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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be royally effed off at Tesco delivery driver

351 replies

SoddingTesco · 28/04/2020 21:10

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?

OP posts:
Peppafrig · 29/04/2020 09:27

@Chillipeanuts I'm surprised they would take it. It's in their contracts that they can't accept cash tips. I wouldn't have thought it was worth losing their job over.

Chillipeanuts · 29/04/2020 09:31

No idea, Peppafrig. All I know is they did.

KisstheTeapot14 · 29/04/2020 09:32

We have Tesco online delivery and drivers have all been very careful and respectful. They drop the bags for me then bid a retreat to 2 m just in case I want to send anything back. Think they had gloves. Your driver wants reporting. He's not following sensible rules of engagement.

Peppafrig · 29/04/2020 09:33

@Chillipeanuts they definitely deserve it for sure. For the priority slots my mum got contacted by the supermarket themselves. They used the government list to check which of their customers was on it.

BlindAssassin1 · 29/04/2020 09:37

I would imagine he is very jaded tbh. He has been to loads of households for weeks on end, he's not been offered much in the way of PPE, if any, maybe some anti bac hand gel. Everything he's handing over, in a box or not, has been handled by numerous other people before it even got to his truck. I very much doubt the cabs of the trucks are deep cleaned between drivers. He's probably been moaned at, cussed at and insulted with a shitty low wage at the end of the month. I expect by the time he got to the op's house, he'd had enough.

I know, I see it all day long at work.

Soontobe60 · 29/04/2020 09:37

Op, were you stood at the door, or 2m away in your house? I've had a couple of things delivered, I opened the door, stood well back and asked them to leave the items on the step.

MintyMabel · 29/04/2020 09:37

@Nekoness

Bending over, towards her feet, for seconds. It is unclear why OP wouldn't have moved backwards at that point. She made a big noise about being handed stuff. Washing hands is also a large part of the guidelines and one of the main things we can do to stop the spread. How convenient you missed that out of your cut and paste.

He handed her bags. It is unclear why she took them.

Why wasn't she wearing a mask if she didn't want to be breathed on for seconds?

Or, don't open the door, talk to him from an upstairs window. If you are that concerned that you risk death by interacting in a very minor way with a delivery driver, and he isn't following your instructions, you tell him to leave. No amount of groceries (or high value items Hmm) is worth death surely?

She is "officially" shielding (because it's important we know it is "official", apparently) and a tesco driver didn't follow her instructions. Not exactly something to lose sleep over if she isn't actually doing much to protect herself.

Chillipeanuts · 29/04/2020 09:43

Peppafrig
Ah, my husband - still - hasn’t had his letter! Between the GP, pain clinic and nephrologist (different conditions under care of different professionals) we’ve been trying to chase it. An older relative only received hers 2 weeks ago so we were hopeful it was just a slow process, but still nothing. Anyway, I’m rambling 😁

I can’t quite believe that people are literally putting their lives at risk for us, often for barely more than minimum wage. I hope anyone who can comfortably leave a gratuity in some form or another will. In the grand scheme of things it probably won’t make much difference but it’s a way of expressing our appreciation.

Astrabees · 29/04/2020 09:57

When our last Ocado delivery came the driver explained to me their procedure if we became unwell or were shielding. They call you to check you are home and safe, you show your face at a window, they leave the shopping on the doorstep or other advised place. Ocado have been pretty crap in many respects but they seem to have got that right.

NaturalBornWoman · 29/04/2020 10:07

@MintyMabel what an unnecessary and bitchy post. For your information ‘officially’ shielded means having received a letter, probably from a hospital consultant, saying in no uncertain terms stay in your home for at least 12 weeks and interact with no one who is going out. If a household member has to continue going out, the shielded person has to isolate themselves within the home as well. Since no one is supposed to be coming within 2 meters of anyone not in their household anyway, it’s a moot point, the driver was not following the correct protocol and endangered the customer. My delivery drivers have all knocked, retreated to a safe distance and waited for me to come to the door or window.

gatsbylove · 29/04/2020 10:10

just because you're vulnerable doesn't mean you have to act like such a twat to people

I trust there are good reasons to act like a twat and that you've got one?

Being worried about this, deciding not to complain officially but resolving to be more assertive and proactive next time seems like an entirely propertionate and reasonable response for someone to make. More than reasonable, considering that person is also grieving.

PenelopePitstopping · 29/04/2020 10:12

@SoddingTesco But surely you knew that the razor blades were not high value?

TBH I've never, ever heard of that term being used or that it required anyone to open a door to drop them off.

If there is an error here it's that.

If someone ordered 4 bottles of wine @£10 each would that count as high value items?

If he could see you, why did he need to ask you to open the door?

In future, maybe leave a note on your door to say you are vulnerable, you are not opening the door for anyone, and all parcels etc must go outside (or in your porch.)

We have had loads of deliveries - food and other stuff.

Royal Mail rings the bell, dumps it and leaves. Same for Amazon and Hermes.

Tesco and Ocado- I shout from the door before they come to it, asking them to leave it all outside and 99% of the time I accept subs.

If not, they search in the bags at a distance and then take subs away.

ErickBroch · 29/04/2020 10:25

I understand this was annoying but I would love to be in the mindset of someone who feels that after a minor problem they need to go online and create a thread for everyone to hear. So foreign to me. I must just have a difficult life because it would take something massive for me to complain online to strangers.

Original poster
SoddingTesco · 29/04/2020 10:28

@erickbroch perhaps this is more to do with the grief I’m experiencing than Tesco not delivering to protocol - I did explain I knew I wasn’t in the right frame of mind and willing to accept that. I needed to vent Smile

OP posts:
DollysDrawers · 29/04/2020 10:40

YANBU at all. Ours leave the stuff on the doorstep, ring the bell then step back onto the pavement until you answer the door.

It's not you being overdramatic, some posters are being a bit arseholey and trying to belittle you and make you feel stupid, it's happening a lot on here at the moment. I'm sorry you lost someone close to you recently, your feelings are bound to be heightened.

DollysDrawers · 29/04/2020 10:44

@ErickBroch she hasn't 'created a thread for everyone to hear'. She's started a thread which you can choose to read or not, or choose to comment or not. You chose to.

There are far more trivial things on these forums than someone, who is clearly feeling vulnerable because of her own health issues along with losing someone a couple of days ago, venting on these boards.

Just because something isn't important to you doesn't mean it's not important to someone else and to trivialise other peoples' concerns is unkind and unnecessary.

TimeWastingButFun · 29/04/2020 10:55

I get the driver to leave the shopping by the kitchen door where I have bleach water ready to wipe it all down, I wear gloves. Then I get him to put the paperwork down too. Just stand well back. But I wouldn’t complain - they’re working SO hard. Can you update your ‘special instructions’ box on the site?

TimeWastingButFun · 29/04/2020 10:57

Also, you could put tape or some sort of marker on your path and a note on the door asking to stand behind the tape while you open the door?

ErickBroch · 29/04/2020 11:04

@SoddingTesco I have also lost two people in my immediate family. I am sorry that you have had a loss too. I don't think it erases my point though. Hope you don't have to deal with again maybe shove a massive sign on your door lol

ErickBroch · 29/04/2020 11:06

@DollysDrawers read above because this is not a grief competition and sadly thousands of us are dealing with this too. It is a huge public forum, I am just saying I am surprised at what would push someone to post this that is all. When you post on a forum with hundreds of thousands of members then you will, shockingly, get people who disagree with you. Part and Parcel. Thanks.

G3m81 · 29/04/2020 11:10

@PenelopePitstopping I work for Tesco and razor blades are classed as high value goods so he was correct. They also need proof of age as they are a restricted item.

AmIAStone · 29/04/2020 11:10

@EdwynCollins Are you going to have absolutely no contact with anyone indefinitely then?
It could be 2 years before there is a vaccine and we don't know if those that have had it develop immunity
You do realise that us and some other people will actually have to do this so they don’t die? No family/friends/work/visitors? It’s ok now, but when the country goes back to normal and there’s not as much care, deliveries will become more risky as people will feel fine.

OP, for those just saying wear a mask etc, it’s terrifying, we can’t even do the clap for carers in case our neighbour comes and says hi and gets too near and social norms paralyse you to not run away/say stop.

AmIAStone · 29/04/2020 11:14

@dontdisturbmenow that’s great for you.
Here, we live quite a a way from the supermarkets rurally, thee are no slots ever. Without priority slots we would have no essentials apart from what we can get delivered from farm shops. The time it take the van to drive here and back from the supermarket, they can visit locally and be filled up again, so we are not getting many slots.

EdwynCollins · 29/04/2020 11:25

AmIAStone
I do realise that and I am in a vulnerable group too. I also know people from very vul groups who have survived it but the reality is going to be no life or take sensible precautions

MintyMabel · 29/04/2020 11:26

saying in no uncertain terms stay in your home for at least 12 weeks and interact with no one who is going out.

So opening your door to the Tesco driver was a really stupid thing to do then, wasn’t it.