To be royally effed off at Tesco delivery driver

[SoddingTesco]

Managed to get a slot for delivery as am officially shielding. Tesco driver turns up so I put out a big plastic box he can decant my bags into and go to the porch window to let him know he can put the bags in there.

Says he can’t. Says my order has high value items and I have to come to the door.

Fine, whatever. I open the door and stand back, explain I’m shielding as I’m classed as vulnerable.

Just laughs and asks if I want the stuff in the box.... no, I just put it out there for a laugh obviously.

Then he decides my peppers might get squashed so leans in and puts them by my feet. He goes on to explain my substitutions and goes to hand me the paperwork. We both just stand there for a bit before I take it off him. He sees this as an opportunity to hand me more bags and unpacked items even though I’ve just bloody told him I’m shielding! My plan was to bring the untouched box into the porch and leave it there but he ended up handing me half my shopping, a receipt and a bloody leaflet about shopping with Tesco.

No gloves, no mask, nothing.

I’m a bit highly strung today as I have recently lost someone close so just want to know if IABU and need to chill out or whether I should complain?

I have to say your Tesco driver was a idiot and I would definately complain. I am high risk and my Tesco drivers have been brilliant. They take all the bags out of the boxes and leave on the doorstep, and if I need to tell them anything a leave a note on my door. There is no way I would open the door to anyone. I suggest in future you leave a note on your door with instructions and that will solve the problem

@PenelopePitstopping shielded means had a letter saying you are in a group that needs to take extra care and not leave the house for at least 12 weeks. Can’t go out to the shops or exercise. If someone in the household has to go out e.g. to work, the shielded person has to isolate within the house too.

@SoddingTesco I do apologise- shielding is the right term but I did think it also applied to people in our situation where one person was basically 'shielding' another person in the household by taking care not to bring the virus into the home, if someone was at risk.

@NaturalBornWoman Thanks- yes, that's right. I thought the term was 'clinically vulnerable' (as a friend of mine is) and shielding was something else. I have apologised to the OP.

If the stuff was already bagged, wouldn't it have made sense just to have placed the bags into the box that Op had left out?

As for the "high value item"-he could see Op & know that she would take the box straight in, so it all seems an unnecessary fuss & faff tbh.

A) - I hope you reported him to his employers and (B) it's because of idiots like him that have this attitude that we are all over reacting that we are still in lockdown after so long - if we had all stuck to the rules rigidly from day one it wouldn't have been able to pass from person to person to such an extent. But there are still people out there with the same attitude as this chap. (C) you could have been more forceful, but our problem is we are British and that's just not our way !!

Must admit to start with our sainsburys driver would leave the bags at the door ring the bell, I'd wave and say thank you and they'd drive off. However the last 2 weeks they have rung the bell and brought crates to the door, I've unloaded and stood back when they are at the door. TBH I much prefer the first way and would be happy to continue this indefinitely, surely it's easier for the driver too.....

Tesco are the worst for this! The staff don't socially distance in store, with customers or each other.
I got my first and only delivery slot since lockdown the other day. No distancing, no gloves, driver standing really close and handing me stuff.
I personally wouldn't complain though, as I like them all, and value the job they do.

Apart from whether the driver was right or wrong, hopefully you wore gloves , OP , because of any possible germs on the bags and threw both gloves and bags away after unpacking ?

I think you are very lucky to get shopping delivered.. I am among the tens of thousands of people that were missed off the government list of vulnerable, as such I must go to the supermarket.
These are difficult times for all and I understand you are worried but feel you simply confused the issue

Unless he changed his gloves each and every time he handled a new bag then they are pointless. He will no doubt anti bac his hands before he got in the van.

YANBU.

This place is batshit as currently the majority are saying YABU but there are so many posts going mental about those not properly isolating, and then when you post something entirely sensible (like this post) people say 'nah, you're overeacting'

If the delivery driver had CV19 and came within 2 meters of the OP, he has put her at risk

Just use your common sense

We are relying on deliveries, shops too risky in our circumstances, and are extremely grateful to the delivery drivers, we’ve been leaving a gratuity for them: they’re putting themselves at risk so that we don’t have to.

Fill in the special instructions box on the website and to be sure stick a note on the front door telling them you’re isolating and to please leave on doorstep.

We’ve been doing this for over 6 weeks now and not one supermarket or courier worker has ignored our request.

I wouldn’t have opened the door.
We are shielding and I finally got a slot this week. I waved and said Thankyou to the driver out of my living room window and he left all the items in bags ( cheap white ones not long life) at my front door with the paperwork included. Bottles of juice he just set by the door.
I didn’t open door until after he left then gloved up and brought everything inside and cleaned it.

@nicknacky
“So just bring the shopping in and wash your hands”

@MintyMabel
“Was there something stopping you washing your hands?”

You two showed your ignorance, didn’t you? Why don’t you read this and explain to the OP how washing her hands would help when the man was close enough for her to breathe in any droplets his laughter would have released. He wasn’t wearing a face mask and neither was she.

From WHO

“The disease spreads primarily from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, which are expelled when a person with COVID-19 coughs, sneezes, or speaks. These droplets are relatively heavy, do not travel far and quickly sink to the ground. People can catch COVID-19 if they breathe in these droplets from a person infected with the virus. This is why it is important to stay at least 1 metre (3 feet) away from others. “

And, scientists are still figuring out if there is an airborne element to how the virus spreads.

@Chillipeanuts Tesco delivery drivers are not allowed to take tips.

I just want to clarify a few things from PPs.

I did put in the comments box that I’m shielding due to being vulnerable and needed contactless delivery.

My porch window is right next to my front door (quite large) and he could both hear and see me well when I asked him to put things in the box.

He refused and was quite adamant I HAD to OPEN the door because of my high value items (razor blades). I explained at this point again that I’m shielding as I’m vulnerable.

I did that and stood back 2m. He then proceeded to lean into my doorway to put a bag of peppers at my feet. There was plenty of space to put them in the doorway.

He leaned into the doorway AGAIN to hand me the receipt.

He laughed at me when I said I wanted my stuff in the box.

I KNOW I should have been more forceful, I wasn’t thinking straight.

I WILL NOT be trying to get this guy fired, I’m well aware what a difficult job this is and I’ve waited 5 weeks for a delivery slot so don’t want to risk not getting another one.

Hope that clears some things up!

YANBU, what he did is not how it is supposed to be being done, either to meet social distancing or to meet the needs of people who are classed as vulnerable and needing to shield. Please email the customer service team and tell them.

peppafrig

Well he did: and I wish we could have left more. Asda driver took it too.

Some of these replies actually sound almost jealous that OP has a priority slot
I'm shielding but haven't bothered to go through the process of priority slots. I manage to get slots as normal customer. Requires to log in every few hours as slots are all full 3 weeks in advance but then become available there and then. So far managed 3 deliveries.

And I agree, delivery notes are exactly for these circumstances. If you didn't use it to make your request clear, you are definitely unreasonable.

And if you can’t be arsed to read what the OP has written dontdisturbmenow, then don’t post expecting her to bother reading your useless opinions

dontdisturbmenow
No idea how to go about getting priority slots, there’s nothing on the websites, directing people shielding to anywhere else?
My husband is shielding too so we’ve just had to be very patient, a couple of midnight and a 3am trawling session of the various supermarkets.
We did see this coming so managed to book the first couple in advance quite easily. Our last is currently booked for 10th May and we’re hoping things will ease up a bit of rules are relaxed.
We’re immensely grateful to the drivers. Someone said they’re not allowed to take gratuities but we’ll continue to leave them. (If anyone is concerned, we’ve been inside for 6 weeks now, our dwindling cash is probably amongst the safest in the country 😁)

OP you are getting a hard time here for no reason. I think posters to understand how it must feel to be in your shoes - receiving a letter to say you are officially at great risk from this virus and must shield, not having left your home in 6+ weeks or so, you must be feeling more vulnerable than usual. That hardly puts you in a good position to be assertive with this driver. You stated the instructions on your order online, you verbally repeated these to him in person, yet apparently you are still in the wrong for not being assertive enough with him?

OP you are not wrong, he was. I hope you are able to relax now it is over and move on with your day. If this happens again, perhaps a well timed cough might remind the driver that following your instructions is actually in his best interest too? (Kind of joking, kind of not!)