Waterstones Reviews 

5,368
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.6

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 643 reviews, reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers frequently praise the support team for being exceptionally helpful, friendly, and quick to resolve various online ordering or account queries. People appreciate the broad selection of special editions and the smooth assistance provided when tracking down hard-to-find books. However, some reviewers were not happy with the delivery and item conditions. Consumers noted that books occasionally arrived damaged or heavily creased due to inadequate or flimsy packaging materials. A few individuals also experienced unhelpful or rude interactions with staff members during in-store visits.

What people talk about most

Customer service

People report positive experiences with customer service, noting that support agents are consistently helpful... See more

Staff

Consumers find staff to be positive, helpful, and exceptionally professional during interactions. Reviewers... See more

Order

Users describe ambiguous interactions with order, highlighting both positive and negative experiences. While... See more

Product

Customers had ambiguous experiences with product, often highlighting a great selection of signed and special... See more

Response time

Customers consistently note positive experiences with response_time, praising the team for fast replies and... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Lisa was very helpful and quick to respond to my original query, and then gave some additional information which I found really useful. Great Customer Service!! This is one reason why Waterstones is t... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Love visiting a Waterstones. Last visit I bought a signed copy that turned out to be missing the signature - didn’t realise this until I got home. Contacted customer service and they shipped a new s... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I’m impressed at how helpful Lisa and Peter were when I asked a question about stocking my recently published poetry book (bilingual) . Lisa quickly passed my query to the relevant department and then... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great customer service for cancelling an order that was taking to long to arrive before we were moving house and were even given a link for where the book was in stock. Cecilia was very helpful an... See more


Company details

  1. Book Store

About Waterstones

Written by the company

Waterstones' mission is to be the leading Bookseller on the High Street and online providing customers the widest choice, great value and expert advice from a team passionate about Bookselling; uniting readers with the perfect books and bringing them together with authors through our events programme.

Browse millions of books online - Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children's, Textbooks and Audiobooks. Discover our range of Signed & Exclusive editions, Gifts and Games. Sign up for our Waterstones Plus card to earn and redeem as you spend in our shops, cafes and online. Free UK delivery to store and on orders of £25 or more.


Contact info

4.6

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

5K reviews

5-star
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1-star

Asks customers to review

This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative

Replied to 62% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 2 weeks

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4.6

All reviews

(5,368)

642 reviews in the last 12 months

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Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Thank you for the prompt response and…

Thank you for the prompt response and for addressing my query so quickly. I really appreciate your swift assistance with this matter

29 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback!
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great Job !!

I called ahead of delivery to ask if my order be securely packed to avoid any damage in the post. The polite lady at customer services said she'd make sure my order arrives undamaged, it did .

Thank you for everything ! (10/10)

28 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Paul,
Thank you for your feedback.
I am glad to hear our team could protect your parcel from damage.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Amazing customer service

I had an issue with an item I had delivered. What an absolute treasure Lisa is on the customer service team. I contacted them and within 12 hours it was all resolved and a replacement issued. Amazing communication and attentiveness as well as a really helpful and friendly attitude to assisting me. I will remain a loyal customer to Waterstones and recommend them highly

28 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Emma,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Lisa has this resolved and replaced for you so quickly.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Ordering from France

Ordering from France, I had an issue with my order tracking number. My email request got a very quick and nice reply and I've been provided with the right tracking link. Thanks to Lisa :)

27 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Virginie,
Thank you for your feedback.
I will be sure to share your kind words with Lisa.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Customer Support

Alyssa at customer support dealt very promptly with my query re my app and account.

Easy to deal with.

Delighted.

28 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback.
I will be sure to share your kind words with Alyssa.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I’m impressed at how helpful Lisa and…

I’m impressed at how helpful Lisa and Peter were when I asked a question about stocking my recently published poetry book (bilingual) . Lisa quickly passed my query to the relevant department and then Peter got back to me straight away with a helpful answer. Many thanks to them. This is so refreshing to find a big company taking such care to help a new author.

26 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Gwen,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Lisa and Peter in our Authors team could help you with your newly published poetry book.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Made a mistake on an order and bought 2…

Made a mistake on an order and bought 2 copies of the same book. I called up, got answered instantly. They were helpful, polite and resolved the issue quickly and efficiently. Great customer experience.

27 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Neil,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that our team could resolve your duplicate order for you.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Lisa from the customer services team…

Lisa from the customer services team was absolutely brilliant! I was really unhappy with a situation, where books I had returned for an exchange had not been received and the books I wanted were now out of stock, but Lisa turned that around completely. Not only did she constantly keep me updated through the day, she also made the outcome much better than I could have hoped for. It was just yesterday afternoon that she hunted down the books, arranged delivery, and early this morning I have received them! Very friendly and warm to talk to as well, polite, extremely helpful, understanding, prompt with resolving my issue, what else can I say. 10/10 service. Thank you Lisa x

27 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Taran,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Lisa kept you updated through the day as she found the books you were looking for and arranged this delivery.
I will be sure to share your kind words with her.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

publishing error sorted quickly

Because of a publishing error my book had pages falling out, it was a special edition. Waterstones customer service (Alyssa) was very nice and accommodating, considering I did not have proof of purchase. Responses were quick and my problem was sorted within a few days, picked up a replacement book and the lovely manager (Cat) let me know that I could bring the book in immediately if something similar happens again. Amazing experience.

20 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Alyssa and our store manager Cat could work together to get a replacement to you so quickly.
I will be sure to share your kind words with them.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic online Bookseller - reliable and fast

Fantastic customer service and so reliable with orders AND pre-orders.
I've used Waterstones regularly for years, probably decades and place a regular monthly mail order alongside often pre-ordering favourites.
Always arrive safely packaged, very quickly and never had a problem at all - far from it.
Recently somehow failed to pre-order a book that I thought I had, so rang the helpline to check. Nope, hadn't ordered it. A wonderful helpful lady called Lisa instantly placed an order, adjusted the price to honour the initial price I thought it was when it was first advertised as coming out AND waived the postage cost, really valuing the fact I was a regular. Plus sent it straight away first class so arrived within 1 day for the bank holiday weekend.
I buy a lot of books online and Waterstones is definitely the best in my experience.

20 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Lisa could help you to place the order and match the price for you.
I will be sure to share your kind words with her.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I had an issue with a payment for a…

I had an issue with a payment for a pre-ordered book which had now come in stock. The response to my query was handled expertly and promptly by Alyssa who kept me informed throughout and sorted the issue. Excellent customer service which was much appreciated

22 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Jackie,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Alyssa kept you updated throughout your contact.
I will be sure to share your kind words with her.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Hayley V from customer services

Hayley V has been amazing chasing up a delayed order and always keeping me in the loop on any further issues or delays! Thank you again Hayley for all your help!

22 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Hayley V kept you updated as she chased your delayed order, I am glad she could get it resolved for you in full.
I will be sure to share your kind words with her.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Lovely staff and excellent customer service

Always a pleasure to shop at Waterstones, either in the book store part or the coffee shop in Maidstone. Best coffee in Maidstone and all of the staff in this store are so lovely, always help to help with recommending books or generally just being nice people! If would say the coffee shop staff and book shop staff definitely contribute to people visiting the store and as my bank balance will testify buying books I don’t really need! 😀

I had to contact customer service this week and Lorraine was so helpful- solved my query politely an quickly- thank you!

22 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that both our shop and our online support have been able to provide you with such positive experiences.
I will be sure to share your kind words with Lorraine and our Maidstone team.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous selection of children’s books…

Fabulous selection of children’s books for any age. Lisa went out of her way to assist with online order that didn’t want to go through. Many thanks, a very happy customer 😁

20 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Sue,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Lisa could help you with placing your order.
I will be sure to share your kind words with her.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Waterstones customer service is great

Waterstones customer service is great!
You can easily and quickly speak to someone on the phone!
Lisa was extremely polite and helpful and sorted out my issue straight away and also followed up with an email.
Really impressed!

20 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Laura,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that Lisa was polite and helpful and could resolve your query straight away.
I will be sure to share your kind words with her.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Danielle Dream ......

Danielle is absolutely delightful to chat with and extremely knowledgeable regards customer queries relating to Waterstones UK
She is also warm & customer focused plus approachable and friendly - This is difficult to manage over a chat stream but I have thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Danielle this afternoon - she is funny eloquent and loves language ...............
Magickal woman .....

19 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Harrie,
Thank you for your feedback, it is wonderful to hear that Danielle was so knowledgeable and friendly with you on our webchat.
I will be sure to share your kind words with her.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Impressive customer service

When I had a couple of questions about gift and plus cards, I contacted customer service through the website. This was an easy process, and the response was both quick and helpful - pretty rare qualities in the world of customer service, these days!

19 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello Peter,
Thank you for your feedback, I am glad to hear that our team could be so helpful for you with your plus card and gift card queries.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great Customer Support

Really fantastic service from Adam at Waterstones Customer Support! Very patient and helpful and couldn’t recommend him more. Thank you for your efficiency.

19 May 2026
Unprompted review
Waterstones logo

Reply from Waterstones

Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, I am happy to hear that Adam was patient and helpful while responding your your query.
I will be sure to share your kind words with him.
Have a lovely day,
Waterstones Customer Support

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