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AIBU?

Sainsbury's - ZERO common sense!

174 replies

DM1209 · 30/10/2020 10:12

My 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with Covid last weekend.

She has been very, very unwell with 2 hospital admissions and an intensive course of steroids and antibiotics, which she is still taking.
At its peak, her temperature rose to 41.6, she couldn't breathe effectively and she ended up on Oxygen. Her pulse oxygen dropped to 93, at which point I was told that if it dropped to 92, she would be ventilated - we have had the week from hell. She is also Asthmatic.

I'm a lone parent with 2 younger children. My daugter is now home and recovering for which I am very thankful.

Here's my AIBU, I have a Sainsbury's delivery coming. I called their customer service to let them know we have a positive case of Covid (I've even put a sign on the door so delivery people don't knock and wait) and that we are isolating.

I called Sainsbury's customer service and asked them to please ensure that the groceries were put in cardboard boxes or bags and left at the front door, rather than loose and unbagged on the ground. This is because they don't use carrier bags anymore when delivering.
I was then told that it is not the stores responsibility to bag the groceries and unless I left bags from inside my home, at the front door so the driver could bag them when he/she arrived, they would leave the groceries loose on the ground.

It is a £300.00 order, I say that to give you an idea of the size of the order.

Where is the logic!!??

Was I being unreasonable to not want to have my monthly shop piled up on the ground? Or to not want to take bags from my house (I don't have enough anyway!) for their poor driver to handle and to then have to bag my groceries at the front door!?

My mind is well and truly blown.

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araiwa · 30/10/2020 10:15

I'm with Sainsbury's.

They don't have bags or cardboard boxes so you should leave some by your front door if you want them

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LouiseTrees · 30/10/2020 10:16

They are ridiculous but you need a practical solution as they’ve already said no. Do you have storage boxes that you could put some clean tea towels inside or something?

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cologne4711 · 30/10/2020 10:17

I agree with you OP - you've given them fair warning and they used to give people the option between bags and no bags anyway. While plastic bags aren't exactly eco-friendly, it must speed things up for the driver and reduce the risk of the wrong people getting the wrong products, too.

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Hauskat · 30/10/2020 10:18

I’m so sorry you are having such an awful time. I hope your daughter recovers fully soon. It’s annoying about your shop. I had an Asda delivery when we were isolating and requested bags (you have to tick a box with them and maybe pay?) and it arrived loose but in plastic crates. Couldn’t find the driver anywhere so brought my shopping in, disinfected the crates and left them outside thinking the driver had driven around the block. They sat there for three days but eventually disappeared. I saw my neighbour had similar crates outside her door and apparently it’s what they are doing now. Maybe that’s what will happen?

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FallonsTeaRoom · 30/10/2020 10:18

Don't they deliver in crates? Confused

Delivery guy knocks, waits at safe distance, you take crate in, unpack it quickly, return crate to outside and repeat until done. No?

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TurquoiseDragon · 30/10/2020 10:19

Have you got a plastic box or crate you can wipe down and leave outside?

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PlanDeRaccordement · 30/10/2020 10:20

You could try Ocado. They are using plastic bags for delivery and will leave shopping outside if you request it.

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Noideawottodo · 30/10/2020 10:21

Tesco will deliver in bags if you want (extra 40p). I always get bags because they are so useful!

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TeenPlusTwenties · 30/10/2020 10:21

My parents are shielding.
They leave boxes on their doorstep which the delivery driver from Tesco unloads into and Dad carry the boxes in.

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DM1209 · 30/10/2020 10:22

Having seen what my daughter has been through with Covid, my biggest issue was leaving anything from inside my house, outside for someone to handle. Granted transmission would be very, very low if at all. But why take the risk with someone else's loved one!? Who gave any of us that right!?

Further, they have carrier bags in store and of course boxes in their warehouse. Their ridiculous response defies all logic.

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Akire · 30/10/2020 10:23

Sainsbury’s still sell plastic bags in store so while their policy is bag free delivery they could have just added to the bill. I had similar problem in Disabled and used them in lockdown while they had gone back to bags. Then a big order was no bags and I had bend down and pack it all on the door nearly killed me! While we all applaud greener measures it doesn’t work in 100% of cases.

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LG101 · 30/10/2020 10:23

Tesco’s are still doing bags if you tick the box might be time to move supermarket. I with you on this one.

It’s a risk to the driver to touch your bags so that’s unfair, I wouldn’t want to do that if I worked for Sainsbury’s. They should have some you can pay for. Even if they said fine we can do this buts it £3/4 I would opt for that.

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SquishySquirmy · 30/10/2020 10:25

That's quite inflexible of them.
However, I would probably raid the loft for boxes, or even empty out some storage cubes etc and leave then outside the door.

Glad your dd is doing better. It must have been such a scary thing to go through, I can't even begin to imagine. Flowers

I mean this very kindly, but do you think your frustration over the Sainsbury's order (which does sound annoying) is about more than just the rigidity of Sainsbury's delivery policies?
You have all been through a lot, try to be kind to yourself and don't stress too much about the minor crap (unless of course you find it genuinely cathartic to rage about the minor crap, in which case rage away!)

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TurquoiseDragon · 30/10/2020 10:26

As the driver doesn't have to actually touch a box to put the delivery in it, transmission will be practically zero.

So I'd still put a box outside.

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flaviaritt · 30/10/2020 10:26

You are asking for a service they don’t provide. They are not being “illogical”, you are asking for a favour.

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flaviaritt · 30/10/2020 10:27

And my suggestion would just be to put some boxes out. The risk of transmission is negligible.

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DM1209 · 30/10/2020 10:27

Thank you for the responses.

For those asking, no I don't have boxes or crates at home as I mostly shop in store, leaving online slots for people that can't. I booked this slot because I knew we would be home for 2 weeks minimum and we needed groceries.

I think it was a relatively simple request during a really crap time and it wouldn't have been difficult to fulfil. I also would have paid extra had they told me to.

I've cancelled the order and gone with Amazon Prime instead who I've been told deliver in paper bags.

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THATbasicWITCH · 30/10/2020 10:28

Op i would perhaps phone again as you may get to speak to someone more helpful

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Sirzy · 30/10/2020 10:29

We where shielding and just lift the stuff into the house quickly.

The things have still been touched so I don’t see what difference carrier bags make in that sense other than being another item that has been touched

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KrisAkabusi · 30/10/2020 10:30

Your shopping wouldn't be piled on the ground. As plenty of people have said, they deliver in crates. There's no need for plastic bags.

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Jeezoh · 30/10/2020 10:30

Can’t they just leave the crates at your door, the driver stands a way back, you unload the shopping into your house and then the driver collects the crates once you’ve shut the door? That’s how our deliveries are working, I have no contact with the driver other than a hello and goodbye from a distance.

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justgeton · 30/10/2020 10:31

Given the ordeal you've just come through I understand why this has totally pissed you off.

Try and rise above their unhelpfulness.. you've bigger fish to fry xx

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BrightYellowDaffodil · 30/10/2020 10:32

YANBU.

It never fails to astound me how some companies manage to be human and help where they can, even if they don't 'have' to, and how many seem to have a customer service model based on 'Computer says no'. And, in fact, for whom the whole concept of customer service is a mystery and any comment to the contrary is met with a pious "It's because of COVID, you know", as if some how we were all oblivious to a global pandemic and its effects. Superdrug, I'm looking at you here.

We customers will remember which companies went the extra mile, and who wouldn't budge an inch.

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DM1209 · 30/10/2020 10:33

To reiterate, I am not conerned about us getting anything, we are already sick. I am awaiting test results for my 2 younger daughters now that are also showing symptoms.

My issue is leaving bags or anything else for that matter, from inside my home for the driver to handle. I'm sure given the option, they would rather not.

I accept I am very concerned about Covid at the moment and unless you have been through it, it is difficult to understand. I refuse to put someone else at risk. Regardless of how negligible the transmission risk is.

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Soubriquet · 30/10/2020 10:33

I’m a Sainsbury’s picker and it’s all fair and good to say we have carrier bags in the store, but it doesn’t work that way with the actual shopping

I have 8 totes and each of those totes could be a different customer, so I can’t bag one tote because I don’t know who you are

Drivers don’t have time to sit and bag all your shopping either.

We are limited to what we can do because everything is on a timer, and the vans will be packed by various people, not just the driver, so again no idea who you are.

Honestly, it’s best for you to find yourself a box and do it that way

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