To think Ocado with M&S is a bit pants?

[lemons888]

I've been a regular Ocado customer for 11 years. I'm trying to place an order this morning and am already really missing Waitrose - particularly the Essentials range, which offered really good value IMO.

Ocado is advertising some of the new M&S products as "great value" when they aren't. Take cucumbers for example - the M&S "great value" cucumber is 60p and the Ocado one right next to it is 45p. How does that make M&S great value, unless it's a significantly bigger cucumber (not clear from the website?)

I will miss the convenience of Ocado (including next day delivery and the easy to use website) but will be switching to Waitrose own delivery after this shop.

AIBU?

It is

I have just realised that as well as Waitrose items loads of other brands have gone to be replaced by m&s. We have true foods gravy and that has gone and m&s gravy is really poor (as Waitrose gravy was)

Next weeks order is £100 less than usual as I am struggling to find things to buy

And the beer brands that m&s sell but Ocado didn’t haven’t appeared which is a shame

Initial reaction is that the basket is coming up more expensive for similar. We will give it a go for a while but may look at alternatives.

I can't even get a delivery since the change. There's no availability in my area apparently.

It is frustrating but in some ways it's a brand new service and it's bound to have teething problems. I'm sure the range of food is going to keep expanding too.

I am really not interested in m&s foods except for perhaps their fruit if it’s as good quality as in their stores. I buy a lot of Ocado’s own but I might also switch to Waitrose. Why did they decide to do this? Did Waitrose pull out?

I’ve had my first delivery this morning with just a couple of substitutes so quite pleased considering what I’ve read about deliveries last week.

For me it’s the accessibility - my nearest Waitrose is a good 20 miles in either direction. I enjoyed being able to get those Waitrose products via Ocado, particularly the essential range which is fab. I can easily get to M&S

Why did they decide to do this? Did Waitrose pull out?

I'm not sure whether it was Ocado or Waitrose who made the decision.

Just finished my order and was offered a free packet of Percy Pigs on check-out. A nice touch but small consolation unfortunately.

I've got a delivery due in about an hour so we'll see. I would say that the choice seemed somewhat reduced when I was shopping last week, but I'd expected that; I wonder if from a logistical perspective it helps the change management process to have a slimlined offering for a week or two to allow the new systems/products to bed in. It probably makes picking up and fixing faults and snagging a lot easier. I would imagine it'll be back to something like normal in another week or so.

Why wouldn’t You just order form Waitrose if you want Waitrose stuff ?

I too have shopped with Ocado for years as I like Waitrose but their delivery to my area is very disorganised unlike Ocado who are usually very efficient. I personally don't like most M and S food, Im not fan of ready meals in general, and I particularly don't like M and S ready meals. I find them too salty. I think their meat is is all appearance and no flavour (I usually buy meat locally sourced meat anyway). I particularly like the unusual cooking ingredients that Waitrose sell and that M and S certainly dont sell and neither do Ocado. I knew that as soon as they stopped selling Waitrose food I'd stop using them so it's back to the badly organised Waitrose deliveries.

I think in general Waitrose food appeals to one type of person M and S to another, they are not mutually interchangeable, there is no criticism of either here just different taste/food requirements. My elderly in laws live on M and S ready meals/puddings etc, my SIL does the shopping for them and they wouldn't consider anywhere else so its great news for her that she can now buy to on the internet, where as Waitrose amongst other things caters for the more foodie types who like to cook; the Waitrose Cook Ingredients.

Love it with M&S I usually find their fruit and veg is so much nicer than anywhere else.

We don’t buy ready meals but I really like m&s ingredients and I could get the kids school socks! Bonus!

I'm not loving it either. I have decided to give it a go for a bit but I just don't think that m&s food is really for people who love cooking in the way that waitrose is. I also don't think their meat is as ethically sourced as Waitrose.

@MrsMcMuffins

I am really not interested in m&s foods except for perhaps their fruit if it’s as good quality as in their stores. I buy a lot of Ocado’s own but I might also switch to Waitrose. Why did they decide to do this? Did Waitrose pull out?

Based on the radio ads of a waitrose rep reading out a cringeworthy break up style speech with "we're leaving you and taking the xyz products plus description" was waitrose idea

I like Waitrose but their home delivery service on the two occasions I used it was awful.

First lot stuff (cleaner I think) spilt all over my shopping to the extent I didn’t know what was in tins as labels had come off. They refunded the bottle of cleaner.

Second lot they added up wrong due to a till problem(!) and was over charged by about £40 and took 3 months and numerous emails to sort.

Sadly my local Waitrose is v disorganised so their online service reflects that!

I'm the same - I also think that the M&S alternatives may be the same price but you get fewer (I haven't checked this specific example but say you used to get 4 mixed Ocado peppers, you now get 3). Also the last two weeks, when I've booked a slot, they don't have any semi skimmed milk.

I did use Waitrose a few times but as it comes from a shop, not a warehouse, I got a lot of subs or out of stock.

Not sure what I'm going to do now :-(

Waitrose don't deliver to me, so I am stuck between Ocado with M&S or Tesco. I can't get anything else 😔

I have only had one delivery this week since the change. I'll see how it goes I suppose...

wow is waitrose still crap at delivery? I used them years ago and they were comically appalling, literally missed half the order and threw the other half over my fence after repeated phone calls to me which put me off somewhat. was considering using them again but maybe not....

I can't get a delivery slot so I went to Sains online.

I've also been caught out with them having an earlier time to make final changes. It was always 10pm and then a couple were 2pm.

It stops becoming convenient when you can't get slots and have to keep checking for changes.

Just finished my order and was offered a free packet of Percy Pigs on check-out. A nice touch but small consolation unfortunately. That was introduced last week after their monumental cock-up which led to a huge amount of their deliveries, some which had been booked weeks and weeks in advance, being cancelled at the last minute sighting “a surge in demand.”

I was looking forward to the M&S/Ocado combination but as they still haven’t brought back their app other than for the chosen few and as I am using a screenreader, shopping on their website takes about four times as long, I won’t be shopping with them.

A friend of mine who is a screenreader user offered to beta test the app as they’re having issues with it, and was told no, all beta testing is being done by Ocado staff....

But people defend Ocado religiously on here and won’t hear a bad word against them. Even though the way they acted during the pandemic was appalling.

And tbh if they keep this up I can see them heading into big trouble soon. But we’ll see. Am not sure they will pull this one out of the bag.

Agree, I am missing lots of the products (meat/poultry/salmon/more 'unusual' ingredients) I used to buy. I don't buy ready meals so I almost never shop in M&S. Seems the M&S + Ocado offering is pretty poor compared to how it used to be?

I am already missing Waitrose.. plus I can hardly get any delivery slots since the M&S partnership, perhaps this will improve with time.

I hate substitutions so I don't know of switching to Waitrose is the answer for me, but if Ocado doesn't improve to the point where I can get all the things I need I won't be staying with them

All my Waitrose products in my shopping lists now have suggested M&S alternatives, but as some of them looked expensive I searched and realised there were Ocodo or other brand options too. So for example Waitrose cooked sliced chicken breast had a suggested sub of M&S cold sliced chicken, but when I searched there was also Ocado cold sliced chicken which was more reasonably priced. Don't assume that the M&S suggested sub is your only option!

Haven't made up my mind yet. Love the Ocodo service generally so hoping I can recreate my old shopping lists and carry on, with the occasional M&S treat. My kids were very excited by the Percy Pigs....

And looking at twitter this morning it seems their website is also on the brink this morning, constant errors and people failing to check out etc....

People really are only going to put up with this for so long.....

@Lardlizard

Why wouldn’t You just order form Waitrose if you want Waitrose stuff ?

Because they don't deliver everywhere?

Ocado only started delivering here in March 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also don't think their meat is as ethically sourced as Waitrose.

This is important to me as well, but I've also got a direct price comparison.

I always used to buy Waitrose organic tinned tomatoes, which were 79p (although now 90p on the Waitrose website). The cheapest ones on Ocado now are £1.19, which is insane.

I don't like the M&S food for a lot of reasons; but the cheese and cooked meats are really tasteless compared to Waitrose.

I'm now doing Ocado once a month, for all the stuff I can't get anywhere else, and Waitrose the rest of the time. Our Waitrose deliveries have been fine for years now.

^*@Branches1 @stovetopespresso
^
wow is waitrose still crap at delivery? I used them years ago and they were comically appalling, literally missed half the order and threw the other half over my fence after repeated phone calls to me which put me off somewhat. was considering using them again but maybe not....^

I hate substitutions so I don't know of switching to Waitrose is the answer for me, but if Ocado doesn't improve to the point where I can get all the things I need I won't be staying with them*^

I'm unsure whether or not the Waitrose warehouse used makes a difference, but I started shopping with Waitrose regularly from initial lockdown.

I've had really good, prompt service and very few substitutions or out of stock items.

Where I've disliked the substitutes I've complained and been refunded. You can also mark items that you don't want substituted or what your preferred substitute should be. Even in the height of lockdown mayhem I got very few substitutes and staff were prompt and polite.

I also like the text confirming that my delivery will be made in the next 15mins and name of delivery driver.

I'm sure there's always room for improvement (I understand their minimum £spend is going to be reduced from £60 to £40 - so a step in the right direction for me.

(I don't work for Waitrose btw 😁 - just credit where it's due.)🌹

I love M&S but their specialty is ready meals with short sell-by dates. Not suitable unless you're ordering twice a week.