Tesco delivery - advice please.

[LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood]

We are staying away from home in a rental for a week’s holiday. Arrived yesterday with enough food for the evening and breakfast today. Booked a food delivery weeks ago. Had a text at 11am when the delivery was due to say it would be 20 minutes late. Then a call at 11.30am to say it wasn’t coming at all (staff shortages cited). We can collect it. It is a one and a half hour round trip. And we have not been shopping in person since the pandemic on account of a vulnerable family member. Obviously we will have to collect it as we have no food otherwise.

We have been offered a £20 voucher and not much by way of apology (“sorry nothing I can do”) The order is £270 - to give an idea of proportionality of the compensation.

Whilst I was complaining about the situation (perfectly politely, I never would never, ever raise my voice or swear or abuse anyone in such, or indeed any, circumstances) the call was disconnected. No reception problems here. Mobile never cuts out. I suspect I was hung up on.

To add insult to injury the order is now showing as “delivered” . DH is driving to collect it.

I hate the fact that I was lied to initially and was treated with such disdain on the phone. I also resent the huge inconvenience and loss of most of the first day of our holiday.

I’m not on SM at all (no Facebook or Twitter). But I know others have had a decent response in broadcasting their complaint when posting on here in similar circumstances.

I know Tesco don’t actually care. At all. And I know there is nothing I can say or do to make them care. But I’m feeling a bit fragile (combination of not having been very well and overwork) and I feel a powerless sense of rage about the way I’ve been treated that I don’t usually succumb to. It is the “don’t give a shit” attitude that, ultimately, is the worst bit.

I do intend to cancel our deliveries when we get back and swap to Sainsbury’s. That makes me feel slightly better!

Any advice on anything I can do to get my complaint taken seriously. Or is it better just to “move on”. I’m usually quite good at letting things go. But something about this incident has really given me the rage.

And I do accept we are lucky to be having a holiday and to be buying in nice food and drink. But this really is beyond shit service, isn’t it?

I would have been upset too - and we don't have a car so would not have been able to pick it up, which isn't that unusual for people using a delivery service

IME Tesco has excellent customer service. I think you should have pushed for a delivery tomorrow.

OP it's too late now but I'd have asked for a new delivery time and tried to pick up essentials from a local village corner shop to tide you over. OR local restaurants are doing take aways.

£270 for a week for 7 people seems fine to me. My online order is often £100 for 2 of us for a week, including household stuff like loo rolls, laundry powder, and store cupboard essentials (and no booze!)

You've had an apology, you've had a voucher, DP will be away an hour and a half and then you'll have your shopping. It's not a big deal. Move on from it before it ruins the rest of your holiday for goodness sake.

I know Tesco don’t actually care. At all.

You are being irrational.

You spoke to ONE person who maybe isn't good at their job.Rather than ditch Tesco based on ONE response, I'd make another complaint and refer to the call and what happened- it will all be logged and possibly recorded anyway.

Dave Lewis is your man to talk to.

@LadyMacbethWasMisunderstood Is it 1.5 hrs each way so he would be out for 3 hours?

Ah- got you, 45 mins each way. Not the end of the world.

I ditched Sainsbury's for a similar reason, whilst it won't make a blind bit of difference to them in the grand scheme of things, I won't shop there again.

Have a lovely holiday.

How were you lied to?

this thread is classic MN

✅ bitter jealousy about a holiday
(a rental in the same country clearly, hardly a luxury oversea resort but there you go)
✅ bitter jealousy about a supermarket delivery
✅ bitter jealousy about spending more than £3.50 a week on gruel to feed 20 people
✅ dig about not supporting the "local economy" despite having a staycation...

it's brilliant 😂

It IS a horrible pain, OP. I think I would have a full refund plus voucher - buy a bottle of wine, and then complain to Tesco’s head office. You were lied to as there was clearly no way they were going to get the delivery out to you so that is the first annoyance and the second is the way you were spoken to.

Neither is acceptable.

I would use Ocado as they are much better than the regular supermarkets.

ladymacbeth
I really don't know why you're getting such a hard time!
The £20 compensation is less than 10% of your order and you've been messed about and lost half a day of your holiday.
£270 for 7 people for a week is hardly stealth boasting - I wonder how many of the pps stating this would think twice about the bill for 7 people coming to this at a restaurant for one meal????
I think I'd be telling tesco that 7.4% (£2.85 per person) is unacceptable as means of a good will gesture and would scarcely cover the petrol!
I hope you have a lovely holiday.

@worriedandannoyed

I'm a little confused why picking up the delivery is so risky but you are on holiday in a rental which is much much more risky?

Me too. I live in an area that’s popular with holidaymakers. Up until travel restrictions were listed I could get a priority slot with Tesco each week, a godsend as I’m considered “extremely vulnerable” and had to shield until last week. The week that restrictions were lifted I found I couldn’t book a priority delivery slot for several weeks, if at all. Pretty pissed off that people who don’t mind the risk of the crowded streets and businesses of my nearest town are taking up the slots, tbh, not a lot of sympathy from me.

I think it's a piss take and would be angry too

You’ve had an apology , you’re getting a voucher I think that’s sufficient compensation . As for the we’ve not been shopping at all since the pandemic , I’m sorry but if you are that concerned about catching it then I cannot understand why you’ve gone on holiday - presumably you are going to be going out and not just sitting in the rental all day .

Ignore the weird comments OP. I too got very upset when shopping was cancelled twice, with no collection option as it was still on the vehicle.
Put it behind you. Sainsbury's will get your business now.

. As for the we’ve not been shopping at all since the pandemic , I’m sorry but if you are that concerned about catching it then I cannot understand why you’ve gone on holiday - presumably you are going to be going out and not just sitting in the rental all day .

Errr. why do posters assume going on holiday means going to the shops?

When I am away, shops are the last places I go to.
I go to wild, cold, deserted beaches and the quiet countryside.

AND if someone wants to sit in their rental all day reading or just chilling out, maybe looking out to sea or a beautiful view, why not? None of anyone else's business!

Pretty pissed off that people who don’t mind the risk of the crowded streets and businesses of my nearest town are taking up the slots, tbh, not a lot of sympathy from me

Honestly, get over it.

This would really piss me off. I'm always amazed on threads like this at how laid back so many Mumsnetters are about poor customer service. My dealings with the general public make me think that this level of patience is less common than these responses suggest.

£270 sounds quite reasonable really. Most people would spend more than this on meals when on holiday.

@Washyourhands48

£20 voucher seems fine to me. These things happen, you should get over it (and yourself, stealth boasting re a weeks food costing £270)

Oooh £5 a head per day!! Yes the OP is SUCH a show off

JinglingHellsBells

excellently put!

Wasn’t mentioned in the first post that the shop was for 7 people. So I do take back my stealth boast comment.

Still think you’re being a drama llama over it.

Having done a lot of customer service work over the years I'd put money on you not having been as polite as you claim on the phone. Rudeness doesn't just come in the form of shouting and swearing. They shouldn't have hung up on you but they didn't do that for nothing

Oooh £5 a head per day!! Yes the OP is SUCH a show off grin

according to MN, that's what you are supposed to spend monthly for a family of 6 don't you know! That MN chicken is going a VERY long way

I am going to respond to a few points raised/questions and then go out and enjoy the day.

DH has now returned with our shopping. I’m over my frustration / upset. Of course I am.

Bullet points in response, here you go:

My main gripe was with the way I was dealt with/spoken to.

I only ever said collection was a “slight” risk. I think it’s a case of making a decision to go or not go on holiday based on one’s own risk analysis, taking responsibility for that decision (in our case staying in a rental), then having another risk factor added that had not been factored in. All that said, I acknowledge that the risk of collection is tiny. And I accept the observations that it does not present a greater risk than delivery. Having now done the collection (or DH has to be exact) I can accept that the risks of delivery vs collection are similar.

I still fail to understand posters who’s minds are blown by spending £270 on 95 items. That is an average of £2.84 per item.

I also remain surprised about people weighing in to lambast me about my spend without knowing how big a party we are, or what sort of items I had to purchase. Or thinking I was “boasting” about it.

I accept the point that the compensation is not linked to the level of spend. Having thought about it I see why that is so.

It is not irrelevant that a member of my party is clinically vulnerable but no longer actually shielding. People with life limiting illnesses are entitled to try to achieve as much from their lives as they can. And their families are not unreasonable to want to help them in that. The lack of an nuance in the analysis of some posters is disappointing. It is all about minimising risk and maximising pleasure/returns. It is a difficult balance. We thought we had it covered. As I say, we are back on track now.

Finally this, is it really too hard to imagine that someone posting about an of the moment frustration might not also have far, far more serious issues to face up to? The sort of things that are not really susceptible to being reduced to a pithy question on the internet? I am astonished at the reductive thinking that assumes just because I posted about my upset with Tesco, that I do not / have not had significantly more serious matters to grapple with.

Anyway. It’s sorted now. And to the very many of you who have expressed a measure of solidarity - I am very grateful.

Best to all. Over and out.

@Washyourhands48

Wasn’t mentioned in the first post that the shop was for 7 people. So I do take back my stealth boast comment.

Still think you’re being a drama llama over it.

I love it when someone apologises unreservedly for being a twat.