AN energy-saving plan at Waitrose has left fed-up shoppers shivering in the dark.
Its stores operate on a half-lighting basis for the first two hours of opening from Monday to Friday.
Aisle temperatures have also been reduced by 2C.
But customers have vowed to boycott, the upmarket chain saying the shops were dangerous.
Francine Monks, of Beckenham, South East London, told Waitrose: “My 78-year-old frail husband had to sit at the other end of the shop because he felt so unwell in the cold.
“My hands were frozen! Please provide some heat.”
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A customer in Horsham, West Sussex, added: “Won’t be going again any time soon. A company with a death wish?”
Another customer tweeted from a dark in-store café and said: “This energy saving policy is doing damage to your reputation and your café business.
“Don’t open the café and sell goods until 10am if you don’t switch the lights on till then.”
Others raised concerns for visually impaired shoppers.
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The chain warned in December that it faced an £18million energy cost overspend.
Replying to complaints on Twitter, a Waitrose rep said: “Reducing use allows us to play our part in progressing our Purpose Of A Happier World. We will continue to review the changes.”
A Waitrose spokesperson said: "Saving energy reduces our environmental impact, and helps focus our investment on areas that matter for customers - like product innovation and lowering prices.
"The changes have widely been well received, with the very small number of comments we've had typically linked to localised issues - like a temporary heating failure - rather than our wider energy-saving plans."
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