I'm angry with Waitrose

For all the fine words, theft is being condoned, and the prospect of theft with violence recognised, by a leading retailer.
Honesty counts for nothing.

Overseas some stores you have to use a card to get in and a coded receipt to get out, its just like getting on a train, checked in checked out.

That's the way it will have to go.

You really aren't the only one butterandjam
Some of us have probably just said "no point" by now.
Sometimes I just walk away.

Thank you - (and the other condiment)

Thanks LemonJam

Allira 22.19.

Nobody has said society should accept shoplifting as 'the norm'. Sadly shoplifting does happen. Some shoplifters sadly may may be carrying weapons and some may become aggressive if confronted and challenged.

LemonJam

Galaxy 12.57. Waitrose position is its policy stops staff being injured, possibly severely or fatally injured. It may also be an insurance policy requirement by insurers who would have to pay out compensation to injured staff- potentially great sums of money is said member of staff severely or fatally injured.

What would be your measure of success for an alternative policy/approach whereby staff and members of the public are encouraged to intervene with shoplifters as shadow minister Chris Philp suggested? Cost savings of reduced shoplifting? However injury compensation claim pay outs may be higher and equally passed onto customers.

I guess on this occasion the value of the Lindt bunnies the shoplifter seemingly sought to steal was saved as the shop lifter ran off- around £100 block purchase cost to Waitrose possibly? However if the value of the Lindt bunnies was saved in the same way but the shop worker or a member of the public was severely or fatally injured by the shop lifter in the incident, who was armed with a knife or other weapon, would that be evidence of success or failure? Compensation cost to member of staff or public would far outweigh the £100 Lindt bunny value.

What is more important to you Galaxy the value of the goods or the safety of the staff and members of the public?

What is more important to you Galaxy the value of the goods or the safety of the staff and members of the public?

That means, though, that we should, as a society, accept shoplifting as the norm.
The possibility of someone carrying a knife as the norm.

We should not.

I meant as a society rather than as a waitrose specific policy. I am sure it will all work out well though, I am sure tolerating increasing shoplifting will have no impact on people's lives. I am sure people working 40 hours a week in a care home seeing others shoplifting with impunity won't have any impact on the fabric of society.

Allira
Straw man argument!
It wasn’t an ‘argument’. It was a comment.

Galaxy 12.57. Waitrose position is its policy stops staff being injured, possibly severely or fatally injured. It may also be an insurance policy requirement by insurers who would have to pay out compensation to injured staff- potentially great sums of money is said member of staff severely or fatally injured.

What would be your measure of success for an alternative policy/approach whereby staff and members of the public are encouraged to intervene with shoplifters as shadow minister Chris Philp suggested? Cost savings of reduced shoplifting? However injury compensation claim pay outs may be higher and equally passed onto customers.

I guess on this occasion the value of the Lindt bunnies the shoplifter seemingly sought to steal was saved as the shop lifter ran off- around £100 block purchase cost to Waitrose possibly? However if the value of the Lindt bunnies was saved in the same way but the shop worker or a member of the public was severely or fatally injured by the shop lifter in the incident, who was armed with a knife or other weapon, would that be evidence of success or failure? Compensation cost to member of staff or public would far outweigh the £100 Lindt bunny value.

What is more important to you Galaxy the value of the goods or the safety of the staff and members of the public?

I read it, I read the whole report elsewhere. I don't think this approach is working as a policy/strategy.

LemonJam

There are 2 perspectives here which have lead to a sad outcome- for the employee Walker Smith losing his job and bad publicity for Waitrose, that is limited in its ability to respond and present the full picture.

Waitrose is unable to disclose full details in relation to the incident as legally it must protect Smith's employment rights in respect of privacy and confidentiality laws. Waitrose must also legally comply with Health and Safety at Work act regulations and protect the health and safety of its employees in context of shop lifting risks, which applies in this case no doubt. As a result Waitrose has policies in place to protect all its employees with which employees must comply as part of their employment. Walker, by his own admission did not comply with his employment contract responsibilities as he did not follow policy and acted in the moment, out of frustration.

Guardian article extracts from the employee’s perspective: After spotting the thief, Walker “grabbed the bag” from the shoplifter, who snatched it back and, he said, there was a struggle for a few seconds before it snapped. The Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs, which retail for £13 each, fell to the floor and the shoplifter made a dash for the exit. Smith said one of the bunnies broke into pieces. He picked a piece and “threw it out of frustration” towards some shopping trolleys, not aiming it at the shoplifter, he said. He was told off by his manager and apologised but the matter was escalated. Smith said he was previously told not to approach shoplifters but the toll of seeing them get away with theft repeatedly spurred him into action. Smith said he regretted how he acted. “When I got home I was punching myself and thinking: ‘Why did I do that,’” he said. After a few days, he was hauled into a meeting with two store managers. “I had a feeling about what was going to happen,” he said. He made a final plea, telling his bosses “Waitrose is like my family” but he was still dismissed. Smith told the Guardian he has been diagnosed with anxiety, which he said his managers were aware of.

Waitrose response: A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We take the safety and security of our customers and our partners incredibly seriously and to do this we have policies in place which our partners are aware of and required to follow.
The spokesperson said the policies must be strictly followed because of the potentially serious danger to life in tackling shoplifters. “As a responsible employer, we never want to be in a position where we are notifying families of a tragedy because someone tried to stop a theft. Nothing we sell is worth risking lives for.” The spokesperson added that they could not discuss individual cases but the correct process was being followed, which included a standard appeals process.

Walker suffered from anxiety, of which he said Waitrose was aware, grabbed the bag, struggled with thief, then threw broken egg pieces in frustration and by so doing admits he broke Waitrose policy, of which he was aware and had previously been told not to approach shop lifters. As he was both aware of policy and been previously warned and still approached a shop lifter, Waitrose, by law, must consider risk of repeated behaviour.

If any harm came to Walker or any others as a result of Walker struggling with shop lifters and throwing items in frustration- Waitrose insurers may fail to pay out in compensation claims and may be held accountable for health and safety at work failures. The risk of Waitrose being sued is also increased in context of Walker's known none compliance with policy and his anxiety diagnosis.

Walker's local Waitrose appeal has failed (we don't know if there were any previous written/verbal warnings on his record or any Occupational Health advice that must be complied with).

However Walker does have the right to take his case to a tribunal for unfair dismissal, supported by his union, if he feels Waitrose has acted unfairly.

A sad case.

. , a shop assistant at a branch of Waitrose in Clapham Junction, south London, was going about his normal duties when a customer stopped him. “They told me someone had filled up a Waitrose bag with the eggs,” he said.

The 54-year-old said the shoplifter was a repeat offender. After spotting the thief, he “grabbed the bag” from the shoplifter, who snatched it back and, he said, there was a struggle for a few seconds before it snapped. The Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs, which retail for £13 each, fell to the floor and the shoplifter made a dash for the exit. Smith said one of the bunnies broke into pieces. He picked a piece and “threw it out of frustration” towards some shopping trolleys, not aiming it at the shoplifter, he said.

He was told off by his manager and apologised but the matter was escalated. Smith said he was previously told not to approach shoplifters but the toll of seeing them get away with theft repeatedly spurred him into action. “I’ve been there 17 years. I’ve seen it happen every hour of every day for the last five years,” he said.

“It’s everybody from drug addicts to teenagers nicking bits and bobs or walking out with bottles of wine in their arms. We’re not allowed to do anything.”

He said security had been scaled back in the shop, with no guards working on Mondays and Tuesday because “shoplifting incidents aren’t reported enough”. This left non-security staff, including Smith, on the frontline of the problem.

Despite this, Smith said he regretted how he acted. “When I got home I was punching myself and thinking: ‘Why did I do that,’” he said.

After a few days, he was hauled into a meeting with two store managers. “I had a feeling about what was going to happen,” he said. He made a final plea, telling his bosses “Waitrose is like my family” but he was still dismissed.

“I tried to stay strong and I didn’t say a word but inside I was crying. They led me out the back door by the bins. I just felt demoralised,” he said. Smith has been diagnosed with anxiety, which he said his managers were aware of.

Before being sacked he had recently moved into his own studio flat after living with flatmates for 25 years. He worries about how he will keep a roof over his head. “I’m not too sure what’s going to happen with this place now. I might be homeless. My confidence is on the floor right now,” he said.

“Waitrose is like my family. My friends are there. I was there for 17 years, I must have been doing something right. I’m not a bad or violent or aggressive person. I just got frustrated seeing this day in and day out and not seeing Waitrose do much about it.”

Retail businesses, particularly supermarkets, have seen an increase in shoplifting. In England and Wales, there were 519,381 shoplifting offences in the year to September 2025, up 5% from 492,660 the previous year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

These numbers are narrowly below the record levels seen in the 12 months to March 2025, when a total of 530,643 offences were recorded.

In February, the retail trade union Usdaw said workers faced “unacceptable” levels of violence and abuse, with “evidence showing that two-thirds of attacks on retail staff are being triggered by theft or armed robbery”.

On Friday, the chief executive of Marks & Spencer, Stuart Machin, called on the government and London’s mayor to crack down on retail crime, saying it has become “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”.

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We take the safety and security of our customers and our partners incredibly seriously and to do this we have policies in place which our partners are aware of and required to follow.

“In reference to the point on guarding – we make absolutely sure that our shops have appropriate levels of guarding and this is constantly adjusted according to the level of risk.”

The spokesperson said the policies must be strictly followed because of the potentially serious danger to life in tackling shoplifters. “As a responsible employer, we never want to be in a position where we are notifying families of a tragedy because someone tried to stop a theft. Nothing we sell is worth risking lives for.”

The spokesperson added that they could not discuss individual cases but the correct process was being followed, which included a standard appeals process.

Thanks for the voice of sanity, it's appreciated. I appear to be the only person who read it.

I used ChatGPT to find out what stores could do themselves to reduce shop lifting. Obviously it scraped the internet but all the suggestions were related to how it could make it easier for staff to prevent it. ie back to square one as staff cannot stop people these days. Looks like shops will have to cost in theft so we'll all pay more. Sigh.

janeainsworth

Hithere You also know theft can also happen internally in the company right?
Agree. One of my family members works as a store detective & he says theft by employees is more of a problem than shoplifters.
Shock horror it also happens in hospitals with employees stealing sheets, towels etc.

Straw man argument!

TerriBull
My sentiments exactly. As soon as I heard this I emailed Waitrose immediately and told them what I thought of them. It was the only thing I could do, as I don't shop there.

My wife is on the verge of stopping working for Waitrose, they are always short staffed, you can't give the level of service customers want so you get a lot of customer abuse, usually over something trivial.
Im sure it's no different with other places

Waitrose should be ashamed, what kind of message does that give out. of course they'll just put the groceries up in price for the honest shoppers,

Honestly? You couldn’t make it up!

Think this is disgraceful and ridiculous!

sorry I should have made it plain "they" refers to the retailers not the shop assistants.

Black Belt Barrister on Youtube put out an interesting post about this. The real reason retailers tell their staff not to approach shoplifters as if there is a fight or whatever and either sales assistant or the shoplifter are seriously injured they may have to pay out huge sums in damages. Obviously, it is very unfair on the shop assistants and the law needs to be changed which I think is being looked into. Meantime, I think another supermarket has offered the poor shop assistant a job.

Disgusting, they obviously think more of a thief than a loyal employee. Shame on them.

Waitrose have backed themselves into a corner alright.

Sacking this guy is practically saying "come one, come all. Have a free-for-all on us. Nothing will happen to you!"

It's the Waitrose 'Shoplifters Charter'.

Every petty criminals dream.

It is unbelievable! Every shoplifter the length and breadth of the country now knows they have the green light to help themselves at Waitrose
I read today that Iceland have offered him a job

Just before xmas, I was in Tescos getting a shop, 2 bags, 2 scanners so they could be paid for separately. I was at the porridge aisle, put to boxes in the bags, scanned and about to move off when a security guard approached me and asked if I was alright, I said yes, (I was also adjusting stuff in the bag) he came closer, "Oh you have a scanner" he said, then another security guard came "problem?" He asked, I said no, he thought I was nicking stuff ( which is what he did) they both backed off, I stood up and asked them, "why is it you've approached me but if folk scarper through the door, you let them go? We all know Supermarkets have told staff to let them go!" First guard apologised and I walked away.

I've been in Tescos when the alarms have blared and seen thieving toerags bolt past the windows, most run, some dont, no police presence so they know they're safe.

If these supermarkets have CCTV, they should name and shame them. Put their pictures up, embarrass them, you never know, they might stop.

We were poor when we were growing up and mum told us, if you can't afford it, you don't need it and if you need it, you pay for it. Even now, like feed bills for my few sheep, the store gives us 28 days credit. They deliver to me when I ask free of charge, independent business owned by a young girl, she bought it (the business loan in her name when the owners wanted to close, to keep the business for the locals), I pay her the minute the order is delivered, it's usually in the Hundreds £'s. That's how I was brought up.

Wasn’t it Waitrose who sacked a young disabled lad who’d stacked the shelves when his mum asked if he could be paid?

Hithere You also know theft can also happen internally in the company right?
Agree. One of my family members works as a store detective & he says theft by employees is more of a problem than shoplifters.
Shock horror it also happens in hospitals with employees stealing sheets, towels etc.

polnan

I despair at this country, unbelievable..is this "WOKE" stuff? I simply do NOT understand.

I have just come back from Morrisons,, they have security tags on WASHING POWDER! and we wonder why this country well so many of the people act the way they do! I give up!

polnan similar issues in other countries, not just here and washing powder can be expensive, high value items are often the target.