Waitrose issues new customer notice on free coffee machines

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

According to staff, the store was waiting for an engineer to source parts for the coffee machine, which is positioned close to the store’s entrance.

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

The Botley Road Waitrose store (Image: Andy Ffrench)

A member of staff said: “It’s a real shame this has happened again – we’ve got calls in to the engineers to come and fix it.

“This time round, a refrigeration part has gone which affects the milk.”

Another member of staff added: “Some of us use the machine as well – we notice when it’s not working.”

The customer notice fixed to the front of the coffee dispensers says: “Sorry, we are unable to serve hot drinks at the moment because our coffee machine is out of order.

“Please ask a partner (member of staff) if you require assistance.”

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

The member of staff at the Botley Road store said she did not know how long it would be before the machines was fixed.

One customer, who works on a trading estate nearby, said: “Not again – the cappuccinos and flat whites this machine makes are excellent and I definitely need one first thing in the morning.

“I’m really hoping there isn’t a long delay this time before they fix it.”

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.

The Botley Road Waitrose store (Image: Andy Ffrench)

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.

The free coffee offer is seen by some industry insiders as a way of building customer loyalty in the face of fierce competition from rivals M&S, which has been building a series of large foodhalls, including one in Abingdon.

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.”