Poppy Appeal is only charity still allowed by Waitrose
Thursday 14th July 2011, 1:00PM BST.
WAITROSE has refused to allow charities to collect at its two supermarkets, it has been confirmed.
Representatives of charitable organisations said they were disappointed by the stance.
But a Waitrose spokesman said it was company policy for the majority of community support to be through its monthly Community Matters scheme due to the high volume of requests it received.
Despite the ban on general collections, the supermarket confirmed it would allow Royal British Legion volunteers to fund raise outside its branches during Poppy Appeal Week.
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Fair play to Waitrose… they support charities in store with their tokens etc – so its not like they are not supporting charity as this article is designed to imply…
I get fed up with getting looked down at for not emptying my pockets into change boxes when I go shopping… I dont carry cash & I pay for things on my Visa card – & everytime I walk past I get made to feel bad by others & with the collectors puppy dog eyes!!
I for one will do ALL of my shopping at Waitrose now!! (& still support charity by using their token facility before people call me tight)
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I agree with W H Bonney and with Waitrose’s decision. I deal with charity requests for a store belonging to another large chain. While many are very good causes (like the Poppy Appeal mentioned) some are highly questionable. It’s a headache trying to vet them all.
It can be overbearing, even for the most charitable customer, to be confronted with rattling collection buckets on the way in… then the feeling of obligation to throw some change in the bucket on the checkout for the charity bag-packer before you leave.
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Well done Waitrose. One of the things I couldn’t stand about the old Checkers on a Saturday was having to run the gauntlet of a phalanx of zealous do-gooders, often blocking the entrance while thrusting their buckets in front of my nose in a bid to force me to buy a sticker for their cause.
At best this practice is irksome and at worst it is slightly intimidatory. I think Waitrose has got it exactly right with its policy of handing out green counters for its chosen local charities. A pity other island supermarkets do not take a similar stance. Many if not the majority of island shoppers, when pushed, would admit that they find most flag sellers (the dignified RBL poppy sellers are notable exception) a complete pain in the **se!
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Well said W H Bonney could not agree more too many charities including some I have never heard of.
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Fair play, Waitrose do lots for charity and bring jobs etc to the island stop being so critical of the good things Guernsey has!!!
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I’m aware that Waitrose have the right to do whatever they choose in their stores but I’m curious why they allow the Poppy appeal and not others.
Before people get all hot under the collar I’m not suggesting the Poppy appeal isn’t a worthy cause – it most certainly is. I’m just not sure why it is considered more worthy than others.
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@ Dee
Why don’t you try to persuade your bosses that the way forward is to stop flag day sales outside your stores as well? Your customers will thank you for it and it will certainly make your life easier. From now on hassle-free Waitrose will be the no brainer place for me to do my Saturday shopping.
@ Paul
I think part of it lies with the fact that the poppy sellers don’t give it the ‘hard sell’ and they don’t bug or hassle shoppers in the same way that almost all flag (sticker) sellers representing all the other charities do. Also, poppies aren’t flags/sticker. They are special and I can see why they’re exempt. Waitrose has got it spot on.
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@ Martino & some other posters
I am quite sad to read some your posts, I amongst many others are happy to turn out, in all weathers, at various allotted, pre-determined points to hold a can and a roll of stickers. If shoppers, et al, walk by, that is their choice; but, we are always overwhelmed at the end of a day to learn that the great Guernsey people have helped so much, for local charity causes.
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Call me a bit of a sceptic but i don`t think it would go down too well with the public if they stopped the poppy appeal and that would not be good for business?.
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You may well be right bcb and Stiletto I’m sure you have been overwhelmed by the generous response to the sticker appeals you’ve been involved in. Does it not bother you, though, that many of your flag/sticker buyers pop their money into your box because they feel obliged to do so? When I go out shopping I’d prefer not to see you dangling your box in front of me and I’m sure that’s the case for hundreds of others, as the responses on this thread indicate.
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One of the problems with bucket collections is that the punters don’t have time to assess who they’re giving to. With so many charities around these days vying for financial support people are becoming more discerning about where their donations go.
There simply isn’t time to do this when walking out of your local supermarket and besides, your average collector will most likely not be able to answer those questions. Even if they can, they won’t really have the time.
I think Waitrose have probably got it about right with their green coin system. This allows punters a variety of choices for donations and let’s face it – if you’re not happy with the ones available at the time, simply keep your green coin until they change them around.
I’m still curious why they have allowed the Poppy appeal to continue whilst blocking all the others though. I appreciate some people have given their views but they’re only speculation. I’d be interested to know the official line.
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It’s clear to most that Waitrose are very community orientated and I do like their approach to supporting local charities.
I think it’s a tad harsh by some posters commenting on so the called ‘bucket shakers’. For one I haven’t heard someone rattle a bucket for a number of years now and think some people on here are exaggerating some what. I also think it’s prohibited? For another I’m quite content walking past them and not feeling obliged to give money to all and sundry. They probably don’t give two hoots that I don’t stop and empty my purse anyway.
If people feel intimidated that’s their own failings. Or perhaps they’ve just been victim to some very uncharitable collectors but I haven’t met them.
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I give my time to two local charities, by coincidence one of them is The Royal British Legion. Naturally I am delighted that Waitrose has chosen the Poppy Appeal to be its chosen charity, particuarly as this year is the 90th Anniversary of the RBL, but I would have understood if they had chosen another worhty cause and still banned all other charity collections. It seems that every week when I do my shopping at a certain store in the Forest (best meat on the island) I am confronted at the doorway by someone rattling a bucket. There IS a certain amount of pressure to make a donation of sorts, and like most people I pay for my shopping by card now, but each week I have to make sure I have 2 x £1 coins and a 50p in cash on me. I have a sliding scale of donation: 50p (churches and children) increasing with certain medical ailments and up to £2 (animals). Of course, my £1 donation was worth it one week when the rattler/shaker, a well known former politician, was too involved discussing ways of getting planning consent approved with a potential donee to notice me trying to get my 50p in his tin……..and listening to his every word………….
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Martino
I had to laugh at your response because i`ve never collected for any charity and i can`t see anywhere in my post where i said i had?
How you reached that conclusion from my little post is beyond me.
I actually agree with the poppy appeal and with the system they have in place where you drop your little tokens into a box.
Your not a police officer are you?. :)
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The first five words of that post applied to you bcb. I was agreeing with you that Waitrose might indeed be motivated by commercial reasons with its decision to allow poppy sellers outside its stores. That’s all. The rest of the post starting with the word Stiletto was directed, funnily enough, at Stiletto.
PS you made me laugh with your suggestion that I might be a police officer :-)
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Martino
Yes you are correct i did read it wrong but at least it gave you a little laugh :)
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Not bothered either way about the Waitrose decision really but fair play to them sticking to their policy. Hard cheese on the smaller charities though. New strategy required for them I guess.
My main reason for this posting is that me and the wife were talking about the ‘tin rattlers’ in town last Saturday. I remember years ago, doing an hour for ‘Rotary’ and I was told that I should not rattle or shake the tin as it was an unwritten rule.
I totally agree with that because if I want to put money in I will!!! On my own accord!!!!
Shaking a tin , in my opinion, turns it from a charity collection to a begging session
Sorry to go on a tangent and harp on! Phew that’s better!!
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I hate it when you have to sidle into a shop past the do-gooders and their tins and be made to feel guilty for not putting anything in.
I have a few specific charities through personal reasons that I support on a regular basis as well as giving to and buying from charity shops when I can.
There were two elderly ladies outside B&Q this afternoon that were glaring at me as if to say ‘come on – where’s the cash’ as I sheltered out of the rain with my 2 year old. As it happens I didn’t have my purse on me at the time (hubby was in the shop paying) but even if I did, tactics like this make me want to do the opposite of what they are hoping to achieve.
Well done Waitrose….yet another reason that I will be stopping by if I need those extra bits on a Saturday!
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I think the token scheme is great, aswell as supporting 6 charities per month, it probably means each of the 6 charities receive more money than a Saturday of collectors manage. I have two issues with it though, I imagine some people don’t look to see who they are choosing so perhaps the first box tends to receive the most? Secondly some of these charities I would be happy to put in some money myself aswell, it’d be nice to see additional slots which wouldn’t leave people feeling pressured to donate to.
Putting a plastic token in a slot isn’t the same as making a donation is it? I don’t particularly want to see collectors everywhere but if there isn’t a box for people to chuck some loose change into every so often, many that used to be happy to make the occasional donation will stop giving to charities altogether.
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@Martino
Can honestly say that I have never felt that our generous donators, and I wear several hats on the collection front, throughout the year, feel ‘obligated’. People have historically approached me. I am not a politician, or anyone else of ‘stature’ so would go fairly un-noticed in the scheme of things.
Us Guerns love to have a wee chat and pass the time of day, whether it be in the High Street, or with a person holding, not rattling, mind, a tin, elsewhere.
I have never minded, or demonstrated any disapointment, if people chose not to put some of their hard earned money in my tins or buckets.
My regards to your mate, Dave Jones.
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In the ‘good old days’ there were roughly six or so collections a year and I, and I suspect the majority of people were willing to put a few pennies in the tins on those few Saturdays. In recent times, however there seems to be at least one collection, and sometimes more, each week. Whereas in the past I always gave to each one I now find myself being more choosy and only picking those I wish to donate to.
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