Morrisons under fire after abruptly ending 10% teacher discount
Morrisons has been accused of poor communications and underhand tactics after it pulled a coronavirus outbreak related 10% teachers and school staff discount.
Earlier this month, RTIH heard from a number of disgruntled teachers, seeking clarity on the matter.
“I went shopping today to my local Morrisons, eight miles away to find the teacher discount has stopped,” said one. “When did this come to an end? There was no warning!”
RTIH was able to confirm cancellation of the discount, with a Morrisons spokeswoman telling us: "We have offered the 10% discount as a thank you to our teachers since November 2019.”
“It has now come to an end and we will continue to thank teachers by offering them exclusive offers through our More For Teachers Club.”
Enter a bunch of teachers venting spleen.
“Very embarrassing. The app would not load when trying to pay for my shopping and the checkout operator informed me it had been cancelled,” jrh2254 said in our comments section.
“I thought that it was just the way it was administered that had changed. i.e. you had to show the app barcode and not just your teachers pass. Morrisons communicated this, NOT that it was finishing, VERY VERY poor comms from Morrisons.”
Meanwhile, Mr H said: “I was caught out by this during the Easter holiday. The woman behind the till was apologetic (said management had pulled it for teachers and I wasn't the first to be surprised by the news).”
“I was surprised, however, it had ended without warning - we had previously been given a date when the discount was ending (it has been extended a number of times). When I contacted Morrison's to query this, I was told that it was in the terms and conditions when I signed up to the app.”
“On checking the updated terms and conditions (linked from another article from this site, dated 11th March), it made no mention of the offer ending, only that school ID would no longer be accepted and you would have to use the barcode via the app.”
“This was also the matra of staff during February and March, encouraging teachers to sign up to the app because staff ID would no longer be accepted.”
“So it appears it has just been stopped abruptly, without warning, but my main concern is the response of customer services stating is was in the Ts&Cs when it was not.”
“The link from the aforementioned article now takes you to a Morrison's page saying this page no longer exists, which is very convenient and downright dishonest. I would have no problem with the discount ending, it's just the way in which it has been handled - very poorly.”
He concluded: “I am thankful for the discount over the last few months but the way in which it has been dropped leaves a very sour taste. Personally, I've already voted with my feet and I'm shopping elsewhere.”
Not everyone was critical, however, with one person remarking: “Thank you Morrisons, the 10% discount was great and gratefully received. Why seem to moan about, it is poor form. Signed a grateful teacher in New Brighton, Wirral.”
Another stated: “Bad comms from Morrisons HQ, but I must say thank you very much for the 10% off for a long time. Was really good particularly when no other store did this. I can't grumble.”
NHS workers
Last month, Morrisons announced it was extending its 10% discount for NHS employees, first introduced in April 2020, for the whole of 2021.
David Potts, Morrisons Chief Executive, said: “This has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone in the NHS and we have done our best to be there for them from the start.”
“I'm really pleased to be extending the 10% discount for the whole of 2021 which I know will make a big difference to so many NHS staff who are working so hard to care for us all.”
He concluded: “As we all look forward to better times ahead, this is our way of showing our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the work everyone in the NHS has done - and continues to do - through the pandemic.”