I'm a online shopping picker - AMA

[ifoundthebread]

As the title suggests. I'm an online shopping picker for a major supermarket. Ask me anything.

I don’t order shopping online because every time I do, I order something like 3 carrots & I get 3 tiny carrots. So next time I order 250g of carrots (or whatever) and get one massive 250g carrot.

Do people pick ridiculous stuff just to piss me off? To be honest I probably would, but interested to know if other people are like me!

I used to be one of those checkout girls who would fling the shopping down the conveyor as fast as possible, so perhaps it is just karma.

@AnotherPoster

Oh you answered me before I asked! Ok then, are you always busy for the entire shift? Is there a demand for more pickers? (apart from the unsociable hours, this job quite appeals to me).

Always busy for a whole shift but not always for my department. If all our work is done then we will help other departments. In my shop we are "over staffed" for pickers but it doesn't feel it. On paper we are over staffed but that doesn't take into account people on the sick and maternity leave for example.

It's not always unsociable hours. Pickers shifts can vary from 3am until 9pm.

@AnotherPoster

How long is your shift? Is it always a night shift? I also want to know what a pp has asked re how far you walk each shift.

Shifts can vary, usually 5 - 8 hours. Not always might shift, pickers sre required in my store from 3am until 9pm.

@SlipperyLizard

I don’t order shopping online because every time I do, I order something like 3 carrots & I get 3 tiny carrots. So next time I order 250g of carrots (or whatever) and get one massive 250g carrot.

Do people pick ridiculous stuff just to piss me off? To be honest I probably would, but interested to know if other people are like me!

I used to be one of those checkout girls who would fling the shopping down the conveyor as fast as possible, so perhaps it is just karma.

Tbh I don't give it a lot of thought, you want 3 carrots, I grab 3 carrots. Some people might think 3 smaller carrots are easier to make stew with while someone else may think 1 big carrot is better to grate. It comes down to the individual. I can't imagine people pick ridiculous stuff to piss you off although the substitutions can sometimes come across that way. You order asparagus tips it tells you to sub with brocoli, no logic to it at all.

Are you timed per customer? For example we always have online shops and some weeks really random things are missing like they’ve ran out of time to complete the shop.

We’ve never complained, it’s fine but I’m just curious.

Why do you always try to get me to buy a Charlie Bingham fish pie? Every time I order an individual fish pie. I am not paying £8.50 for one of those

@StorminaBcup

Are you timed per customer? For example we always have online shops and some weeks really random things are missing like they’ve ran out of time to complete the shop.

We’ve never complained, it’s fine but I’m just curious.

We do have targets to try aim for but it's not per customer, it's items per hour. We can pick 10 different customers ambient order at once or 8 chilled or 15 frozen, so very unlikely they have ran out of time, because if a pickers shift finishes mid trolley they then pass it on to another picker to complete. If it a reoccurring thing I would definitely give feed back, so it can be looked into.

ifoundthebread thank you! It’s not a regular occurrence perhaps we just notice it more but it’s such a staple item.

@Ithinkitsadoughnut

Why do you always try to get me to buy a Charlie Bingham fish pie? Every time I order an individual fish pie. I am not paying £8.50 for one of those

In my store if we substitute your item for a more expensive item then we pay the difference.

Do you have a massive trolley if you're picking for up to 15 customers at once? Do you ever get customer's items mixed up?

I am finding this really interesting as I'm not in the U.K. and I do click and collect at my local small supermarket. It's all really small scale, just regular staff picking for collection and delivery in a normal trolley, one customer at a time!

@AllLopsided

Do you have a massive trolley if you're picking for up to 15 customers at once? Do you ever get customer's items mixed up?

I am finding this really interesting as I'm not in the U.K. and I do click and collect at my local small supermarket. It's all really small scale, just regular staff picking for collection and delivery in a normal trolley, one customer at a time!

The trollies can feel massive! Not the easiest to manoeuvre, especially when using them while surrounded by customers. It's 3 columns of 5 drawers and each drawer is assigned a shape, we scan the picked item and then the assigned drawer shape so nothing gets mixed up.

I watch The Tesco pickers when I’m in store shopping at the weekend… they just pick off the shelf an put in their trolley. I never see them looking at dates or anything… this worries me with online shopping!

@youngestisapsycho

I watch The Tesco pickers when I’m in store shopping at the weekend… they just pick off the shelf an put in their trolley. I never see them looking at dates or anything… this worries me with online shopping!

Completely understandable concern, all I will say is chances are they've already checked, you are aware if the tomatoes from the delivery have just been put out because there wasn't any at the start of your shift and there is now - just an example. Things from the ambient department usually have long shelf lives - except the free from range, find them dates arnt as long. In my store we also have quality checkers, so if we highlight the cucumbers don't have good dates they will go and ensure the department take them from the shelves and usually put them into reduced. If you do chance online shopping and the dates aren't acceptable you can refuse that item which will then be refunded back to you; not ideal I know, just so you know you arnt stuck with poor dates.

@dudsville

OP, yours is the only AMA I've every clicked on. I've been fascinated by this for years! I don't have any questions.

Me too.

And on behalf of all of us who detest doing the supermarket shop, thank you from the bottom of my unused Bag For Life.

Ido you get people trying to take stuff out of your crates? I did the job years ago when they were first rolling it out at my shop. People kept thinking I was doing reductions with my handset and would root around in the crates when my back was turned!

@FrightorFlight

Ido you get people trying to take stuff out of your crates? I did the job years ago when they were first rolling it out at my shop. People kept thinking I was doing reductions with my handset and would root around in the crates when my back was turned!

I think we are a more common sight in stores these days, so people know what we are doing. But come Christmas/Easter some people do try challenge you to the contents of your trolly.

Wrong thread - clearly you won’t be able to pick this! Will ask for pp to be taken off

I’ve just returned to read all the comments. A really interesting thread. I love online grocery shopping as I hate trundling round a shop and then getting it into the car and home. Thank you OP for doing ‘my shopping’. Much appreciated.

I have OCD and have food hygiene/safety phobias and would love an online shop but worry about food safety
When picking chilled/frozen food do you have a timer or limits before the food has to go in refrigeration? I'm always worried someone starts picking a order but then gets distracted or hands over to someone else and food is sat there for longer than a hour and not stored correctly. What checks are done to ensure food is correctly stored within time limits etc? Thanks