To want my food shop delivered during the a slot I booked?

[IcedCoffeeAlways]

Out a walk with DS sleeping the pram this morning and I get a call...it’s the Morrison’s delivery driver. He’s outside and there’s no answer at the door. Well, that’s because I’m not in and my delivery is scheduled for 12-1pm. He’s called at 10.35am.
There’s me then having to rush home (luckily we had just set out so we were only 5 mins away) but I live in a flat and had to then get sleeping DS out of the pram and into the house etc. Just a faff really.

VERY grumpy delivery man tells me I should be in if I’m expecting a delivery as he “doesn’t have all day” 🙄

I’ve had them being late before - these things happen but almost 1.5h early?!

I have an Ocado reserved slot for a time that suits me and my work schedule. Every week they were calling and asking if they could come early and every week knocking on the door before the slot. I called customer services and now there is a note on my file saying DO NOT DELIVER EARLY.

OP - the driver was very rude to you.

@monkeysox

If I'm home and not busy I don't mind if a bit early but Sainsbury's always ring and ask if ok. 1.5 hours early and that being the only option isn't acceptable. I know there are some people who won't accept ten mins before slot (prob just being awkward) the drivers do cover a huge area so ten mins can make a big difference to their day if you can help them out

Sainsburys is good as they are also meant to phone and tell you if they are going to be late as well as early.

I had Sainsburys deliveries for years, very occasionally I would get a call asking could they deliver early (usually no as I was at work). Morrisons gave me a free delivery pass for a year so I swapped. They are often early, never call and are grumpy if you aren't in. Will be back to Sainsburys in a flash when the year is up!

Have you made a complaint? I would. I've complained about Waitrose delivery a few times and they've always been helpful.

See, I love Tesco !
Was lucky enough to get a Click and Collect slot with them at the beginning of the first lockdown, when my regular supermarket ( Morrisons ) couldn’t / wouldn’t offer anything.

Had never shopped with Tesco previously.
Now have a Delivery Saver , regular Fri 8am-9am slot - latest they’ve ever arrived is 9.30am . If they’re running late they text.
Rarely any substitutions, and all the drivers have been helpful and friendly .

@WaterAndRichTea I did. He told me it would just be refunded. And I have a baby to feed and the local convenience store has a tiny fresh selection so I’d be causing myself more hassle by not going home to take it!

@longtompot

Not being unreasonable at all. What's the point of booking a time slot if they don't stick to it? That said, I've had a phone call from a Tesco delivery driver as they were going to be earlier than expected and asked if it was ok.

Yes I've had this with Sainsburys too but not usually more than half an hour early, which I think is ok.

Thanks all. The driver had just pissed me off and I wanted a rant 😅
I have written an email complaining.
On the plus side - only one (very sensible) substitution, very fresh fruit & veg and the best use by dates that I’ve had delivered in a while 👏🏼

@PurpleSproutingSomething

I use Asda because they're pretty reliable, I hardly ever get substitutions, I just get no item. I ordered a box of washing tablets and they just cancelled it. I would have been okay with something similar, same with wraps. At least I can say no if I don't want them.

So i've still had to go down to the local shops and buy the things they didn't send.

This is my main issue with Asda, too. So many times they’ve just given me nothing instead of something that I could decline. I’d rarely decline anything anyway unless it’s something I really actively disliked. So it just pisses me off when it looks like they’ve gone “that’s not here, cba looking for something else”

I also work in retail myself and I’d defend retail workers til the end but a minority really cannot be bothered doing their job. Harsh but true.

I've been getting a weekly Sainsbury's delivery for about 18 months. They were 45 minutes early once but phoned to ask if it was OK. They've never been late which is amazing as I live in a seaside town and the roads can be a nightmare in July/August.

I forgot Sainsburys were late once when their internet went down, I think they were about an hour late.

Too early. I never let them in if they're that early (never have been) - 10-15 minutes yes, but half an hour or more, not my issue.

I've never had this issue with asda. If they are early they knock and ask if its okay, if not its fine and they'll be back during the time slot. Sometimes they're closer to me than the next slot.

Asda is a nightmare for substitutes and poor fruit and veg though.
I often need to top up using amazon prime, which is better since they come in those brown bags. I'd move over to those fully if they had all of what I need. They're getting there though!

Does ocado use bags of some kind?

@PurpleSproutingSomething @PizzaCrust Asda are shocking in my area because of the small store they pull from. I’ve had a delivery twice (both during the first lockdown so may have added to the issues) one was full of annoying substitutions such as ordering potatoes and being given pears 🙄🤣 and the other one was just a complete shambles - but one single substitution but genuinely almost half of my items were unavailable 🤣 ham, cheese, milk, bread etc. I refuse to believe any supermarket has no possible sub for those at any time!
I also work in retail PizzaCrust and I completely agree with you! Unfortunately I’ve had to manage some of them and they’ve been swiftly out the door 😬

@Yiayoula

See, I love Tesco ! Was lucky enough to get a Click and Collect slot with them at the beginning of the first lockdown, when my regular supermarket ( Morrisons ) couldn’t / wouldn’t offer anything. Had never shopped with Tesco previously. Now have a Delivery Saver , regular Fri 8am-9am slot - latest they’ve ever arrived is 9.30am . If they’re running late they text. Rarely any substitutions, and all the drivers have been helpful and friendly .

Agreed with Tesco. They have been great - get one delivery a week mid week from them and another with Sainsburys and Tescos have always been great - rarely any substitutions, helpful, nice drivers and I hadn't shopped with them either.

Sainsburys are good too but substitute items or miss off, a few times.

My DM who lives nearby does the same as me and has similar comments and never shopped from Tesco before either.

I’ve had Tesco turn up early a few times. But they’ve always offered for them to go away and come back if they haven’t rung. Either that or they have rung me and asked if it was ok if they come early. They have explained to me before that the drivers can’t actually see the time slots (not sure if I believe that as a few have apologised for being early) and they are just given a route to follow 🤷🏼‍♀️ But either way they should either have phoned to ask if it was ok or rearranged to come back.

should be in if I’m expecting a delivery as he “doesn’t have all day”

I would definitely feed this back to their customer service. If you don't get a sensible answer from them, I would tend to switch suppliers

The Waitrose / Ocado drivers do occasionally call to ask if we would like the delivery earlier but never show any kind of grumpiness

@Ariela

This is why I never do online food shopping. That and substitutions!

You can select to have no substitutions. Also, with Ocado they always keep you well updated as to when they'll be there and are always very friendly. Never had them be late, ever. Same with Morrisons

Def not unreasonable at all! I get Tesco shopping delivered once a week, the last few weeks they have been early by 30-50 minutes. I work from home so it's not an issue. They always phone as well, and the first time it happened I asked the driver what if I was out and wouldn't be home until the slot I'd booked, he said he would simply have to wait. Always very nice, I would have been really annoyed if the driver was rude to me for not being a home before the delivery slot.

Only had it once with Ocado

I had the driver complaining why wasn’t I in when he was knocking and why didn’t I choose a green slot for my delivery to save him having to come all the way back

I told him I usually would choose a green slot but it was 4 hours before I actually finished work and would be home

I had loads of damaged items. I reckon he’d unpacked the bags then threw them back in the crates when I couldn’t take delivery. Ocado customer services sorted me out though

I use Ocado since DH's stroke and subsequent disability. They're excellent and the one time he came early, the man said that if it'd looked like I wasn't up and about he'd have gone and waited for the proper slot. I'm fine with that as an attitude.

When Tesco have done that they asked if it would be OK to deliver early. It's rarely happened - late or no-show has been more common.

The last straw for me was a no-show, so I went out shopping, and then the order delivered the next day with zero communication or notice from Tesco.

Asda arrived early once while I was on the school run. I came back to find they had left it with my neighbour, I didn't know they were allowed to do that.
The new delivery person told me they can only be 15 mins early, any earlier and they can get in trouble.

You can select to have no substitutions. Also, with Ocado they always keep you well updated as to when they'll be there and are always very friendly. Never had them be late, ever.
Not on ocado, and they sometimes substitute with very expensive alternatives which you have to pay for unless, you reject when delivered, but then you are left without that item at all.
I used to very rarely have missing items or substitutions but since M&S it is at least one item every week

I stopped using Morrisons for this reason. I’m disabled and rely on online ordering for groceries. I missed two deliveries because of hospital appointments - booked late afternoon to make sure I was back from morning appointments. In both cases delivery was attempted hours before the allotted slot and then refunded when I wasn’t home. Customer services were useless. The first time it happened I couldn’t contact them until later in the day and they virtually called me a liar and said the driver had called within the time slot. On the second occasion I rang straight away as it was still a couple of hours before the allotted time. They were just as useless and apologised, but could do nothing but refund as I ‘wasn’t in’ when the driver called. A couple of weeks later I waited hours past the delivery slot, during which time customer services couldn’t give me a reason for the delay or an ETA for the order. I stopped using them after that.

Having said that, I’m finding that the Amazon Prime Now service, which uses Morrisons, to be quite good, offering same day delivery most of the time - even within a couple of hours of ordering. It’s not ideal because the range of products is limited when compared to shopping directly on the supermarkets’ own site, and substitutions are a bit more frequent, but if you’re stuck or want a quick delivery it’s fine. I find Sainsburys to be the most reliable - they do sometimes deliver early but the driver rings first to make sure it’s convenient.