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 do this at the moment.

Sainsbury's only allow me to book one slot at a time though so i book next Saturday's slot after my delivery has come. I just stick champers in then amend to what I need on the Friday.

Nothing wrong with that!

I used to do it until one time I forgot and the driver turned up the next day with 2 bottles of gin! I had to send them back with him so now I just add things from my favourites that we would have every week to take me over £40 just incase I ever forget again at least I will have useful things.

I have a shopping list saved in Ocado. Basics I always need like butter bread eggs and wine. Then book up slots well in advance and edit the day before with what I've meal planned. I have been doing this for over ten years!

That's how you do it. We book a Wednesday delivery on Sunday with a holding booking of a few more expensive items like wine, loo roll, cat litter.

I've got my next 3 weekly shops booked like that. I've always done it like that to ensure I get a slot at a convenient time, nothing new.

I normally book in advance and fill with my "last order" on Tesco. Most of the stuff we buy every week (although I'm doing alternate weeks currently) so even if I forget to amend its generally stuff we will eat or need at some point.

@nokidshere So how exactly are you booking your slot weeks in advance?

I’m not suggesting that people couldn't change their regular slot if they found it didn't suit them, but if the norm for most people truly is to book multiple slots weeks in advance, I'd have thought it would be easier to have that set up on the account rather than having to hold baskets.

I get that people are saying that some shops already offer this as a premium service. I've just never taken any notice of that, because a) I usually avoid 'premium' anything because it generally screams 'waste of money' to me, and b) as I've said, my habit has always been to pick cheap, unpopular timings for my deliveries, so outside of Christmas I've rarely encountered a problem with availability before. It's only the Covid situation which has made me aware of any of this. I’m happy to be educated but it is going to mean a big change to the way I normally do things, and a bit of research to see whether my normal shop offers this service, or whether it's worth me changing supermarket, etc. Again NBD in the grand scheme of things, but irritating.

I did not even know this was a thing! I must be very naive ... but I guess if you order Mainly the same stuff every week & then need to do a bit of editing it makes sense!

@turquoise50 you do know you don't HAVE to use UPPER CASE to make your POINT, you do KNOW I am PERFECTLY capable of reading with out that?

No one has MADE me book slots ahead, I DO it because I KNOW my diary and WHEN I want my next shop. I PAY for an annual pass and I USE it.

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

This makes no sense whatsoever. Their just in time deliveries also need to take account of what people who haven’t booked an online shop might be buying next week. That’s a much bigger group of people and they’d have to be pretty crap at their job if a minority of people putting things into an online basket throws the whole system off. They will have far more accurate data to be making those decisions on.

I changed ordering habits in lock down. I used to book tesco a couple of days in advance but now do it 3-4 weeks out. I copy my last order to reserve my slot and then edit the night before. If I forget I would still get a reasonably accurate order arriving.
I don't ever cancel and very rarely change my slot so don't see it as 'hogging' it. I think I'd be more inclined to agree with your opening post for anyone that reserved slots they then cancelled.

YABU OP, what’s the difference between doing that and filling the trolley? The space has still gone?!

I thought this was normal! It was bloody difficult during lockdown and I only managed twice between March and June!

But normally, I book my delivery, wait for it to be delivered and get online and book the next one, just shove one thing the virtual basket and adjust nearer the time. It’s food. I don’t just book a spot for the sake of it. I always do it for about 9pm too so that it doesn’t matter if my day plans change.

I use Tesco, there’s plenty of slots on my one appearing now. Very random times but much easier to get. Like I say during lockdown I was as buggered as the next person.

I don’t have to put £40 worth in straight away either, didn’t realise any supermarket made you do that! I just put in something that I will order each time, say baked beans, “check out” and come back to it in the build up!

I’m not booking a slot each day and cancelling all over the place - nothing wrong with getting the next slot in! Sadly the days of being able to book for the next day when you realise you need it are gone for now. Have to plan ahead.

Thanks for the tip OP. I've never had a supermarket delivery but I'm sick of queuing at my local shop and don't want to wear a mask do going online.

@Coronabegone DO you? Good for YOU!  Nothing personal, that's just how I write! But you win for that comment!  (Yeah I like emojis too).

@DrinkFeckArseGirls Because it's fairer? It levels the playing field? So threads like this wouldn't have to exist because there'd never be anybody scrabbling for slots and wondering why they were all gone?

Dishonest?? Exaggerating much OP?
I've had delivery saver for over 13 years and I've always started a shop with my basics and add to it. Get over it

Dishonest?? Exaggerating much OP?
I've had delivery saver for over 13 years and I've always started a shop with my basics and add to it. Get over it

I think the vast majority OP think YABU, accept it and move on! 🙄

YABU have done this for years (20) - have had one occasion 17 years ago where only the £40 bottle of champagne was delivered because I forgot to fill the order beforehand and I made dh answer the door as I was mortified.

@DrinkFeckArseGirls Because it's fairer? It levels the playing field? So threads like this wouldn't have to exist because there'd never be anybody scrabbling for slots and wondering why they were all gone?

How would it be fairer? It's still on a first come first served basis, so whoever was last doesn't get a slot!

What system do you actually want OP, the stores offer advance bookings, do you want them to only offer three days ahead and the system crashes as everyone tries to book the slots.

Bold fail 🙄

But I don't always want my shop at 10am on Monday morning. The whole point of online shopping is convenience and flexibility. Just like I don't always want my hair doing on the 3rd Thursday every month etc

But flexibility comes at a price

You might not want to commit to getting your shopping at the same time each week or having your hair cut every 3rd Thursday but that means that when it does suit you, it might not be convenient for the service provider so you might be left without being able to get said service because other people planned further in advance

Not being goady but I’m a bit confused by why it matters whether I placeholder my basket with a bottle of champers, or fill my basket at the time of reserving the slot? Either way I’m using the slot. Your example of saving a seat for a friend that doesn’t show isn’t the same as that would imply I’m saving a slot that consequently goes unused and to waste, thus taking away the chance of a slot from others.