
A Waitrose & Partners spokesman said it worked with a number of charities to provide work experience and was "well experienced in making reasonable adjustments to help people succeed at work".
"We are sorry to hear of Tom's story and whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we are investigating as a priority," he said.
Ms Boyd said his placement was stopped when the firm's head office was asked about the possibility of paid work. She said she was told it was because he "couldn't perform the whole role".
"He deserved better," she added. "He deserved kindness, respect and the chance for all his hard work to mean something. No-one should be made to feel their contribution doesn't matter, especially someone who's given so much of themselves for so long."
Volunteers do not have the same rights as an employee or worker, according to the government, though there are expectations for those undertaking vocational training.
The guidance states that those who volunteer should usually get a volunteer agreement that sets out the level of supervision and support they will receive. It should also include advice on training and whether they were covered by the organisation's insurance, as well as information about expenses and health and safety issues. However, the agreements are not compulsory and do not form a contract.
Ms Boyd said she wanted to see legal protections like those afforded to employees by the Equality Act to extend to volunteers to ensure they have "rights and opportunities".
"They can be terminated at any time and that's not really the way we should be moving forward in society today," she added.
Tom Boyd had stacked shelves as a volunteer at his local Waitrose for years
The mother of an autistic man who was told he had to stop stacking shelves at a Waitrose store where he had worked as a volunteer for years has said he "deserved better".
Frances Boyd said her son Tom, 28, began work experience at the Cheadle Hulme store in Greater Manchester in 2021, and continued to work unpaid, accompanied by a support worker, as it gave him "a sense of purpose and belonging".
However, she said when she asked if he could be offered "just a few paid hours" in July, the supermarket chain's head office told him he had to stop and could not return to the store.
A spokesman said Waitrose "worked hard to be an inclusive employer" and was investigating the matter "as a priority".
Ms Boyd said Tom, who has limited communication skills, started at the store as part of his skills development for the workplace on his further education course, and continued to volunteer on two mornings a week.
She said he was "so proud of his work", which involved putting stock out and tidying the shelves, and was praised for his work ethic by managers. "If I went in and saw him, he was smiling, and it gave him independence, a sense of purpose and belonging. He gave over 600 hours of his time purely because he wanted to belong, contribute, and make a difference. We feel deeply let down."
A Waitrose & Partners spokesman said it worked with a number of charities to provide work experience and was "well experienced in making reasonable adjustments to help people succeed at work".
"We are sorry to hear of Tom's story and whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we are investigating as a priority," he said.
Ms Boyd said his placement was stopped when the firm's head office was asked about the possibility of paid work. She said she was told it was because he "couldn't perform the whole role".
"He deserved better," she added. "He deserved kindness, respect and the chance for all his hard work to mean something. No-one should be made to feel their contribution doesn't matter, especially someone who's given so much of themselves for so long."
Volunteers do not have the same rights as an employee or worker, according to the government, though there are expectations for those undertaking vocational training.
The guidance states that those who volunteer should usually get a volunteer agreement that sets out the level of supervision and support they will receive. It should also include advice on training and whether they were covered by the organisation's insurance, as well as information about expenses and health and safety issues. However, the agreements are not compulsory and do not form a contract.
Ms Boyd said she wanted to see legal protections like those afforded to employees by the Equality Act to extend to volunteers to ensure they have "rights and opportunities".
"They can be terminated at any time and that's not really the way we should be moving forward in society today," she added.
I myself left paid service as a partner with Waitrose in November 2023, on retirement at age 64, but I am still now struggling to get Waitrose to give me my pension money - nearly two years later.
| Re: Are grocery / supermarket prices as complex as train fares? Posted by JayMac at 20:14, 22nd October 2025 | |
There are some similarities, but supermarket prices are nowhere near as byzantine as train fares.
It's only relatively recently that supermarkets with loyalty scheme prices lower than the 'real'* price have included the price per unit, be that weight or liquid volume. That makes it easier to compare prices across brands.
*Of course the 'real' price is what the supermarket thinks they can charge for a product. They have no uniform profit margin. And with loyalty prices, bonus points, bogof, general promotions, price matching, reduced to clear... there is never any price stability.
I tend to look at the unit prices to compare brands and/or pack sizes before deciding what to put in the trolley. For example if Coca Cola is on offer I'll buy that. If Pepsi is cheaper per unit that goes in the trolley. If neither is on any sort of promotion, I'll buy Sainsbury's own brand. Sometimes, if there is a premium cola on offer at a price I'll countenance then some of them will go in the trolley and I'll buy a smaller amount of Pepsi/Coke/Sainsbury's. I have zero brand loyalty.
| Re: Are grocery / supermarket prices as complex as train fares? Posted by grahame at 19:21, 22nd October 2025 | |
At the "base product" selection level, I noted one product on the bottom shelf at sixteen pence per hundred grams, and a similar product - on the level to catch my eye - at sixty pence per hundred grams. Differences? One honey flavoured, and fancily wrapped with a famous brand name on it. I'll kneel down to the lower shelf, and add a spoonful of honey ... and go for the product that's around a quarter of the cost. And, yes, the marketing displays seem to have become more dominant and the processed /prepared foods in plentiful supply even as there are bare shelves (as there were on Sunday afternoon) with many of the more basics.
Rail comparisons? We may disagree as to whether the railways as a public service should have a duty of care to offer you the lowest priced product or product combination that meets your needs, but they don't always do so. Yesterday - a story in another thread - they had the supermarket equivalent of a bare shelf of the basic product. Not because they had sold out - but because they had withdrawn the lower cost product after they had advertised it, and people had gone to their shop (station) to buy it.
| Re: Are grocery / supermarket prices as complex as train fares? Posted by eXPassenger at 18:08, 22nd October 2025 | |
The big difference I see is that given the shopping basket and extra input, such as coupons, the supermarket worked out the lowest price to be paid.
The railway would have offered a price for the journey that would not necessarily have been the lowest price,
| Re: Are grocery / supermarket prices as complex as train fares? Posted by Clan Line at 17:40, 22nd October 2025 | |
Yes - they are ! But...........I think train fares have got that way through "old age", "lack of attention" and umpteen abortive attempts to "improve" the railways and their fares - rather than the mendacity of the rail companies.
My opinion of the supermarkets' pricing system is considerably less generous. One example which I spotted only this morning.......
I was after some Persil Bio washing capsules, the "Trolley" website (recommended) told me that the cheapest High St place was a Waitrose offer at £9 for 48 = 18.75p each. (Amazon is the same price). In another High St supermarket this morning I saw Persil Bio capsules with a banner saying "£4.25 off - was £8". The new price was 25p per capsule - the old "was" price came to an eye watering 53p each - I don't think even Trainline could match that one ! 25p per capsule for smaller pack is actually not too bad a price.............but the "advertising" is "devious".
I think that it is still legal to use such a price "comparison" gimmick if just one store in the chain has displayed the item at that price for a relatively short period of time. I have severe doubts that the £8 price was ever on the shelf in my local store ! So charge that price in the Outer Hebrides branch and fleece the rest of the population with a non-existent "offer" !
One has to wonder if the product manufacturers are somehow helping this along.............Persil capsules come in packs of 48/36/26/24 and 15...........don't forget to take your calculator with you !
I am referring solely to the complexity here, not the level of the pricing.
Am I a cynic .................... YES !
PS: I went to Waitrose !
| Are grocery / supermarket prices as complex as train fares? Posted by grahame at 14:42, 22nd October 2025 | |
And people tell me that train fares are complex ...
My total bill for food as Sainsburys on Sunday was £142.17 - down to £140.75 because of 2 short-dated product reductions. Multi-buys and promotions (including nectar) brought that down by £10.64 to £130.11. A further "gift voucher" redeemimg points from my credit card took a further £75.00 off - I have a lot of points from travel and transport that brought the amount I paid down to £55.11. Buy the's not quite the "net end" of it - I earned 130 nectar points which are worth 65p and I earned 165 reward points on my credit card which is worth another 55p. So that's net spend of £53.91 - oh were it not so complex. I have also come away with two money off vouchers for "next time" - £13.50 for an instore shop by 26th October when I spend a further £100 (which I won't be going by that date) and £18.00 off with my "first online order" if I spend £60 by 9th November. I guess it would be my first as it's Lisa who's place an order once before with Sainsbury's and that resulted in a delivery where I found myself pressured by the delivery bloke to unload from his crates; Iceland and Ocardo work much better for me personally.
At least the tax (VAT) where it applies is added in to the self edge / declared prices; I thing those are the items marked "*" on the printed receipt - £26.25 in total so that's £4.38 in VAT. Then there was a box of cans of John Smith's - 18 cans of 440ml at 3.4% alcohol - so that 279ml of pure alcohol at £9.61 per litre - which I make a further tax (alcohol duty) of £2.70
Our shopping, by the way, is irregular; done when needed and a lot of the stuff listed here will still be bing consumed quite some time in the future - do not use this to gauge my budget.
