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? )

@quiteathome my MIL had 2 deliveries a week during lockdown! 1 from Tesco & 1 from Sainsburys as she was also doing SIL's shopping because she had decided it was too risky to have it delivered to her own house during a pandemic, so she would send her shopping list to MIL who who order & receive the delivery. Then call her to collect it and have FIL put it in her car or have FIL deliver it to her house! (She was not shielding or vulnerable, just selfish & lazy!)

In fact, MIL is still doing this for her now!

i have the next 3 fridays booked, 3 different supermarkets

. I do still think shops should be a bit tougher at the moment though because the slots are definitely getting harder

Ocado are actively encouraging me to do this via emails reminding me to book more slots.

difference is i put my full is in there, not alcohol, just a regular shop

because she had decided it was too risky to have it delivered to her own house during a pandemic

Why did she think her house was more dangerous?!

I've always done this since we started shopping with Ocado 14 years ago. I don't think it's sneaky at all, it's surely what most people do?

Wow I've learned a lot on this thread! I don't have a car so it's great having all the bulky and/or heavy items delivered to my door. It's also great not HAVING to go out if the weather's horrible, as my groceries, etc are delivered to me.

My elderly mother (different supermarket to me) took to this way of shopping (after I'd explained it to her a few times...) as I just order enough to last her a couple of weeks or so.

I'm another one who automatically places the next order either using the previous trolley or just the favourites list and edit it as needed. I also have a reminder in my phone which prompts me before the supermarket reminder text. I find I'm actually spending less too, as I'm not impulse buying.

But thank goodness I don't have to wake up at the shriek of dawn or before any more to get my slots!

I've always done this.
I know that I will need shopping on a regular basis so I ensure I always have slots for the next few weeks.

OP sound very lovely if I may say so. Gracious and self deprecating.

Ok so I have genuine questions (this thread has blown my mind completely!)

1. Did you all do this from the start? When shopping first went online? Or was it a case of, a few people started doing it and so then everyone had to or else there'd be no slots?

1. When everyone was saying 'Aargh there aren't any slots' during lockdown, did you mean there weren't ANY slots (which was what I meant) or did you mean 'I can't book my usual slot 3-4 weeks in advance like normal'?

1. What happens when you've got a slot booked weeks in advance but then something comes up? Do you cancel/reschedule? Or do you religiously schedule around the supermarket delivery?

It occurs to me that the shops could manage this better. At the moment there are basically two systems operating at the same time - one for people who book ahead, and one for people like me (clearly the minority but I can't be the only one) who are 'chancers' when it comes to booking. It's a bit like when they introduced seat booking for trains but didn't make it compulsory, so you had all the chancers competing with the planners for the same seats. Either make it so everyone books ahead, or no-one does!

Why don't they, when you sign up, get you to choose a regular delivery schedule, say every other Monday or whatever, and then email two days beforehand to say 'Your delivery is in two days - don't forget to order your stuff!' Then give you the option to cancel it if you're away or don't need it for whatever reason. They could even go one step further and then email other shoppers in the same area whose delivery was due within up to a week, to say 'Hey, a cancellation has just come up in your area for Monday - would you like to bring your delivery forward?' That might help people who were 'chancers' and couldn't get the slot they wanted, and nobody would have to have a holding basket.

Wow I had no idea this was a thing!! Its genius!

YABU everyone does this!

I reserve it with a pint of milk, no need for £40!! And I don't do it as soon as my shopping arrives, I do it anytime I remember and book as far ahead as I can

This thread has backfired as you’ve reminded to do this for the day we get back from our holiday. How would I know when I book the slot what I will need?

YABU

I have a regular slot with Asda as a delivery saver customer, so i can place the order 3 weeks in advance. I always do an order that I could live with if it actually got delivered, not just booze! Then closer to the time, I edit it.

Booking in advance has been the only way to get a slot since March although it’s improving now.

Why does it matter to you if people are doing a placeholder order or a full order? It makes no difference to you at all, or to slot availability.

The answer is for you to plan ahead like the rest of us!

What a great idea , thanks for sharing !! 😂

Always done this, always will. Even when I almost had to pay a £4 surcharge on a single 65p yogurt being delivered 😂

YABU the vast majority of people do this and it's not selfish or greedy! It's being organised! Your way sounds stressful and chaotic to me. I can understand (just about) having no idea that this is how the system works, but I find it amazing that you've jumped to the conclusion it's selfish that other people do things differently?

booking in advance means you can try and have a more structured meal plan becuase you have clear knowledge how long this delivery will need to cover for. If you can get a rolling weekly delivery thats ideal. Otherwise you'll be popping out to get odds and sods and that can start to get expensive or just a pain in the bum.

Even my MIL does this and worked it out for herself ( no one else in the family does on line Supermarket shopping). MIL is 92.

I do this with Ocado because I have a very efficient “regulars” system set up so different things get added automatically on a weekly/fortnightly/monthly basis. Those alone usually hit £40 and then I’ll add any extras we fancy/have run out of/need for recipes that week.

I always have a months worth of delivery slots booked, and I do this across two different suppliers. When I receive one shop I immediately book one further out, I just plop in everything from the current shop into the next shop, and amend it a couple of days in advance. I have always done this, for years and years and years.

You will hate me, but just before lockdown I actually doubled up on slots but only used one, the one which could deliver what I wanted, I released the other slot the day before. Only once did I not get a delivery slot, but then could click and collect locally. Haven't had any issues for weeks and weeks here.

I have the next 4 weeks booked with only a bunch of bananas in my basket. I will edit it the night before the delivery as I won't know exactly what I want until then.

I've been doing that for five years since I moved in with dh. I have a months worth of slots usually in advance.

@SuckingDieselFella

I've never done it. At the moment I think it's wrong because there are elderly people or those who are shielding who need those slots more than me.

I don't know how they manage it anyway. Both Tesco and Sainsburys in my area will only allow me to book a few days in advance. Probably it's to stop the 'organised' people on this thread hogging all the slots.

Reserving slots as they became available was the only way I could get food delivered to my elderly, frail mum who lives 140 miles from me .

1. Did you all do this from the start? When shopping first went online? Yes I have been doing it since its inception. It is common practice.

2. When everyone was saying 'Aargh there aren't any slots' during lockdown, did you mean there weren't ANY slots (which was what I meant) or did you mean 'I can't book my usual slot 3-4 weeks in advance like normal'? As a delivery pass holder I had a regular slot but there were no other slots available to book or switch to for weeks in advance.

3. What happens when you've got a slot booked weeks in advance but then something comes up? Do you cancel/reschedule? Or do you religiously schedule around the supermarket delivery? I reschedule (if I can get another slot) If not I have to cancel or schedule round the supermarket delivery.

Why don't they, when you sign up, get you to choose a regular delivery schedule, say every other Monday or whatever, and then email two days beforehand to say 'Your delivery is in two days - don't forget to order your stuff!' Then give you the option to cancel it if you're away or don't need it for whatever reason. They do if you have a delivery pass and then you have a secure slot which you can change or cancel. They email you to remind you a few days before and the day before.

They could even go one step further and then email other shoppers in the same area whose delivery was due within up to a week, to say 'Hey, a cancellation has just come up in your area for Monday - would you like to bring your delivery forward?' That might help people who were 'chancers' and couldn't get the slot they wanted, and nobody would have to have a holding basket. I think that would be a bit onerous and impossible to manage and people would still hold baskets, this is why they keep saying check the slots.