Waitrose coffee machines close as staff warn customers

Customers arriving at Botley Road Waitrose this morning were still able to access a free coffee using their Waitrose card from one of the dispensers close to the front of the store.

But the other dispenser is out of order, and has leaked coffee and other liquid over the floor, with staff soaking up the mess with paper towels.

READ MORE: Waitrose issues new customer notice

“This time it’s got a leak there’s an engineer on 24-hour call-out who should be on his way,” said a member of staff.

A customer notice on the coffee machine at Waitrose (Image: Andy Ffrench)

Customers determined to get their caffeine fix stepped around the leak to get their free cappuccino or flat white.

Last month, the two coffee dispensers at the Botley Road Waitrose were out of order for about a week.

One of the dispensers was eventually fixed, but then broke again, leaving customers with the choice of going without their free coffee, or buying one from the store’s cafe.

Both dispensers were up and running for a short time, but now one has broken again – leaving staff and customers upset.

The issue is not a countrywide problem – coffee machines at other Waitrose stores including the one in Abingdon are working well.

One customer, who works on a nearby trading estate, said: “Like a lot of Waitrose customers I enjoy the perk of getting a free coffee using my Waitrose card.

“I can’t believe this has happened for the third time in two months – it does make me wonder why they don’t invest in some new machines.”

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.”

There were queues at coffee stations and complaints from customers that the offer was attracting the “wrong type of shopper” when Waitrose introduced the perk in 2013.

In 2017, it cracked down on ‘freeloaders’ by forcing members to buy something before pouring themselves a free hot drink.

The scheme was scrapped during the Covid crisis, but reintroduced in November 2022 – again for customers making a purchases. This is no longer a requirement.

One of the windows in the supermarket’s cafe remains boarded up after a Blue Badge driver in the car park crashed into the cafe.