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’ve done this with Christmas shops for years! The only difference is I actually just add the first 10-20 items I need that come to £40 ish and then stop and amend and add nearer the time.
That said, I haven’t booked one slot in lockdown as first of all I felt it was for those who needed it more and I couldn’t get one anyway! For some reason I still can’t get a slot for weeks so I’ve totally given up.

YABU. I've always done this too then change it when I have a full shopping list. Some supermarkets charge a monthly fee to guarantee the same weekly / monthly delivery slot which I did when covid changed things. I suggest you do the same if it's such an issue

YABU. It's what everyone does and what you have to do to organise yourself into getting slots that far in advance to get organised. I personally don't put through booze for fear of forgetting but instead put through my last shop, so has a good base of regulars, then adjust it the day before to remove what I dont need or add extras. No way I know 3 weeks advance what my eggs or tomato sauce situation will be!

To be fair I am guilty of this recently! I suffer with ptsd ,anxiety disorder aswell as physical I recieved low rate pip on both. If I didn’t do this I wouldn’t get a slot and most of the time I physically can’t leave my house

YABVU how could you not realise this is what people do?! When you are booking slots a week or more in advance then you won't know everything you want so this is common practice.
People aren't booking them weeks in advance to be dicks, they're doing it for the same reason you are....because slots are hard to come by!!
Also you've annoyed me because in your OP you've said "I'm shocked" and when you were called out on that reaction you said "I'm not outraged, I'm surprised". Don't backtrack now you've realised you're the idiot!

At the moment you can’t add to Ocado using Alexa but pre Covid I could be in the kitchen and just say “Alexa ask Ocado to add Marmite/oxo/caster sugar” to my trolley and hey presto my trolley would get filled up through the week with things I’d used then I could go in and check it (and remove the gin if I wanted to) before the delivery. So much more convenient than sitting down and doing the shop all in one go. DS and DH also add things as and when they use up/open the last one.

I do this. Plus, Tesco is only allowing people to book one slot per week at the moment. I don't see this is dodgy or rude at all. It's sensible.

Yes, YABU.

Everyone does this. I doubt people do it the ‘second’ their shopping gets delivered, I did it for a 1st August delivery recently because I wanted a good time slot. I added my usual shop to the basket, and will edit it nearer the time to add anything else I need in. Absolutely nothing wrong with it and it’s not ‘reserving’ slots at all.

This is nuts OP. You make list and copy it on to the order last minute? Book a slot in advance to assure a delivery. Put something of minimum charge in the basket and pay for it so you don't lose the slot. Then keep your list by filling your shopping basket over the days in between booking and delivery. When you've covered the minimum charge with items you want, delete the items you put in to hold the place. And, if you hilariously (?) leave a bottle of champagne in your basket, just ask the driver to take it back. Start now so you get some food for August. This is known as planning ahead.

@tenlittlecygnets

I do this. Plus, Tesco is only allowing people to book one slot per week at the moment. I don't see this is dodgy or rude at all. It's sensible.

That limitation have been recently removed. I can book as many as I like if they are available.

I think you may need to get a life of all you are worries about is other people's shopping baskets!

I'm amazed you've never heard of people doing this. I've been online shopping with Tesco and always prebook 2 weeks in advance. I tend to just click on my last order and stick that in the basket so I can edit it later. So this weeks shopping arrived this morning and I've just booked 4th August.

Throughout the whole lockdown I only had one occasion where I wasnt able to get a delivery slot I live in the East of England and I wasnt logging in at weird times or anything. I felt guilty sometimes during lockdown as people kept posting on here and SM that the elderly and vulnerable couldnt get delivery slots. I'm an ITU nurse and pregnant with 2 small children who I only have childcare for when I'm at work. If supermarkets had only wanted the vulnerable to book slots then they easily could have locked it down and put restrictions on but they never did so I carried on as I always have.

Yup...I’ve heard of lots of people doing this, I’m just not organised enough. I don’t know if it varies by area but Tesco have been sending emails in the last two weeks essentially saying ‘please come back, we’ve got loads of slots!’ we stopped getting online delivery to free up the slots for more vulnerable people during lockdown but started again last week because of these emails. Was surprised to find loads of slots available

I’ve always done this. Currently got a loo roll each of in my shopping baskets for the next 4 weeks. Will fill it with what I want the night before.

Ocado actually recommend that you should book a few shops in advance. I get priority booking because I have an elderly husband who has health problems and we've been shielding since mid-March, but even before Covid you could book a regular spot some weeks in advance. I think that if you pay for deliveries with a "Smart Pass" you can even set this up automatically,.

I think it's up to individual people to put what they want in their baskets. What does it have to do with you? I live half an hour away from a shop and am a long distance delivery driver. On the run up to the delivery date when I know what I want to order, I'll amend it. I have to reserve a delivery slot with a £40 bottle of booze or I don't get any shopping. It's tough.

I've always done this too.

OP there's a thing called Prime Now where you can order from either Amazon Pantry or Morrisons and you can normally get a same- or next-day delivery. Fantastic for top-ups. I'm not comfortable going to the shop too much yet so I'm getting one or two Prime Now deliveries a week for fresh veg/fish etc.

YABU

This is what everyone does. Have done this for years....?

I am longhaul covid and can't just go out and pop to the shops since I don't want to spread this nasty virus (yes, even after 4 months, I may be infectious, not the narrative people get told in UK but elsewhere they do).

Think you're missing the point, its about forward planning and booking slots
Its if people then cancel those slots you should be annoyed otherwise you have no argument

I too have been doing this for years - its not a Covid thing

Boo-fucking-hoo 😿

I don't do this, although I think it's a bloody great idea.

I don't do supermarket shopping online anyways. I.prefer to see my food before purchasing it. That's WHY I shop at Iceland's! lol

Those who.egistered.online during covid due.to needing to shield, were contacted by supermarkets in their area, and informed they would be treated as a priority if they used the link, and only the link. Some (Iceland's) would inform you vis email a time was coming in which you would need to book your slot. Only trouble on that system, you only had 2 hrs on a specific day n time, to decide your online shop and book your slot.

If people have found a way round this nightmare (for.some, my uncle has not had a single issue, and even gets asked if he wants his slot brought forward by days sometimes) of online food shops, fair play, I say!

One of my Tesco delivery drivers actually said things were settling down so much in my area that he hoped people wouldn't desert the service and he would again be unemployed. On that basis, I will happily continue to reserve my slots.

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.

How on Earth is it ‘dishonest and selfish’?
They’re still using the slot, they just don’t know exactly what they’ll need to order until nearer the time.

I regularly book slots weeks ahead. I just add everything from a previous order to the basket, then update it 24 hours before the order date. Is that ‘dishonest and selfish’, or is it ok because I’m adding then ‘editing‘ food rather than alcohol,

Not sure about unreasonable but definitely ridiculous. This is one of the most irrelevant mundane non-issues I've read here...

I do this, I am a family of 8 and it’s organisation for me.