To be annoyed that Ocado no longer stock Waitrose

[bluewanda]

I just logged in to do my online Ocado shop and found that they no longer have Waitrose products in stock. I knew this was coming but didn’t realise it was so soon! I love my Essential Waitrose stuff and don’t think M&S is a good swap personally.

I did log into Waitrose but they’re fully booked until Saturday, whereas Ocado can deliver tomorrow.

AIBU to think it’s a bit pants that Ocado no longer stock Waitrose and that Waitrose, knowing their contract was coming to an end, should have gotten their act together on the deliveries to coincide with this?

Anyway, as of today supermarket shopping got a whole lot less convenient!

I’m over the moon. Got my Ocado delivery coming on Thursday and I’d say 85% of it is M&S stuff.

We have been getting emails about the switch for over a year. Our first delivery with M&S stuff is coming at the weekend. Initially I was concerned about M&S's ability to replace Waitrose Essentials as I generally consider the M&S range to be rather narrow and more expensive. I have, however, been pleasantly surprised with the new range and prices. Very comparable with Waitrose Essentials. I also use the "add everything facility" and have been impressed with the similarity of what they have now put in that compared with the Waitrose Essentials basket.

It’s been advertised for months. You had every opportunity to log into Waitrose and place your order but did it very last minute, especially for a bank holiday weekend and week school starts. Just plan yourself better in future. This is neither an issue on Ocado nor on Waitrose.

There's nothing wrong with M&S stuff anyway, I used to buy it when I went out shopping. It's good that Ocado is delivering it now. However, Sainsubury's, Tesco and other places are quite good for deliveries, you can ring the changes.

Shock horror, it's not like they have changed to delivering Aldi now is it?

Ocado are not in my good books as I've just logged into sort out some shopping and they have zero slots until Sunday! What use is that?! I found it easier to get a slot during lockdown!!

Gggggrrrr

It’s very annoying because our nearest Waitrose is 39 miles away, and they don’t deliver to our area.

I hear you!!

Absolute shambles. Logged in tonight to do my final changes to shop to find the cut off date/time had passed. No email/text to let me know. Phoned up to complain and it was just tough luck.

Would much prefer to shop at Waitrose but their website is awful.

And why oh why Ocado can’t get their app back up and running? I honestly think it’s so poor when they should be trying to keep customers.

I imagine the lack of slots is because loads of people are coming back home for school term, and also lots of offices re opening and expecting people back at least some days from Sep.

I've already used my favorites tab to switch across to the M&S alts but keep getting distracted by all the new goodies.

Now my shops are at least 50% more expensive and Dh is getting fed up of the email updates as I give into the guilt and delete the buggers.

He hasn't worked out yet the last one was me going back in and adding some of the special offers back on.

@Pumpkinnose I have been using the app for quite a while now and had no problems. Maybe you need to delete and re-install yours?

[quote BlackberrySky]@Pumpkinnose I have been using the app for quite a while now and had no problems. Maybe you need to delete and re-install yours?[/quote]
No, it's just because they are only slowly rolling it out to customers. Not everyone has access back yet.

I wish Ocado would deliver in Scotland so I can have access to the French food brand Picard.

Well, for all the loyal Ocado supporters, according to twitter they have cancelled hundreds and hundreds of orders with just hours’ notice, even orders booked weeks ago stating a surge in demand.

And no, the app is only back for a few customers with no timeline as to when or even if they’re bringing it back. Was told this on twitter.

M&S must be kicking themselves. The whole company is a shambles.

I stand by what I said a few weeks ago. If this is the way they’re going to carry on I predict they’ll be gone within a year as customers won’t put up with this level of service from a a company who has built a reputation for the opposite.

I’m delighted, myself. Have just moved to a place where I’m 45 minutes by bus from M&S and getting my first M&S/Ocado delivery this week.

Just had a look to book. Next delivery Sunday but so much out of stock not worth it.

I've been able to get slots within a couple of days for a few weeks now, but had a look to check and yes it's the weekend for next slots round here too.

I think it must be the start of school, plus people wanting to try M&S (plus those who might otherwise have migrated to Waitrose deciding to stay put for a bit longer if they are more sure of getting slots as established customer).

Anyone know if that'll be a one-off peak or if that's the new level of demand?

I think it’s inevitable that there will be a demand to start with. But it seems they have cancelled hundreds of orders booked several weeks ago with just hours to spare and are claiming it’s because of a surge in demand, yet these were orders booked well in advance.

It seems pretty clear that they aren’t able to cope with any kind of increased demand as it is. Their response during the COVID outbreak is fairly clear evidence of that, and you would have thought that given the much publicised launch with M&S they would have gone all out to make it a success being able to talk of all the customers receiving their M&S goodies on the first day and so on, and then talking of how their demand is so high because of the switch. Except they are cancelling orders left right and centre, and instead they’re going to show themselves as not being very able to cope and being entirely unprepared.

I had my first M&S Ocado delivery this morning. No bread rolls that I'd wanted for back to school packed lunch and no vegetables to go with the stir fry meal deal. So that's disappointing. But otherwise I am looking forward to the change. The new M&S items seem largely comparable to the Waitrose ones, some are even cheaper. And then there's all the Plant Kitchen and Gastro Pub stuff and Percy Pigs. And tights. I think the bakery selection is better, if it was in stock. There is a Waitrose near me if I'm desperate but I can't think of much/anything I'd need to go in for.

I logged on last night to add a few things to today's order and found I couldn't as the cut off time had been moved forward 3 hrs.
Loads of complaints on Twitter about orders for today being cancelled due to "a surge in demand".
They need a better excuse than this. If there's a sudden increase in demand then they should stop taking new orders and focus on existing orders.

Don't care. Waitrose sells Waitrose, order from them. If you have to wait a few days for first order then use click and collect.

The partnership was for 10 years. Personally, I've been expecting them to part ways right from the beginning. Waitrose continued to build up their own online business and, at first, restricted Ocado from selling in certain areas so they didn't impact on Waitrose Online sales.
Ocado have obviously been preparing for years, with their own brand and Morrisons, so they weren't left high and dry, or forced to take an unfavourable deal to renew.

This is just two companies coming to the end of an agreement that has helped them both. I think M&S came as a shock to Waitrose. They weren't expecting another top end supermarket to take their place. Years ago, M&S were the supermarket of choice for quality. I can remember my grandmother wouldn't shop anywhere else. It'll be interesting to see if they recapture that market.

I don't like the Waitrose "we'll take it from here" message and their attempt to take customers with them phrased as "bringing them back to Waitrose". It seems arrogant and takes too much for granted.

I like both brands very much, however I'll be going to Waitrose in town if I want their products, not relying on a staff member to do my shopping for me. The whole point of Ocado for me is the hygiene of food coming straight from the purpose built warehouses.

I don’t rate M&S but I’ll stick with Ocado as it’s so easy to use.

When I can next get the items I buy. About half were out of stock.

They have been talking about the swap for a while but i think M&S is alot better than waitrose.

Based on the number of subs and missing items from our order this morning they no longer stock anything. Not just m&s but across all products

Certainly not a smooth transition