Waitrose coffee machine update after problem recurs

Last month, the two coffee dispensers at the Botley Road Waitrose were out of order for about a week, leaving some customers disappointed they could no longer access their free drink using their Waitrose card.

The machines then stopped working once again earlier this week with customers raising the issue on Thursday.

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Workers were on site at the Botley Road store on Friday morning and the machines are now functioning again as normal this weekend.

The Waitrose chain, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, restored its free coffee offer in January 2025.

Following outrage over the withdrawal of the offer during the pandemic, the company told the nine million members on its My Waitrose loyalty scheme they would again be entitled to a complementary americano, cappuccino, latte or tea once a day regardless of whether they bought anything – as long as they have their own reusable cup.

In a statement, Waitrose said at the time: “Some of our My Waitrose members like to have the free coffee before they shop or during the shop, rather than afterwards, so we are just offering a bit of flexibility in response to customer feedback.”

A spokesperson for the John Lewis Partnership said last month: “We are sorry that the free hot drink offer is currently unavailable due to a fault with the coffee machine.

“We are working to fix it it as quickly as possible and apologise for the inconvenience.”