Waitrose telling me how many calories I can have!

Whatever next! Nanny state, none of their business, or Waitrose's. I would definitely be boycotting if that happened to me. What is the world coming to!!

Ah. OK. Thank you to Suziewoozie and TillyWizz too. ?

To be fair, TillyWhizz posted a similar reply from "Dean of Waitrose and Partners" on Sunday at 16:29:51 if anyone missed it.

Credit should go to Suziewoozie, not me.

To be fair to them, they probably were putting the customer first by implementing this in response to feedback.

You were trying to order off the set menu so they were sticking to the guidelines which showed a calorie counted meal. Does seem OTT for a Waitrose caff though - especially as pie and mash isn’t exactly a healthy option anyway!

I think they have a very limited menu with little scope for choice.

I now know that if I want a gluten free roll I have to pick up a whole packet on the way through the shop!

To all those who doubted my honesty in this thread...I forgive you.

To Monica , thank you for getting the statement. I was beginning to think I’d dreamt it.

I agree it’s a lazy, feeble excuse on Waitrose’s part. Itemise the calories in each portion and put your customers first!

I think Waitrose's excuse is rubbish. a pie is one item of food, chips are another, mash another. They can have a seperate allergen list for each. If a customer has no allergies and says so, (possibly even signs so), what is the problem?

In our family we have members with allergies and one has an epipen, so I do understand the problem. At Christmas we all ate out. The waitress asked about allergies the first time she came to the table and then brought us an extra menu that listed all the allergens in every dish. This included side orders, like extra chips, mash, onion rings etc.

We ate confidently because we knew exactly where we were. Our order included me swapping mash for boiled potatoes.

I think Waitrose's explanation was a sign of laziness and lack of constructive thought.

I can kind of see their point, but it does seem OTT. On the other hand, they’ve probably introduced calorie counting in response to customer feedback, and the serving staff are only doing what they’re told.

This is Waitrose’s side of the story - I asked them

Thank you for your patience while I looked into your query regarding our cafe menu.

I've spoken to Adrian Martin one of our managers in the branch who has advised that the cafe Partners are not allowed to deviate from what is advertised on the menu, as they need to be able to tell the customers accurate allergen information and calorie counts with the food they are selling

They do not offer Pie and Chips as a menu choice, it is Pie and Mash so if a customer has asked to swap the mash with chips we would be unable to do so due to the reasons explained.

I hope that helps and if you need anything else please let me know.
H

What??? Who the hell do Waitrose think they are?

FGS, what are they like with anyone trying to buy alcohol?

Four of us had a meal in our local Harvester, we then ordered coffee which was served barely warm. When we complained we were told they were not allowed to serve it '"too hot" in case it gòt spilled and burnt someone. Needless to say we did'nt pay for it.

That’s not going to go down well here Oop North, pie and chips loved by many.
It’s not going to affect me anyway, I’m an Adl girl (Aldi/Lidl) and don’t bother with Wait for the Rose.?

They didn’t refuse to serve him pie and mash...that was on the menu. They said he couldn’t have chips instead of mash. “Too many calories”.

Those jobsworths get everywhere these days
I agree thats probably what happened here
Needs to get some customer service training and start using some common sense

I don’t think Waitrose actually refused to serve them - although it’s a bit vague. It sounds like a bit of a jobsworth was trying to ensure that they only sold items as advertised - a sort of ‘no you can’t have double beans in place of the mushrooms on your 5 item breakfast’ type thing. It was badly handled though.

Riverwalk's explanation sounds the most likely, but if so, what do Waitrose think they are doing?

I have yet to go into a restaurant that will not make a simple adjustment to a dish at a customer's request. Mashed potatoes being popular these days and as I do not like them, I always ask if I can swap them for potato in another form. I usually look down the menu to see what the restaurant offers, usually it is chips, but sometimes boiled and occasionally baked or roasted. My request has never been refused.

Are we going to be told that we have to accept every dish as made up and calorie counted and cannot add or subtract anything from it.

What about those coffee and tea breaks with a delicious cream cake. Will they be banned?

Many chain eateries have the calorie count for every dish on their website, so it is possible to plan a meal out in advance.

I’d actually quite like it if pubs and restaurants starting showing the calorie content of everything they served! I’m trying (unsuccessfully) to shift some weight by eating less and exercising more after hitting the menopause and putting on weight for the first time in my life. I am horrified at the number of calories in foods that seem quite innocuous (that’s my actual face when I see the numbers)

Wish pubs etc would start doing that. Can you imagine being told the glass of beer has too many calories to go with the packet of crisps! Or you have to have low calorie mixers in your g & t.

Riverwalk - that sounds like a very plausible explanation, I’ll bet money that’s what happened.

Sorry Callistemon!

AM SPEECHLESS.....never heard anything like it! I am itching to visit a Waitrose restaurant now to order, pie, chips, and mashed followed by sticky toffee pudding and ice cream!!!!

I mean I can understand this in a Health Spa where people pay to have their calorie intake monitored but.....really? Waitrose?

What will we get next then? McDonalds stating you can have a burger without a bun if you want fries? Oh and no puddings if you want fries?

BlueSky


Ps I am blaming you for my coughing fit!!

I was refused a plain jacket potato as 'it wasn't on the menu'! They did have jackets with various fillings so would it have been so hard not to put anything in it?

Or, he could have been given what he wanted.. easier still.