Not all shoppers buy Waitrose claim it has fixed website bugs

Waitrose said this week it had finally ironed out the problems that have dogged its website since the £10m relaunch in March.

On Waitrose’s online forum, the supermarket published what it said was a final update about its website, bringing to an end a regular stream of progress reports this year. Unlike previous notes, the latest contained no list of improvement plans. Instead, it explained what has been done to improve the site.

Waitrose said the website can now remember shopper details even if they don’t log on, gives customers more information about what is sold at local branches, and has a better search and navigation function.

Robin Phillips, director of e-commerce, thanked Waitrose’s customers for sticking with it. However, some customers remained unconvinced. “Final update on enhancements? What a joke,” said one customer. Another said: “No professional software developer worth his salt would ever be foolish enough to say he has found the last bug in the software.”

A Waitrose customer services rep on the forum gave a candid explanation for the problems and suggested work would continue behind the scenes.

“We were aware the website had some imperfections when it was being launched … Unfortunately, these problems have proved to be greater than we imagined. While we have completed a number of improvements, I can assure you this still continues to be our top priority.”