Customer Delivery Driver, Supermarket Assistant

John Lewis Partnership; Abingdon; Hybrid; GBP 14,000 - 17,000; Part time

Job summary

John Lewis Partnership in Abingdon is hiring Customer Delivery Drivers to bring Waitrose produce and Partner-led service to customers’ doors. This is a highly active, customer-facing role where safety and reliability matter most.

You’ll start in-store and then drive a well-equipped van, handling substitutions, refunds and ensuring every delivery is accurate and well-presented. Flexible part-time hours include weekends and early starts.

Qualifications

• Be 18 or older.
• Have a full, valid UK manual car driving license (B-category) with up to 6 penalty points.
• Bring excellent people skills and a friendly approach to customer service.
• Be prepared for physical work (lifting up to 18kg) and some stairs.

Responsibilities

• Be a friendly face for the Waitrose brand while on the road.
• Discuss substitutions or short-dated items and arrange refunds if needed.
• Handle products with care and ensure they are delivered in good condition.
• Explain to customers that substitutions will not incur extra charges.
• Help customers with groceries and build trustful relationships.
• Familiarise yourself with the daily delivery route.

Skills

Customer service

Reliability

Communication

Problem solving

Physical fitness

Driving license

Job description

About the role

As one of our Customer Delivery Drivers, you’ll be bringing the unique blend of quality Waitrose produce and Partner-led service right to our customers’ doors. Actively playing out our ethos - passionate Partners serving food lovers .That is exactly what makes this role so dynamic—it is a highly active, physical, customer-facing role where you are directly interacting with people and keeping things moving.When you're not out on the road, you'll be back at the shop completing daily tasks like stock replenishment and housekeeping. Contributing to the efficient and productive running of the shop in a friendly and welcoming team.As one of our Customer Delivery Drivers, you will be driving well equipped, modern and well serviced vehicles at all times and safety is always one of our top priorities.At Waitrose every delivery matters - We are not simply delivering groceries, we are delivering trust, care and exceptional service.We're an inclusive business - for our Partners and for our customers, reflecting and connecting with the diverse communities that we serve. We want people from all walks of life to feel valued for their individuality, thrive in our business and share a sense of belonging. To find out more about D&I in the John Lewis Partnership click here https://www.jlpjobs.com/about/diversityandinclusion/.

What makes a great Waitrose driver?

• You enjoy helping people
• You remain calm under pressure
• You are a problem solver
• You take ownership
• You are dependable
• You are professional and well-presented
• You understand that excellent customer service matters

Our customers tell us they want:

• A friendly approach
• Someone they can trust
• A driver who is there to help
• A professional and tidy appearance
• Someone who genuinely cares

Key Responsibilities

You’ll typically start your day in store and then you’ll:

• Be a friendly face for the Waitrose brand while you're on the road—great customer service is your number one goal!
• Chat with customers about any changes to their order (like substitutions or short-dated items), and if they're not happy, quickly sort out a refund for them.
• Handle all products and deliveries with real care, treating them like they're your own.
• Make it clear to customers that they definitely won't be charged extra if they receive a substituted item.
• Help customers with their groceries and build a strong, trusting relationship with them.
• Familiarise yourself with your delivery route for the day.
• Give your van a full safety check to make sure it's totally road-ready and compliant with all the safety rules.
• Help the wider CFC team with general warehouse tasks when you’re off the road

Essential skills/experience you'll need

• Be 18 or older—that’s a must for this kind of work.
• Have a full, valid UK manual car driving license (B-Category) with no more than 6 penalty points.
• Bring awesome people skills and a friendly approach to customer service.
• Be ready for some physical work, which involves things like lifting crates, walking up stairs, and moving large cages, approximately no heavier than 18kg.

Desirable skills/experience you may have

• If you’ve driven for work before, or know a bit about refrigerated vans, that’s a plus! Either way, we’ll give you all the training you need to do a great job every single day.

Varied hours of part time work (22.5 hours per week) across seven days to include early starts, late finishes, evenings and weekends.

The partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications, and therefore, we recommend you apply early. If you require a reasonable adjustment due to a disability which means you may need longer to complete your application.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.