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? )

This is normal IME. I get a delivery of two bottles of champagne from Ocado about twice a year as I've forgotten to go back in and edit my order.

All my friends who rely on online shopping do the same. Most don't forget to order their basket as often though...

YANBU I too had no idea people did this! I have a delivery saver but was unable to get a slot through the whole of lockdown. I usually book a delivery when we need food. I never add to the basket, just order what we need or a week or two. I had my first delivery since February 2 weeks ago. Last week there were no slots available until the middle of August so I got the last remaining click and collect which was 10pm on the Tuesday.

Before lockdown, I never had a problem, except at Christmas so there can't have been lots of people doing it, surely.

It strikes me that all of those that have been having regular delivery slots for years are perfectly happy with the way it works.

I wonder if those that say it's selfish/unfair etc are the ones that have only had them recently due to Covid and can't get their head around the difference between popping in for a shop which typically isn't planned days or weeks in advance and home delivery.

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.

Clearly the OP wants to look in her fridge and cupboards, realise they’re running low and get magical replenishment the next day without bothering to do a bit of advanced planning

Why it’s beyond her comprehension that this is waaaaay more selfish than actually allowing supermarkets time to plan for deliveries, based on demand, is beyond me

@ThousandsAreSailing

I put Jack Daniels in so if I forget to update I'm still happy 😊

You're my kind of person!

not sure its 'selfish' exactly but over-organisation = lack of sponteneity, and inflated sense of self in my book. that's my excuse anyway. hmmm perhaps is a tad selfish....

Lol you seem disproportionately outraged at this...newsflash-a lot of us have been doing this for years....I always add a bottle of champagne and check out, quickest way to checkout over £40.

I’ve not had deliveries since March, I’ve been shopping for 7 people in store and now Tesco have restarted my delivery saver payments so I intend to make sure I’m using it to its full use otherwise it’s a waste of money.

You should try it, book two slots, with each add something to take it over £40, checkout and return before the day before delivery and add all your items, job done. Then as soon as that’s delivered, book another slot, so you’ve always got two booked.

Everyone I know does this

@Bearbehind One or the other. Not a combination of both, because if there are people who can't get slots when they need them, then that system isn't working.

It makes perfect sense for supermarkets to plan ahead. But in that case, I'd have thought they would insist on pre-booking with a certain lead time (day one week minimum) if you want to order online. My issue is with the illusion of availability of slots, and people booking weeks in advance making it impossible to get more immediate slots.

If they just sent everyone a message after every delivery saying 'Pre-book now for next week!' and made it clear that if you didn't, then you were effectively foregoing any right to think there might be a slot available next week, then people would quickly get used to that and the problem would be solved.

I guess you're going to tell me that everyone magically does just know this. Yet somehow it passed me by, so it's clearly not as universal as everyone here seems to think.

It strikes me that all of those that have been having regular delivery slots for years are perfectly happy with the way it works

No I used to have get regular delivery slots.

A few years ago I had a Delivery Pass with Sainsburys and the only time I needed to pre-plan a slot was just before Christmas. Otherwise I booked as and when I needed, I usually went for the same sort of slot every week (generally also an eco-slot when they were already in my area) and I never "needed" to book slots weeks in advance, I just booked a couple of days before. I can't remember ever having a problem getting a slot without having to plan weeks or even days in advance.

I think it's unfair now because you have able-bodied people reserving slots way in advance and people who are semi-vulnerable can't get them (though it does look like click and collect is available much more easily now).

All of which is to say, I think it would work much better if the shops MADE people book a regular slot when they open the account.

There are very few people who are about at exactly the same time each week to receive their shopping, OP.

Have you never heard of shift workers?

[quote turquoise50]@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?
[/quote]
The only one scrabbling for a slot OP is YOU
Everyone else is booking their slots in advance and it's not an issue.

You sound like one of those very PA British people who wants something but won't say but then gets arsey because other people did say and you missed out.

@makingmiracles Not outraged. A little irritated that for the last two weeks I haven't been able to get a slot in the timeframe I needed (and it's not Covid because like I said, availability had been fine from early June up until last week). And extremely surprised to learn that people reserve slots because I'd never come across this until a matter of days ago, at which point I assumed that it was a small minority of people doing it.

Ultimately if it didn't work as a business model I am sure they would change it.

And if it didn't work for most people they wouldn't use online deliveries.

I guess you're going to tell me that everyone magically does just know this. Yet somehow it passed me by, so it's clearly not as universal as everyone here seems to think.

It’s universal enough for those of us who use online shopping services every week

I’m not sure supermarkets give too much of a shit about those who’ve only used these services since it’s become more convenient, as they know they’ll be off again soon

Quoteturquoise50
It feels a bit like putting your coat on an empty chair in a crowded (pre social-distancing!) pub and then your friend doesn't turn up.

It is nothing like this at all. Putting a coat on an empty chair hogs that chair so no one can use it while the coat owner isn't using it either. Pre-booking a slot is not the same.It is not a chair that could be used the whole time up until the time the coat owner wants it. The slot is a delivery that is non existent until the actual delivery and as long as the person booking it uses it, then it is not wasted like the chair would be whilst not being used. Nothing has been wasted. No delivery time has been wasted.
A more appropriate analogy would be people who book holidays 10 months in advance and you getting pissy because 2 weeks prior to the date, you can't find a holiday to book. Just get more organised.

YABU everyone does this! I've shopped online for years and always done it this way.

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

When I went online to Tesco just a few minutes before I read this thread it showed 3 weeks tabs across the top of the page. No slots available for the first two weeks, but a slot was available in the 3rd week - 7th August. I booked it, and am then required to checkout within 2 hrs so have to put something in the basket to do that. I checked out and am now able to add/remove things from that basket up until the day before delivery.

A few minutes after I read this post I had another look and then all the slots were gone for the full 3 weeks. (As per my picture on my previous post)

I have had a Delivery Pass and a recurring fortnightly slot for years and if you think I'm giving that up because someone now decides that they want a slot then you’ve got another think coming.

extremely surprised to learn that people reserve slots because I'd never come across this until a matter of days ago, at which point I assumed that it was a small minority of people doing it.

It's not a reserved slot, it a booking to have my shopping delivered then.

The only one scrabbling for a slot OP is YOU

I can't believe I’m the only one!!

You sound like one of those very PA British people who wants something but won't say but then gets arsey because other people did say and you missed out.

This is spectacularly funny if you knew me at all.

I just honestly thought we were all in the same boat! Slots are hard to get, you can't always get the one you want because of demand. End of. Never thought to question it.

I find it very odd that the entire population has apparently individually come up with the same strategy for gaming the system. There must have been SOME element of 'if you can't beat them, join them' like I’m going to have to back in the early years of this?

And the substitution thing has never made sense to me before but this explains it. There must be a better system than effectively forcing people to hold a basket open with spurious items.

From the supermarket's POV the items aren't spurious as they pack your order on the day of delivery so whether you have a full order or just a bulb of garlic (like me!) two days before, they won't care.

I've been online shopping 15 years + I am sure Tesco realises that with online shops, it's not a proper order until 11:46pm the night before.

It was definitely a thing for the majority of online customers before covid came about.

You need to book ahead, covid or no covid, but especially now because of covid!

When in the past (pre covid) I’ve forgot to book a slot, sometimes I’ve been lucky and managed to book the day before, but usually I’d need to remember that I’d forgot at least 2-3 days before delivery in order to secure one.

Why do you think it's gaming the system?
No different to ordering the ingredients to a spag bol then later deciding you want to order the ingredients for a curry instead.

If shops release slots that much in advance they’re clearly do it for a reason. Where I am slots came back to normal about 6 weeks ago - it was when I could stop having to remember to book one when I woke up in the middle of the night.

At the moment I alternate between Waitrose and Tesco. They were the shops that I could get the slots from May - before that no joy. At the time they would release only a day of slots at the time, a week in advance. Now there is more flexibilty. This thread reminded me to book my next Tesco order - I was lucky as there already was no Sunday slots for when I wanted, but I got Monday 3rd Aug.