What is it with people and free stuff?

Well, she wouldn't want to be missing out on anything would she GrannyK!

Good heavens. There are some really gullible people out there. Because of her inability to make a decent cup of coffee at home, she will probably lose her job. Her one consolation will be that she is probably fitter from all the walking.

What on earth are they putting in their coffee, that turns people into idiots?

I think when some people see the word "free" it knocks out the sensible sensor (or something).

Husband (when I told him the OP story) said "It's because the Waitrose people aren't proper baristas so they are slow" . I noticed in my local Waitrose this morning that they've installed a machine where you pour your own free coffee (have to swipe your W card), so maybe the queues will be shorter.

I've a sneaking suspicion that its not really as 'free, as Waitrose would have us believe! Surely you have to sign up to something?

Yes, you do have to sign up and then you get a card which entitles you to the free coffee and also knocks to odd few pence off your shopping. I get my free coffee when I'm there but don't go in especially and if I'm with a friend we go to one of the lovely tea shops instead and sit around for ages in a lovely environment.

Yes I've come across this on another forum, to do with a hobby of mine.
Each topic gets a fairly good response, 20 to 40 ish, and then when there's a free offer from a sponsor there are literally HUNDREDS - why?
Only one can win.

At my local Waitrose, I am usually asked at the till whether I want a token for my coffee so I had supposed that the coffee was dependent on doing some shopping in the store.

I have only had the coffee at Waitrose once and it was absolutely horrible. I find the coffee in most coffee outlets equally nasty. I think it is because I drink coffee black without sugar and most coffee in the UK is made on the assumption that it is going to be diluted with milk/substitutes and other bits and bobs that makes the taste less bitter.

Spend a fiver at Waitrose, use your 'My Waitrose' card and you can have a free newspaper. If that happens to be the Guardian or the Observer it is extremely good value. Sadly, the Independent isn't one of the choices. Oh, no! The John Lewis Partnership isn't paying me for this post! I have been told that you can also get a free tea or coffee in JL.

I worked out that if DH and I had our free coffee every day and did our shopping in small bits so we spent at least £5 per day and were therefore entitled to a free newspaper, well the total per week would come to about £38.

I may be gullible and have had the sense knocked out of me but.....
it's worth it!

I'm surprised she gets to work at all to be honest. I waited twenty minutes today in Waitrose for a cup of coffee. Lost the will to live.

There's loads of old folk taking ages to chose the cake to go with their free coffee

I think my protracted wait for a very mediocre cup of coffee had more to do with the lack of speed of service. There were only four people in the queue ahead of me......

I did Christmas cover a few years ago in M&S the DM were giving vouchers for a free Christmas decoration. You would not believe the attitude of some people when they found the stock had gone when they came into the store to collect their freebie and it was always well off customers even as far as demanding to see the Manager to voice their disapproval.

Ah, my Waitrose doesn't have a café. It is not big enough. All we have is a coffee machine beside the Information desk.

I was in Waitrose today and saw 3 people come into the store, go to the self service coffee machine and then leave.

I agree, the cafe service sometimes can be dire and the coffee variable. I do feel that I gain because a free Telegraph is a good bargain, especially a Sunday copy.

petallus when I said about having the 'sensible' sensor turned off, I didn't mean that about getting the free coffee (nothing wrong with that)!

I wrote that in relation to the fact that this woman feels she has to have the free coffee, therefore it is okay to stand in the queue and be late for work!

I take advantage of the "spend a fiver with your W card and get a free newspaper" every weekend, and sometimes during the week because it's a good deal.

Makes me think about the free newspapers in general - I can easily carry a small skipload of free publications in to the house every week - husband complains! I can't remember when last I paid for a newspaper. In London now even Time Out is free.

I think the free newspaper is worth while, my paper of choice is now £1.40, however I can't get into Waitrose on a daily basis, so have to forego that treat.

The Waitrose in our town has a coffee machine. On the opposite corner there is a Costa which doesn't seem to be suffering in the slightest and a small tearoom across the car park which is also well patronised. There's a big difference between getting coffee 'to go', albeit free, and sitting down with a and a friend and hopefully a toasted teacake.

My car now smells disgusting because our Waitrose only has a machine and nowhere to sit, so you have to take your coffee home if you don't want to stand inside the shop drinking it.
Although Waitrose supply little boxes like egg containers to stand your coffee in, so far I have been unable to get home without the coffee tipping over and most of the contents of the cup soaking into the mat in the car.

But...you have to have it because it's free, jane?

It doesn't matter what the reason is....... you can't be late for work.

and this is a pathetic reason!

I used to cook the Sunday barbecues at our local pub. I offered a varied menu that included all sorts of things, from chicken satay to Thai prawn kebabs and more than one vegetarian option, besides burgers and/or sausages and everything was home-made. They were quite popular and often sold out completely. Once a year there was a free barbecue, which I didn't cook. The food was appalling – classic raw in the middle and crunchy black on the outside chicken, tasteless burgers and incinerated sausages that contained more fat than meat. The queue of people for this free salmonella and E coli stretched right down the street.