The Co-op Reviews 

I’m giving one star cause can’t give none.
I just moved to Milton Keynes and normally use Morrisons but there’s a co-op closer. I thought I’d start using the co-op because of convenience. First I tried five times on line to become a member but it wouldn’t take me to the pay a pound page so I gave up and went to the shop as on the web it said I could get a temporary card and fill the app in later. I asked in the shop and told the assistant why I couldn’t sign up on line. She said there were no temporary cards and to go on line and try 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ in the end I gave up. Obviously the co-op has all the members it needs. I’ll stick with Morrisons even though it’s a bit further away.

I go out for a run early morning. First thing to note is do not expect the coop to open at 7am. I went to Brockley SE4 and they were out of stock with what I wanted. I walked to Crofton Park store and the doors were locked. I think that was because of shoplifters, but no staff looking to see if customers wanted to come in? Their moto should be 'Coop - we save you money - we do not usually have what you want and probably closed anyway'. It's not convenience when you make the effort to visit them but have to travel to the a larger supermarket.

Co-op stores seem to have some issues with stock supplies recently but some of the negative reviews here don't sound entirely reasonable. The stores I go to serve their purpose well and the staff are friendly. The meal deal is good, and I support Co-op's efforts to reduce packaging.

Although our local Witney store is only half the size it once was, it still has most of what shoppers need, and they have retained some friendly and helpful staff.
That together with the Coop Member weekly offers and extras make it perfect for our High Street.
Thanks :-)

My local co-op food mapperley Nottingham is a pleasure to shop great atmosphere great staff big thanks to IAN the manager and how it is managed regards Robert

The female colleague behind the till point has no customer service whatsoever,doesn’t even acknowledge customers

Do you know I never thought the quop as my nan used to call it was so outrageously expensive on a recent visit I was utterly shocked at the prices compared to Aldi only just signed up to members but not going again

I am currently outside the UK and tried to order groceries from Co-op for my elderly mother, who has dementia and is housebound.

The groceries would be delivered to her UK home address. I am not asking Co-op to deliver anything outside the UK. However, Co-op will not allow me to place the order simply because I am currently abroad.

I find this extremely disappointing. I am trying to make sure that my vulnerable, housebound mother has food and essential groceries, yet Co-op’s system prevents me from doing so because of where I happen to be when placing the order.

I completely understand the need for fraud and security checks, but there should surely be a way to verify the identity and payment of a genuine customer in circumstances such as this.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that Co-op offers grocery delivery specifically as a convenient service for people who cannot easily get to a shop. Yet when a family member tries to arrange that delivery for a vulnerable person, the system provides no practical solution.

I hope Co-op will review this policy and consider how it affects elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers who depend on family members to arrange their groceries.

Very disappointing and, more importantly, incredibly frustrating when all I am trying to do is make sure my mum has food.

I got the free Co-op redemption code for a chocolate bar from the weekly scratch card. I had followed the instructions in the terms and conditions and had verified on the PayPoint Store Finder that the Co-op Ickenham store offers PayPoint service, before I entered the store.
However, when I handed the chocolate bar and presented the QR code to the cashier, the cashiers, Lakshana and Ags, said they didn't accept any form of electronic coupons. They insisted that they could only accept coupons in paper format. They mentioned they had received a lot of dodgy electronic coupons, therefore the shop manager established this rule to refuse all forms of electronic coupons, including the authentic ones partnered with Octopus Energy. I told the staff I could show them the process of creating this coupon from the Octopus Energy app step by step to prove that I am not the kind of scammer they thought I was, but they still said that their system didn't allow them to offer me the redemption.
It completely doesn't make sense to me that a print-out of a screenshot coupon is more credible than the original electronic coupon. Given the more frequent heatwaves we've all experienced in the UK this year, this practice obviously adds an extra carbon footprint, which would further worsen the impact of global warming.
The cashier Ags gave me the customer service hotline number and asked me to call the customer service hotline outside the shop to complain. I called the hotline inside the store and articulated my experience. The hotline lady asked me to give my phone to the staff so that she could tell the staff how to use PayPoint to redeem this Octopus Energy code. However, all the staff inside the store were unwilling to pick up my phone to talk to the hotline lady. Eventually, the hotline lady had no choice but to call their internal line to talk to one of the staff. After their internal phone call, the hotline lady claimed that the PayPoint system in the store was not working, so they could not offer me the redemption. Obviously, it is not consistent with the first reason the cashier told me.
It's the most awful customer service I've ever experienced in the UK. Why on earth did a cashier choose to hide away from their own customer service colleague in front of the customer? It left me questioning how transparently the Ickenham Co-op staff behaved.

Co-op are the worst. A rip off scheme. Oh look how much money you have saved 😂.

If i could give 1 star i would, tried to raise issues with them for 3 separate issues, i filled out numerous enquiries, 1 was regarding payment issues and Staff issues, but wasn't even acknowledged. I have been a member for numerous years, think I'll go elsewhere now as even the stores are failing too with stock etc, not the Co op i remember.

Limited selection. Mostly plastic bottled softdrimks and mineral water. They have stopped selling the cans of dash sparkling water.

I have sent four emails regarding this issue, all of which have been ignored. I had offers available on my membership card which, despite being activated, were not being applied when I shopped in store.

I received a response to my first email explaining that this was because I had visited a store operated by Central Co-op, which is separate from Co-op Group. I understood this explanation; however, I then questioned why my membership card was still accepted when scanned in store for membership offers available in store. Surely, if I was shopping at a location where my membership benefits and discounts could not be used, the system should have identified this and prevented the offers from being applied or the card from being accepted.

Since raising this point, every further email I have sent has been ignored. I am extremely disappointed and appalled by the level of customer service I have received. Rather than acknowledging that there is an issue with how these offers are advertised and managed, Co-op appears unwilling to accept any responsibility.

Advertising offers that customers can activate, but which cannot actually be used in certain stores without clear notification, is misleading and needs to be addressed.

Due to this experience and the lack of support I have received, I will no longer be shopping with Co-op. After discussing this situation with friends and family, they have also expressed their disappointment and decided they will not continue shopping there either.

**⭐☆☆☆☆ (1 Star)**

I am absolutely disgusted by the treatment I received at the Longridge Co-op and I will be seeking compensation for the distress and humiliation this incident has caused me.

I was simply purchasing a drink and had to wait an excessive amount of time in the queue. When I finally reached the checkout, the member of staff, who I believe was called Carol (or Carole), did not hand me my change. Instead, she slammed it down on the counter rather than placing it into my hand. I found this to be rude, dismissive and completely disrespectful.

When I challenged her behaviour, I was told, "You shouldn't have been on your phone." This comment was completely unacceptable. I have disabilities that are protected under the Equality Act 2010, and using my phone is one of my coping mechanisms to help me manage my concentration and interactions with other people. Instead of treating me with respect, I was judged and made to feel embarrassed for using a disability-related coping strategy.

Businesses have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure disabled customers are treated fairly and with dignity. I feel this experience fell far below the standard I should expect from Co-op.

I expect a full investigation into this incident, a written apology, confirmation that appropriate action and disability awareness training will be provided, and for Co-op to contact me to discuss appropriate compensation for the distress and upset caused by this experience.

If I do not receive a satisfactory response, I will escalate my complaint through Co-op's formal complaints procedure and seek independent advice regarding my rights under the Equality Act 2010, including whether further legal action is appropriate.

This was one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had, and I will not be returning until Co-op demonstrates that it takes the treatment of disabled customers seriously.

I brought birthday candles that spelt out happy birthday and it started off as a rainbow and then it went, red, orange, green, blue, pink, green, pink, yellow and it's extremely upsetting. Do better

Always a good service. Delivery on time. Driver was really friendly and helpful

Yesterday I placed an online order for a 20-litre bag of cat lit and a small bag of frozen blueberries. I assumed I would have to pay an extra 20p for a carrier bag but was absolutely flabbergasted when the Co-op charged me 70p! I rang their Helpline to query the cost as I was sure this must be a mistake. After waiting nearly 30 minutes I finally spoke to a customer service adviser who was offhand, brusque and unsympathetic. I was told the new policy of the Co-op is to charge a standard 70p fee for carrier bags, regardless of how many a customer actually needs. Excuse me? So, a customer on a tight budget who only buys a few items has to pay exactly the same as a couple who both work full time and need a dozen carrier bags for their weekly shop. What a disgrace. The original Co-op aimed to provide good quality produce at fair prices, free from exploitation and high costs. According to the Co-op website, "we've stayed committed to doing the right thing along the way." I don't think you have! The Co-op should be ashamed of itself. So many people are still struggling to pay for food and yet they introduce a policy like this. I know the Co-op has had its problems, but ripping-off customers is not the answer. What will they do when I just order a large bag of cat lit? Tie a bag around the handle and add another 70p to my bill? Reverse this policy. No wonder the reputation of the Co-op has plummeted.

Selections good, location is convenient, staff are good, all is good the vast majority of the time. However the customer base is not. This weekend I went in for a meal deal (work nights, opening times are good for this reason as well although I do feel for the staff who have to work til 11 or later, especially when some nights will be very quiet long before closing). Went in, got my usual, went to use a machine, everything scanned fine, Finish and pay wouldn't work. Okay fine, staff member was helpful and scanned it through manually with my membership card as well, saved 40p, going well so far. I was in a bit of a rush, so I was looking to be out as quickly as possible and wouldn't have had any of this problem at all if the machines had just worked properly. Anyway, bloke in queue (bear in mind, he WAS the queue, LITERALLY just him) said 'oi, queue here mate' either not aware I only had a meal deal to scan and would be done in 20 seconds, or not giving a damn. I said to him 'Oh sorry, just got this quick thing to scan'. I know we queue as brits but I like to believe if I was the bloke in the queue just shopping random bits with nothing to do that night I would have been able to spare 20 seconds without piping up. Anyway, clearly he didn't or he just didn't give a damn about anyone or anything else in this world in that moment other than his Saturday night veg out. So he goes 'So?!, Queue here mate'. I'm already almost done anyway. We end up going back and forth after he goes again 'what you looking at me like that for?' Queue here mate' as if there is nothing else more important on earth than his sacred queue, until we start calling each other names. I didn't handle myself perfectly, far from it I'm afraid, however as I mention, I am pretty much done anyway by this point and he is now being served approximately 20 BLOODY SECONDS! after he would have been done anyway if the machines had been working properly, which they are the overwhelming majority of the time. In fact three years I've been working nights, regularly buying meal deals from this co-op without the machines breaking on me once. Anyway, I end up turning round as I'm leaving going 'you're waiting 10 more seconds, 10 MORE SECONDS!' because it's correct, he did end up waiting literally 10 more seconds than otherwise. He clearly didn't have anything else on that night otherwise he wouldn't have been in shorts and a t-shirt. He didn't care, couldnt be made to care even the tiniest little bit, clearly couldn't give a damn about anyone else other than him and his veg out time in front of his massive telly. He literally waited 10 more seconds, doesn't care, apparently his veg out time is the most important thing on God's very earth in that exact split second, he's going on at me, I end up going on at him. Neither of us end up looking very good admittedly. I just can't imagine getting that self absorbed, self important, self egotistical, self aggrandizing and cartoonishly bolshie and fantastically stupid about 10 seconds. 'Don't care mate, queue here, I am not moving on this position even one nanometre". I leave after going to him again loudly 'You're waiting 10 seconds mate'. He still, I could see and I could tell upon leaving, had no idea why anyone could be in a rush and accidentally end up cutting 10 seconds in his 'most important in the world' veg out session and that it was the worst thing that had happened to him all month and I left the co-op with him utterly baffled at the intrusion of the continued existence of other people into his Saturday night. I end up leaving after pointing out again that he had been waiting 10 seconds ,he didn't care, any thinking he has ever done was not done in that moment to acknowledge the possibility that someone has to do something else in a hurry who happens to be around his person in that moment, that minute, that split second. An absolute joke. Wherever that man is, he's probably still thinking 'well there's a queue here mate, a queue, don't care about anything else or anyone else for anything ever, queue here mate!' Doesn't care about the fact I've only got three things (it was literally a meal deal). Doesn't care about any of it ever, pretends it's like I've cut in deliberately and maliciously with 100 things in a trolley just to piss him off and only him off, pretends that queue in that moment is the absolute centre spot of the very earth, shuts down all his thinking capabilities for that split second just to go 'oi, queue here mate' Oh ive got three things, 'so? don't care, queue here mate' like an absolute robot, 'queue here mate' never thought of anything or anyone else on earth ever for even a millisecond, 'queue here mate', either couldn't see what was right in front of his eyes and clearly see what was right in front of him with his own eyes or couldn't bring himself to give a damn if he tried.

Kibworth Co op - badly managed, miserable staff who are poorly paid and selling overpriced goods. Would avoid shopping here and travel to Tesco at Wigston if possible!

Barhite & Holzinger Management and the inept board have allowed the building to fall into severe disrepair, leaving it with dirty carpets, outdated common spaces, and deteriorating wallpaper bugs and fire hazards