People 'reserving' delivery slots

[turquoise50]

I've recently discovered that apparently lots of people are 'reserving' supermarket delivery slots by just putting a bottle or two of booze which they don't really want into their trolley to take it over £40, and leaving it there for weeks! Then when they're ready to order their actual shopping they edit it and take it out.

Thus just strikes me as dishonest and really very selfish when everyone knows that delivery slots are still in very high demand. I tried to book on Saturday and the earliest slot I could get was Monday 27th. Last week there was a two-week wait and I had to order from my second-choice supermarket instead, where the wait was only a week.

I presume people are doing it the minute their order is delivered, to hold their regular spot for next time. Whereas I tend to be more reactive in my shopping habits, besides keeping a rolling list in my notes.

I feel a bit shocked, but at the same time realise that if I (pre-lockdown) would, say, order on a Thursday for delivery on a Sunday, because that happens to be my preferred day, it's effectively the same thing. But there wasn't a shortage of slots then, going to the shops was no big deal, and I was ordering stuff I actually wanted.

YANBU - it's selfish and sneaky and people shouldn't hog slots; in fact the shops should crack down on it by making it so that slots can only be held for up to a week, and/or make the trolley limit a minimum number of items, not a minimum amount of money. (I know some shops did this for a while but not sure if still continuing.)

YABU - it's really no different from ordering your full shop a few days in advance and editing it several times before delivery as you run out of different things.

(As a side question - when these people forget to update their order and 'accidentally' get a delivery of nothing but a £40 bottle of whisky that they don't even like, should I feel a certain amount of schadenfreude, or be even more annoyed by the totally wasted delivery slot? Or a bit of both? )

I've always done that. Otherwise I have to mealplan weeks in advance and keep editing.

I do this and have done it for years. There is no shortage of slots in my area now(unless it’s Ocado).

I do it, as do a lot of my friends. I book the slot but don't have time to do my full shop af that time. Why does it matter what's in my basket at any given time?

YABU - this has been common practice way before COVID! I usually stick enough in my basket to cover the £40 and then add more when I more when I know actually what I need the day before delivery.

I’ve done it before. Not so much recently as I’m not organised enough. Not sure why it’s selfish, as everyone has the option to do it if they want to.

You can't really complain because other people are more efficient than you! They are more efficient than me, too - but going to the shops is hardly a big deal any more!

YABU. It gives you time to work out what you need. Sometimes I can only get a slot 2 weeks away. I don’t always know what I’ll want or need in 2 weeks.

How is what goes in the basket relevant?

Once you book a slot, you book a lot? You aren't reserving anything?

Do you never amend your basket?

OP, everyone does that. If they didn’t, they’d never get a slot

I do this too , it’s called being organised ! I’m a Tesco delivery saver plan customer and book my weekly slot four weeks in advance . I pay for this service and use it to its full
Potential. Nothing sneaky or dishonest about it!!

No shortage of slots here either but I do my weekly shop the day before it is due to arrive, when they would be all sold out. So I do my shop Tuesday to come Wednesday but before I do it, I make a reservation for the following week - so I know whether I am shopping for 5 days, 6 days, 7 days or 8 days. I do my shop the day before so I know what we've run out of.

YABU - doesn’t matter what goes in my basket, it usually all gets changed the night before anyways! It’s just planning in advance, most people do it and there’s nothing stopping you doing it.

There isn’t really a shortage of slots here anymore either.

Everyone who shops online does this - It’s not sneaky. You’re being very dramatic about something that virtually everyone does, because you might know when you need a delivery but haven't the time etc to complete. Save your outrage for something that matters.

This is perfectly normal.

You can feel I fully deserved my singular bottle of Rum thst cost me £6 delivery, but I feel shot enough as we're shielding and I had to break that to buy baby food.

I book a slot for a weeks time and edit as I go, so as we need stuff. It's weekly cos there was a 3 box limit on baby formula and I use 3 a week, plus bread and milk last a week.

I apologised to the delivery driver who brought me my rum, and explained I'd buggered up not saving my basket properly.

If slots were only available with say 36 hours notice then I'd adapt but as I can get slot a week and I need 1 slot a week, I don't see what difference it makes

It's perfectly acceptable and in fact, shops clearly allow it because you can put a single item in your basket, then checkout. At Tesco, for example, I can put a single banana in the basket, then checkout. £4 is added to the order because the basket is under £40. Once items are added to take it over £40, the £4 charge is removed.

Yabu.
I book my slot...with a bottle of milk...and the night before fill my trolley. Done it that way for 5 years now...

Yabu. I do that, always have. I like to have the same delivery slot as it fits in with work/kids so I reserve one when it becomes available. That is exactly why there are weeks worth of slots available. There is nothing stopping you doing the same thing.

Your post has just prompted me to book up slots for the next few weeks though! I struggle with masks due to severe claustrophobia so will be avoiding shops as much as possible, so makes sense to have my slots booked.

I’ve done it for years, no delivery slot shortage here at the moment either. It was a bit difficult to get a slot at the beginning of the panic buying bollocks but within a couple of weeks it was fine, must depend where you live.

We usually do this. I’m struggling to see why it is selfish unless someone was doing it to reserve multiple slots and then cancelling all but one at the last minute (and even then, the cancelled slots would all just reappear on the website).

I do this. I know that I will want a delivery, say, next Wednesday so will reserve a slot with booze/regulars then update it nearer the day (I only update it once though). I don't think it's particularly selfish, I just don't know exactly what I need a week or even two in advance.

We do this, I mean I know i will definitely need shopping I just might not know what I want until a day or two before especially if it’s well in advance. Mostly we get click and collect though and it’s only a few days wait.

Isn't this totally normal? I've always done this to make sure I get a slot at a convenient time for me, then I edit my trolley nearer the time.

As an aside, there are hundreds of slots near me now. I can order any day of the week and get shopping the following morning.

YABU they know they'll need more food in two weeks but dont know exactly what, reduces food wastage if anything.