Online shopping - substitutes

[CarlaH]

Not done this before and I think I have managed to say no to substitutes but can anybody tell me whether they tell you online if they have substituted something before the shop leaves their store.

I don't want to have to deal with the person doing the delivery if I can avoid it. I would just like them to be able to leave the stuff at my front door and to thank them and they go away.

It looks like if they do substitute something you have to give it back to them and I don't know how to do that without having to interact with them if you see what I mean.

Who have you shipped with? They don't all do things the same. We use Morrisons and you get an email before delivery with a receipt attached and the email tells you about any substitutions. It says you need to let the driver know before they give you your shopping. It's pretty much impossible for us as inevitably the driver puts all the bags on our step and rings the doorbell. They rarely park where we can see them!

Shopped, not shipped!

Oh sorry - it's Tesco.

What you have described is sort of what I was worried about. That they will bring it all to the door and then I will have to go through all the bags to find any substitutions.

Sainsbury’s email beforehand to say what they are and we tell the driver if we want to reject any.

If we accept any that cost more we get a voucher for the difference. Works well!

Also we’ve had some really great substitutions and no outlandish ones...

breakfastclubb

That's great to hear.

I have ordered branded products that I specifically want so any substitutions are unlikely to be better.

Things that I can't get in Aldi for example which is why I have been waiting for a main supermarket slot to replace things that have run out over lockdown.

If you shop with Tesco when you get to checkout you can tick kn each item wether or not you would like it subbed if not available.

Our Tesco deliveries have been very good recently with very few substitutions - I have this option switched on as I want to get things rather than not.
If they sub a more expensive item, which might just be a bigger pack of the same thing, you only get charged the original price. It doesn't cost you any more

I recommend checking out (again if necessary) the night before as it will tell you of any items which are not available at that point, so at least you could choose alternatives if you wanted.

Asda has the option to keep the item and ask for a refund after if it's unsuitable

At the moment the main supermarkets aren't accepting doorstep returns due to cv safety measures.

Tesco don't (and in my opinion should - ASDA and Sainsbury’s manage it) send an email on the day of picking which is basically your receipt which shows the unavailable items and subs.

They will send you a PDF email on the day if you call them though, I have mentioned a few times now it should be done automatically.

I left Tesco years ago largely because of disastrous subs and went to sainsburys.

I've ended up back with them from a combination of sainsburys being a bloody nightmare throughout! (Lack of delivery slots, pratting about with app/site which made making an order even harder, several crucial basic products were impossible to get - yet no problem with other supermarkets, and I had to cancel last order as delivery driver basically refused to complete the delivery!), difficulty getting slots with others and I've actually found they're now much better.

They also have the option for you to put a note on each item which is handy. Eg I've put on hand wash (which was hard to get at one point and I have ocd) "any same size bottle will do please" on milk after a few times of getting short dated "please ensure a good date"

I think as long as you didn't take piss with this and comment on every item they will try and accommodate.

That said I am a bit miffed that the EXTRA mature cheese I ordered last week was subbed with MILD! Honestly! Who does that?!

Tesco doesn't tell you beforehand.

Asda emails beforehand with a list of any substitutions.

Morrisons do tell you beforehand.

Tesco won't tell you, no. Are you still able to amend the order? You just check the 'no substitute' box

We use Ocado and I get a text message and email with a list of missing items and subs. Any subs you want to refuse you tell the driver and they take it and it’s deducted from the bill. Pre-Covid we never had anything missing or substituted. Now any subs are like for like, usually just a different brand.

@Graphista not true - Sainsbury’s are doing doorstep returns.

@breakfastclubb maybe their policy has changed recently with lockdown easing but certainly when I was still fool enough to use them they weren't doing.

I'm in Scotland and that's still the case here but I know from friends in England and Wales that was the policy there too at the time I was still ordering

Tesco have also been doing doorstep returns throughout lockdown, I have rejected a few things.

Asda are taking back unsuitable subs too - it isn’t an issue, the drivers are used to it.

@Graphista it’s changed in the past few weeks. I preferred it when they didn’t accept them as you could keep them AND apply for a refund if you didn’t like them / would rather not have had them.