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? )

Have been doing this for years. Supermarkets allow it....because there's nothing wrong with it.

It's no different to doing an actual shop and then changing your mind/adding other items. Putting in beer/wine to get to £40 to checkout isn't dishonest, it's being organised.

Plus the beer and wine stays in there anyway.

You feel a bit shocked! Really. I think people are doing what they need to do to get their shopping sorted, in whatever way they choose. As for being dishonest, you must have been leading a very sheltered life.

Dishonest and selfish?

Really???

I think you need to get some perspective!

YABU - how does anyone get a slot even close to the date / time they need without booking it at least a week in advance? What does it matter what anyone puts in their virtual trolley in order to hold their delivery slot? I don't understand why you think this is dishonest or why booking in advance, for a delivery you actually need, is considered "hogging a delivery spot"? Some suppliers, like Ocado, encourage customers to book repeat delivery slots as soon as they are able.

Ive just looked at local supermarkets and i can get slots from Sunday, loads to pick from. Sunday is only six days away, just plan better.

Even if nobody did this, it wouldn't change the number of people competing for slots on the same day or in the same week.

Take slots for this week - lots will have been booked by people well in advance, maybe up to four weeks ago, but if those people hadn't done that and left booking till today, say, they would all still be competing with you for the same slots. You might as well compete with them as soon as the slots become available rather than coming late to the whole process and possibly missing out completely. People not doing this wouldn't free up more slots. The only thing that would do that is people deciding not to shop online or to shop online a lot less (and lots of people did that during lockdown, by choice or by necessity).

I've just booked a Tesco delivery slot. The next one available was Friday 7th of August. I have no idea what I will need then but I have to check out within the next two hours. I have put a handful of things in the basket and will fill it with shopping nearer the time.

That's how it works so what's the problem?

I order from Sainsbury's, and at the moment slots only open up 3 days before you get the delivery (so today, Thursday opened up).

Demand is clearly getting less though, as I could've had a delivery tomorrow if I wanted (or they're still employing new drivers, which I doubt).

So your method would be right for me, OP (though in non-COVID times I would book 3 weeks in advance, but with a previous shop, so it would at least be partly-useful if I forgot to amend it!).

I don't even make the £40 just put milk in the basket til l know what l want, usually the day before.

@AhBallix

Why do people sling more than £40 worth of items in their basket in order to reserve the slot? I just put in a few things I usually buy (although that part doesn't matter) but it doesn't need to add up to more than £40. When you finalise your list the night before, that's when it needs to come to more than £40. It doesn't matter up until that point - you don't get charged for only having £20 worth of stuff in there for the previous fortnight.

Just goes to show how the shops are all different. With Ocado SmartPass you have to have a minimum shop of £40. My shop for the beginning of August is currently 8 pints of milk, some orange juice and a bottle of raspberry gin...... the milk and orange juice go on EVERY order, the gin is always one I will (very) happily drink if I forget to remove it once I’ve added more stuff to take it over the £40.

I just went back in and all the slots are already gone, so if I'd waited till nearer the time I would have got one at all.

I thought everyone did this.

Yes I have always done this with a Tesco though it used to be 3 weeks in advance before Covid. I usually put a couple of favourites in to save the slot, then a couple of days before the slot I do a provisional shop, this is for if the internet or Tesco website should crash the evening before delivery or other unforeseen circumstances, then the evening before I check and do my final shop.

Thanks for the reminder, just booked up another slot!

Although we all do this, we really shouldn't.

As supermarkets have a 'just in time' delivery system, they are relying on trends of stock in baskets to modify and optimise their stock and delivery (to store) systems and architecture.

For example, I used to work for a company that warehoused just in time fresh fruit and veg for a UK supermarket. If, during the shop's ordering period, they noticed an online demand for a particular item (eg expensive whiskey), then the deliveries from wholesalers & suppliers would be modified upwards to cover this demand.

However, if the items in the customer's orders changed (from whiskey to sprouts) 24hrs before delivery (and in the case of Christmas week, that's hundred of thousands of units of whiskey ordered not sprouts) then the original order based on estimated shop sales plus deliveries booked would be light on the old Brussels. And the stocks of expensive booze items over £40 would be in excess of the total stock really required.

Hence why some items are then either 1) not in the shops and 2) substituted in the delivery. And in the case of the old Brussels Sprouts across the UK in the 48hrs before Christmas, that's tonnes. And tonnes, and tonnes that are either needing substitution or not on the shelves for walk in customers. Or, it can lead to an overstock on predicted items which then need to be discounted, which then leads to Supermarkets cutting the margin to suppliers even further than they already are. And suppliers, especially small enterprises, eventually going bankrupt.

Supermarkets are wise to this customer online shop rouse to an extent, but there will be no system that can read the minds of everyone in the UK and work out which item you're going to add to your online trolley to bagsy your space on a van.

And this logistics stuff is bloody complex to manage and architecture!

It's supply and demand, which is hard to supply if the demanded items are just placeholders, not real items.

As analysts (and gosh love them, they're superhuman with these complex statistics), these things can drive you bananas. And apples. And sprouts.

We always shop online with Sainsbury’s (for years, not just since Covid) and I reserve the slot with our regular “favourites” then sort it out properly just before it’s due depending on meals.

I honestly thought everyone did this.

A note - this is an incredibly simple view of a bit of how it works above. The thing you order even the day before delivery may not be delivered, or even ordered to store at the point you finalise your order (with the stuff you need).

If you are going to do the whole 'bagsy a spot with vodka' thing, then at least mark your place with stuff you really use (although if you are going to use the above whisky analogy, at least make it a Laphroig or single malt and, should you forget to take it out of the basket, just drop me a pm. Lovely stuff).

We have a recurring plot every Friday morning as it's DH day off with our son. We've done this for about 4 years. In peak lockdown even our recurring slot wasn't guaranteed though, they suspended it for a few weeks. We've always put wine in our trolley to check out, twice over the years we've had 6 bottles of red wine delivered

But that's how my list works. If I need something I'll add it to my order during the week so it's full by the time my delivery slot comes around. Otherwise ide have a list full of shopping and no delivery.

I don't understand the problem with this. if supermarkets don;t like it, then they need to change the way orders are made. Very strange

What is it with people trying to make others feel guilty just for doing basic activities like shopping?

Always done it. I get my delivery on a Saturday and then book next weeks delivery once I've put my shopping away.
I'm with Sainsbury's and we are still only getting slots for the following week at the moment but will be keeping an eye out for them opening up more weeks once shielding is paused.

@turquoise50

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? I've done this for years as it can be annoying when you can't get the slot you want to fit in with your plans.

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'? There were no Tesco slots and Waitrose prioritised vulnverable customers (as they should) so no slots there, Ocado just went kaput for a bit. However, I already had 2 slots booked so I kept them but booked no new slots until I was added to a supermarket's 'valued customers' list and could book slots again. In the meantime I went shopping physically

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? In the normal world I easily reschedule, now I plan the delivery times carefully so there is no issue

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.

I dont have a car so online grocery shopping has been the norm in this household for many years. I book slots in line with my needs but I know that I'll need a booking at least every two weeks, so I pre-book. I used to do them early Saturday or Sunday so I had time to go to the gym before going out or having a quiet afternoon.

YABU. What does it matter whether you put a few things in to start or the whole shopping. I put my whole shopping in the first few times till I got fed up having to change most of it the night before anyway due to supermarket stock, change in plans and food requirements, etc. Either way I’d have still used the same slot.

My friend actually did this today, and her fella forgot to remove the rum he'd held the basket with! 😂 I never realised this was a thing, it's ingenious! I'll definitely be doing it!"

I've done this for years. I've had a weekly inline shop for over a decade. I pop two bottles of spirits in to take it above the £40 limit. Then the night before edit it to my actual weekly shop. I always use the slot, I just can't be arsed to meal plan so far in advanced. Doing it the night before means I know exactly what I have in and need to buy.