Did some Christmas shopping online earlier in the week and it was delivered last night; total cost was about £70. There were 2 items which were out of stock, but there was also a bottle of wine, a box of 15 bottles of bud, and a pack of 3 onions which the receipt says were delivered but weren't.
Only used this service a couple of times before, and that was a few years ago. So when I rang up to get a refund I'm sure they must have wondered whether I was trying it on. However I got the refund without any trouble, although it still means more stuff to carry in the last minute pre-Christmas shop. Irritating.
This was from Asda, who I know iffy used when he was recuperating earlier this year. Is my experience typical, or is it perhaps down to inexperienced extra staff brought in to handle the extra demand?
BTW I did ask customer services whether the stuff might still be on the van, but they said they can't contact the drivers directly.
Last edited by: Focus on Wed 21 Dec 11 at 09:32
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we have asda deliver often and have no problems with them. it could be inexperienced staff trying to keep up with the extra orders.
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Somehow I never felt comfortable with online grocery shopping.
I can always find better deals in stores.
But if you live far away from any stores, then online shopping makes sense.
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"Is my experience typical,"
Common sense would indicate that it is not as on line supermarket shopping is growing at a phenomenal rate both at ASDA and the other players. Not likely if they didn't literally "deliver the goods".
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The "out of stock" scenario is pretty typical, the receipted but not delivered one is not.
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I've ordered stuff from home here in The Hermit Kingdom (of Cornwall) to be delivered to my FiL in Essex via Sainsbury's,
Excellent results! and if we had Zero's sort of money, we'd do all of our S/mkt shopping on-line.
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Wine and beer missing from order the week before Christmas. Now there's a surprise.
Dunno about the onions tho...
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>> The "out of stock" scenario is pretty typical, the receipted but not delivered one is
>> not.
>>
Yep, when we moved to 'out in the sticks' (relatively speaking) ten+ years ago we used the Tesco home delivery a fair bit, never had a significant item missing but it quickly got to the point where a 90 quid food order would end up as a 45 quid delivery due to out of stock items, so we gave up.
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SWMBO tells me our local is now doing a 'collect and pay' service, where you order on-line, but collect it yourself, ready bagged.
Could be a winner as it means you can select the fresh stuff yourself, nip through the 'nnn items or less' (sic) or self serve checkout then go and collect the bulk.
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I used to use Tesco Online a few years ago. Had one occasion out of dozens where an item was missing (probably left on the van). Refund given immediately. Sometimes they would offer/bring substitutes if items out of stock.
I stopped using them because often items were out of date before we'd got around to using them. If I was in store I'd check dates and probably make sure I got the latest best before. If it was best before in a day or two and not going to get used I'd not bother.
I now do more frequent small shops. Yes it costs in diesel and not so environmentally friendly, but overall saves me as there is less waste.
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I had my now regular weekly delivery from Asda on Monday.
Must have used them about six times so far, each order has been filled correctly.
I did get a fresh pasta ready meal one week which I don't think I ordered.
Meant to check if it was on the bill, but didn't get around to it, although I did get around to eating the meal.
This week's driver confirmed they were very busy, so I expect that was the cause of the glitches with Focus's order.
I don't know if Asda bring in extra staff, but as a comparison, the post can be a bit cranky at this time of year which I've always put down to the use of casual labour.
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I do an online grocery shop each week with Tesco as it's around trip of 16 miles to the store and then the problem of carrying it all in.
I use Asda once every few weeks when they send me a free delivery voucher:)
The short dated products problem has been sorted out now for ages and I rarely get any wrong, or out of stock items.
I love it...I hate shopping!
Pat
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>> I stopped using them because often items were out of date before we'd got around
>> to using them. If I was in store I'd check dates and probably make sure
>> I got the latest best before. If it was best before in a day or
>> two and not going to get used I'd not bother.
Consider this, what they do is exactly the correct thing, its a very basic thing that should be done in EVERY warehouse/storage facility.
Its called 'Stock rotation' also known as FIFO. First in - first out.
What you and most over shoppers do, (me included!) is in the short term best for you - the buyer.
Long term? it pushes up overheads - staff having to check the dates on goods left on the shelf, as well as increasing wastage.
These factors push up the prices that we all pay.
Alternatives?
Forget the online shopping, or dont buy perishables online, only the tinned stuff etc, backed up with a quick freshfood shop, at either the supermarket, or your local independent store.
Last edited by: swiss tony on Wed 21 Dec 11 at 12:54
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swiss tony - I know it's the right thing to do for them. But it's not for me :-)
Take the roast potatoes in the chiller cabinets at the moment. The ones at the front all say 23rd Dec. Well that's no good unless you freeze them.... but then you might as well buy frozen. But at the back they are 27th and 28th Dec. Guess which ones would come in your online shop. Remember the Tesco online shoppers take stock from the shelves and not the storeroom.
Now if Tesco had priced down the stock that is best before 23rd Dec (some was 21st Dec) then people would buy it and freeze it and everyone wins.
How do I manage - I buy every day or two. Easier than planning a week's shop. And then the issue of best before does not effect me or the shop either. It helps that a round trip to a Tesco Extra is only a couple of miles.
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>>Guess which ones would come in your online shop<<
Not so rtj, you need some lessons on how to complain:)
I used to have this problem but after persistent complaints for a few weeks, numerous vouchers for £10 for the inconvenience, it appears my account has now been labelled as 'supply long dated stock only'!
Pat
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...Take the roast potatoes in the chiller cabinets at the moment. The ones at the front all say 23rd Dec....
Those potatoes won't turn into arsenic on December 24.
Perfectly fine to eat at least week later.
The problem is stupidly early sell-by dates, and the slavish adherence of some shoppers to those dates.
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 21 Dec 11 at 13:35
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No they won't turn to poison. But they have already been sat on the shelves for most of the last week. I know I checked. And don't have room in the freezer. Aren't sell by dates going to disappear and be replaced by best before?
Pat, if I went back to online deliveries I'd consider what you say. But in the end planning ahead when the teenagers were at home proved impossible. Difficult to know if they were in for food tonight let alone in 5 days time.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Wed 21 Dec 11 at 13:11
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Actually, a lot of the 23rd Dec potatoes looked dark brown in places. Not making it up.
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>> Actually, a lot of the 23rd Dec potatoes looked dark brown in places. Not making it up.
If you're still talking roast potatoes, then all the ones I've seen are in non transparent packaging so how can you tell what colour the tatties are?
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Why would anyone buy ready roast potatoes? You can buy a sack of spuds for £7 that will last you all winter in a cool place
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>> Why would anyone buy ready roast potatoes? You can buy a sack of spuds for
>> £7 that will last you all winter in a cool place
It never fails to astonish me what people will buy in ready prepared, simple, quick and cheap to make, food.
Mashed potatoes and Yorkshire puddings, as a couple example, for heaven's sake :-D
As for prepared pasta dishes, the mind boggles. Pasta is seriously cheap to buy - a reason, if I needed one, why I NEVER order pasta when eating out.
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Well, I buy ready to roast potatoes, ready mashed potatoes and Aunt Bessie's Yorkies.
I can't peel potatoes with the Arthritis in my hands, nor any other vegetable so what should I do? Live on a diet of Oven chips?
The Yorkies cost me 99p for 12 and we have one each.
That's just over 8p each.
Flour, eggs, milk would cost more than that so I don't class it as an extravagances or laziness.
It was physically humping 22 tonnes of half hundredweight bags of tates on to my trailer on a regular basis that caused the Arthritis, so I reckon I've handled my fair share of spuds to last me a life time.
Pat
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I'm buying ready prepared goose fat roast potatoes because it makes Christmas dinner easier. Likewise for a normal roast we'd make Yorkshire puddings... not on Christmas day. And the full size turkey gave way for a turkey crown.
Gone are the days when you have to get up at 5am to put the turkey in. Then spend all morning cooking. Because when it came to eating it, we didn't enjoy it (everyone else did mind). So keep it simple now.
I'm with Pat on this :-)
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Certainly ready prepared food is great for those unable to prepared cook their own and I guess some people hate cooking so much or simply don't have the time so that they are willing to pay a premium not to do it which is of course their choice.
For someone who is fortunately capable and willing to cook for themselves it does sometimes seem an expensive way to buy food but perhaps more importantly it doesn't give you quite the same thing as if you prepared it yourself .
(I know cooking is not your thing Pat but my wife suffers form Rheumatoid Arthritis and one of her great passions is cooking. Bought her a Magimix a couple of years ago and has been a great buy allowing her to continue which such things as pastry making which were becoming impossible. Make those Yorkies in seconds!)
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Sorry, But AB's are unbeatable. I prepare and cook everything - except them.
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They are, specially the ones that comes uncooked and have to be popped in the oven for 20 minutes!
Pat
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Then you need few cookery lessons ;-)
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 21 Dec 11 at 17:26
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CG, I stopped making Yorkies when my son stopped having a Blue Peter Annual for Christmas, as there was always a recipe for yorkies in it!
My grandson is 18 now so I don't think I'm going to change:)
Now, I think you like gardening, so perhaps you can find me some aids to aid MY passion!
Pat
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Best thing I've bought this year is a quality bulb planter. Brilliant thing not only for planting bulbs but for digging the holes for annuals and the like. Wife loves it - so much easier than being on hands and knees with a trowel - get one for Christmas.
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I'll ask Santa for one;)
Pat
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>> all the ones I've seen are in non transparent packaging
Tesco's are transparent - you just have to slide the container out of the cardboard.
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>> Tesco's are transparent - you just have to slide the container out of the cardboard.
Oh those ones - the ones that are more expensive to buy than the ones in bags from the frozen cabinets.
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>> The problem is stupidly early sell-by dates, and the slavish adherence of some shoppers to>> those dates.
Ah Iffy you were a T O G, a man after me own heart..:-)
TOGs ignore all sell by dates and use their noses and eyes and common blinking sense.
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We are TOGs, too. Unless buying for stock, when the longest code is avidly searched for, we check for "reduced" bargains all the time.
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Talking of shopping, how do plan your meals? We tend to shop in a Monday night, and are faced with the impossible to answer when you're not in the mood and dreary question every week "what are we going to eat tonight and then on Tuesday (and Wednesday, Thursday, and...)".
We could of course shop every day but that would be even more dreary. An elderly uncle has solved it by buying exactly the same things each time he shops and having exactly the same meal at exactly the same time each week since forever, but that's just strange in my opinion.
What it is to be faced with such arrogant ennui in the rich West. At least the North Koreans only have to decide which patch of grass to rake up.
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>> how do plan your meals
At times it is day by day or at least every few days. And try to plan meal combinations to use up ingredients. For example if I bought spinach and didn't need the whole bag for one meal then I'd plan another meal with spinach for later in the week.
As long as I don't need much I can get all I want at my local Tesco in a short space of time. I plan my shopping list in the order of the aisles which cuts down on time too.
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>> "plan my shopping list in the order of the aisles "
>>
>> Then you'd love this... www.which.co.uk/news/2011/05/tesco-trials-shopping-trolley-sat-nav-app-254567/
:)
Not really though - I already know where things are. What the app should do is re-order your list.
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>> >> how do plan your meals
Whatever I fancy cooking, tho Monday (and sometimes Tuesday) is made up from left overs of Saturday and Sundays meals. So its usually a meat and veg pie, a hash, shepherds pie, (all those are usually spicy cos Saturday is usually a spicy night) sometimes what left over can be cooked in a tomato sauce and served with pasta.
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>> Talking of shopping, how do plan your meals?
We do a weekly shop - Mrs F constructs a list of the week's meals on a Friday night, writes the shopping list, I convert it into aisle order and go shopping (very) early Saturday morning.
Usually get a few bits (milk, bananas) on a Tuesday evening as well - my band rehearses in the church which is part of the Asda complex.
Works for us :)
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We find, locally, that Tesco is the best for reduced, going out of code, offers.
(Sainsbury have little or none)
Today, for instance, we bought a whole salmon, originally priced at £16.92, reduced to £10.32. Shortly, cut into portion sizes, it will be in the freezer.
You can't find bargains like that from on-line grocery shopping!
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>> What it is to be faced with such arrogant ennui in the rich West. At
>> least the North Koreans only have to decide which patch of grass to rake up.
Or which stray dog to eat!
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Do the delivery drivers expect a tip?
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>>Do the delivery drivers expect a tip?<<
+1 ... I woz wondering that?
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Waitrose delivery drivers are not allowed to accept tips
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I've never asked them.
They don't get one from me, neither did I ever get one all those years I was delivering the goods into Tesco Distribution centres, so it seems about fair to me.
I have emailed head office on a couple of occasions and told them how their drivers provide an excellent service though.
Pat
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I often go to a small Polish shop on our travels after the swimming sessions.They sell some nice sausages and bread.
We could do our shopping everyday there is only the two of us now.Marks and Spencer quality food but at a price.Main shop Tesco.
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Used Asda on line once -some of the items delivered were PAST the sell by date. They refunded no problem, but lost me as a customer.
Have tried tesco, and sainsburys, but always return to Waitrose as they have never let me down, and do some nice little touches like if you order a 500 gram product and its out of stock them they give you the 1kg one at the price of the one you ordered.
Also if the only item left on the shelf is reduced due to short date they chuck it in your shopping for free. Oh yeah, and they don't ever charge for delivery!
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Tipping - we had an Xmas card today from Postman Tom!
(a) Our post persons change regularly.
(b) I don't know Postman Tom.
(c) I bet his wages are at least twice our combined pensions.
(d) On yer bike, Postman Tom!
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We don't use home delivery for the food, for the same reasons as others who don't, plus Lidl don't deliver :-)
However, Mrs BB ordered a couple of boxes of 12 bottles of Waitrose wine. I came back from work the other night and 10 minutes later popped out the front door, and there the boxes were on the front door step (i.e. delivered in the last 10 mins). No knock on the door, and so anyone passing could have just taken them. I wonder what Waitroses' response to that complaint would have been?
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I was speaking to the wife earlier (I did the same last year) anyway - she reckons that she was having a chinwag with one of the peops in Tesco about this ere on-line shopping marlarky, and she (t & strife) reckons that the woman who was choosing the stuff for the on-line shopper (are you still with me) wasn't just picking the 1st item on the shelf, but choosing as one would do for oneself, like, so ... she gets chatting to this ere deliverer and she reckons their brief is to shop for the customer as if they were doing their own shopping - how bad that!
Course, this was Truro in Cornwall, like, and not in that place over the river Tamar, where the Angles & Saxons come from, like.
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One of my mates got a temporary job picking and delivering for Tescos. You start off picking and then move to the vans. All the pickers are rated by the number and speed of orders they can pick. He was top of the chart inside two days, but then put his back out and never went back!
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How much pw did he earn for doing that then Z?
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No idea, never asked him about money.
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Tried tesco for a bit but found too many missing items and daft substitutions plus we were usually at the end of the two hour slot. Easy to see why given geography but too unpredictable - one in seven the driver would do in reverse.
Ocado were and remain brilliant. Delivery from Coventry meant van almost universally left M1 @ J16 and came to us first. However Waitrose stuff ain't cheap and delivery charges kept being cranked up.
Now using Aldi. Built up a list of all the recurring stuff as a word doc. Print, cross off the items we don't need this week and buy the rest. £120 Ocado shop reduced to around £70.
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>> Used Asda on line once -some of the items delivered were PAST the sell by
>> date. They refunded no problem, but lost me as a customer.
>>
>> Have tried tesco, and sainsburys, but always return to Waitrose
Just tried Waitrose online for my £71 Asda shop - came to £102 :o
(no, not all identical products but I did try to give Waitrose the benefit of the doubt eg. using Waitrose 'essentials' rather than own-brand where I'd bought Asda own-brand)
Asda prices with Waitrose service would be nice...
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Another Tesco near me (but maybe 0.5 miles further than the Tesco Extra) does order online but collect by car. It was free but I think that was temporary. Starts from £2 when they charge I see.
I can see why that would appeal as much if not more than the delivery. Instead of having to be in for a 2 hour slot you can elect to collect at a time convenient to you. Not checked it out (yet).
They have built a collection point in the car park where you drive up to collect shopping. No need to go near the store itself.
www.tesco.com/collect/
I think they even put it in the boot so I wouldn't even need to get out.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Wed 21 Dec 11 at 22:42
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When I worked in Sainsburys the shop I was in did the home delivery. Absolutely nothing but hassle for all concerned, too many targets etc.
I cannot see what the commercial viability of it is though. Delivery charges are not that great and do not cover picking, delivery and fuel / running / lease costs of van.
Supermarkets thrive on having punters in their shops, buying what the supermarkets want them to buy through clever merchandising, advertising etc. Spontaneous purchases from displays at the checkouts etc. Online punters won't fall for that although I guess the online is set up in someway to try and get the customer to over order or buy associated items.
I do know a few folk who use home delivery purely because they live in flats and are too lazy to carry their own shopping!
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My first part time job was as a bicycle delivery boy for Tesco in 1964. Funny how home delivery has now been "rediscovered" as the big new thing by the supermarkets
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...I guess the online is set up in someway to try and get the customer to over order or buy associated items...
The Asda site suggests associated items, special offers, and helpfully reminds you if you've not ordered something you've ordered a few times before.
Sounds tiresome, but I thought the marketing was quite well-judged to be not too intrusive.
I'm wary of so-called 'special offers', but I suspect I would be able to shop more economically by traipsing up and down the aisles.
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>> or your local independent store.
>>
STORE!!!!! It's a SHOP. A Ruddy SHOP..... This is ENGLAND. God save the Queen!
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=>This is ENGLAND. God save the Queen!<=
I wonder if she shops on-line at Arrods?
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I've been in Tesco at a quiet time in the week and there's more staff doing online shopping than real customers!
The great thing about them is when you cannot find an item. They tend to know where everything is. The main store I use I know well but the other near one tends to have things displayed differently and some ethnic food too (good finds there mind).
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>>They tend to know where everything is
On the Sainsburys system, the shopping was loaded onto a "gun" and the gun took you around the shop telling you the next product and its location eg shelf 4 position 3 etc.
When you set off to do a shop you didn't know what the actual products were, all info was on the gun and just prompted you as you walked up and down the aisles in a specific route!
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>> >> or your local independent store.
>> >>
>> STORE!!!!! It's a SHOP. A Ruddy SHOP..... This is ENGLAND. God save the Queen!
>>
As Napoleon said "England is a nation of Storekeepers"
Opps Sorry "Shopkeepers"
(yes yes I know he didnt actually say that, it came from Adam Smith)
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>>STORE!!!!! It's a SHOP. A Ruddy SHOP..... This is ENGLAND. God save the Queen
This is an international web site Martin!!! Some contributors from as far flung places as Glasgow! :)
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Supermarket shopping online - nyx2k
