AIBU to think Sainsbury's policy is unacceptable?

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I have one supermarket delivery a month. I always order 40 cat food pouches.

Delivery due later today, received email this morning saying they did not have a box of 40 so are sending instead one box of 12.

I would have expected 3 boxes of 12 (= 36 pouches) as a sub (or even 4, making 48). So I phoned them and asked why they had not sent more than one box of 12. Their answer astonished me: they only sub "one for one", regardless of how many individual items the customer ordered.

So if a customer ordered a box of 36 Coca-Colas, they could sub that with one can of Coke.

AIBU to think that they ought to send as many packs as needed to fulfill as closely as possible what the customer ordered?

I think it's an acceptable policy I think it doesn't always work for everyone though.

I've tried deliveries from five different supermarkets and Sainsbury's were the worst by a long way - the first time they didn't actually turn up, just cancelled my order leaving us with no food, and when I stupidly tried them again loads of things were missing (this was before the current shortages). I would use any of the other four again, though I do have preferences between them, but not Sainsbury's.

@KaptainKaveman

It's hard to get worked up about this tbh.

I can't stand this response - clearly it's bothered the op and it would have bothered me if I'd been in the same position.What if she doesn't drive ( as I don't ) and so this would cause a major inconvenience. Comments like this are unhelpful and if you've nothing constructive to say then why bother ?

I use petshop.co.uk

They’ve always been very reliable and decently priced. I spend more on cat food than people food most months 😂

It's hard to get worked up about this tbh.

We don’t know OPs circumstances though, it could be difficult to get to the shop to get the missing food or she might not be able to carry it home for whatever reason.

On another note OP I use that republic of cats for the food to be delivered monthly and it’s brilliant.

@YesItsMeIDontCare

You need to send your cat in to have a word. No-one can argue (or even reason) with a hungry cat.

Tesco seem to do much better with subbing, they let you decide what your subs should be. Also, if you amend your order the evening before it's due they'll let you know if something's not available and give you the chance to pick something you'd be happy with instead. It's not foolproof, but is the best system I've come across.

Every time I order with Tesco I have no idea if anything is going to be subbed. How do you find out?

I wonder when this policy came in and whether it is nationwide because it’s definitely not how the deal with our substitutions.

Im a picker for a supermarket, not the one op has ordered from, and can say the subs are mainly down to the picker them selves. Sometimes the subs you are told to put in are ridiculous but at the same time there isn't a substitute on par, you want carrots but there isnt any, system suggests sprouts, okay I suppose if you like sprouts but if you wanted sprouts you'd of ordered them. If we sub for a higher price product, I'm sure we credit the difference. Some pickers go In do the minimum and leave, others (like myself) do the picking as if we were shopping for our grandparents; getting the best possible at the time.

I've had subs for the amount before ie 2 6 packs for a pack of 12 that wasn't in stock. Perhaps though it's cost related? I expect that 4 x smaller boxes cost more than 1 big box, and although they should give the choice for whether you want it or not (I know they send vouchers for the difference in price), they probably either get a lot refusing it or lose too much money. Seems like they do it on a case by case basis in honesty, not unreasonable to find it annoying.

The OP doesn't say how many cats she has but they need at least 3 pouches a day dependent on the cat's weight. 12 pouches will last no time at all meaning that either OP will have to make a special trip to get some, or she'll have to do another order just for the punches probably incurring a fee.

She orders 40 pouches a month. That is 3 pouches a day for less than half a cat.

@ifoundthebread

Im a picker for a supermarket, not the one op has ordered from, and can say the subs are mainly down to the picker them selves. Sometimes the subs you are told to put in are ridiculous but at the same time there isn't a substitute on par, you want carrots but there isnt any, system suggests sprouts, okay I suppose if you like sprouts but if you wanted sprouts you'd of ordered them. If we sub for a higher price product, I'm sure we credit the difference. Some pickers go In do the minimum and leave, others (like myself) do the picking as if we were shopping for our grandparents; getting the best possible at the time.

I used to be a picker and the machine would say what to sub it with, with no way to override it. Some were ridiculous but the way it was set up didn't allow for much leeway.

You’re doing better than me, I ordered an online shop from them that simply never came at all.

I imagine this policy limits the amount of refused substitutions they have to transport back to the store.

Tesco all the way.
Very rarely have subs but if I do they are more than I ordered for the same price. ( I’ve got one due Saturday, watch them cock it up now I’ve said this)

With our system we tell it the suggested sub isn't available and it may suggest another, if not at that point we input out own, so technically can over ride it. Can only sub with things from same department though, so couldn't sub vodka with shampoo for example.

I think that 12 of something when you have ordered 40 is pretty poor.

I think it's an acceptable policy I think it doesn't always work for everyone though.

I can’t think when it would be useful to order a multiple of something but only to get 1 instead.

Every time I order with Tesco I have no idea if anything is going to be subbed. How do you find out?

Same here. I’ve had orders from Tesco every fortnight for years, always done the night before, never had an email asking if I want the subs. I think I did from Asda once, but even then there was no option to change it.

I've always had the same amount or more from Sainsbury's. For example when they didn't have 6 pints of milk I ended up with 2x 4pints, and they only charge the original price.
We've several times had a small dish that we love but is really expensive, substituted for the larger equivalent that we feel is too much-at the price of the smaller. It's definitely a quids in.

I don't use Sainsbury, but can you put text in your substitution to say if not available please add 3 x 12 to my basket (and you will pay for them) instead.

YABU

• first there’s a supply shortage so they may not have had 4 spare boxes of 12 pouches not ordered by other customers

-second pouches are the worst way to feed your pets from environmental standpoint as they all end up in a landfill. You should be buying tins which have 4 servings per tin AND are recyclable.

They don’t seem the brightest bunch of people at Sainsbury’s. I’ve been given ridiculous substitutions that are of no use (as in completely the wrong size of something wearable, not just one or two sizes, but something for a two year old instead of a teenager) instead of a slightly different but same size item. Also substituted a free from item for an item free from something different and containing the ingredient that was supposed to be avoided.

@54321nought

It is a huge deal if the main reason you get the delivery is because of the weight of the box of pouches.

I would not be happy either, and would ring again and ask for more

Yes I order 40s on delivery for that reason. One week they had none and no substitution. So next time I ordered 2 lots (one Felix and one Whiskas) in case they didn't have one of them. They had both

Sainsburys online shopping is awful. I use all the supermarkets, no brand loyalty and theirs is by far the poorest in terms of customer service. The last time I did an order with them, some of the food arrived on or past its expiry date. Some of it was quite expensive stuff too. After I eventually found a way to contact their customer services, and waited around for them to deign to respond, they offered me a £5 credit to my Sainsbury's account. No idea why they chose £5 when I'd had to bin at least £20 worth of food. I said I wasn't going to be using Sainsbury's online again so £5 credit wouldn't do me much good. Useless!!

How does this work, did they take the difference in cost and refund it to you?

Daresay 3x12 packs might have worked out more expensive, so if you'd already paid it wouldn't really work.

It would piss me off as I don't have a car and lugging catfood around isn't much fun. I hate supermarket deliveries and always end up with short date stuff. I'd rather do my shopping in Iceland and then hand it over for delivery at the till - it's free over a certain amount too.

"She orders 40 pouches a month. That is 3 pouches a day for less than half a cat."

So the OP has less than half a cat? In that case I want to see a photo, because that's very unusual. Photo please OP!