Waitrose explains why shelves were empty over bank holiday weekend

Worcester shoppers noticed empty shelves at a Waitrose on London Road as many prepared for Monday's reduced hours or closures at shops as well as planning barbecues or family meals over the long weekend. 

A spokesperson said a system update ran slower than planned which caused supply issues.

Staff have put a board outside the supermarket which reads: "Thanks for your patience.

"We're experiencing supply issues with some fresh and chilled items; daily deliveries continue but with less stock than usual.

"We're working hard to restore our full range as soon as possible." 

Fruit, vegetables and bakery aisles had signs apologising for the lack of stock ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

A spokesperson from the supermarket has also apologised to shoppers.

On Friday (May 26) the shelves for chilled foods were empty.

The issue was caused by a technical system update which took longer to update than expected.

Waitrose on London Road, Worcester (Image: NQ)

However, a spokesperson for Waitrose said the cause of the issue has now been fixed and branches across the county are working to continue to get regular deliveries.

Waitrose on London Road, Worcester (Image: NQ)
The spokesperson added: "We apologise to those customers who didn't get everything they needed.

"We've sent extra deliveries out to branches, and are working hard to get additional stock delivered throughout the day."

"The root cause is now fixed; a system update ran slower than planned.

"Our branches continue to get regular deliveries, and we're working around the clock to get things back to normal for customers asap."

With every purchase customers have also started to receive a coupon where they can get £5 off every £30 they spend at the supermarket. 

At the bottom of the coupon, it reads: "We're sorry if we did not have everything you were looking for today."