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 spectacularly funny if you knew me at all

Well we only have what you have posted to go on ...

The regular slot wouldn't work as it penalises people who use online for one offs like deliveries to holiday homes, shift workers and those who use online temporarily because they might be shielding or something.

OP you need better hobbies if this outrages you.

[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?
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But then you're going to end up making people have more deliveries than they might actually need, by making them commit to a weekly slot when they might not need one. So you'll be making it harder, not easier, for people who need slots to get them.

Slots are released weeks before the actual delivery dates. That moment when they're released is the moment when they go on sale. If you choose not to book/buy one then, but leave it until nearer the delivery date, then you risk not being able to get one at the time.

Do you object to people who buy Christmas presents earlier than the week before Christmas, so by the time you feel like doing it the bestselling toy of the year is sold out and you can't get one? This is the same sort of thing.

There is nothing at all stopping you planning ahead and booking your shopping to come a couple of weeks ahead. When you get closer you still have the flexibility to push it back by a couple of days if you then think it's too soon. And editing your basket up until the cut-off (whether you start with booze or basics) is how it's meant to work. It's not a trick bad people are taking advantage of.

If you don't want to book a slot when they go on sale then don't, but no one is cheating here if they do buy a slot and put their draft shopping basket through at the time the slots go on sale. Most people are still booking one new slot at a time, not more than you, it's just that they are buying that slot at the time it's released, not leaving it until the delivery date minus three or whatever. Still one at a time.

A lot of people do this. I add a few things that I know I will definitely need, like bread, milk , eggs and cheese. I then edit it the day before to reflect what we have used up and will need for meals for the following week.

But none of us could get the slots we wanted Because of Covid, like

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?

No, not at all

Supermarkets release delivery slots weeks in advance

Those of us who know when we’ll want them, book them in advance

Everyone else has to accept that if they’re unable to commit to booking in advance, they get what’s left, even if that’s nothing

Isn’t that pretty much how it works with everything people buy?

You might do well at the last minute and get exactly what you want but you might end up with nothing

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.
^^
That must be an area related thing though. I've managed to get my regular weekly slot throughout this whole Covid thing.
But yes 'reserving' slots in advance is totally normal. I don't know anybody who online shops regularly who doesn't get their slot a few weeks in advance.

@Bearbehind I've been online shopping fortnightly for six years. Never had an issue before so I guess I've just been very lucky.

@makingmiracles 2-3 days yes. That's normal for me too. It was the weeks ahead part and the putting a random thing in the basket part that surprised me.

It’s not gaming the system, if they didn’t want people to do this then they’d make it so you can’t amend your basket once your order has been placed.

And regarding the availability of slots, there is only a finite amount and in normal times slots were widely available. Supermarkets have increased the availability due to the increased demand but they aren’t going to keep upping the amounts as it costs them to buy vans, train extra staff etc. Not everyone who has started home delivery will keep doing it when things are back to the old normal.

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?

Not at all. Covid has made me book further ahead than I used to because I'm less happy to wing it, feeling confident that I'd get a slot pretty much any time, but I've always booked things like Christmas slots ahead and I've always, for what must be nearly two decades, put through an initial draft basket of stuff and refined it as I got closer to the day, taking some things out, adding things right up to the cut-off point. I think I did the bottle of booze for the first thing a few times for speed but then switched to just putting basics in. With the 'Instant shop' or 'Add all to trolley' options it's just as easy to do real things.

People putting in bottles of booze are not 'faking' wanting that slot just to keep it. They're just doing the equivalent of writing 'Tesco' on their calendar for later in the week when they're planning to go to a physical shop, but only deciding exactly what they'll buy as the week goes on. It's not a sign they don't know that they'll even need shopping - they know very well they will need shopping, it just reflects the fact that they're under no obligation to decide exactly how many of what they'll buy until the cut-off point.

I thought everyone did this? Certainly my mum and I have been reserving our Christmas slots like this for years (and I'm sure Tesco recommended doing it last year). I'd not get a slot the day I want it if I didn't reserve it by about 5 past midnight, but I'm not going to try to think of absolutely everything I need at that time of night 3 or 4 weeks in advance.

Yes I do this

Yes I do this

YABU. I don't do this exactly - I try to put everything that I actually want in the order, even though I do edit a bit nearer the time. However, I do book slots a couple of weeks in advance, so I currently have the next three lined up. That's just being organised in my view.

I don't see what's wrong with people just reserving a slot by putting a couple of things in the trolley. It makes no difference as they will still need the slot eventually anyway, who cares when they actually choose what they want?

Before Covid btw, I used to place an order a day or two before. I’d still tweak it at the very last minute though 🤷‍♀️

@turquoise50 I'm not sure how anyone is 'gaming the system'??

The supermarkets release slots 4 weeks in the future, why if not for people to book in advance?? It's called being organised as far as I'm concerned

I never really saw it as hogging slots, as I would be buying that week/day anyways, it's not an extra slot I am keeping from someone else, it's just a way to keep the slot. You usually get like an hour to complete the shop from the moment you book, no way I can do that on the spot. So I put a few items, conform the slot, and edit later when I have time to think what I need. A few times I booked a slot in the past, something came up, I didn't finish checkout and lost the slot. Even with the shortage of slots, if you manage to find one, keep one, unless you have slots booked in all possible supermarkets- then it becomes dubious. But if yoou have one slot a week, I can't see why it would be unethical.

I think it would work much better if the shops MADE people book a regular slot when they open the account

The problem here is that not everyone works regular hours. My husband and I are both prison officers. Our working week is Sunday-Saturday, shits can start at 715, and finish at 2045. No two weeks are the same. My last delivery came on a Friday morning. As it happens for the next 4 weeks my husband and I are both working every Friday morning. This will be the case for a lot of shift workers. Nurses, police, bus drivers, supermarket workers, hospitality workers etc.

I know I need a food delivery every couple of weeks. So when I notice that they’ve opened the slots, I check mine & my husbands rota, then book a delivery for a convenient time. I do the same with hairdressers, the dentist, the garage for my MOT etc. I book for when I know I’m off, available and need the service.

in normal times slots were widely available.

Which is why it's never even crossed my mind to book one weeks in advance, except at Christmas! Not sure why everyone is so astounded by the concept that someone had never thought of it.

This is also why I was 'outraged' (I’m not outraged ) because slots have been harder to come by recently, so to me, it looked like a minority of 'selfish' people hogging slots and rendering them unavailable to the majority. If things settle back down, I might be able to get a slot more or less when I like again because it's always been that way in my area. If it doesn't settle down, and the greater numbers of online shoppers are here to stay (as is likely) then obviously I’m going to need to find out whether my preferred supermarket offers the option to book multiple slots, and if not, maybe change.

I'm out now as this discussion is going round in circles. This has been my first AIBU and wow, it's been a wild ride! Thanks everyone for your contributions. x

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.

No, I have been shopping online with Tesco for at least 13 years. I have never booked a slot more than a couple of days ahead. This always worked until Covid so it can't have been that everyone was holding slots weeks ahead.

Sorry, just to add, I totally take the point about shift workers and can absolutely see how a rigid system wouldn't work for you.

I've done this for years, but especially so over the last few months.

I'm on the shielding list and have been advised not to go into shops. I'm curious as to how making sure I can eat in 4 weeks time is selfish?

It was fun, OP Not many threads are enjoyable these days.

We might carry on after you’ve gone though

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

I wouldn’t need to send it back. The reason I use gin and not vodka is because it is something without a use by date that I WILL use if I don’t take it out! I could put in a couple of sides of salmon but that is perishable and would end up in the bin if I forgot to remove it. Years ago I used to use washing powder but I don’t get my powder from the supermarket anymore.

My next weeks shop has gin in it that I WON’T be removing as I am running low....